The fine folks from Super-Horror-Rama have some up with another great two features to celebrate the new year. The theme is New Year, New You! Because of all the silly New Year’s resolutions we all make, most of which we don’t stick to, this is a good example of when those new changes might not be the best change! But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun for us to watch!
Continue readingThis has been one hell of a year. On my write up for 2024, I made a point to remind us of all that with all the crap going on in the world, we need to look for the positives out there, because they are there and we need not lose sight of that. But I have to say, it wasn’t the easiest to do that in 2025. When I first started to review the past year from the posts here in the Krypt, I couldn’t find much that I thought were highlights. At least not more than a couple of things. But then I went back a couple of weeks later, with a more thorough set of eyes, and low and behold, there were plenty. Once again, it just shows that sometimes the positives are hard to see and remember. They might even seem pretty trivial, but they are there. So, amidst all the chaos and tragedy that is going on, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to make us sit back and think “yeah…that was pretty cool.” They might not be huge events or something, but that made you glad you were there and part of it. And we need to be focused on and remembering those moments, now more than ever, to help us get through this dark time we’re going through.
Once again, this January the mysterious sub-genre known as the giallo comes back for 4 screenings. This has been going on for a few years now and they never fail to bring in some really interesting titles, and this year is no different. The screenings take place every Monday in January. See below for the titles.
January 5th – Paranoia (1969) – Directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carol Baker, screening from a 35mm print.
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This month has been a complete whirlwind, from conventions, a 24-hour movie marathon, 4 library lectures, as well as with all the regular real-life BS that everyone has to deal with. Trying to find to time to actually enjoy the month’s festivities can be a bit tough, while also trying to squeeze some movies whenever you can get a free 90-minutes! I always say at the end of each October, as tired and stressed as I might be, I have had an absolute blast and wouldn’t change a thing.
These are the choices we make. The choices may put extra work on our already full plate, but we do it anyway because it feeds our soul. We know we’re doing it for the right reasons and no matter how much work goes into it, when we look back and see all that we’ve done at the end of the month, you do get that sense of accomplishment.
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Back in the early ’90s, I saw an episode of the British TV show, The Incredibly Strange Film Show, with host Jonathan Ross, which features some of the best of cult directors, from Ted V. Mikels to George Romero. In one of the episodes, it featured Stuart Gordon in one part, and then Hong Kong producer/director Tsui Hark on the other part. One of the films they showed clips from blew me away, showing me creatures and monsters that I had never imagined before. From a long-tongued tree-demon, to stop-animated undead, to flying heads, and so much more. It was from the film A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). I knew I had to find this movie and immediately started my search. My first copy was a shabby looking bootleg on VHS, with no English sub-titles. And I just loved it. To this day, it remains one of my all-time favorites.
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The fine folks behind the Super-Horror-Rama screenings the Music Box Theatre have announced their 2 features for July, and they both will gnawing at your feet if you don’t come out to support them!
On Friday, July 18th, at 11:45pm, they will be screening Lewis Teague’s 1980 film Alligator, starring an amazing cast including Robert Forster, Dean Jagger, Syndey Lassick, Jack Carter, and Henry Silva. While most movie-goers might consider this film cheesy schlock, us horror fans know it’s actually a really good film!
Then on Saturday, July 19th, at 11:45pm, they will be screening Italian director Bruno Mattei’s Rats: Night of Terror (1984), starring Ottaviano Dell’Acqua (who played the poster zombie in Lucio Fulci’s Zombie), Geretta Geretta (from Lamberto Bava’s Demons), and Massimo Vanni. Sure, this might not be one of the greats from the Italian horror genre, but when is the last time you had the chance to see the work of Mattei in the theater?
Head over to their Facebook page HERE for all the latest details on this, and future events.
I know I’ve mentioned Chicago’s Music Box Theatre many, many times here on the Krypt. The main reason is because it has given audiences some amazing experiences over the years and is a theater that I’ve been attending for about 30 years. From some incredible midnight screenings, film festivals, premieres with special guests, to their 24-hour marathons that they’ve been presenting for 20 years, they continue to give audiences truly great cinematic experiences. And now, they will be able to add even more to that.
For as long as I can remember, they have always had the two screens, the larger 700-seat theater and the much smaller 70-seat theater. But coming next year, they will have a third theater auditorium with 115 seats. Now, that may not seem like a big expansion but understand that it allows the theater to help screen and promote more of what they have been doing over the last decade or so. They obviously screen some first run titles, sometimes even in 35mm, like they did last year with Robert Eggers Nosferatu, but they also run a lot of independent and unique films that might not have the chance to screen at most cineplexes and national chains. With all the different film series they have, giving cinephiles a chance to see films they missed decades ago, like the recent Gene Hackman series, or newer titles that might not ever had the chance to hit the regular larger cineplexes.
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The Music Box Theatre, our favorite Chicago destination, where I have been going to for over 30 years to see an unbelievable assortment of films, continues to bring screenings of both old and new horror to their theater. In case you’re interested, here’s a list of a few they have coming up.
The Hidden (1987) – Part of their David Lynch: Moving Through Time series, they are screening this great action/sci-fi/horror film directed by Jack Sholder and starring Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri. This is screening on April 12th, at 11:59pm.
Super-Horror-Rama is back with two twisted tales from the even more demented mind of Japanese director Shinya Tuskamoto. On April 18th, at 11:45pm, they will be screening Denchû kozô no bôken aka Adventures of Electric Rod Boy (1987). Then the following night, they will be screening Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), at 11:45pm. This might have been might first first film I saw at the Music Box back in the ’90s. I had seen it before from an old bootleg VHS but seeing it in the theater is even more incredible. If you haven’t seen it at all, then you don’t want to miss it.
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Thank the crazy movie-loving gods that Super-Horror-Rama is back and have found a brand-new home at The Music Box Theatre! Next month, they will be taking over Theater 2 for two screenings of Mall Madness, with a Friday night screening of Chopping Mall (1986) and then on Saturday, they will be screening Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (1989).
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This is going to be a tough year to review when, as I’m starting to write this, I’m still dealing with Covid!*** Or maybe this is the perfect time because in the midst of being miserable, it does show me all the positive things that happened this year. That is one thing I’ve definitely learned in my old age, especially in the last few years, that there are great things going on all the time that need to be acknowledged, just as much, if not more, as any negative or problems that arise. Honestly, even just the “good” things need to be acknowledged. Because yes, they are all there. It just depends on what and how much time you want to focus on one and not the other. It might just be the cough medicine talking, but I do think if we all started to focus on the good, as well as spreading that around to others, I do think we can make a difference. I’m not saying ignore the bad things, because they will continue. But don’t forget to realize that is not all that is out there.
Don’t get me wrong, these next few years are going to be tough. But if we give into the negativity, we all lose. Doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing, but if we are polite and kind to others, even giving a little bit of praise to those that are working hard, little things like could have a huge impact on someone who might be struggling at the moment. And it really doesn’t take much of an effort, does it? Okay, enough preaching.
This year was once again filled with some incredible adventures and plenty of memories. These are the things that make me realize how great it is to be a film fan. 2024 was an incredible year for the horror genre, with a ton of releases coming out, some of them being just amazing.
***Also, as I am now ready to post this, I am thankfully covid free and feeling a hell of a lot better than when I started this!
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