Turkey Day 2006

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Once again, it was time to test our prowess when it came to endurance and sheer will power.  And once again, I was joined by Dr. AC who willfully joined us for another year of film, fun, and fanatical devotion to test our sanity.  Guess he didn’t learn last time.

KINGDINOSAURKing Dinosaur (1955) – Since we had touched upon Mr. BIG last year with Food of the Gods (1976), we thought it would be a good idea to start this year with one of the films from the start of Gordon’s film career. Now even though ‘dinosaur’ is in the title of the film, what we actually get is an iguana and a baby alligator. The iguana is even referred to as a T-Rex in the movie. Boy, did someone miss a few of their paleontologists’ classes. When Gordon has these two creatures battling it out for world domination, it was something possible way before the likes of PETA were around. But even better than the creature fighting is just the dated dialog and actions of our small cast. These were the days when it was pretty normal just to have a small thermonuclear device that   you could carry around, and bring to another planet…just in case you’d need it.

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Rest in Peace: Tom Towles

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TomTowles-ripThere are very few movies these days that actually scare me. In fact, it has been that way for a long time. Sure, it could because I’ve seen so many, but also because in my head, I know it is just a movie. But when I watched Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) the first time, that scared me. And one of the reasons was due to the performance of Micahael Rooker in the title role, and Tom Towles as his sadistic sidekick Otis. His performance was so real and downright frightening. Later Towles would appear in several other horror films, such as Tom Savini’s remake of Night of the Living Dead, taking on the role of the stubborn minded Harry Cooper, making this character his own. He also appeared in all of Rob Zombie’s film, really making himself a staple in the genre. He also would make the rounds of the conventions, getting the chance to meet his fans. I have to say that Towles was one of those figures that could chill your bones just with a stare. But when he smiled and said hello to you, all of that boogeyman persona just melted away. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple times over the years and it was an honor to meet him.

But unfortunately, the reason for this post is the news of his passing last Thursday, April 2nd. It seems that he suffered a stroke a few days before and had been in the hospital since then. The horror genre has lost a memorable figure this month and he will be missed. Rest in Peace, Mr. Towles.

Mystery Photo 4-6

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I have to say that I was pretty impressed and surprsed at the number of correct answers sent in for our last photo. And here I thought I was finding some obscure flick that very few would recognize. But apparently this film has a bigger following than I thought. The shot is that of an unlucky biker who stumbles across the creature from Night of the Demon, and teaches you what happens when you piss on Bigfoot! But a big kudos out to all the following who sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Babette Bombshell, Aaron Christensen, Matt Dean, Brett Harrison, Jason Kretten, Doug Lamoreux, Leon Marcelo, Matt Moore, John Pata, Louis Perchikoff, John Portanova, Wayne Teeter, and Will Wilson. You make me proud!

So let’s get to this week’s photo. Going a little old school here with a nice black and white film. We’ll see if this is as easy as our last. Good luck. Remember, please don’t post your answer here, but send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com.

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Cinema Wasteland Approaches….

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cw_show_logoNext weekend, we’ll be heading off to Ohio for the Cinema Wasteland show, which will be their 27th show..that’s right…27 shows. And we’ve been there for every single one of them. That’s right, for the last 15 years, I’ve been heading to Ohio to join a group of like-minded film fans to truly celebrate the films and the people that made them. If there was ever a show that I would go to if I wasn’t a dealer, this would be the one. It is much smaller than some of these other shows, but I actually like it that way. Because each and every person coming through the doors to Wasteland is a die-hard fan, not one that follows whatever is new and popular. This one of the few shows that you can still feel like a fan, not a customer. While I’m not a fan of paying for an autograph at any price, Wasteland head honcho Ken Kish has made it a point to try and keep autograph prices not exceeding $20. I know at this upcoming show, he had confirmation from all but one guest that not only would they not be charging more than $20 for an autograph, but with that you could also get a photo with them at their table and no extra charge. None of this high priced photo-op crap. See…it is possible to set a standard for the guests and stick to it after all. Plus the fact that the guests are so much more approachable at the Wasteland.

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Interview: Doug Hobart

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Doug Hobart is a name that up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea who he was. But because of an unusual birthday cake my wife Dawn made for me, not only would I find out just who Doug Hobart was, but I would eventually get to interview him. Every year for my birthday, I screen two movies in our backyard for a bunch of friends. This one particular year, the films were two Florida based movies, ZAAT and Sting of Death. For the cake (pictured below), my wife made a battle between the two title creatures from these movies. It was such an amazing cake, that once I posted a photo of it on Facebook, it was getting a lot of responses, even from people like cult directors Frank Henenlotter, Fred Olen Ray, and even William Grefe, who directed Sting of Death. Well, Fred Olen Ray made a comment and tagged someone named Doug Hobart. So I looked up the name on IMDB and was shocked not only to find out that he was the guy who played the jellyfish creature, but was on Facebook as well. So I quicky sent him a note, asking if he’d be willing to do an interview with me. A short time later, I was on the phone with him, hearing some amazing stories of his life in show business, which you’ll find below.

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Horror History: John Agar

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johnagarJohn Agar
Born Jan. 21st, 1921 – Died April 7th, 2002

Though he started his film acting career doing westerns, it’s the films he did in the ‘50s that made John Agar so memorable to horror fans.  Agar was a staple when it came to battling giant monsters, aliens, and mad scientists.  He always gave it his all, even when the script wasn’t the greatest, or even the monster that he was fighting against.  He always gave a fun and entertaining performance, even when working with uber-low-budget king Larry Buchanan on a couple of films.  He would even make appearances in more modern day films in titles like Clive Barker’s Nightbreed and the Tope Hooper directed episode of John Carpenter’s anthology Body Bags.

Of few of his highlights (and lowlights, depending on your feelings) would be Revenge of the Creature (1955), Tarantula (1955), and The Brain from the Planet Arous (1957), as well as Larry Buchanan’s  Zontar: The Thing from Venus and Curse of the Swamp Creature (both 1966).

Movie Review: The Human Race

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humanraceThe Human Race (2013)
Written and Directed by Paul Hough

A good friend of mine told me about this movie when he had seen it at a film festival, which sounded interesting because the fact that it is about a race and the main actor is really missing a leg. Plus, it was directed by the son of John Hough, who directed Legend of Hell House and Twins of Evil, two of my favorite films. So I knew I was going to want to give this film a look when it came out. Of course, like a lot of movies these days, they get lost in the numbers with so many other titles. But I recently got it from Netflix and figured now was the time to check this flick out. And so glad I did.

A group of people suddenly appear at a strange location with messages coming to them in their head, in their own voices, giving them instructions on what to do and what not to do, and lastly….to race or die. They are told that they need to move along the path pointed out by almost weapon looking arrows, and if they are lapped twice, they will die. So right away we get the name of the title, The Human Race. Of course, we learn later the brilliant play on it. Because they are scared and not understanding what is going on, some don’t follow the instructions and end up dying in very gruesome way, which in turns makes the crowd even more afraid.

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You Did What?!?!? – HorrorHound Report…Part 3

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incrediblestrangeDuring the show, a guy came up and was browsing through the books and pulled out a copy of the Incredibly Strange Film book published by the Re/Search Publications in 1986. This is a great little book, filled with interviews and articles on some of the kings and queens of exploitation cinema, like Ted V. Mikels, H.G. Lewis, Doris Wishman, Dave Friedman, and many more. As I started to tell him more about the book, he told me that he had recently picked up a copy from ebay, that had over 20 signatures in it from the people involved, like Wishman, and only paid $100. Now, a few of the people covered in that book have since passed away, like Ray Dennis Steckler and Wishman. But just when I was telling how freaking amazing of a deal he had there, he said that he had been ripping the pages from the book and selling them on ebay.

It was at this point where I stopped talking and tightly closed my jaw. I was afraid that if I was to open it, something would come out that could be considered either offending and/or threatening. I just stood there shocked, unable to move or say anything. Now, let me clarify that I understand that some things might not be as important as it is to others. I get that. But the fact that he had an incredible book, filled with signatures from some of the people responsible for making exploitation cinema what it is today, and was literally tearing apart the book to sell the individual pages, really hurt something deep inside of me. I mean, first off…he’s tearing apart a book!!! And secondly, he is destroying a one-of-a-kind piece of history.

To each their own, as they say, but it just kills me knowing that someone had gone through the trouble of collecting those signatures in that book, which was then ripped apart. Needless to say, a very sad and disturbing moment at the show. Lucky for me, the rest of the show was not like that.

Book Review: The Films of Larry Buchanan

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filmsofbuchananThe Films of Larry Buchanan
By Rob Craig
Published by McFarland & Company, 2007. 271 pages.

While the films of Larry Buchanan might be an acquired taste, he is probably my favorite of the low (or no) budget filmmakers. And hearing stories about his films and the making of them are sometimes more entertaining then the movies themselves.

Author Craig does an amazing job dissecting Buchanan’s film, giving us a ton of information about the films, the people who worked on them, and Buchanan himself. The only problem is that I think Craig has looked at the films at little too close and started to see things and meanings that I don’t necessarily believe are there. Now granted, with any film study, there are those who see deeper into the pictures than others can. That is not to say they are right or wrong, but for me I think if you stare and examine anything long enough, you will find whatever it is you might be looking for. As much as I love and enjoy Buchanan and his films, I don’t think some of these deeper messages that Craig points out were really there or at least never consciously intended to be there. Again, this is just MY opinion.

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Book Review: It Came From Hunger! Tales of a Schlockmeister

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hungerbookIT CAME FROM HUNGER!  TALES OF A SCHLOCKMEISTER
By Larry Buchanan
Published by McFarland & Co, 1996.  215 pages.

For those out there that think that Roger Corman made movies with incredibly low budgets, then you need to learn who Larry Buchanan was.  Station out of Texas, Buchanan churn out film after film with embarrassing low budgets, some of them making some decent money.  This is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Roger Corman had been giving three times the budget we had.  His version was in black and white, and he had as his leads Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, and Lee Van Cleef.  And the running time was only 71 minutes.  For $30,000, I was expected to shoot 80 cut minutes of color and bring in three young stars from Hollywood.  Their board, hotel, and air fare alone would be $15,000!”

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