Starting tomorrow, I will be out of touch from most of the world for all of next week. I get to go on a fun adventure for work, one of those team building events. And boy am I excited. Trust me, images from Christopher Smith’s movie Severance have been going through my head for the last couple of weeks. If you email me, I will get back to you as soon as I return.
That’s right folks, the Midway Drive-In is doing it again, holding a Dusk-to-Dawn event screening 4 different films from John Carpenter!!! And unless you’re wearing your special sunglasses, you’re going to need to come to this event, buy some popcorn, corn dogs, and cheeseburgers, and spend money on the vendors. OBEY! CONSUME! All of this takes place on Saturday, May 16th. The doors open at 5pm with the pre-show starting at 8pm, so make sure you get there early to not only get a good spot, but also to enjoy a wonderful night at the drive-in!
For those that get there early, we’ll be handing out free sunglasses to the first 100 people in line to get in! Now, we’re not saying that you need to wear these glasses to see what is really going on, but one never knows…. Right before the gates open, we will be out there passing the sunglasses and maybe even some eye patches (in case you’re more Snake Plissken fan than Roddy Piper!) to those in line until supplies last. In other words, make sure you get there early!
I read the news today that we have lost another great character actor, one that made his mark as an actor, but definitely in the horror genre, usually working with director John Carpenter. Charles Cyphers passed away on Sunday, Aug. 4th, at the age of 85. He’s best known for playing Sheriff Brackett in Halloween (1978), reprising the role in its sequel, Halloween II (1981). But he had worked with Carpenter before that in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), as well as in Carpenter’s TV movie Someone’s Watching Me! (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and even reprising his role in 2021’s Halloween Kills, which was his last screen appearance.
He did a ton of television work, both as one-episode appearances to a regular cast, and he was always entertaining to watch. One of my favorite non-horror roles he did was in Major League (1989).
Our thoughts go out to his friends and family in this difficult time. Gone, but his memory will live on, especially around Halloween time.
In my favorite segment, of one of my all time favorite films, Hal Holbrook played one of my favorite characters, brow-beated Henry Northrup, married to the one and only Wilma aka “just call me Billie”, played wonderfully by Adrienne Barbeau. Of course the movie is Creepshow (1982). I knew of Holbrook before that, from John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980), another top favorite of mine, but also from a lot of appearances on television and movies. He was an actor that no matter what he was in, or the role he was portraying, his presence would up the quality of the production. He was always just a treat to watch perform, being one of those actors who could give you that warm smile but with a glare that could chill you to the bone.
He had passed away back on January 23rd at the age of 95. With all the amazing characters he appeared as, he is probably known for his stage play of playing Mark Twain, that he did for well over a half a century! Years ago, he actually was in our home town on tour with his Mark Twain play and I really thought about waiting outside the theater in hopes of getting him to sign my Creepshow poster. Never did, but now my regret is even stronger.
You had a great run, Mr. Holbrook. Your work will definitely you alive for as long as there are film fans. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.
Assault on the System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter
Published by WK Books, 2020. 460 pages.
By Troy Howarth
The latest volume from our buddy Troy Howarth is on one of my favorite directors. Next to Romero, you’d find at least two John Carpenter’s films in my top 15 films of all time. So how could I not dive into this once I got it? Yes, Mr. Howarth is a friend of mine, full disclosure here, but I think you know me by now not to pull any punches, no matter what I’m reviewing. But honestly, I never have to worry about that with his books because they are always so enjoyable to read, always feeling like a conversation with an old friend. Filled with wonderful stories, great information, and just an easy-going way of telling us this information that it just sinks in.
After a couple of chapters introducing us to Carpenter, giving us his upbringing and background (which really shows the impact on his later life, with his love of film and music), we start to go over his film career. Starting off when he is in film school in California, we do get a lot of information about each of the projects, while Howarth throws in other information about other things that are going on at the same time. It doesn’t just cover the films he directed but the scripts that he wrote, as well as the films he almost made or was even the slightest involved with. It really does show the range that Carpenter had in the different projects that “could have been”. Continue reading
Since I just started reading Troy Howarth’s latest book, Assault on the System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter, I thought it might be an interesting (though probably an easy one to call) question to see what your favorite John Carpenter film is. Now, as I said, I know there is going to be a lot of answers for the obvious choice, which would be Halloween (1978), which is fine because you can’t be wrong in what is your personal favorite. I’m sure The Thing (1982) is going to be up there as well. But I am curious to see if there will be any other titles named, such as The Fog (1980) or maybe even In the Mouth of Madness (1995). Continue reading
With all the conventions cancelling for the year (and with good reason), it seems the only places we’re going to be hitting are the drive-ins! We’re looking into a few more events, but right now, we have 2 different Drive-In events that we’re going to be at.
The first one is next weekend, at the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, IN, for their annual Super Monster Movie Fest! Taking place on Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th, with this year’s theme being BUGS!!! Here’s the schedule of what is screening and the other events:
Friday, August 28th:
Not only will we be there for this amazing event, but we will be selling copies of my book, Discover the Horror, which I will gladly sign for FREE! I’ll be somewhere where the vendors will be set up. Not sure the when and where exactly, but I’ll be there all weekend, so we should be pretty easy to find, unless I’m off getting a corndog!
For all the latest information, head over to the Skyline’s Facebook Events page HERE.
Then next month, on September 19th, we will be at the Midway Drive-in in Sterling, IL for their annual From Dusk Till Dawn Horrorfest. They have only announced two of the four features playing, but so far it looks like a great night of fun.
They will be screening a 4K restoration of George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead (1968). If you’ve never had the chance to see this on the big screen, then you are truly missing out on an amazing experience. Also on hand for a book signing will be author Daniel Kraus who will be signing copies of his book The Living Dead, which is based on the story that George Romero started on before his death.
The second feature they have announced is John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980), another personal favorite of mine!
UPDATE! They have announced the other two features: David Cronenberg’s Rabid (1977) and Humanoids from the Deep (1980)! Really going to make sure I can stay up for all four of these great features!
There will be vendors there, including Kitley’s Krypt and Horror Slave, along with Jill & Gregg from Lix, featuring so many amazing shirts and hoodies, and so much more! For all the latest information about this event, just click HERE for the Midway’s website or HERE for their Facebook Events page.
So all that money you’ve been saving up for conventions, bring on out to the drive-ins! We hope to see you there!
Dean Cundey
Born: March 12th, 1946
If you are a fan of horror movies from the ’70s and ’80s, then you just might have seen Cundey’s work. If you’re a fan of the early works of John Carpenter’s, such as Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and The Thing (1982), then you definitely know his work, as well as his talent! Cundey is now one of the top rated cinematographers in the business. But before all of that, he was working quite often in the horror genre, shooting some classic titles and making them look better than they ever should have.
Just look at his early resume and you’ll see a lot of favorites listed there, such as The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976), Creature from Black Lake (1976), Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), Satan’s Cheerleaders (1977), Without Warning (1980), Jaws of Satan (1981), and the list goes on. But it probably his work with Carpenter that he is most known for, making five pictures with him, which now are all considered essential titles in the genre.
So even while he may have gone on to work more in the bigger budgeted Hollywood films, we owe this man a lot of thanks for the way that some of these great films looked.
The Fog
Released by Silva Screen Records
34 Tracks, with a running time of 109 min.
Composed and performed by John Carpenter
kitleyskrypt.com 