Who Was The Thing?

SPOILER ALERT - If you haven't seen John Carpenter's The Thing, don't read this entry. Go watch the movie and then come back.)

Over at Badass Digest, Devin Faraci bring us the details on Rob Ager's new analysis of John Carpenter's The Thing. Ager is the gentlemen who so meticulously detailed the layout of The Shining's Overlook Hotel. While the whole analysis is only available on a DVD Ager sells on his site, Faraci has included the two part video that looks at the question of whether or not Childs was The Thing.

Mathematical Formula For What Makes A Movie Scary

Does this really work? Who knows, but here is a great little article on how some university experts have created an actual mathematical formula for what makes a movie scary.

from dusk til dawn...

... well, maybe not til dawn, but now that summer is upon us, here in Chicago, you don't have to watch your scary movies indoors!!! Motel Bar and the Chicago Park Districts have you covered.

Creepy highlights of their schedules
Motel Bar double features:
07/18 American Psycho and Shining
09/19 The Shining and Carrie

Chicago Park Districts:
07/12 Jaws (at 63rd Street Beach)
07/22 Twilight; Eclipse (at Meyering Park)

Anyone outside of Chicago, do you have have anything similar taking place in your neck of the woods?

Kitley's Krypt MYSTERY PHOTO #48

Another week, another MYSTERY PHOTO!

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 IMDB list of the 50 best rated horror movies

Rank Rating Title Votes

1. 8.7 Psycho (1960) 137,303

2. 8.5 Alien (1979) 173,346

3. 8.5 The Shining (1980) 169,859

4. 8.3 Les diaboliques (1955) 13,812

5. 8.1 The Thing (1982) 74,815

6. 8.1 King Kong (1933) 37,259

7. 8.1 Rosemary's Baby (1968) 48,245

8. 8.1 Frankenstein (1931) 22,604

9. 8.1 The Exorcist (1973) 98,591

10. 8.0 Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. (1920) 16,247

11. 8.0 Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) 28,381

12. 8.0 Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 15,308

13. 8.0 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 14,097

14. 8.0 Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926) 4,330

15. 8.0 Kaidan (1964) 4,010

16. 8.0 Night of the Living Dead (1968) 37,675

17. 8.0 Dawn of the Dead (1978) 41,000

18. 8.0 Shaun of the Dead (2004) 126,093

19. 8.0 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 12,007

20. 8.0 Onibaba (1964) 4,023

21. 7.9 The Innocents (1961) 6,507

22. 7.9 Halloween (1978) 61,841

23. 7.9 Repulsion (1965) 12,151

24. 7.9 The Unknown (1927) 2,442

25. 7.9 The Birds (1963) 51,002

26. 7.9 The Man Who Laughs (1928) 1,288

27. 7.9 Les yeux sans visage (1960) 4,448

28. 7.9 Freaks (1932) 13,231

29. 7.8 Evil Dead II (1987) 42,923

30. 7.8 Island of Lost Souls (1932) 1,321

31. 7.8 The Invisible Man (1933) 7,689

32. 7.8 Peeping Tom (1960) 8,835

33. 7.8 Dead of Night (1945) 3,342

34. 7.8 The Haunting (1963/I) 11,179

35. 7.8 The Wicker Man (1973) 19,793

36. 7.8 The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) 3,608

37. 7.8 Vargtimmen (1968) 4,275

38. 7.8 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) 3,668

39. 7.8 Häxan (1922) 2,677

40. 7.7 The Others (2001) 83,758

41. 7.7 The Phantom of the Opera (1925) 5,487

42. 7.7 Profondo rosso (1975) 8,591

43. 7.7 Dracula (1931) 12,937

44. 7.7 Saw (2004) 109,275

45. 7.7 [Rec] (2007) 32,213

46. 7.7 Dracula (1958) 5,338

47. 7.7 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) 102,124

48. 7.7 The Devils (1971) 2,752

49. 7.6 The Spiral Staircase (1945) 3,114

50. 7.6 Night of the Demon (1957) 3,432

Dr. AC's Rec of the Week (C)

Greetings, blood brothers and sisters!

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 "C" what we can find for you.

(Note: I realize that I've unwittingly started a trend where my two choices spring from two decades: the '80s and the 2000s. Oddly enough, the pair that I selected this week also follow that pattern. I suppose we could alter our course, but it's been fun thus far, don't you think? Let's see where this dark path takes us...)


Changeling, The (1980)
This stellar haunted house tale usually takes a back seat to the big budget envisioning of Stephen King’s The Shining, released the same year. But in many ways, Peter Medak’s smaller film, 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. There’s also the neat subplot of Melyvn Douglas’ duplicitous politician, whose backstory proves more and more integral to the house’s healing. William Gray and Diana Maddox have crafted a marvelous script, one that functions not only as a pure ghost story but equally well as a character study charting Scott’s journey back from the abyss of tragedy and loss. Well worth seeking out.



Calvaire (2004)
This rare genre offering from Belgium presents a few novel twists on the well-worn “travelers off the beaten path” trope. After his car breaks down en route to the next holiday gig, low-rent crooner Laurent Lucas stumbles into a backwards backwoods community devoid of women. Taking shelter at a nearby inn, he soon finds himself captive in a nightmarish scenario that manages to surprise and unnerve without resorting to eviscerations. Kudos to director Fabrice Du Welz, who co-wrote the script with Romain Protait, for his skillful evocation of dread-filled atmospherics, as well as one of the strangest dance sequences ever to pass through a camera lens. Watch for appearances from Eurobabe Brigette Lahaie and High Tension’s Phillipe Nahon.

"Honey? I'm Home!" (SHINING clock)

Designer Chris Dimino created a cuckoo clock themed after Stanley Kubrick’s classic The Shining. The biggest challenge? Creating a clock in which motion, sound, and pendulum capture a moment in time fitting these conceptual elements.

Every hour, Jack breaks through the door, uttering the famous line, “Heeeere’s Johnny,” followed by Shining co-star Shelly Duvall's unmistakable scream.

Dimino's clock is a one-of-a-kind item and no plans are afoot for mass production. However, I think with a little active campaigning, we could change his mind. 'Nuff said?

Minimalist Movie Posters

Thanks to Don Hall for turning us on to this awesome gallery of re-imagined movie posters. (Parlez-vous francais?)

Film the Blanks - The Exorcist

Jamie Bolton - The Shining

Spacesick - Shaun of the Dead

(lots of horror films represented here, check it out!)

Tres bien. Tres tres bien.