Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror
Published by FAB Press, 2023. 360 pages
By Stuart Gordon

I’ve been wanting to get to this title ever since it arrived in the mail from FAB Press when it first came out. But like all things in life, something else always came up. Until a few days ago when I decided now was the time. It was a Sunday, and I didn’t have any real plans for the day, so I knew I could at least start it. 3 days later, I finished it.

I’ve known Gordon’s work since his debut film, Re-Animator (1985), hit the theater I worked at when it first opened. All horror fans immediately knew him as “the guy who did Re-Animator” and would watch for his next venture into the film world. The more films Gordon did, the more interviews and articles about him came out, the more we got a hint of his history. I knew very well that he came from theater background, even being here in Chicago for quite some time, but I really had no clue to the extent he had, or the impact that he made.

Honestly, that was the main thing that I really enjoyed about this book, the first 150+ pages, where it dealt with those years in the theater, first in Wisconsin, getting arrested for putting on a play with nudity (!!!) before moving to Chicago and starting the Organic Theater, continuing to push the boundaries. In the intro of the book, his family wrote “His ongoing quest to overcome “the suits” in the name of art certainly provided us kids with endless entertainment and a hefty dose of pride.” He did it when he worked in theater, and didn’t stop when he went into filmmaking.

Reading stories of the different plays they created, the different actors that performed in them, and even taking some shows not only around the country, but around the world, it showed just how little I knew about the man. And if you’ve been lucky enough to meet Gordon, he never seemed to be the type that would create something, either on stage or in film, that would cause such a ruckus! He always seemed to have that calm and soft-spoken manner, but with that gleam in his eye and a devious smile. While a lot of his movie fans might be hoping the entire book would be about his film career, I assure you this part of his theater work is just as engaging and insightful and really shows what this man was all about. Even from the beginning, he wanted to show the audience something different. Even if it was outrageous and/or over-the-top.

When we do get to the movies, there is still plenty to learn and love about the guy. Even though I’d been following his career since ’85, there were plenty of stories told within these pages that I found new, and very entertaining. His personal stories of working (or almost working) with different actors, such as Peter O’Toole or even Anthony Perkins, were so heartfelt and spoke of the true talent he had the opportunity to get to know, gave me even more appreciation for those he talked about. Granted, not all positive stories, mentioning a few times about working with Charles Band and those challenges, as well as other production companies that found creative ways to hide the profits!

I know I’ve said it many times before, and will many more times, but once again, the more you learn about a craftsman, whether it be a director, an actor, special effects artists, or whatever, it will always make you look at their work a little different. You might see a scene that makes you think a little more. Or a line of dialogue that makes more of an impact this time around. Or even just understanding what they were trying to get across in the film. It’s kind of like going from a VHS copy of a movie to then watching a Blu-ray or 4K release. Same movie, but some things might just become a little clearer or sharper. You will find that in this volume.

In the final chapter, when reflecting on his life, he said something that I know I have struggled with in my own life, that now that I am nearly the big 60, I find myself thinking about more and more. When thinking about what he would have liked to have changed, Gordon wrote “I need to keep quiet and pay more attention to what is going on around me. I now take great pleasure listening to the chirping birds at dawn. Why did it take me so long to hear them?”

If you take anything away from this book, or review for that matter, take Gordon’s words there to heart and don’t wait to start practicing it.