Monster Bash…Part 1

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We made it home safe and sound from our first trip out to The Monster Bash Conference in Mars, PA. It was a bit of a drive out there, but I have to say it was just a great time and well worth the trip. Ron Adams from Creepy Classics, and his Monster Bash crew, really knows how to put on a show. Sure, it is aimed more for the older classic monster fans and those movies, but none the less, we had a blast.

Ron has events planned from early in the AM until the wee hours of the morning, during every second of the weekend. There is no way anybody could be bored at this show. Hell, he even had films screening on Thursday because he knew quite a few people were arriving early for the show! But something that was different that I liked (even though I didn’t get to spend too much time in there) was that besides the Q&A’s and the movie screenings, there were also presentations given, such as one on films being banned by Britain in the ’30s and ’40s. Not only does it give the attending fans something to do during the weekend, but they can actually learn something too!

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James Horner – Rest in Peace

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jameshorner-ripFilm fans have lost a great composer this week. James Horner died in a single-engine plane that crash while he was flying, yesterday morning. He was only 61 years old. I’ve been a fan of Horner’s work long before I knew who he was. He started out working on low budget and films that are now considered cult films, but are ones that I still hold dear to my heart. Films like Humanoids from the Deep (1980), Wolfen (1981), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), and especially Aliens (1986), which he received his first of many Oscar nominations for best score. He would be nominated a total of nine times, winning twice.

His music always helped infuse a real feeling into the film. While the film Braveheart isn’t a film I would normally talk about on this site, Horner’s score is just incredible. I can’t listen to the ending of that without having my heart slowly ripped from my chest. It immediately brings back the images and feeling from the film and it is as if I’m watching it all over again, just by hearing his beautiful score. This shows the power that Horner and his music could create. He was quoted as saying this about his music: “I’m different from some other composers because I don’t look at this as just a job. I see music as art.”

Thankfully we will be able to remember this incredible talent and the passion that he gave millions of film and film music fans around the world. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Mystery Photo 6-22-15

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It’s Mystery Photo Monday folks! Not going to forget this time. Our last photo was our little tribute to Richard Johnson who we recently lost. The movie is from The Haunting. Not going to say the “original” because as far as I’m concerned it is the only version ever made. Congrats to the following who sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Gregory Avery, Cate Cameron, Gavin Schmitt, & Scott Stephens. Well done.

Now our new photo is another black and white film, but probably isn’t on the same classic level as The Haunting. No…not even close. But that doesn’t mean they’re not still entertaining, right? So here is our latest photo. Take a look and see what you can come up with.

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Mystery Photo 6-15

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Another Monday, another Mystery Photo. Our pic from last week was from Paul Naschy’s La Venganza de la Momia aka The Mummy’s Revenge. Nothing like squeezing the head like a melon, right? Kudos to Elena Anele and Mike Tutino for sending in the correct answer.

Now on to this week’s photo. Sure…might just be a picture of a wall. Or maybe it is something else? Who knows…if you stare at it long enough…you just might see something. Or not.

Anyway…take a look and then send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com with your guest. Good luck.

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Larry Fessenden’s Habit Comes to Blu-ray

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habitposterScream Factory announced that they would be putting out the Larry Fessenden Collection later this year. The films include No Telling, Wendigo, The Last Winter, and lastly, his film Habit, which I personally think is one of the best low budget and realistic modern-day vampire films out there. This was the first film I had seen of Fessenden and have become a fan of his work ever since. I’m also excited about getting to see No Telling, which is the only one of these titles that I haven’t seen yet.

There’s no release date yet, or what extras are going to be on here, other than the promise of a lot of them. No matter what they are, I know I’ll be picking this up when it hits the streets. Fessenden is an extremely talented man and I’ve pretty much loved most of the stuff he is involved with, whether as an actor, director, or producer.

My good friend Aaron Christensen not only is responsible for pointing this film in my direction, but also chose to write about it in the book Hidden Horror.

I urge everyone out there to check these out…especially Habit, and even more so if you’re one of these that is tired of the vampire genre. This one just might change your mind.

Horror History – Joanna Pettet

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joannapettet Most people will not know or recognize Joanna Pettet’s face or name, but if you grew up in the ’70s and watched a lot of TV, such as I did, then you might at least recognize her face. She had a promising career in the ’60s & ’70s in both film and TV, and even appeared in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). She didn’t do a lot of work in the horror genre, but enough to once again, make her very memorable to younger fans like myself. She appeared in the 1974 film Welcome to Arrow Beach, a very strange film starring Meg Foster and Laurence Harvey. She also was in The Evil (1978), alongside Andrew Prine and Richard Crenna.

But it really was because of her appearances in Rod Searling’s Night Gallery in the early ’70s where I’ve always remember her from. Pettet had such a unique and beautiful look to her that I immediately became entranced by her. The first episode she appeared in was called The House and was directed by actor John Astin, making his television directorial debut. On working with Pettet, Astin said directing her “was a lovely experience.” In her second appearance on the show, he co-starred with her husband Alex Cord, in the episode Keep in Touch – We’ll Think of Something, which is a story about the woman of your dreams…and murder.

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Monster Bash Next Weekend

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valerieleonNext weekend, we will be making our first trip out to Mars Pennslyvannia for the Monster Bash Convention. This is a show that we’ve been wanting to do for quite some time but just never make it out there, mainly due to the distance from us here in Chicagoland. But we decided that we were going to make it happen this year and the show is almost upon us now. A much smaller and more personable show from what I’m told, it will be a nice change of pace and really looking forward to it.

Of course, one of the main reasons we decided to take th plunge was they have Valerie Leon as a guest, who appeared in Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb. So I will be thrilled to add her signature to my Hammer Films book, making her’s the 13th signature. I know I’m not an autograph person anymore, but we’re talking Hammer here, and for that, I’ll make an exception.

But we will be there with our usual wares, with plenty of horror reference books for you to build and increase your own library. We’ve got a ton of titles in stock, both some new as well as some hard to find and out-of-print ones as well. Of course, my wife Dawn (aka Horror Slave) will have her display of pillows and tote bags as well.

So if you’re coming out to the show next weekend, make sure stop by and give us Monster Bash Newbies a warm welcome! For all the details about the show, just click HERE.

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Book Review: Making and Remaking Horror in the 1970s and 2000s

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making and remaking horrorMaking and Remaking Horror in the 1970s and 2000s By David Roche Published by University Press of Mississippi, 2014. 335 pages.

Sometimes I really regret asking for a book to review. Especially when I had just finished reviewing one epic size book of Psycho-Babble, and then along comes this relatively new book by David Roche. He is a professor at the Université Toulouse Le Mirail with some publishing credentials under his belt. In other words, he’s no slouch. In fact, Roche is a very smart man and can do some amazing fact finding research, which he puts to use in this book. The concept of the book is to try and figure out the differences between the original ’70s versions of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Hills Have Eyes, and Halloween, and their remakes that were all made in the 2000s, or what makes them better or worse and for what reasons.

That initial concept is what intrigued me at the start. But once I dove into it, I quickly realized what I had gotten myself into once again. This is not written for the casual fan, but for a very academic crowd. In fact, I had a dictionary opened most of the time when I was reading it to make sure I was getting the point he was stating. Gotta say though…even that didn’t help a lot of times. These University style books love to go way out of their way to explain something about a movie that really doesn’t need it or even have an explanation other than what is at face value. Here, Roche does a lot of quoting from other works of this sort, as well as giving his own insight, which I frankly think all of which is putting way too thought on this stuff.  Let me give you a couple of examples.

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Rest in Peace – Christopher Lee

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christopherlee-ripThe news of the passing of Christopher Lee today is truly an end of an era. He really was the last of the great icons of horror, following the likes of Lugosi, Karloff, Chaney Jr., Cushing, Price, and Carradine. Lee worked very hard to stay away from being pigeon-holed just as a horror actor, and did an amazing job of it too, appearing in close to 300 films and television appearances in a career that spanned almost seven decades. From playing Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, as Count Dooku in the Star Wars films, or the wizard Saruman in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, not to mention countless other amazing performances he gave us, he was always a joy to watch. With such a screen presence, he brought his characters to life and always made them memorable.

When he played Dracula for Hammer, he was no longer some foreign aristocrat, but a dominating and powerful presence, one that he gave off in all of his roles. He was the one that made the mummy scary again, when he played the tormented Kharis in Hammer’s 1959 remake. So many roles in so many movies, he gave us horror fans hours upon hours of entertainment. He has now joined the rest of those icons of horror in another place. And like those before him, he will never be forgotten.

Rest in Peace, Sir Christopher.

Mystery Photo 6-9

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Looks like we missed posting this again yesterday, once again. Think I might need to get a secretary or something! Our last photo was from the recently (and highly recommended) released From a Whisper to a Scream, directed by Jeff Burr, who I have to say is one of the nicest guys one could meet. Anyway, this shot is from the twisted little segment with Clu Gulager and his demon baby. Fun stuff there, folks! Kudos out to the following that sent in the correct answer: Aaron Christensen, Mark Turner, and Will Wilson.

Now on to this week’s photo. This might be a little tougher…but then again, that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Now a title might jump into your brain but we’ll tell you right now, it is not one with that guy in a hockey mask. But hopefully you’ll be able to figure it out without your head ending up like this poor fellow!

Just send us your answer to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck.

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