Book Review: Beyond Ballyhoo

Beyond Ballyhoo: Motion Picture Promotion and Gimmicks
By Mark Thomas McGee
Published by McFarland & Company, 1989, republished in 2001. 237 pages.

Beyond Ballyhoo

I’ve always been a sucker for a gimmick when it comes to the movies. It definitely was something for a different era of movie promotions, though there are a few out there that still practice this old way of getting your audience’s attention, but nothing like it used to be. But even though those days are gone for the most part, reading about them is a lot of fun. Sure, it makes you wish you were around during those times. I mean, who wouldn’t have loved getting an “Up Chuck Cup” when going to see I Dismember Mama? Or getting to drink some ‘green blood’ when you went to see Mad Doctor of Blood Island? But it is fun to read about all the different wild and crazy things that studios used to come up with to try and get people to come to see their movies….even if the movie wasn’t that great.

Once again, McGee does an excellent job as our storyteller, giving us not only a lot of facts, but personal references and memories as well, which makes the stories even more entertaining. We get to hear about gimmicks like the coming of sound pictures…yes, that’s right. Sound pictures started out as just another gimmick to get people to the theaters. Then we have the coming all the different types of presentations, like CinemaScope…Dynamation….VistaVision….and the list goes on. Of course, then there is the invention of 3-D movies, and all the different kinds of those! Needless to say, we get to hear about them all in McGee’s well written book that is just packed with information.

And most of all, it is so much fun to read.

Interview: Billy O’Brien

February 22, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Interviews and tagged Billy O'Brien, Isolation | Leave a comment

This is one name that most of you are not familiar with. Which is a shame. But we hope to change that. Back in 2005, this writer / director gave us an incredible atmospheric and dark horror film called Isolation. Taking place on a cow farm in Ireland, not the usual setting for a horror movie. But with a great cast leading the way, O’Brien created an incredible moving and frightening film.

At the end of 2012, we were able to connect with O’Brien to get some more information on this film that has sadly fallen by the wayside, as well as what he’s been up to since then. With some great stories of dedication and endurance, O’Brien shares with us how this movie came about and the people involved. Hopefully this will spark more of you to seek out this underrated classic.

Kitley’s Krypt: Let’s start at the beginning. I’m assuming you are a fan of the horror genre? Any favorites? Continue reading →

Soundtrack Review: Cold in July

February 22, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Soundtrack | Leave a comment

Cold in July
Released by Milan Records, 2014
16 Tracks with a total running time of 57 min.
Music by Jeff Grace

I listen to a lot of soundtracks. Usually the ones I get to review are good, working really well in the film. But as a stand alone piece of music, most of them lately have felt a little flat. It has been quite a while since I’ve been watching a movie when the score is so strong that I immediately think “Damn…this score is amazing!” Well, it happened with Cold in July. And even stranger, I had forgotten who had worked on this movie, so when I found out the composer was Jeff Grace, it made a lot more sense. You’ll find several of Grace’s works here in our review section, mainly because I’m always impressed with what he creates for the features. No matter the time of film or the content, he always comes through with a great score. Even when the movie itself might not be that great…such as Ti West’s TRIGGER MAN, Grace still created an amazing score.

But let’s talk about this one for Cold in July. Had I been watching this film 20 years ago, I would have sworn that John Carpenter had composed the music. In fact, I would have bet money on it. Now this is not to take any credit away from Grace, but saying that he’s done an incredible job capturing the feel and sound of those early classic Carpenter themes. Not only do they blend so well into the movie, helping creating the tension and suspense, but even listening to it by itself a real joy. It is almost like stepping into an audio time machine. If we had heard this last year, it would have been at the top of my Best Of list for soundtracks. Yes….I think it is that good (as well as the movie too). Using an electronic medium, repetitive notes and themes, he creates an extraordinary soundtrack here, creating a tension and suspense filled score that just oozes mood and atmosphere.

If you are a fan of Grace’s work, then you might already have this or plan on picking it up. But if you’re a fan of the electronic synth scores that Carpenter created back in the ’80s, then you are also going to want to get this one. You’ll love it.

Horror History: Laird Cregar

February 21, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Horror History and tagged Laird Cregar | 1 Comment

Laird Cregar
Born July 28th, 1913 – Died Dec. 9th, 1944

Cregar was an actor of amazing stature, but in physical size and talent. Being 6′ 3″ and 300 lbs., he was a figure to be reckoned with. But even more powerful than his size, was his acting talent. With such deep and soulful eyes and soft voice, he gave the audience an incredible performance. It was his performance in his self-produced one-man play ‘Oscar Wilde” where Cregar really caught the attention of Hollywood. He would make his feature debut in the 1941 film Hudson’s Bay along side Paul Muni. Because of his size, he was getting roles of the villains and heavies but desperately wanted to be a leading man. His portrayals of two different madmen, in The Lodger (1944) and Hangover Square (1945) where the characters he is playing are hiding a deep dark secret. Maybe one of the reasons for his stellar performance was because Cregar was hiding his own secret that he was scared to death of it getting out. Cregar was a homosexual and thought if that news got out in Hollywood in the ’40s that it would ruin his chance of being a romantic leading man. Watching him in these two films is both fascinating and tragic since he was battling his own inner demons the whole time.

Between the two films, he decided that he would lose weight which he hoped would put him in the leagues of the leading man roles, dropping 100 lbs. He went into the hospital for an abdominal surgery for his weight loss, but suffered two heart attacks, with the second one killing him. It was such a loss, especially because he was only 28 years old. But the real tragedy was that he was afraid to be who he was, and felt that he had to hide it from the public. Granted, back then one might have to do that, but it is still a damn shame.

Chain Saw Confidential Review

February 21, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged Gunnar Hansen, TCM, Texas Chain Saw | 2 Comments

Chain Saw Confidential
By Gunnar Hansen
Published by Chronicle Books, 2014. 240 Pages.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre really is a movie of legends. For a low-budget film made by a bunch of youngsters, with more hardships than one could ever imagine, resulting in a truly classic horror film that is astounding that the product was ever even finished. Because of its huge following, over the years there has been several documentaries, pages and pages of retrospectives and articles written about it, with each and every one expanding the legacy that it has so rightly deserved. And I have seen most of those and read quite a lot about this film. I’ve also seen the film more times than I could count. So do we really need another book on the making of this film?

Continue reading →