Super Monster Movie Fest Part VI: The Skyline Lives!

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Once again, the Skyline Drive-In Theatre in Shelbyville, IN, will be having their annual Super Monster Movie Fest, which is two nights of four classic features. This year’s lineup definitely has a theme to it and looks just amazing, as usual. We’ve been to this event for the last 3 years have had a blast each and every time, and plan on being there again. They have another great list of films that will be awesome to see on the big screen, especially some of the older titles. Here is what they’ve announced:

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Mystery Photo 5-8

Welcome to Monday, which means another Mystery Photo! I know…its what you all live for. Before we get to this week’s mystery pic, let’s review last week’s. It was from the 1992 film Winterbeast, which is a must watch for those that love Turkey Movies! So much fun. I mean, for a film that has some stop-motion monsters in the first 5 minutes of the movie, how could it not be entertaining??? Kudos out to Billy Nocera & William Wilson for sending in the correct answer. If you haven’t seen this and love some nice cheesy movies, I think you should check it out.

Okay…on to this week’s photo. Might be an easy one…might not. But give a look and see what you can come up with.

As always, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not post your answers here so others can have a chance at sending in their guess. Just send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Horror History: Lionel Atwill

lionel atwillLionel Atwill
Born: Mar. 1st, 1885  Died: Apr. 22nd, 1946

If you are a fan of the old Universal classics, then you’ve seen Lionel Atwill. But it seems that younger fans today might now know him other than “that guy from the Universal films”. It’s really unfortunate too since Atwill was wonderfully talented at playing intelligent and authoritative figures. Granted, some of them were mad as a hatter, but that’s beside the point. Then again, that is where he seemed to excel!

Atwill could carry the lead in films, such as the original Mystery of the Wax Museum and The Vampire Bat (both 1933), but could also make the same impact when he was playing supporting roles in films like Man Made Monster (1941) or Son of Frankenstein (1939). He was always memorable with his distinct voice and glare, always leaving an impression. My first issue of Famous Monsters magazine featured an article on Man Made Monster, which to this day, remains one of my favorites. Same goes for The Ghost of Frankenstein, that I can still remember watching for the first time on a small 13″ black and white TV and enjoying the hell out of it. And Atwill is one of the reasons on both those examples.

In the early 40’s, he was sentenced to 5 years probation after being found guilty of perjury in a case about a young girl who had been raped at a “wild sex-party”, which was claimed to be at Atwill’s home. He testified that it was not true, which was found to be a lie after others testified. While he did work a little after this scandal, his career was pretty much done. I’m sure there is a lot more to that story as to what really happened, but I’m not sure we’ll ever really know. But he should at least be remembered for the fine work that he did give us.

For a great biography of Atwill, check out Hollywood’s Maddest Doctors, by Gregory William Mank.

Need Some Advice to Start Your Career in Filmmaking?

Talk You To DeathDo you like to hear from different people in the film industry? From directors to composers to producers to actors, they all have insight to this crazy world that we follow. If you’re one of those that are trying to break into the film industry, what better people to get advice from than those that are already in the trenches. Filmmaker/author Danny Draven has written a book called Talk You To Death: Filmmaking Advice from the Mavericks of the Horror Genre, which consists of interviews with over 40 different people in the industry, asking for their own perspective on how to succeed in that crazy business of filmmaking.

Within these pages, you’ll hear from directors like Roger Corman, Jeff Burr, James Cullen Bressak, Mick Garris, Tibor Takacs, Mike Mendez, James Wan, Stuart Gordon, David DeCoteau, composers Charlie Clouser, John Ottman, John Debney, actors William Butler, Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, Robert Englund, Reggie Bannister, Debbie Rochon, and many more, all giving the reader their own insight to the industry.

Even if you don’t ever plan on getting into filmmaking, I’m sure these guys are going to have some entertaining stories. I know I’ll be adding it to our library.

Mystery Photo 5-17

Better late than not at all, right? Busy day today, otherwise this would have been posted a little sooner. But no worries…it’s here now! Before we get to this week’s photo, let’s do a little recap on last week’s. It was from an early lesser known slasher flick from 1979 called Savage Weekend, which stars William Sanderson a few years before he appeared in Blade Runner, and David Gale, who later would become a cult star as the famous body-less Dr. Hill in Re-Animator! Congrats out to the following who sent in the correct answers: Hoby Abernathy, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Well done!

So while on the obscure titles, let’s throw out another one and see if anybody recognizes this little gem. Good luck…you just might need it!

As always, please remember not to post your answers here so everyone can have a chance. Just send us an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com.

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Movie Review: Dellamorte Dellamore

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Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)
Directed by Michele Soavi
Starring Rupert Everett, Francois Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Mickey Knox, Fabiana Formica, Clive Riche, Barbara Cupisti, Anton Alexander

Dellamorte Dellamore Japanese LD coverThe first time I watched this film, it was from a bootleg VHS tape, several generations down from the original source, in Italian with no sub-titles. I was very familiar with the director, being a huge fan of his first three films, and was very excited to see his latest, even if it meant watching it under these particular circumstances. And it didn’t matter. Soavi’s use of the camera, the look and feel of the film, and giving us something like we hadn’t seen before, even though I might not have understood exactly what was going on, I still loved it. Soon, I would upgrade my copy to another crappy looking tape, but this time in English. Then a great looking one, but back to Italian. Then finally splurging the money and acquiring the actual Japanese laserdisc, which has one of the best covers to date, which you can see to the right.

Not sure why, but when this film was released over here in the states, some moron decided that the original titles would confuse people, so they changed it to Cemetery Man. Nice job, dumbass.

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Book Review: Rungs on a Ladder

Rungs on a LadderRungs on a Ladder: Hammer Films Seen Through a Soft Gauze
By Christopher Neame

Published by The Scarecrow Press, 2003. 131 pages.

If there is a book published about Hammer Films, more than likely, at some point in time, I will be adding it to my library. I mean, when you have an official Hammer section with over two dozen titles in said library already, it’s kind of a must have. So when I came across this title on Amazon, I added it to my wish list. The problem I had right away was that it was priced from $30 to $50, and it was for a book that was just over a hundred pages. That’s a tough sell, even for a diehard collector like myself. Okay, sure, I bought it eventually anyway, but just saying.

Now, let’s not get this Neame confused with the actor of the same name that appeared in a couple of Hammer titles, Dracula A.D. 1972 & Lust for a Vampire. The author Neame started at the bottom of the business and worked his way up. It was only a matter of time for him, since the film business really was in his blood. His father was Ronald Neame, a director and cinematographer, and his grandfather Elwin, was a director who worked in silent films.

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