Nothing like finding even more titles for my ever-growing list of “Need to add to the Library” that seems to better longer and longer every day, which constantly gives the middle finger to those that say this kind of media is dead. Recently, I have come across some new titles that I know will be upcoming editions to my library. Very soon, my precious….very soon.
Every now and then I have a little gathering of friends over to watch a bunch of flicks. Might be one of our annual Turkey Day marathons, or just because it has been a while since a little movie-fest and we feel the need to have one. One of guys that always jumps at the chance for one of these get-togethers is our friend Jason Coffman, another Chicago area film nut, like the rest of us. But actually, Jason takes it beyond most of us film geeks, and truly is an avid cinephile. He doesn’t care how large or small the budget is, when or where it was made, he’ll watch it with the same interest. He’ll explain just why he likes a certain film that most would turn their nose at, so much so that after he explains his opinion, it will make you want to go watch it!
I know…more book news. But for those of you like me, who grew up in the 80s and lived for those trips to the video stores, where you would find a treasure trove of madness in the form of those wonderful VHS boxes, then this new book from McFarland just might peak your interests.
And yet more news of another book I will need to add to the libarary! T.S. Kord has a new book out entitled Little Horrors: How Cinema’s Evil Children Play on Our Guilt, coming from McFarland. I heard about this book from a good friend, fellow writer, and another avid reference book fan, Gavin Schmitt. He had posted a review of the book on his blog and it immediately got my attention. While I might have my own review up here at some point, once I get a hold of my own copy, you can read Gavin’s wonderful review on his site by clicking the link below:
Learn how the actors got into character, whether it is being a scream queen like Heather Langenkamp in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, or Neve Campbell in the Scream flicks, to those that create the characters that terrify audiences, like Tim Curry in Stephen King’s It, or Brad Dourif from the Child’s Play films, and many more from titles like Last House on the Left, Amercian Horror Story, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Sick Girl, and even Jaws.
Well, if you grew up in a video store in the ’80s and ’90s like I did, then you are at least aware of some of the movies they put out. Releasing titles like The Exterminator, Black Roses, Moontrap, Maniac Cop, and a trio of terror from cult director Frank Henenlotter, not to mention its fair share of martial arts/action flicks like No Retreat, No Surrender, Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment gave audiences some fine family entertainment. Okay..maybe not for the whole family.
We are huge fans of Peveril Publishing and have several of their titles in our library. They consistently put out amazing editions that not only look gorgeous, but are filled with a ton of information. And across the pond, one of the biggest authorities on Hammer Films is Wayne Kinsey. So anything with his name on it, is well worth the money. Peveril announced some time ago that they were working on their latest volume, The Hammer Dracula Scrapbook and it is close enough to being completely that they have released the final cover, as you can see below.
The one of the many great things about Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein is that even though it is a paraody of those classic Universal horror films that we all love, it still is done with such honor and respect for the subject matter. And nobody did that better than Brooks, of course with the help of writer/actor Gene Wilder.
For those fans of lycanthropic cinema, ones that like their monsters a little bit on the hairy side, author Bryan Senn has written a new book to give us werewolf fans a checklist to start marking off. Coming from McFarland sometime at the end of this year, or early 2017, this book will feature more than 300 reviews of werewolf cinema, from the classicas like The Wolf Man (1941) to modern day films, covering all the usual suspects, like The Howling (1981), plus many more. Each review has information on the production, the cast and crew, along with a critical look at the title. I’m sure we’ll see just a few titles from Paul Naschy in here…..
Just in time for Halloween, the one and only Mistress of the Dark is putting out her own coffee table…or should we say coffin table book, of a collection of photos, many never before published. This 240 page hardbound book will contain 350 images and original commentary from Elvira’s alter-ego, Cassandra Peterson.
kitleyskrypt.com 