New FrightFest Guide from FAB Press

Starting out in 2016 with their first volume in what would be a long running series, FAB Press released FrightFest Guide to Exploitation Movies by Alan Jones. Since then, they have had one on Monster Movies, Ghosts, Grindhouse films, Werewolves, and most recently, one on Vampire movies. If you get them directly from FAB Press (and if they still have any in inventory), you can get the limited-edition hardcover version. Usually, the paperback versions are available at local bookstores, but not the hardcover version. But anyway, I have all of the previous editions and have enjoyed the hell out of them. They are always really well laid out, and just packed full of great information.

This latest volume tackles the good old mad doctors and evil scientists that have been around almost as long as the horror genre! Below is what is listed on FAB’s site:

“Mad medics… sinister surgeons… psychopathic psychiatrists. We put our trust in them. They say they want to help, to cure, to relieve pain and soothe suffering. But what happens when all that scientific and medical knowledge only results in the creation of unimaginable horror?

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Neon Nightmares Book

While we normally stick to strictly horror here at the Krypt, this new book by Brad Sykes has its fingers in enough of the genre that makes it worth posting about! The term “thriller” was something coined by the studios when they didn’t want to have it labeled as outright horror but had enough elements that would include it in that genre. But then there are also those action flicks, updated film noirs, vigilante titles, and even delving into the apocalyptic sci-fi genre every now and then. All that and more, is what is covered in Brad Sykes new book, Neon Nightmares: L.A. Thrillers of the ’80s.

These types of films ran the gambit from big Hollywood productions like Die Hard to To Live and Die in L.A., to the lowest budget and pure exploitation market, like Vice Squad or Savage Streets, but in that decade, they were cranking them out. This 400+ page book covers over 200 of those titles, as well as exploring the origins and development, focusing on the production companies, and the people involved in the making of them.

It has a release date of Sept. 5th, and can pre-ordered directly from the publisher, BearManor Media by clicking HERE. It’s available both in hardcover, for $42, or a softcover edition for $32.

Mummy Movies Book!

Our good friend Bryan Senn has done something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. He has sat down and not only watched a ton of mummy movies, but even did the research and wrote about them for this new book! If you are sitting there thinking, “well that doesn’t sound that bad” then you haven’t experienced some of lesser-known mummy titles out there. Trust me, they can get pretty bad. Years ago, I tried to turn down doing a retrospective on this sub-genre for HorrorHound because I knew the quality of the ones that I had seen, let alone the ones I’d avoided. I will say though that there still are some damn good mummy films out there that are more than worth your time. But kudos to Senn for doing all of that hard work so we don’t have to, but now can just read about them.

Of course, even though I know there is a lot of bad mummy movies out there . . . yes, I still will be picking up this book for the library.

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Hammer Karnstein Scrapbook Now Available

Continuing their releases covering the different series of films Hammer did, Peveril Publishing has released their latest volume in this long series, The Hammer’s Karnstein’s Scrapbook and is now available to order!

By the time the ’70s came around, Hammer was upping the amount of gore and nudity in their films, trying to keep hold of their dwindling audiences. Since films like Rosemary’s Baby and Night of the Living Dead, both released1968, had modern settings and monsters, fans were growing tired of the gothic period pieces. Plus, in 1970, The British Board of Film Censors raised the X-Certificate from 16 to 18 in hopes of fighting off this new trend of sexploitation films that were coming out. Hammer took that and amped up their gore and nudity to meet that new standard with their adaptation of Le Fanu’s 1872 novella Carmilla, with what would become The Vampire Lovers (1970), starring the alluring Ingrid Pitt.

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Frankenstein: The True Story – THE BOOK!

One of my earliest childhood horror memories is seeing the 2-part mini-series Frankenstein: The True Story when it first aired in 1973. While I had no idea how far from the “true story” it was, as a young, eager horror fan, I just loved it and remains a personal favorite of mine to this day.

Back in 2017, Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine did a huge special issue on the making of this film, with Sam Irving taking on this dream job, since he’d been a fan as well since the original premiere, writing about it and doing several interviews on it in his horror fanzine Bizarre that he put out in the ’70s. The new piece for LSoH was 120 pages, packed with 400 photos, new interviews with the cast and crew, with an amazing cover art by artist Mark Maddox. This would lead to a Blu-ray release of the film by Shout Factory with an incredible commentary as well as interviews with some of the cast.

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New Titles from Peveril Publishing!

If you are a series fan of Hammer Studios, as well as reference books on the famous Studio that Dripped Blood, then you probably already know about Peveril Publishing. Wayne Kinsey and company have continued to create some amazing film books over the years, giving fans so much information about Hammer, that they really become essential volumes for anyone wanting to do sort of research on the studio.

Today, they have released the next three titles they will be releasing, granted, these will take well over a year for them to come out. But I know I will be ordering my copies as soon as they are taking orders. They are such works of beauty, filled with such glossy images, not to mention packed filled with information.

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Backstage and Beyond – Fabio Frizzi Autobiography Out!

If you’re a fan of Lucio Fulci, then you know the work of composer Fabio Frizzi. How can you not? His scores were essential in helping those films make the impact they did. From creating haunting breaks, to a highly memorable theme with just 7 notes, to filling our ears with music that helped us believe we were in “Beyond” our understanding!

Through Chiroptera Press, in 3 different editions, you can now order your own copy of Frizzi’s autobiography, Backstage and Beyond: An Autobiography, learning about his life in music, movies, and more recently, touring the world to bring both of those to his fans. The book has been translated by Esteban Medaglia and edited by Stephen Thrower, and, according to the website, “takes the reader on a richly detailed journey through his lifelong passion for music. Along the way, we encounter the giants who have inspired or influenced his career, including guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia, fellow composers Armando Trovajoli and Carlo Rustichelli, and progressive rock group Goblin. We hear about Frizzi’s teenage rock’n’roll bands, his internship with the legendary Ennio Morricone, and learn the secrets of his early success with the group Bixio-Frizzi-Tempera (much admired by Quentin Tarantino). And we meet Lucio Fulci – a complex, tormented genius with whom Frizzi enjoyed a long-standing professional and personal friendship.”

There is a signed hardcover edition that is priced at $80, a signed softcover edition priced at $45, or the standard softcover priced at $36. It seems there are limited quantities of all of these editions, so if you’re interested, you may want to jump on it and get your order in! You can do just that by going to their website HERE.

1000 Vampires on Screen

Since vampires are still one of the most popular monsters in film and television history, it is only natural for more books to continue to come out about them. But this new 2-volume set from BearManor Media, 100 Vampires on Screen by Simon Bacon, it seems a bit different than your average reference book. As it states in the book’s description, it “covers the history of vampires on film and television”, but here is where it gets different. It seems that it is told from the vampire’s perspective, which honestly sounds like it could be interesting, but is this just a fictional perspective from the author based on the character info from the film? I have to say, I am curious about this. And the fact that I’m a slightly obsessive horror reference book collector.

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New Book on London After Midnight

One of the most sought after lost films, especially for horror fans, is the 1927 film London After Midnight, starring Lon Chaney as the strange and sharp-toothed vampire. Every few years, there are reports that it has been found, but nothing ever comes of it. While we still wait in hopes that one day, a complete print will be discovered.

Until then, we now have a new book by author and film historian Daniel Titley that delves into the film history, from the production, distribution, original critical reviews, which will include “a wide gallery of never-before-seen materials from stills, to rare lost newly-translated texts, to the early production documents, posters, and press-books.”

This 452-page hardcover book, priced at $46, just came out at the end of this year, but I know we’ll be adding it to our library. And at some point, we’ll be posting a review about it here. Not sure if that will happen before the film is eventually found, but we’ll see. In the meantime, if you’re a fan of Lon Chaney and this film, you may want to check this one out.

Vampire Cinema: The First Hundred Years

Back in 2017, author and historian Christopher Frayling gave us Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years, giving us an amazing history lesson, filled with a ton of amazing photos and illustrations, on the story of Frankenstein. Now, Frayling is back to give us a look at the other classic monster, the vampire, in Vampire Cinema: The First Hundred Years, recently published by Reel Art Press back in October. Not sure how I missed this coming out, but better late than never, right?

With close to 300 pages, Frayling gives goes through the cinematic history of the vampire, starting with the one that started it all, F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, released in 1922. Filled with a ton of stills, posters, artworks, and pressbooks, this is another essential volume for fans of horror films, and especially fans of the vampire sub-genre. The price is $45, which may seem a little steep, but if this is anything like the Frankenstein volume, it is more than worth it since that is a beautiful coffee table book that will give you more than a few hours of fun paging through it, not to mention maybe even learning a thing or two about this popular sub-genre.