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 58 – Universal Werewolf Films

November 29, 2023

The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), and She-Wolf of London (1946)

When the night falls and the full moon rises, it is time to talk about werewolves. But not just any werewolves, but the ones that came from Universal Studios. While still riding the wave of their horror title success of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man, Universal office continued to look for their next big monster, which spawned The Werewolf of London. While it wasn’t the success they’d hoped, they would try it again in 1941 on the second wave of monster films, which was a big hit. And like the curse of lycanthropy, things always weren’t good with this particular sub-genre.

We cover the three official titles from Universal that have the werewolf (one in title alone!) is by themselves, and not any of the monster-rallys that we’ll cover in the future. Will they still hold up to modern audiences? Are they worthy of their “classic monster” title? Listen and find out.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Episode 57 – Black Friday Sales

November 22, 2023

There are few events in horrordom quite as joyfully gluttonous as the Black Friday sales put on by our favorite boutique film labels.  As the season approaches, speculation on social media and in rapid-fire in-person conversations reaches a fever pitch.  What new films? What new merch? What great deals? We dream of horrors we might own someday like we’re kids again hunched over a wish book or staring at a toy display from outside a shop window.  Black Friday has become a defining annual event in our annual calendar of events and involves so many people in the fandom, and yet very few of us have any idea what goes into making one of these sales happen. 

Because it’s our mission to give you new ways to see and think about all things horror, we wanted to give you a peek inside one of those boutique labels and have a look at the Black Friday sale.  So, our guest on this episode is Justin Tsantsa, Director of Publishing for Vinegar Syndrome, and we are also joined by Jennie Osterman, Lead Shipping Specialist for Vinegar Syndrome.  They guide us through exactly what goes into the whole process and talk a bit about their astonishing new venture, Vinegar Syndrome Publishing, which will be bringing some new horror to all our bookshelves in the near future.

Movies mention during this episode:

Abomination (1986), Beyond the Darkness (1979), A Blade in the Dark (1983), Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), A Cold Night’s Death (1973), The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Deep Inside (1968), Emanuelle in Bangkok (1976), The Exorcist (1973), Fortress (1985), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Fright Night (1985), The Funhouse (1981), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), The House that Dreaded Sundown (1976), Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Madman (1981), Maniac (1980), Mother’s Day (1980), New York Ninja (2021), Phantasm (1978), The Prophecy (1995), The Prophecy II (1998), The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000), Red Spirit Lake (1993), Sweet Sugar (1972), Trapped (1977), What’s Up, Tiger Lily (1966), Zombie (1979)

Episode 56 – Turkey Day 2023

November 15, 2023

The Sting of Death (1966), APE (1976), and Brutal Sorcery (1983)

It’s November, so that must mean its Turkey Time! Yes, that’s right, for the last 20 years, Jon has been holding his Turkey Day Marathon Event, where we spent Black Friday delving into some of the strangest, weirdest, cheesiest, but always entertaining films. The ones most would call bad, we call them Turkeys! Damien started holding his own Turkey Day events 12 years ago, and this year, Aaron is starting his own! So why don’t you?!?!

What we call a Turkey is just a film that doesn’t play by conventional standards. It may not have a budget, any real talent behind or in front of the camera, but they have passion, and are doing their best to make a good film. They just missed the mark here and there. But they are always entertaining and fun to watch. Especially if you are with other crazy, like-minded cinephiles!

Take a listen to this episode to learn more about what Turkey Day is, as well as hearing our thoughts on three new titles we’re covering this time around. Each one would be perfect for your own Turkey Day Marathon!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Episode 55 – Universal’s Invisible Man

November 1, 2023

The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), and The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944).

In the pantheon of Universal Classic Monsters, some might say the Invisible Man is the least terrifying in the monster heritage, or maybe even bordering on if they even belong in the horror genre. In this episode, we’re going to delve into three of the films in Universal’s Invisible series, for the most part, stay within the horror genre, though, that argument will be addressed as well! We’re leaving out The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent, since they are pretty much either a comedy or a war time action film. 

Join us as we try to “see” more into these films that maybe aren’t as “transparent” to the casual viewer who might have missed something. Or maybe we’re seeing too much and not finding them too entertaining. Want to know? You’ll have to listen and find out!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Episode 54: Box Sets

October 18, 2023

Let’s face it: horror fans are, as a group, a little bit obsessive. When we sink our teeth into something we do not do it barely or easily, we take a big, honkin’ bite. If we become infatuated with a director, we want to see every film they’ve made, read a book about them, hear people talk about them, watch documentaries about them, and so on. And the same is true for national horror cinemas, regional American horror cinemas, important eras, actors, subgenres, and the like.  And in recent years, a handful of visionary producers of physical media have recognized an opportunity in our longing and have invented and are currently inundating us with boxed sets. These comprehensive, exhaustive, wonderful monsters have become a gravitational center point for our genre. But just a handful of years ago they mostly didn’t exist or were announced only every few years. Nowadays, we get several per year from companies like Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Indicator, Arrow, and Scream! Factory, just to name a few. So, we figured it was time for Discover the Horror to take a long look at the history and impact of these monolithic pieces of film history.

Movies mentioned:

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Episode 53 – H.G. Lewis

October 4, 2023

Blood Feast (1963), Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), The Gruesome Twosome (1967), The Wizard of Gore (1970)

When Herschell Gordon Lewis made his first nudie cutie film in 1961, nobody would have expected that he’d become one of the most important names in the history of horror. But with the release of Blood Feast just two years later, Lewis and his producing partner David F. Friedman would invent the gore subgenre and would fundamentally reshape horror as we knew and understood it. And for about a decade after it, Lewis would continue to release gore-obsessed fare to grindhouses and drive-ins across the nation. When those sorts of theaters started to fade away in the 70s, so did Lewis, who went back to his previous career in advertising. But in the 80s and beyond his fame was resuscitated on home video and in the pages of magazines like Fangoria and Deep Red where he became known as The Godfather of Gore.

With some help from Christopher Wayne Curry, author of A Taste of Blood: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, we dive into four of his films and manage to talk about a whole slew of others.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Episode 52 – Álex de la Iglesia

September 20, 2023

Perdita Durango (1997), Common Wealth (2000), Witching and Bitching (2013)

There are a few directors like Álex de la Iglesia. No matter what kind of film he’s making, he weaves in and out of different genres like changing lanes on a busy highway. But no matter what, you will usually see his twisted and dark sense of humor, unique and interesting stories, and usually something you’ve never seen before on film. And that could all be before the opening credits!

In this episode, we dive into three of his features, one a brutal tale of sex and violence, one a tale of greed and what people will do because of it, and finally a supernatural tale of witches that is quite different than anything coming from Disney!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Episode 51: Universal Mummies

September 6, 2023

The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Hand (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), and The Mummy’s Curse (1944).

In this episode, we go back the Universal Classics and take on one of the most unusual of the classic monsters, the Mummy. It’s probably one of the best costumes and memorable character, but never seems to reach the same level of notoriety as his fellow monsters. But strangely enough, it is the one Universal monster to have more films devoted to his character alone, without going into the Monster Rally films where they had more than one monster in the picture.

Here we dig up some facts as well as our own thoughts on the original 1932 film starring the one and only Boris Karloff, as well as the 4 other Mummy films that came out almost a decade later, but with much smaller budgets. These sequels started with a different mummy character and had a continuing storyline between the 4 films, or at least tried.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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50th Show LIVE!!!

August 21, 2023

In two days, at 8pm (CST), we will be celebrating our 50th episode by doing a LIVE show! The best part is that there will be a chat room, so you are welcome to ask questions, make comments, and maybe even count how many times Jon swears, or has technical difficulties, which then usually leads to more swearing!

Your Hosts:
Jon Kitley – Damien Glonek – Aaron AuBuchon

The plan is to go live at 8pm, and we’ll have a few subjects that we’ll be covering, but the main point of this is to hear from our fans. If you have suggestions for a possible topic, let’s hear it! If there is a particular episode that you really enjoyed, let us know! If there was a movie you watched because of one of our episodes and really enjoyed it, let’s hear it!

All you do is click on the link below at 8pm and it will take you to YouTube channel where you’ll be able to see us during the chat. Hope to hear from you and hear your thoughts and suggestions.