Earlier this year, I posted my review of Taking Shape: Developing Halloween from Script to Screen, by Dustin McNeil and Travis Mullins. It was not a book I thought I would be interested in because I thought I knew as much about the early Halloween films that I need to or when it came to the later sequels, as much as I cared to. But I found the book fascinating and ended up loving it. Well now McNeill and Mullins are back for Taking Shape II: The Lost Sequels.
If you think this covers a couple of films that never got made, think again. This volume covers 24 (!?!?!) lost Halloween sequels that never made it past the script stage and onto the big screen. You’ll get to read about these from the people directly involved, some being heard publicly for the first time. At 600 pages and priced under $30, you can bet that this will have so much trivia and information about these films that never came to be, hearing insights and ideas of what some wanted to do. That alone seems pretty intriguing if you’re a fan of the Halloween series.
Here is some of the subjects covered in this volume. See if this doesn’t wet your whistle… Continue reading
A lot of reference books that come out cover the classic films, which I’ve never saw as a problem. But when one considers that the year 2000 was already 20 years ago, it does show us (especially us old timers) that there’s two decades of horror films out there since then, there’s a lot of ground to cover. Fans always know the films that came out in certain decades, like the classic horrors of the ’30s, the giant monsters of the ’50s, the Euro-horrors from the ’60s and so on. But when you ask someone about the films past the 2000 mark, the waters get a little muddled. But now, thanks to this new book coming out, maybe we can change all that!
McFarland has published a ton of different books on the horror genre, quite a few of which I’ve reviewed here on this site. Typically they are a bit on the pricy side, but now is your chance to save some big bucks this horror season because they are having a huge sale. You can now get 40% off each and every one of their huge selection of titles, if you order before Friday, October 16th. Use the coupon code HORROR to get your discount.
Coming in November of this year, Peveril Publishing will release their next book in their always amazing volumes on Hammer Films. This one tackles the 1973 film The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (amongst many other titles!), that was a co-production between Hammer and Hong Kong’s famous Shaw Brothers Studios. While this might not be a favorite of most Hammer fans (myself included), the history of this film is just as important because it is the last appearance of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the studio! But even besides that, no matter what the title, keeping the history alive and available to fans is always important, because the more you know about the actual production, both positive and negative, it will help you appreciate the film much more. 
Back in Feb. of 2018, we posted a mention about this upcoming book. Well, now it is officially out and can be ordered! In this 600 page book, the author gives us a “love letter to both the stars and often-invisible women who have made the genre what it is today. From Classical Hollywood to alt-Nollywood, mumblegore to J-horror, this book offers a tiny global snapshot of the vast number of women who have worked in the creation of dark and spooky movies for well over a century, both behind and in front of the camera, and in films both widely known and comparatively obscure.”
While there are a few books previously on Terence Fisher, from authors like Peter Hutchings, Paul Leggett, and Wheeler Winston Dixon, I think it is still not enough coverage on this director, who’s name should be right up there with the likes of Romero, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Bava, Argento, and the rest of the horror elite. Now hopefully with this new book by Tony Dalton, Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, that will make the change.
