Category Archives: Book News

Luchadores vs Everything!

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For any fans of the works of El Santo, Blue Demon, or any of the other wrestlers that moved into the world of cinema, there is a new book coming out that you just may want to know about. It’s called Luchadores vs Everything, where you’ll get to hear the story of how one family brought wrestlers, monsters, and mayhem to the silver screen! Join film activist and member of the famed cinematic Calderón and García Besné families, Viviana García Besné and her friends dive into the history of her family’s films of the beloved genre.

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Little Shoppe Unleashes Gorgo!

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While usually Little Shoppe of Horrors covers Hammer films, they occasionally cover films outside of that famous studio. Their newest issue is a prime example of that, yet still staying over in the U.K. With issue # 52, they cover the 1961 film Gorgo, where they give their version of a Kaiju film and do a damn fine job of it too! Directed by Eugène Lourié and produced the famous King Brothers, this new issue is a whopping 270 pages! Pretty damn big for a “magazine” but it shows you the kind of depth and detail that editor Richard Klemensen and LSoH are known for.

You’ll get to read production information, comments and stories from crew members and even from Maury, Frank, & Hymie King. Plus, you’ll also learn more about the King Brothers themselves, from when their last name was Kozinsky, from having some ties to gangsters before moving into being some pretty famous independent film producers.

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Headpress Books Gives Us a Nightmare

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As horror fans, we all know there are certain movies, actors, or anything under that umbrella that we can get a little obsessive over. For better or worse, it’s a little rabbit hole we go down, most of the time for the pure reason of just wanting to know as much as we can about a certain subject. Which is exactly what it seems author Nick Cato has done with his book, Dark Dreams: An Obsessive Look at Romano Scavolini’s Nightmare.

Nightmare (1981), one of the original titles on the Video Nasty lists in the UK, was one of those titles that seemed to be easy to find here in the states. Because of some of the gore, it became known as one of those flicks to watch because of just that. Even though the critics hated it, there were round-the-clock screenings in New York, as well as doing really well in video rentals. Word gets out quick amongst horror fans. But to superfan Cato, this film was much more. He spent the last 4 decades collecting and researching anything and everything he could find about this film, going to plenty of screenings, holding many interviews, and going through a ton of film reviews, most of which didn’t care too much for it, to say the least. The end result is this new book coming out from Headpress Books.

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McFarland’s Halloween Sale

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While McFarland does put out some amazing books, we all know they can be a bit pricy. So, when they have these big sales, now is the time to jump on that title or two that you’ve been thinking about. If you use the code: HORROR40 you will get 40% off your total. That’s a pretty good discount. Plus, they already have quite a few titles on sale. I know I will be adding a few titles to my cart before this sale ends, which will be on Halloween. So, you only have 1 week left. Don’t wait!

Need a suggestion? The volume Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration is an incredible read. This one is a bit pricy, at $59.95, but with the sale it is only about $36. Or the Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and Horror Cinema by Mark A. Miller & David J. Hogan which is on sale at $29.95, which means your sale price is about $18! Not to mention plenty of other great titles on a variety of subjects, from the Italian giallo film, Jess Franco, Ray Dennis Steckler, and more!

Browse through their listings by clicking HERE and see if you can’t find another interesting title for your own library, or with the holiday coming up in a couple of months, buy a book for a horror-loving friend!

The House that Hammer Built: Vol. 3

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Soon to be released by Peveril Publishing will be the 3rd volume in their series of The House that Hammer Built – The Complete Hinds/Carreras Years (1934-79), with this volume covering 1955 to 1958. Years ago, Wayne Kinsey put out a magazine called The House that Hammer Built, so these massive volumes really are like historical documents, giving fans their own Hammer History books to be used for years to come, keeping all that history and information, facts, stories, and plenty of photos, alive and well for fans that grew up with them, to the new ones that discover the famous Studio that Dripped Blood!

This volume covers the years when it got really interesting for Hammer, and started their rise to fame and fortune, so to speak. With the release of The Quatermass Xperiement and moving into The Curse of Frankenstein, there seemed to be no stopping them!

If you go to Peveril’s website (just click HERE) and sign up for their newsletter, you’ll be notified when the book goes on sale. The cover price is £40, which is about $53 here in the states, and not including the postage, which I can assume isn’t going to be cheap. But having bought most of Peveril’s books over the years, I will say they are worth every penny or pound! Gorgeously laid out, with tons of amazing photos and jammed packed up of information, they truly are beautiful pieces of work, and a must for seriously collectors of horror reference books. But they are an investment, so be warned.

Mods & Shockers from We Belong Dead

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The fine folks from We Belong Dead have a new book out, Mods & Shockers: British Horror of the 1960s, which is available in 2 different covers. The one on the left is from Mark Armstrong and the one on the left is from Paul Watts. Edited by Eric McNaughton & Darrell Buxton, with a foreword by Ramsey Campbell, the book features articles on more than 150 movies, all from 1960s. I am honored to say that I have 2 articles in here, on The Frozen Dead and Island of Terror, both from 1966. As usual, the layout of their books is always a beautiful thing and I’m sure this one is no different. Yes, if you’re in the U.S., it will be a bit pricy, but I think that not only are they great books, but a damn good investment.

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Night of the Living Dead Book

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We all have those film titles that we personally think are classics of the horror genre. But George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) truly is one of them that very few would disagree. Not only did it create a whole new sub-genre of films, but close to six decades later, the film is still a powerful tale, hitting many different triggers for the viewer. Sure, it is a zombie film, but there is so much more going on within that 90+ running time.

Coming out this December from Titan Books and author Simon Braund, we are getting Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film. This book is the “official retrospective” of the film, giving the readers a look into how a small group of independent filmmakers created one of the most influential horror films ever made. Through interviews, we get to hear from different cast members and from the production crews on how it got made. From getting investors, finding locations, to even getting a bunch of people to appear as the title creatures, all outside of the normal Hollywood system, shows the talent and devotion these people had.

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A “New” Frankenstein Book?

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There is nothing I love more than coming across a new non-fiction book on Frankenstein, whether it’s on the movie, the novel, or the history, I’m always intrigued to learn more. I have plenty of volumes in my library but can always make room for one more.

But then there is nothing I hate more than coming across a “new” book that after a little digging, looks to be a previously published book, just retitled, making it look like a new book. Now if this was a book way out of print and hard to find, that’s one thing. And if that’s the case, why not just publish an updated edition? Why change the title and the look of it?

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Island of Terror Book

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Way back in 2017, I reviewed the book A Vault of Horror by Keith Topping, (click HERE for my review) which was one that I truly enjoyed. Sure, I’d seen most of the titles covered in this film guide, but it was mainly because of the format and his writing. Lots of fun information and trivia in there, the kind that makes you want to bust out the movie you just read about to watch again. Then last year, Topping put out a follow-up guide, entitled Return to the Vault of Horror, continuing in the same format. I haven’t gotten to reading it yet, but hopefully soon.

But now, Topping switches over from British horror films from the ’50s to the ’70s to science fiction and fantasy movies, even widening the years covered. The new book is called Island of Terror: A Guide to 60 Great British SF and Fantasy Movies from 1936-1984. When you put The Green Slime on the cover, I definitely am going to add this to my library! Some of the titles covered include H.G. Wells’ Things to Come, Hammer’s Four-Sided Triangle and the Quatermass films, to The Trollenberg Terror aka The Crawling Eye, The Earth Dies Screaming, Island of Terror, Scream and Scream Again, Alien, Lifeforce and many more in between.

This 598-page book will be coming out this October and can be purchased through the publisher, Telos Publishing, through their website HERE. The price is £19.99, which is about $27 here in the states.