Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!
Our last photo was from Joe D'Amato's infamous "video nasty" from 1980, ANTHROPOPHAGUS aka The Grim Reaper. Famous for its strong scenes of gore centered around an island-dwelling cannibal played with great enthusiasm by Italian actor Luigi Montefiori (who often goes by the screen name of George Eastman - incidentally also the name of the inventor of the handheld camera and founder of Eastman Kodak!) Though a little slow at times, there are more than enough memorably macabre moments to justify your time. (Three words: Fetus. Eating. Scene.)
Let's see how you fare with this week's selection:
Send your guesses to: jon@kitleyskrypt.com
If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!
With the weather in Chicago being downright apocalyptic...I thought a brief list of my favorite weather related spooky films is in order. Mind you, I am not a hard-core horror person....I like to pretend I am, but I do not watch every grainy low-budget number that you crazy kids put out every year. About as exotic as I get is the friday night crap horror film on Sci-Fi channel or Chiller (Oh Mansquito, how I love thee...). So here is my list...feel free to add to it or mock me privately. In no particular order...
1. The Mist- Most of the movies on this list are from Stephen King. The guy does spooky weather often and well. This movie is both freaky and an awesome social and political allegory. Lessons learned...don't give up hope and stay away from crazy religious bitches.
2. Storm of the Century A Stephen King mini-series about weather and a town given a really horrible Shirley Jackson-esque choice to make.
3. The Shining Snow storms. Ghosts. Haunted ski-resorts. Jack.
4. The Fog Go with the old one if only for the love of all things Adrienne Barbeau. This one's got fog and ghost pirates! Yarrrrrr!
5. The Thing So so so good. Wilford Brimley should be in every horror film. But then, so should Kurt Russell.
Friday, June 25th (TONIGHT!!!) Starting at 8 pm at Lucky Number Grill, 1931 N. Milwaukee, in Chicago.
The featured stories (read by several friends and alums of WildClaw productions) are:
My Father's Skin by Michael Penkas Anthony's Party by Brendan Detzner An Itch to Scratch by Eric Cherry Morbid Suit by Jude W. Mire
Indoor campfire tales - no mosquitoes, but plenty of booze. And S'mores for the adventurous types (those who can be trusted with fire.) The Lucky Number Grill is fast becoming the Chicago horror community neighborhood hangout, so get in on it now and make yourself a regular. Featuring drink specials and the grooves of DJ Evil Needle. More details found HERE.
Also, this weekend kicks off the Cyphan Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror show at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, IL. The show runs from Friday the 25th through Sunday the 27th. With horror guests like Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Ari Lehman from the original FRIDAY THE 13th, as well as Stephen Geoffreys from FRIGHT NIGHT and 976-EVIL, and even Chicago's own Svengoolie will be there Saturday afternoon. Additionally, the amazingly talented gore artist Putrid will be at the Kitley's Krypt table on Saturday, where there will be some limited edition prints for sale (as well as the Paul Naschy t-shirts that he designed).
For all the details, head over to the Cyphan website by clicking HERE.
Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!
Our last photo was from a stellar haunted house tale which usually takes a back seat to the big budget envisioning of Stephen King’s The Shining, released the same year (1980). But in many ways, Peter Medak’s smaller film, THE CHANGELING, loaded with creepy atmosphere and tightly fashioned suspense sequences, surpasses any axe-swinging histrionics that Kubrick dishes out. As a grieving composer recovering from the deaths of his wife and daughter (a harrowing pre-credits sequence), George C. Scott anchors the picture with a compelling strength and vulnerability. Roused by a murdered child’s spirit in the mansion where he has retreated, Scott’s utter conviction with which he seeks to uncover the mystery is riveting. A must-see.
Let's see how you fare with this week's selection:
Send your guesses to: jon@kitleyskrypt.com
If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!
The Mammals are holding auditions for our next production called SEVEN SNAKES. Part Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Part The Searchers, Part Naked Lunch, Part Romeo and Juliet, Part Beauty and Beast. That's a lot of parts!
SEVEN SNAKES is an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert.
A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.
The Mammals are currently looking for actors of Latino, Arabic, or Native American descent to audition for the team of gunslingers.
The Mammals are also looking for Men of all ages and types to audition for the roles of the Octogenarian Veterans.
This will be a huge ensemble piece in the spirit of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah.
If you would like to schedule an audition or ask questions, then email us at themammals at gmail dot com. Or Send us facebook message.
Please share this audition notice with any actors who you think might be interested!
Hello, my blood brothers and sisters! Welcome back to the party!
You know the drill: The Doc's got a couple more flicks that you may not have seen (or heard of) and they're good for what ails ya. So, without any further adieu, let's drop a few "E" tabs, shall we?
Eegah! (1962) The biggest appeal for this “caveman in love with modern girl” fable – both literally and figuratively – is seeing future 7’2 James Bond villain Richard Kiel strut his stuff in a mothy loincloth and sport some of the sketchiest facial hair this side of a back alley Santa Claus. Arch Hall, Sr. produced and directed this train wreck under the pseudonym of Nicholas Merriwether, and then cast himself in a major supporting role under another “aka” of William Watters. One assumes this was done to not call attention to his relation to the film’s nominal star, Arch Hall, Jr., who zips around on his dune buggy, squints and smiles a lot from under his zany blonde pompadour, and croons a couple of tunes to his girl Roxy (Marilyn Manning) – usually with other girls’ names as the titles. The conceit is that Kiel has survived lo these millions of years by gulping down water from the sulfur spring in his desert cave-dwelling domicile, which is one possible explanation for the stench emanating from your DVD player. Unintentional laughs and eye rolling galore, with a swimming pool climax intended to evoke boo-hoo memories of King Kong, capped by a phony Bible reference (there is no is Chapter 4, verse 32 in Genesis). In short, pure incompetent genius.
Eden Lake (2008) A couple (Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender) seeking a weekend of isolation and romance find themselves locked in a war of wills and retaliation with a group of rebellious adolescents. What distinguishes James Watkins’ film from the wealth of “survival” movies is that the escalating violence between the protagonists and antagonists feels justified, truthful and well-charted, rather than simply a case of “we hate outsiders.” Brutal and gripping, with a chilling climax all the more disturbing for its implications than for any onscreen bloodletting.
In honor of its release 50 years ago today, we submit for your reading pleasure Zane Younger's essay on Alfred Hitchcock's masterwork of horror, originally published in HORROR 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies, Vol. 1 (Midnight Marquee Press, Inc., 2007)
“We all go a little mad sometimes....”
On June 16, 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was released in the United States. It was an instant sensation, eventually generating $50,000,000 worldwide. Part of the film’s initial success can be attributed to its ingenious marketing scheme, which restricted people from entering the theater once the movie had started. On the surface, this policy merely seemed as though Hitchcock wanted people to see it from start to finish. But more importantly, the scheme was designed to protect the film’s renowned plot twists. Audiences were shocked by the envelope-pushing sexuality and violence, in particular the infamous “shower scene,” in which our leading character is shockingly bumped off less than halfway through the film. After the film’s release, Alfred Hitchcock received an angry letter from the father of a girl who refused to have a bath after seeing Les Diaboliques (1955), and now refused to shower after seeing his film. Hitchcock sent a note back simply saying, “Send her to the dry cleaners.”
It was the right film at the right time, and represented a huge shift in horror films. In fact most people consider it the biggest step towards what is now known as “modern” horror, paving the way for such unrelenting films as Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The open sexuality in the opening scene, the gruesome murders and the idea of a transsexual serial killer were things not usually seen in cinema before Psycho. One of the reasons Alfred Hitchcock filmed Psycho in black and white was he thought it would be too gory in color. However, “Hitch” was insistent on the elements of realism throughout the film. The lingerie worn by Marion Crane in the movie was not “made to order” but bought off the rack from clothing stores. Hitchcock wanted women viewers to identify the lingerie and thus add to the mystique of realism. And, at the insistence of screenwriter Joseph Stefano, it was also the first American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.
One would be remiss without mentioning one of Psycho’s most effective and enduring traits: the memorable and distinctive score by Bernard Herrmann, with its now-famous screeching violins. Having been copied and parodied in countless films that followed, it is easily the most recognizable tune from any horror movie.
Psycho’s influence is seen in many films, including Dressed to Kill (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and the slasher movement spawned by Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980). Eventually, in the blood-soaked environment that it had helped to create 23 years earlier, the time seemed right for a sequel. In 1983, Psycho II was released, with Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles returning in their original roles. The film, directed by Richard Franklin and scripted by Tom Holland, was received relatively well with audiences and critics, resulting in a medium-sized hit. Three years after that, with franchise horror in full swing, it seemed fitting to have a trilogy, so Psycho III (1986) was released, with Perkins in the director’s chair as well as reprising his most familiar role. However, the third time was not the charm; the movie was a critical flop and died at the box office. Two made-for-TV sequels followed, but the biggest indignity was to come in 1998 when director Gus Van Sant infamously remade Psycho shot-for-shot with Vince Vaughn standing in Norman’s (and Mother’s) shoes.
Happily, the original’s reputation remains untarnished. When I first picked up the movie from the video store, I already knew the surprise ending and the shower scene from the usual “Top Scariest Movie Moments” TV specials around Halloween time. However, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the movie overall and the detective/staircase sequence scared the hell out of me! I’ve watched it a few times since, and although it fails to generate the same scare factor on repeat viewings, it’s hard not to marvel at the technical brilliance of the shower scene and Alfred Hitchcock’s wonderful directing. This movie, Rear Window (1954) and The Birds (1962) are among the numerous showcases for Sir Alfred’s talents.
The film became an instant classic, and remains one of my all-time favorite movies. With the success of Psycho, Hitchcock’s name became (and still remains) forever linked with the concepts of fear, suspense and murder—despite the fact that his horror output is actually rather limited, his last real genre offering being Frenzy (1972). But that’s what happens when you create a seminal film, getting everything just right. By way of proof, just think of how many verbal touchstones the film has created: “Bates Motel.” “Norman Bates.” “Psycho.” “Shower scene.” Or just imitating Herrmann’s distinctive “Eeee-eeee-eeee-eeee!” musical stings…
Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!
Our last photo was from one of the finer entries in that favorite subgenre of red-blooded male horror fans everywhere: *The Lesbian Vampire Film*. This 1972 Spanish effort from writer/director Vicente Aranda, THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE, is a very (pardon the expression) loose adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, with a semi-frigid newlywed finding affection in the arms of a long-dead man-hating Sapphic bloodsucker. Extremely well-shot with some striking imagery, BSB still holds up nearly 40 years after its release. Check it out.
Now let's take a gander at this week's selection:
Send your guesses to: jon@kitleyskrypt.com
If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!
Finally, a theatre company shameless enough finish out a season with a fundraising telethon.
Over two nights, four programs of our best original late-night material (and you don't have to stay up past midnight)! Our engaging and intriguing Hit Factory radio plays, original music from our shows, and personal essays, all mixed up with the most absurd and heartfelt pleas for money we can think of. And each night at 11pm, a new episode of Strawdog’s own Theatre Wars! Root for your favorite theatre companies as they compete for bragging rights and an ad in our program!
FRIDAY:
Features the Hit Factory pieces 'The Jazz Man of Jackson Square' by Aly Greaves and 'Remembrance' by Chris Hainsworth (both directed by Artistic Director Nic Dimond) as well as the personal essays 'One For Sorrow' by Anita Deely and 'How I Became A Robot' by Sean Mallary.
SATURDAY:
Features the Hit Factory pieces 'Schrodinger's Box' by Aly Greaves and 'Teeth' by Chris Hainsworth (both directed by Ensemble Member Jenny Avery) as well as the personal essays 'The Amazons' by Michaela Petro and 'Wheels of Steel' by Gregor Mortis.
If you don't live in Chicago, stay tuned for information on how to enjoy this event live on the internet! And if you can't attend but would like to help us keep doing what we do, please make a donation through Network for Good.
We'll have more updates soon! To make sure you've got all the latest news, add your name to the guest list on Facebook!
Time to once again delve into the elusive vaults of horror, unearthing forgotten gems and undiscovered treasures. Hope you've been enjoying the expedition thus far!
This week, we'll take a look at a pair of underrated, underviewed flicks from the 70s and 80s that deserve a little more love...
Don’t Open the Door (1975) S. F. Brownrigg, who brought us the micro-budget cult classic Don’t Go in the Basement, returns with a (slightly) larger budget, improved camera skills and several DGITB cast members. When Susan Bracken receives a strange phone call from her Texas hometown requesting that she come home to visit ailing grandmother Rhea MacAdams, she enters a world of duplicitous politicians, scheming museum curators, and questionable physicians, as well as a cross-dressing psychopath with a penchant for nasty phone calls. From the opening credits featuring some of the most grotesque children’s dolls on record to the hallucinogenic dream sequences, Brownrigg manages to create a disconcerting, Southern Gothic flavor that will leave most viewers feeling as dirty as the sweaty onscreen characters. Haunted by flashbacks of her mother’s murder in the same house 13 years prior coupled with the peeping tom/obscene phone harassment, Bracken is soon pushed to the brink of her wits, with only ex-boyfriend Hugh Feagin to offer aid. Bare bones as all get out, but the twisted storyline – along with the convincingly eccentric performances, especially from Larry O’Dwyer and Gene “cut those damn three hairs off your forehead” Ross – manages to carry the day. Well worth checking out for open-minded fans of 70s sleaze.
Dark Night of the Scarecrow, The (1981) Extraordinarily creepy TV-movie featuring Charles Durning as a vengeful postman in a small farming town, out to rid the burg of the “blight” of its resident village idiot Bubba (a pre-L.A. Law and Dr. Giggles Larry Drake). When a child is mauled by a neighbor’s dog and turns up unconscious and bloodied, Durning gathers a lynch mob of his toadies to ruthlessly shoot Bubba down, firing-squad style. However, when the men go free in a miscarriage of legal justice, the same scarecrow the simpleton made his final hiding place begins to turn up in the fields of the killers, with bloody vengeance following soon after. Helmed with panache by Frank De Felitta, the performances are strong throughout and a memorable ending you’ll never see coming. A legit DVD release is in the imminent future – you’ll have your chance to revisit it or check it out this small-screen classic for the first time.
The delightful Shannon Bucaro is the Slash and Dine columnist over at Brutal As Hell. After giving out a prize in this video, Shannon extolls the many virtues of Horrorbles!
Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!
Our last photo was from Netherlands writer/director Dick Maas' ode to the inexplicable terror we all feel when we step through those elevator doors: THE LIFT. Except in this case, there's a good reason to be afraid - this elevator is out for blood! It's almost as silly as it sounds, but Maas does a great job of building suspense and playing upon the ridiculousness of a killer lift, since its victims are hardly likely to listen to anyone's warnings. A minor success in its homeland and abroad, an 2001 English remake, The Shaft aka Down starring a then-rising (get it? get it?) Naomi Watts, ultimately came to pass.
Now let's take a gander at this week's selection:
Send your guesses to: jon@kitleyskrypt.com
If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!
Horror movies have always been violent, but in recent years, it seems, they've reached gruesome new lows. The past few years, the "torture porn" trend -- as exemplified by the many "Saw" films -- has continued unabated. A recent film, "The Human Centipede," centered around a German surgeon trying to assemble the gastric systems of three tourists, and this September, one of the most notoriously violent horror films of the '80s, "I Spit on Your Grave," will be getting its own slick remake. (The movie, in which a city writer visits a lakeside home, is gang raped and takes violent revenge on her rapists with, among other things, an outboard motor, was described by Roger Ebert as "so sick, reprehensible and contemptible that I can hardly believe it's playing in respectable theaters.")
But it's precisely the extreme nature of horror that makes it such a lightning rod for debates about hot-topic issues within American culture -- like racism, women's rights, consumerism and sexuality -- along with broader issues of morality. A new book, "The Philosophy of Horror," a collection of essays from academics, edited by Thomas Fahy, the director of the American Studies Program at Long Island University, addresses the latter, with contributions about the hidden messages of everything from "The Birds" to "Hostel."
It ain't exactly horror... in fact it's nothing like horror. But I'm sure there's some of y'all genre film fans out there who have a soft spot in your hearts for silent pictures.
And Charlie Chaplin is dead. So maybe convince yourself that this is a ghost story. Or a Zombie Tramp story.
Regardless, go see this show. This weekend only at the Theatre Building.
The clowning and character business is spot on. The story is unabashedly sentimental -- a good two thirds of the crowd were sniffling at the end of the show, and EVERYONE stood to applaud.
And as it's a "silent movie," the whole thing is underscored by FOWC and keyboard player for the DEATHSCRIBE house band, Seeking Wonderland, Mr. Scott Borchert, improvising ragtime ditties.
Here we have the audio/visual components of Mr. Morlock's post-prandial weekend recovery program. Deadgirl and The Descent 2.
A fine double-feature, contrasting the two sides of the spectrum: woman as object, as meat, as sexual puppet, and "sisters doing it for themselves" underground ninjas.
In both cases, the menfolk come out looking pretty crappy.
Deadgirl is gritty, creepy and depressing. Well-enough done that you can focus on hating the characters, not the actors or script. Every live person in the film is horrible and deserves to get bit. Disturbing reminder of how dangerous and subhuman is the teenage male of the species. Haven't sympathized with a zombie as much since poor Bub in Day of the Dead.
The Descent 2. Basically more of the same - which ain't a bad thing, as Descent was a great flick. Until the critters showed up, and then it was merely a good flick. Here in 2, we don't particularly care about the current round of chud-fodder -- the fellows just seemed so shouty compared to the women in 1, but we do get a lot of cheap jump-scares here and three, count 'em, three gratuitous blood bukkake shots. And still the creepy crawlies seem vaguely incompetent and disgusting rather than scary. Rather like the teenage boys of Deadgirl.
So there you go: two quality digestive aids for your movie queue. Mr. Morlock might suggest these films might work better in a gender-homogenous screening. Otherwise, your viewing pleasure might be interrupted by regular "tsks" and "that Y chromosome makes you stupid, doesn't it?"
Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!
Our last photo was from I BURY THE LIVING (1958), starring Richard Boone as a new caretaker who discovers that he may hold the secrets of life and death, depending on where he sticks the gravemarkers on his cemetery plot chart. It's a black-and-white thriller directed by Albert Band (father to Full Moon/Dark Castle head honcho Charles Band) that manages to generate a substantial amount of tension despite its low budget. Widely available on myriad "public domain" box sets, this is one well worth checking out.
**ONCE AGAIN, DUE TO INTERNET ISSUES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, LAST WEEK'S MYSTERY PHOTO COULD NOT BE POSTED. IN ORDER TO KEEP ON THE KRYPTIC SCHEDULE, WE WILL DISPLAY SAID PHOTO FOR OUR VIEWERS' ENTERTAINMENT, AS WELL AS THE CURRENT WEEK'S OFFERING. TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, AS THEY SAY. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THIS INCONVENIENCE AND HOPEFULLY THINGS WILL BE BACK TO NORMAL FROM HERE ON OUT**
Last week's:
This week's:
Send your guesses to: jon@kitleyskrypt.com
If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!
, how I love thee...). So here is my list...feel free to add to it or mock me privately. In no particular order...
- Most of the movies on this list are from Stephen King. The guy does spooky weather often and well. This movie is both freaky and an awesome social and political allegory. Lessons learned...don't give up hope and stay away from crazy religious bitches.
A Stephen King mini-series about weather and a town given a really horrible Shirley Jackson-esque choice to make.
Snow storms. Ghosts. Haunted ski-resorts. Jack.
Go with the old one if only for the love of all things Adrienne Barbeau. This one's got fog and ghost pirates! Yarrrrrr!
So so so good. Wilford Brimley should be in every horror film. But then, so should Kurt Russell.
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