Some of you that have been following the Krypt for a while might have heard me speak of my love of Texas filmmaker Larry Buchanan, who made films with a budget that would make even Roger Corman shudder. So when I came across this new book entitled Texas Schlock: B-movie Sci-Fi and Horror from the Lone Star State. It even has a chapter on Mr. Buchanan, I knew I had to have a copy for the Kryptic Library. And once it comes and I get to it, you can bet there will be a review posted here.

In the meantime, this 274 page book is priced at $29.95, and was written by Bret McCormick, who directed The Abomination (1986) and enough other similar titles to completely understand what “schlock” is. According to the write up on Amazon, “McCormick perfectly captures the crackpot appeal of low-budget classics like ZONTAR the Thing from Venus and rounds up an amazing rogue’s gallery of schlockmeisters to tell their behind-the-scenes tales.” 

One of the great things about these kinds of books is that as you learn more and more about those low budget filmmakers got their pictures finished, even if the end result is still pretty shabby, at least you can give them credit for getting it made and out there, something a lot of filmmakers never do. You get more familiar with names not like Buchanan, but also Edgar G. Ulmer, Hap P. Warren, S.F. Brownrigg, and more.