“Revised and Updated Edition”

As a reference book collector, there are no two words that can fill one with both excitement and dread at the same time as “revised” and “updated” do. The excitement comes because we imagine there is new information that is going to make it worth double-dipping, but at the same time, the dread comes in because we wonder if these ‘extras’ are going to be worth it? Granted, this goes the same for the countless DVD and Blu-ray editions over the years. But this is where I found myself today when I was at the local bookstore and seeing not one, but two volumes that I already had in my library, but both had these words blazing across the top of the front cover.

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Woman in Black – Wild Claw Style

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Chicago’s own Wild Claw Theatre’s first play of the 2017 season is going to be their adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel The Woman In Black, which came out in 1983. A few years later, in 1987, it was adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt and became so successful that it has become one of the longest running plays in London’s famous West End. It was made into a made-for-TV movie for 1989, and later made into a feature film by none other than Hammer Films in 2012.

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An Indoor Drive-In?

That’s right…an indoor drive-in.

When I first heard news of this new $10 million indoor drive-in near Nashville, I actually thought it was a regular drive-in but had a cover over it, like one of those indoor sports field. At that point, I thought that was the coolest idea since the invention of the corndog! But the more I read through a few different articles on this, it isn’t what I thought it was. While it is an indoor theater, the cars are just permanently parked there. Not sure if they are actual even real cars or just seats fabricated classic car. So while it has the look and set up of a drive-in, not sure if it is going to have the real feel of one.

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Mystery Photo 2-6

Monday, Monday…yet again.

Our photo from last week was from Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), featuring the alluring Valerie Leon. Congrats to the following who sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Troy Howarth, & Alan Tromp.

Now on to this week’s photo. As always, please don’t post you answer here, so everyone has a chance. Good Luck!

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Cult Movie Screenings

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Next weekend at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Odd Obsession Movies with another midnight screening. This time it will be Richard Stanley’s Hardware (1990), coming from Stanley’s own personal 35mm print. This movie is a visual, audio, and sensory overload, all intertwined in a story about a killer robot in an apartment building. It was Stanley’s first feature film and it remains one of my favorites. Starring Dylan McDermott, John Lynch, Stacey Travis, William Hootkins, Mark Northover, and even Lemmy from Motorhead has a cameo! You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to see a film like this on the big screen.

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Movie Review: Wake Wood

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Wake Wood (2011)
Directed by David Keating
Starring Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, Timothy Spall, Ella Connolly, Ruth McCabe, Brian Gleeson, Amelia Crowley, Dan Gordon, Tommy McArdle

There had been so many times over the years that we’d heard that Hammer Films, the famous British studio, was rising from the grave, like so many of the creatures they put in their movies. So many times in fact, that most serious horror fans didn’t pay too much attention to the latest announcement. And even if the studio did resurrect itself, would it be able to really continue the incredible work that its forefather did before it? But then in 2007, it really did happen. Hammer Films was back. Granted, it really was in name only for the most part, since all of the original members of the studio are long since retired, passed away, or just forgotten. But the new CEO promised to not forget about its heritage and to continue the work they had started. We all know there would be no way to bring back the style and feel of those films from yesteryear. Or could there?

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Horrors at the Music Box

Chicagoland horror fans have two new flicks coming to the Music Box Theatre in February, ones that have been making quite a rumble in the horror world!

The first one is The Autopsy of Jane Doe, which I seen on a lot of Best of 2016 lists. Directed by André Øvredal (Troll Hunter) and stars Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, and Ophelia Lovibond. The story is about a small town in Virginia where the local sheriff comes across a terrifying murder scene, with multiple bodies. During the search of the residence, they discover another body in the basement, which is an unidentified female corpse, which is named Jane Doe. Once the body gets to the family-owned morgue, things start to get even more weirder. The more the coroner and his son dig deeper into Jane Doe, unnatural forces take hold of the place. This film opens this Friday at the Music Box.

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Mystery Photo 1-30

As expected, the flood of correct answers that we’ve been getting in the last couple of weeks did not continue. In fact, we only received one correct answer, which was from Hoby Abernathy, who knew that it was from the 1988 film Vampire in Venice, starring the one and only Klaus Kinki. Well done, Mr. Abernathy!

So this week’s photo might be a little easier, depending on well you can recognize someone’s eyes. Maybe if you gaze into them long enough, the answer will come to you. Maybe. Either way…good luck.

Please remember not to post your answers here, but send them in an email to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com.

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John Hurt – Rest in Peace

john-hurt-ripThe world lost a true talent yesterday with the passing of actor John Hurt, who passed away at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer. While most horror fans know him for his role in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), where he literally gave birth to a new breed of monsters, he did appear in quite a few other horror films, such as the incredible chilling 10 Rillington Place (1971), The Ghoul (1974), Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound (1990), and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy (2004). Not to mention the countless other roles that he appeared in, even playing Doctor Who in a special episode, and doing it quite well.

Hurt was an actor that when he appeared on the screen, he got your attention. With his unique voice, it could sooth your thoughts as well as send chills up your spine. Such a talented craftsman. He will be missed, but always remembered for his stellar performances, and definitely never forgotten. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Rue Morgue’s Phantasm Companion

phantasm-bowen-bookWe all know that most horror fans just love some flying drilling spheres, right? And even though we have the incredible book Phantasm Exhumed by Dustin McNeill, there’s never too many books on the movies we love, especially when their written by scholars like McNeill and Rue Morgue’s John Bowen.

Continuing their publications of books on a variety of subjects, such as the their 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See or Horror Movie Heroes, each packed full of useful information for those who wish to learn more about this great genre. They are now tackling the one and only Phantasm, Don Coscarelli’s 1979  classic film of a young boy coming of age and battling terrors from beyond.

With participation of Coscarelli, as well as exclusive interviews with the usual Phan-favorites Angus Scrimm, Reggie Bannister, Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, and many more, Mr. Bowen will take us on a journey through this strange world of the Tall Man and his minions, covering the whole series. It will also feature Roger Avary on his Phantasm epic that he wrote but was never able to get made. I’ve heard many of stories about this and can’t wait to hear more from the man who wrote it.

So if you are a Phan, then you damn well you’re going to be picking up a copy. So why wait and just pre-order it now, which you can do by clicking HERE. I know I’ll be adding it to our library, so why don’t you?