Discover the Horror Podcast – Episode 39: William Girdler

3 on a Meathook (1972), Grizzly (1976), & Day of the Animals (1977). Director William Girdler is a name that some horror fans might know some of his work, but probably don’t know a lot about the man himself, or maybe don’t realize how many great films he produced in a very short time, before his untimely death. 9 movies in only 6 years, and one of them being the most successful independent film for the time, which head that record until John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). In this episode we cover one of his earlier films, as well as two of his most popular ones, or ones that might be more familiar with your average fan. But we invite you to listen up and even rewatch them and see if you don’t agree with us that William Girdler was much more than a low budget independent filmmaker, but one that consistently turned-out entertaining pictures.

Got any ideas for a future show? Any comments about this show, or any of our others? Please let us know! Leave your comments here, or send us an email at podcast@discoverthehorror.com, or on either our Facebook page or Instagram page!

Titles mentioned in this episode:

Kryptic World Tour Starts Next Weekend!

That’s right kiddies, next weekend we’ll be heading to Cincinnati for the HorrorHound Weekend, which officially starts our 2023 convention tour. It seems like it has been forever since our last show, so we are very excited to have another great weekend. Looking forward to seeing our friends there, getting to hang out and talk about movies, and just having a great time.

The following weekend, while we’re not vending, we’ll still be at Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, Ohio, and is one that we’re really looking forward to. Not only do they have the last remaining cast members of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but they also have writer Kim Henkel and cinematographer Daniel Pearl on the guest list. That show is always a great time and so much fun.

In April, we’re staying local and doing our second appearance at the Windy City Pulp and Paper show, which is more of a literary show, but if you’re a book lover, this is one to come to! Plus, that same Saturday, we’ll be leaving the show a little early to head to the Davis Theatre in Chicago for the Euro Horror Shock Show, put on by the House of Monsters, which will be screening 4 amazing films, including two featuring Paul Naschy!!! How can you pass that up!

You can see the rest of our shows that we have lined up this year at the top of our main page. Hope to see you at some of them!

Movie Review: From Beyond

Directed by Stuart Gordon
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunny Summers

For horror fans, the ‘80s were a time of sheer wonderment when it came to special effects. With the constant advancement of special makeup effects, it was a time of foam rubber, latex, and slime, with the only boundaries being imagination. One film that represents that more than most is Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond.

When I worked at the theater back in the ‘80s, Re-Animator (1985) played there and it just blew me away, between the gore and just the outrageousness of the whole story. I had already been reading Fangoria by that time, so when From Beyond was coming out, I was already excited about seeing it. And luckily for me, it played at my theater as well, so I spent a lot of time in there watching it over and over. I had recently started reading horror fiction, and thanks to Stephen King, had already started to dive into the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and had read the very short story that From Beyond was based on. In fact, the pre-credit sequence in the film is pretty much the whole story. But I think writer Dennis Paoli, along with producer Brian Yuzna and director Gordon, fleshed out the rest of the plot that, while way gorier and gooier than Lovecraft would have spelled out, I think it still felt it could be in the same universe.

Mystery Photo 3-13

Not sure where my head was last Monday but realized about mid-week that I had totally forgot to get a new Mystery Photo up! But have no fear, today we are back on track. But before we get to the new one, let’s do a review of our last one. It is from Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981), one that I feel is one of the best made-for-TV movies ever made! Great cast and a great story with plenty of creepy elements in there. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct photo: Peggie Christie, Chris Dyer, Troy Howarth, Mike Shields, and William Wilson. Well done!

Today’s photo is one that I love to look at because it just shows some of the beauty we can see in cinema, even in a horror film. Take a look below and see if you recognize where this is from. Just remember to send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Robot Monster in 3D Screening!

While we all anxiously await the release of the new Blu-ray of this epic piece of cinematic history (Come on, you know it is!) in all of its 3D glory, if you’re in the Madison, WI area, they will be having a screening of this at the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 15th, at 11am. While it is a 2-hour drive for us at the Krypt, I am planning on making the trip up there it because the chance to see this film on the big screen, in 3D, isn’t going to come around that often.

For all the information about the screening, just click HERE. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with Bob Furmanek from 3-D Film Archive, who is one of the men behind the restoration.

This will be the 70th anniversary of this film and while most consider it one the worst films ever made, the fact that we’re still talking about it, and that a ton of people have been working very hard to bring this back to its original 3D presentation, shows you how much this piece of cinematic history is loved and cherished. There really is no other film like it, and with a budget of only $20k, I love the fact that we’re still talking about it, and more importantly, keeping the film alive!

Rondo Time Once Again

The nominations for the Rondo Awards have been announced, with plenty of great names and titles to be voting on. Remember, for most of the nominees, what they are being praised for is done out of passion and love for the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, classic monsters, or whatever genre you want to call it, but it is what we all share the same passion with. Winning one of these awards would not only help put their name on the map but give them a little assurance of what they are doing actually means something. So, take a few minutes to go through the list of nominations and send in your vote. You can see the whole list and all the info you need to vote by going to the official website by clicking HERE.

Now, I do have to take a few seconds to mention that my column in HorrorHound magazine, They Came from the Krypt, has been nominated for Best Column, so I would love to have your vote.

Plus, it seems our little podcast endeavor, Discover the Horror, that I do along with my good friends and fellow deviants, Damien Glonek and Aaron AuBuchon, has been nominated for Best Podcast as well. So again, we’d love to get your vote.

And while I would never tell you to vote for another podcast besides our’s, S.A. Bradley’s Hellbent for Horror is a bit of alright as well!

Another personal note, another good friend of mine, Gavin Schmitt, has his book Karl Freund: The Life and Films, has been nominated as well. So maybe give him a consideration as well!

But seriously, take a few minutes, go through the list and vote from the heart. If you don’t know anything in that category, just skip it. You don’t have to vote in everything, but just the ones you know.

Bert I. Gordon – Rest in Peace

Affectionally known as Mr. BIG because of his earlier pictures all dealt with some sort of a larger than normal monstrosity that was threatening mankind, Bert I. Gordon made a lot of entertaining films in his career. While most critics might say they were trash, awful, terribly made, or any of the other criticisms, doesn’t matter because the fans watching them were having a blast. And, if you’re counting on how much money they made, then you have to say that he was a successful filmmaker then as well. He gave us titles like King Dinosaur (1955), which was his first feature film, made with 4 actors, shot in 7 days, and with a budget of only $15,000. But it made a good amount of money at the drive-ins! He followed that up with titles like The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), The Cyclops (1957) to the more modern ones (for the time) Food of the Gods (1976) and Empire of the Ants (1977). I know I was always entertained by his work when I was growing up and I still enjoy watching them today.

But Mr. BIG left us today, passing away at the age of 100! His reputation will also be huge, as well as his fandom, because he truly created films that capture the excitement of our youth, giving us giant monsters of all kinds, and while they may make us laugh and snicker at times now when we really shouldn’t be, it still doesn’t take away the fun. And at the end of the day, that is what it is all about.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family at this time. Rest in Peace, Mr. BIG.

Discover the Horror Episode 38: Italian Horror with Troy Howarth

There are plenty of ways to help you on your way to discovering more about the films you love, as well as ones you might not know too much about. There’s always books on different filmmakers, or sort of the audio form of that, the audio commentaries that are usually found on most of our favorite films. The more insight you have, the more you will know, and maybe even enjoy it more. One of those that is helping fans learn just that is Troy Howarth. He’s written over a dozen books on a variety of subjects, usually in the Italian film genre, covering directors like Argento, Bava, Fulci, and more recently, Umberto Lenzi. He’s also published a 3-volume set on the giallo film. Plus, he has done a ton of different commentaries, giving fans even more info!

Films mentioned in this episode:

Soundtrack Review: Dracula (1979) Deluxe Edition

Dracula (1979)
Released by Varese Sarabande, 2018
2-discs, 37 tracks total, with a total running time of 1:48:49
Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams

When I started to really get into soundtracks, one of the first horror ones that caught my eyes . . . or ears, technically, was John Williams score for the ’79 version of Dracula, starring Frank Langella. Now because of Jaws (1975) and more importantly Star Wars (1977), I knew the name John Williams pretty well. The soundtrack for Star Wars was the first soundtrack I ever bought and listened to that endlessly. After seeing this version of Dracula, I also fell in love with the score. That opening track alone is enough to capture your imagination. It immediately draws you in with that amazing opening cue and never let’s go. It has been one of my favorite scores, even after all these years. And . . . while this may upset some Williams’ fans, even after I started to notice and realize some of the similarities between this score and the one he did for Star Wars, that was done two years before, it has not changed my love of this soundtrack.

Haunting Films and Keir-La Janisse at the Music Box

Next weekend, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, there is going to be two screenings you don’t want to miss, with special guest presentation, Keir-La Janisse in attendance. Janisse is the author of House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films, as well as the writer, director, & producer of the award-winning and freaking amazing documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021).