Lou Cutell – Rest in Peace

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While some might know Cutell from his appearance on TV’s Seinfeld or even as Amazing Larry in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), but for us fans of cheesy horror / sci-fi films, you will remember him as Dr. Nadir in Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster (1965). Being that was his first feature film, you can understand why he took it. Even though it is rated as one of the worst films ever made, it is something a lot of people remember him from, so I would say that is a positive. Think of how many films are forgotten!

Cutell recently passed away at the age of 91. From a wide range of TV show appearances, and small roles, sometimes even uncredited, such as being a frightened villager in Young Frankenstein (1974), I will still remember as the good Dr. Nadir. Rest in Peace, Lou, and thanks for the laughs.

Mary Collinson – Rest in Peace

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Being a huge fan of Hammer films, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to meet quite a few stars, directors, and others that worked for the famous studio. But there are still countless more than I haven’t. And with each year, we lose another face that brought us thrills, chills, and smiles to our faces. The Collinson twins from Twins of Evil (1971) were two that I had always hoped I would have the chance to meet. Madeleine Collinson had passed away in 2014, and now we’ve learned that her sister Mary has passed away today, at age of 69.

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Turkey Day 2021

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While Thanksgiving is in a couple of days, where quite a few of us will be stuffing our faces with enough food to put us into a food coma, the real event in this Friday: Turkey Day 2021! Make sure you are well rested because we have some . . . uh . . . great titles lined up for this year’s marathon. Some of these might test your will as well as hope for humanity, but we are professionals. What doesn’t kill you, and all that stuff.

The Kosmi room will open up at 9am with an hour full of trailers. This will give you plenty of time to get logged in, hooked up, or whatever else you need to do to be ready by 10am, because that is when the first feature will start.

Here is the link to the Kosmi Room: https://app.kosmi.io/room/draqzn. When you check in, if it doesn’t let you put in your name, please announce who you are, just so everyone is not trying to guess. Makes it a little easier. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the films!

Here is our schedule for the features:

  • 9am – Trailers
  • 10am: Feature #1 – Features one of the great horror icons from the ’30s
  • 11:30am: Feature #2 – Perfect example of showing that just because you can shoot a couple of music videos, doesn’t mean you can make a movie
  • 1:15pm: Feature # 3 – We go south of the border for one of the most unusual monsters on film
  • 2:45pm: Feature #4 – Off to Italy with an all-star (maybe not BIG stars to most) cast of actors and monsters
  • 4:30pm: Feature #5 – Back to the states and to Florida. Like catfish?
  • 6:15pm: Feature #6 – Now out of the water and into the . . . well, probably shouldn’t

Mystery Photo 11-22

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Continuing our trend for Turkeys this month with these Mystery Photos, we have another slice of fun for you to decipher! But first, let’s review last week’s photo. Unless I lost an email somewhere (which wouldn’t be the first time), it looks like we only have 1 correct answer sent in. The shot is from the film Last Rites (1980), also known as Dracula’s Last Rites. It’s been years since I’ve even seen this one but I remember it being pretty brutal. Which means of course, it will probably end up screening on a Turkey Day at some point! Kudos to Hoby Abernathy for sending it the only correct answer. Well done!

This week’s photo is another classic Turkey. I have seen this one a few times and it is so much fun. See if you can recognize where this cranium is from? Just remember to send your answer to us in an email (to jon@kitleyskrypt.com). Good Luck!

Frankenstein . . . Ninety Years & Counting

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Cinema history changed 90 years ago on this day, with the release of James Whale’s Frankenstein. Sure, Dracula had been released in February and was a big hit, but some thought it was a fluke. But once Frankenstein hit the screens, the wheels started turning for what would become the Universal Horror Classics. Can you imagine being in that audience 9 decades ago, having no idea what you were going to be seeing onscreen?

Of course, one of the reasons the picture was a success does fall on the shoulders of Boris Karloff and his incredible performance. He not only sparked a multitude of nightmares to adults with this character, but children from around the world saw through the makeup and saw the “monster” for what he really was, an innocent outsider. Growing up as a horror fan, like a lot of us, knew what it was like to be different and looked upon as strange or weird. So the creature has always had a special place with me.

This film has always been a personate favorite of mine, and would be in my top ten films of all time. It still is as impactful and powerful today as it was 90 years ago, thanks to everyone from the mad genius James Whale, the anxiety-ridden character of Henry brought to life by Colin Clive, the set designers to created this world they lived in. And of course, had it not been for makeup man Jack Pierce, we might not be celebrating this anniversary.

Here’s to another 90 years to our deeply misunderstood creature. May people continue to learn not to judge people from the way they look, but what is inside them.

Turkey Day Trial This Saturday!

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Don’t forget folks, just to make sure everything is working, we’re going to be screening a trial film on Saturday at noon (CST). This will give you a chance to log in to make sure you can see and hear everything. It will be only one movie too. You can obviously stay for the whole feature or just check in to make sure everything works. The plan will be starting at 12pm sharp.

The link for it will be the same for the actual Turkey Day on Friday the 26th, which is:

https://app.kosmi.io/room/draqzn

Hope to see you there, as well as on the actual Turkey Day. I’ve got some great films lined up for then that you are not going to want to miss!

New Episode of Discover the Horror Podcast is Up!

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When talking Turkeys, the only bad movie is a boring one! And the films we discuss in this episode are anything but boring! We delve into the world of the Turkey! Films that may not be the best made in the technical aspect, or in the acting department, or even a cohesive story line, or could have you scratching your head wondering if aliens had created these films. But no matter what, they are damn entertaining.

Tonight, we discuss The Giant Claw (1957), Blood Freak (1972), and Creatures from the Abyss, aka Plankton (1994). With each of these films, there are moments where you will ask yourself, “just how did these ever get made?” I know we’re glad they did because we have all enjoyed them over and over again, for all their strangeness, oddness, or just downright craziness.

So sit back and enjoy some very intellectual discussions on some films that deserve your attention!

Book Review: Confessions of a Puppetmaster

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Confessions of a Puppet Master: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking
Published by William Morrow, 2021. 288 pages
By Charles Band & Adam Felber

Whether you like Charles Band, or any of his production companies such as Full Moon or Empire, you cannot argue the fact that this man has made his career out of doing the kind of films he wants, usually picking something to exploit and make money from, which then lets him continue what he’s doing. I know that’s a broad statement, especially coming from a guy that doesn’t like a lot of stuff that Band has his fingers in. But there are more than a few of those that I have really enjoyed over the years. Not to mention the fact that Band still believes and practices the good old-fashioned ballyhoo. That alone, I have to give him credit for.

If I was going to have one complaint about this book it would be that it is only 288 pages. I would have expected from someone of his long running career, that this would have been well over 500+ pages. There are plenty of great stories in here, but figured there would be many more. Maybe that’s for volume 2? Band not one to speak truthfully about his past, the mistakes that he’s made and how he’s lost his fortune more than once, so I give him a lot of respect for that. This isn’t a bit of puff journalism on “gee look at all the great stuff I’ve done” but a really inside look of someone that wanted to work in the film business but by his terms. He may not be conventional, but his methods work.

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Mystery Photo 11-15

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I was very surprised at the number of correct answers I got for our last photo. For some reason, I thought it was a little more obscure than that, but damn if we didn’t get 12 correct answers sent in! The photo was from the 1958 film Terror from the Year 5000! I mean, how great of a title is that to begin with! I do remember learning that to stop contamination from something that is radioactive, you just needed to submerge it in water! Such a fun piece of cinema. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Dan Brenneis, Chris Dyer, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Gary McGuire, Charles Miller, Bryan Senn, Michael Shields, Vincent Simonelli, and Alan Tromp. Nicely done!

In case you didn’t notice, I’m using films that some might consider Turkeys. Granted, we all know that doesn’t mean they are bad but damn entertaining. Believe it or not, but Terror from the Year 5000 has a 2.9 rating on IMDB! Bollocks, I say! But we will be continuing that theme for the rest of the month, just to give you a little head’s up. Ready for this week’s photo? See below and see what you think. Just remember to send your guess to us in an email (at jon@kitleyskrypt.com). Good Luck!

Here There Be Monsters

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I think it was either his book Golden Horrors or Drums of Voodoo when I first became aware of author Bryan Senn. Funny thing is that I had probably read several of the articles that he had written over the years for magazines such as Filmfax and Shivers, to the many books I owned from Midnight Marquee. Several years ago, I got to meet him at a Monster Bash show and we’ve become good friends since then. So anytime he has a new book coming out, I know I’ll be adding it to my library. Not just because we’re friends but because Senn knowns what he’s writing about! He’s just like the rest of us, having a huge passion for the genre, so we know what he’s writing about, comes from the heart.

His latest book, Here There Be Monsters, from BearManor Media, is a collection of “interviews, histories, tributes, and overviews on the diverse world of horror and science fiction cinema” that he’s done over the last 30 years. Some of these pieces are expanded from their original form while some are completely new. Within these pages, you’ll read about the Universal films to Hammer horrors from across the pond, Euro gothic chillers, and even heading south of the border for some mask wrestlers duking it out with all sorts of monsters. From the well-rounded genre cinema fans to ones craving to learn more about titles you might not have heard of, this book sounds like a great way to learn about, or learn more about this great selection of cinema.

It is available only in hardcover format from BearManor Media for only $38. If you get it from Amazon, it will set you back another $10, but then you’ll get probably get free shipping. Either way, I think this will be a nice addition to everyone’s library. And just think, Christmas is coming, so for any horror fans that you’re looking for a gift idea, there you go.