Category Archives: Book News

A Century of Horrors

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Century of horror

The fine folks behind the We Belong Dead publication have unleashed their latest book and it looks like a doozey! We have all of their previous books and they are all amazing titles. Yes, they are a bit pricey to get them over here in the states, but with the limited quantities they produce, their value will definitely go up. Plus the fact that they are beautifully laid out and some very talented writers within the pages.

This new volume, over 500 full color pages, goes through the history of horrors, if you will, starting with the silent films and moving through the decades to the 1990s, with each chapter covering a particular decade. With an amazing cover by Graham Humphreys, and a forward by Sara Karloff, this is one that horror bibliophiles are going to want in their library.

The cost is £40 + £20 (which is going to be about $80 for us here in the states. But you can order your copy through their website HERE.

Studies on Joe Dante’s The Howling

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Howling BookCentipede Press has recently released a new volume in their Studies in the Horror Film series, this time taking a deep and dark look into Joe Dante’s The Howling. While it is one of Dante’s earlier films, it still remains one of his best known titles, for many good reasons. Now, thanks to Lee Gambin, you can read more about this film than you ever thought possible!

Over 350 pages, loaded with color photos and an new introduction by Dee Wallace, this book includes rare behind-the-scenes photos, most of which have never been published before. There are interviews with the likes of Dee Wallace, Belinda Balaski, Dick Miller, Don McLeod, John Hora, John Sayles, Robert Picardo, and others. And of course, Joe Dante.

But there is more! According to the blurb from Centipede Press, you will also get “the definitive story of the making of The Howling, complete with an insightful plot synopsis and complete critical analysis, behind the scenes information, and a slew of interviews with cast and crew. Rounding out the book are nearly 150 stills of the movie, ranging from individual frame enlargements to rare, never-before-published behind the scenes photographs.” What more could any Howling fan ask for???

The price is only $35 and can be ordered directly from the publisher. For all the information, just click HERE.

Pre-Order for Screaming for Pleasure!

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Screaming for PleasureOur good friend and fellow horror fiend, Scott Bradley, is already to unleash his id onto the world, in his book Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy. How does that title not make you want to dig into this book? But why do you need to add this volume to your library? Simple. Because Scott has a strong voice and message about the genre and the things that lurk and linger around it.

Sure, my opinion might be a little bias because I’ve known Scott for a few years. It takes a lot to impress me, and within the first few minutes to chatting with Scott, I was more than impressed. And each time I listen to one of his podcasts on Hellbent for Horror (click HERE to get to the podcast page), I realize how much more I have to step up my own game!

Scott gives his listeners a very interesting take on different subjects. And now with this book, you’ll get the same in depth and interesting view on the many different elements and subjects of the genre.

So do yourself a favor, and pre-order your copy today. It is only $19.99, which is really less than the cost of a couple of magazines! Just click HERE to get to find out more information about where and how you can order it.

Twice the Thrills!

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Twice the ThrillsBack in golden age of cinema, at least for fans of horror and Sci-Fi pictures, was the double feature. These were usually at the drive-ins, and offered fans two features for the price of one to try and get more patronage through the gates! How could you lose? Sure, the second feature might not be the best film, but that was all part of the fun. Some of these pairings became legendary, such as I Drink Your Blood and I Eat Your Skin!

Now, thanks to author Bryan Senn, you can learn all you need to know about all the different double bills that played in theaters from 1955 to 1974, in his new book Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills! The book covers the 147 officially sanctioned horror and Sci-Fi double-bills during this period, starting with AIP’s Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra.

There is no specific publication date as of yet, but should be out either the end of this year, or the beginning of 2019. It does have a bit of a hefty price of $59.95, but everything I’ve read by Senn has been well worth the time and effort and I’ve walked away with a lot more horror knowledge! So can you really put a price on that???

Definitive Guide Updated Once Again

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Definitive Guide to Horror MoviesFollowers of this site know I’m all about the horror reference book. The more the better! But it does get a little annoying when a publisher puts out an barely updated version of one of their previous releases, but only changes the cover and even the title enough to where to looks a completely new book. Carlton Books has done it once again.

The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies by Kim Newman and James Marriot (who passed away in 2012) has recently been released. Because of those two authors’ names and the way the title is, I figured the publisher was doing it again and re-re-re-releasing the same book again, but adding a few pages. Which is in fact just what they are doing. This was originally released back in 2006, under the simple title of Horror: The Definitive Guide to Cinema of Fear. Then it was released again in 2010, under the title Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death, with Lee Remick from The Omen on the cover and 253 pages. Jump ahead 3 short years and they release it again as Horror! The Definitive Companion to the Most Terrifying Movies Ever Made with Leatherface on the cover. Again, with a few more pages added (360 total). And 5 years later, it has another 8 pages added and now called The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies: 365 Films to Scare You to Death with a shot from Poltergeist. Continue reading →

“One Man Crazy!”

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Colin Clive BiographyIt’s strange how the name of Frankenstein always puts images of the monster that was pieced together by a mad doctor in our heads, when in fact the name is of the creator, not the creature. And the man who is considered to be the first Frankenstein (yes, I know there were others, but I did use the word “considered”), was Henry Frankenstein and played by British actor Colin Clive. He was the one to utter those famous lines “It’s alive! It’s alive!”. But much like the curse his character fell upon, the actor himself seemed to be cursed as well.

Now thanks to Gregory William Mank and Midnight Marquee, you’ll be able to read all the details about his life and death, in “One Man’s Crazy!” The Life and Death of Colin Clive, which should be out anytime now. I’ve read several of Mank’s books and he always fills them with so much information, details, stories, as well as heart and soul, that really shows us his subject for who they were. Mank is top-notch scholar who always delivers with his books. I can’t wait to dig into this one.

This book retails for $30 but if you order it directly from Midnight Marquee, you can get it for only $19! For ordering details, head over to their website HERE, or drop them a line at mmarquee@aol.com.

Ralph Bates Biography

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Ralph Bates BiographyFans of Hammer Horror should be well aware of the name of Ralph Bates. He was one of the next generation stars of Hammer, one to take the lead from the likes of Cushing and Lee and continue the tradition that they started. Unfortunately, Hammer didn’t last that much longer. In that short time though, Bates did appear in a few of their pictures and always turning a memorable performance. He appeared in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Lust for a Vampire (1971), Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), and Fear in the Night (1972). It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hammer would have continued their ran of cinematic terrors.

But now you can learn all about those films, as well as the rest of Bates career and life in this new biography from author Christopher Gullo, entitled simply Ralph Bates: A Biography. Published by Midnight Marquee, it covers the actor’s life from his childhood, where he started to develop an interests in the theater, as well as once he started working with Hammer, and the multiple television appearances that he made.

With 165 family photos, including many never-before-seen ones, as well as getting to hear from over 70 different family, friends, and co-workers that the author sought out for this book, all helps to show the life of this incredibly talented man. Gullo is donating all his personal proceeds from the sale of this book to the Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. This was created to honor Bates, who passed away in 1991 from this disease.

To order it from Midnight Marquee, just click HERE.

Vault of Frankenstein Book

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Vault of FrankensteinOne of the many things that I’ve loved about the fact that this year is the 200th Anniversary of when Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, was first published, is the attention that it has been getting. Especially in the book world! I think I have picked up more books on Frankenstein, the original novel, Shelley, and the movies, this year than I have in over the last decade. And that is definitely a good thing, that Shelley’s creation and all its decedents are getting this much attention. And now, coming out later this month, is another title, The Vault of Frankenstein: 200 Years of the World’s Most Famous Monster, by Paul Ruditis.

Since I’ve just ordered my copy, all I can say about this book is what is listed on the Amazon page, but it looks pretty fun and will be a welcome edition to my Frankenstein section in my library. It retails for $29.99 and is a 176 pages that is filled with different aspects about Shelley, the novel, the films, as well as the cultural impact that it has made over the last two centuries.

A bonus to this book is the memorabilia replicas that have been created for the book, that comes in an envelope that has little movie posters, the playbill for the first stage adaptation of Shelley’s novel, and much more.

The book comes out in a couple of weeks, I’m sure I’ll have a full review posted at some point. But until then, let’s keep this Frankenstein celebration moving!

Coscarelli Comes to Music Box

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Don CoscarelliPhans of director Don Coscarelli take note! This true independent filmmaker will be coming to Chicago’s Music Box Theatre to celebrate the release of his autobiography, True Indie: Life and Death in Filmmaking, as well as a screening of his film Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).

His book gives us story after story of working in the filmmaking industry, but still able to remain independent and not be sucked into the evil world of Hollywood, one thing that I’ve always admired about him. He would continue to turn out very unique and unusual films, always creating entertaining pictures, from his Phantasm series, to the dark and strange comedies Bubba Ho-Tep and John Dies at the End, Coscarelli continues to shine as a truly independent and dedicated craftsman to the industry. And we get to read about all those stories in his book, which we can only imagine how many good ones he has to tell. Such as having his own office on Universal Studios’ lot while he was still in his teens, or where he almost drowns actress Catherine Keener, to setting his face on fire during the making of Phantasm, to even meeting and working with heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio.

Continue reading →

Peveril Goes Inside Bray Studios

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Inside Bray StudiosAny Hammer fan worth their weight in blood knows of the infamous Bray Studios, where the they unleashed countless horrors onto the willing masses. But now with it being gone forever, we can be thankful that Peveril Publishing will be immortalizing it in their new book, Inside Bray Studios, coming early next month.

By Hammer authority Wayne Kinsey, we get a virtual tour of the studio, both inside and out, as well as the history of the place once Hammer took over. We’ll get to see how Hammer used the cramped space in the studio to create some of the most unbelievable movie sets, making these period pictures come to life and jump off the screen.

There is also three separate chapters on the “Bray Days”, back in 1998, 1999, and 2007, where the studio opened its doors to both fans as well as a ton of Hammer alumni, with a ton of photos. I wish I could have made it to even one of those events.

At 344 color pages, this hardcover edition will be another must-have for any fan of this famous British Studio. The price is set at £35 plus postage, but it really is an investment, since most of Peveril’s books go out-of-print quickly and their prices skyrocket shortly there after. So don’t be left out!

Head over to Peveril’s website HERE and sign up for their newsletter so you’ll know when the pre-orders start.