Author: Jon Kitley

I started Kitley's Krypt back in October of 1998, using Microsoft Front Page. Over the years, that program had been updated until 2003. But now, with Windows 8, it no longer works and I've been force to change this website into a blog. I'm hoping to give the same info and spirit here as I did there. I'm a life long horror fan that hopes to spread my passion to others, in hope that they Discover the Horror of the genre, as I still do. I also write for HorrorHound Magazine (where my column won a Rondo Award in 2013 for Best Column) and Evilspeak magazine. You can also see me at about a half dozen conventions throughout the year.

Episode 83: Wes Craven

November 13, 2024

One of the things we continue to preach on this podcast is learning about the people that are involved with the films we love. It helps you see more and understand more, about the person, as well as the final product they are involved with, whether they are an actor, makeup artist, or director.

Author Joe Maddrey’s recent book, The Soul of Wes Craven, from Harker Press, does just this, digging deep into the man, and shows us fans a lot more behind this Master of Horror than we might not have known. To help dig into Craven and his work, we invited Mr. Maddrey on the show to talk about his book and this highly influential filmmaker.

Films mention in this episode:

Episode 82 – Haunted Houses

October 30, 2024

The Legend of Hell House (1973), Hausu (1977), The Abandoned (2006)

In older small towns, there is usually some old house on the outskirts of town, maybe someone lives there, maybe not. But it is one that young kids dare themselves to go up to. And if you do dare to enter this dwelling, you’ll find creaking boards, dust covered items from furniture to knick-knacks, and a lot of cobwebs. And any noise, no matter how small it might, gets the mind racing.

There is nothing better for the Halloween season than sitting down with a nice Haunted House movie. Which is why we decided to tackle 3 of our favorite scary movies about demented dwellings, as well as ones that we feel that need more attention. Going back to the very beginning of cinema, with Georges Méliès’ The House of the Devil (1896), it shows how important this sub-genre is, and why filmmakers continue to go back to it. When done correctly, can be highly effective, and damn scary.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Episode 81 – Fangoria

October 16, 2024

Four decades on, and Fangoria is still one of the leading voices of horror culture. But in its heyday in the 1980s, it was the gold standard. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Fangoria was the most important part of horror culture at that time. On this episode of Discover the Horror, we take a trip through Fango’s history and discuss how it shaped out love of the genre, as well as speculating on how it shaped the genre as a whole.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Episode 80 – Blood Thirsty Trilogy

October 2, 2024

The Vampire Doll (1970), Lake of Dracula (1971), and Evil of Dracula (1974).

In the annals of Japanese horror cinema, this vampire trilogy from director Michio Yamamoto seems to be close to escaping into obscurity. In fact, try finding much more than a passing mention of these films in any reference books. But thanks to Arrow Video, all three of these films are at least saved from fading away in the sunlight like any good vampire, in one fantastic box set! Because these seemed to be on the outskirts of the vampire genre, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to take a closer look at them, and to see if they need more attention. Listen and find out!

Films mentioned in this episode:

Episode 79 – Gordon, Yuzna & Paoli

September 20, 2024

Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dagon (2001)

Bringing the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to the screen is not an easy task. Much of the horrors Lovecraft talked about wasn’t described or explained too much, leaving it up to the reader. But when director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, and writer Dennis Paoli got together to adapt Lovecraft’s 1922 story “Herbert West – Re-Animator” for a movie, they changed cinema forever. Not only did they show us more than Lovecraft would ever dream of, they created a perfect blend of outrageous horror, gore, and bizarre imagery that would immediately put them in the horror history books.

The following year, they took another short story, From Beyond, first published in 1934, and showed even more strange, bizarre, and gooey things we’d seen before, going beyond then what the short story told us.

Then 15 years later, these three deranged creators returned to Lovecraft to take us to a fishing village filled with very unusual citizens, in 2001’s Dagon.

While Gordon’s filmography might not be filled with classic after classic, when he hit a home run, usually when he’s working with Yuzna and Paoli, they knock the cover off the ball.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Episode 78 – Twice Told Tales: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

September 4, 2024

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

We’ve decided to take on a little twist here, doing an on-going series that we’re calling Twice Told Tales. This is where we are going to compare two films, an original and its remake. This is not to say which one is better, but to highlight the positives of both, what we feel works, and the differences between them.

For our first episode in this series, we’re going to tackle the first two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We’re not discussing about the 2 later day versions for any reasons specifically, but wanted to concentrate on the two that are more well know, and obviously because they were the first two versions. With both of these titles recently being released on 4K, you might find yourself wanting to upgrade. Careful, there are spoilers here, but I’m sure any fan of any merit already knows of what we’ll speak about. Enjoy!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Episode 77: Slashers with Aaron Crowell from HorrorHound Magazine

August 22, 2024

Mother’s Day (1980), Madman (1981), Pieces (1982), and Evil Dead Trap (1988)

When you’re talking about horror films with most non-horror fans, they usually are thinking about the slashers which they seem to encapsule all of that genre. But when us fans start to dig into that sub-genre, that’s when the questions arise, parameters seemed like they have to set, even though plenty of the films go out of their way to beyond said parameters. As if any were meant to stay between the lines!

Then you start to delve into when the sub-genre started, which can then start another round of questions and discussions.

To help get those arguments . . . we mean discussions started, in this episode we’re going to cover 4 different slasher films, granted, of varying types, but we feel still fits into the category of slasher films. And to help with this, we’ve invited Aaron Crowell, Managing Editor of HorrorHound Magazine back to join in the conversation.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Episode 76: Al Adamson & Sam Sherman

August 8, 2024

Films discussed: Satan’s Sadists (1969), Brain of Blood (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

From the mid-60’s until the late 70’s director Al Adamson and producer Sam Sherman made some of the most memorable low-budget horror and exploitation pictures to slide across American drive-in and grindhouse screens. Together they made films that not only exemplified genre, they also often transcend and blended genres, creating something that has stuck in the filmgoing collective consciousness for over half a century. And when Severin Films released The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection boxed set in 2020, whole new generations were introduced to Al and Sam’s work, and those of us who were already familiar learned a thing or two (or twenty) and got to see them look better than they have since they sat on a double bill in a 70s sleaze palace.

All hail Al and Sam!

Movies mention in this episode:

Episode 75 – Special Guest Zandor Vorkov

July 25, 2024

In the realm of low budget filmmakers, Al Adamson, along with his partner, producer Sam Sherman, are gods among men. They created a wide variety of pictures, in just about every sub-genre out there, and made with more love than money. But they were entertaining, and always memorable. Perhaps their most memorable (and successful) film was 1971’s Dracula vs. Frankenstein, in no small part thanks to the casting of a young, unknown actor in the iconic role of Dracula. Raphael Engel, rechristened Zandor Vorkov was a whole new kind of creature of the night-longhaired, goateed, and able to shoot fire out of his ring, this was a brand-new Dracula for a brand-new age. Zandor’s Dracula stalked across the screen of virtually every grindhouse and drive-in screen in America in the early 70s and then across every television screen in America for a couple of decades after that. While his Dracula was being elevated to pop culture celebrity, Zandor himself left the movie business and fell out of the public eye for decades. Go to a convention, and bring up Al Adamson, and someone would eventually say “I wonder what ever happened to Zandor Vorkov?”

Episode 74 – Silent German Expressionism Films

July 13, 2024

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem; How He Came into the World (1920), and Waxworks (1924).

In the very beginning of cinema, it was the German filmmakers who took cinema to the next level, even when it was still in its infancy. Creating strange angles, weird landscapes and buildings, and bizarre stories, these filmmakers gave audiences something completely new and different. It made such an impact, that it would inspire future filmmakers for generations to come.

While being silent, these films still created such haunting images, wild characters, and fantastical designs of the sets, that can still make an impact to today’s modern audiences. When Discovering the Horror, it is always important to know how we got to where we are, and the German expressionist horror films of that era is a great place to start. If you want to scoff at silent cinema, then you are depriving yourself of some truly great pieces of art, and of history.

Films mentioned in this episode: