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.

McFarland Book Sale!!!

In our never-ending pursuit of learning more about the horror genre, we have many volumes from McFarland in our library. They have such a wide variety of subjects, from critical essays and academic studies overviews of different sub-genres, and plenty of amazing biographies.

Going on right now, McFarland is not waiting until Black Friday to start their online sales but have started offering 40% off ANY title!!! Just head over to their website (by clicking HERE) and start choosing titles. When you get to the check out, add in HOLIDAY22 for the code and it will take off the 40%. That’s damn near half price folks! I know McFarland can be a bit pricy so now is your chance to save some series dough! The sale goes from now until Monday, November 28th, so don’t wait too long!

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Witches, Bitches and Banshees Now Available!

Okay, so who needs another book on British Horror films? Specifically, one that titles that American International Pictures produced and/or released here in the states? I know, I know. We ALL do, right? We all know you can never have too many reference books in your film library, so now is your chance to add one more!

AIP was always known for their quick black and white low budget exploitation flicks on the 50s, but once they realized how much money they were making on Corman’s Poe features, they continued that trend, even having films produced across the pond, creating some of our favorite films, such as the Dr. Phibes films, Witchfinder General, Die, Monster, Die!, and so many other great ones.

In Witches, Bitches and Banshees: The British Films of American International Pictures, author John Hamilton spent over two decades doing research on these films, interviewing more than 60 names in the business that were involved, from “inside corporate AIP dealings as well as extensive behind-the-scenes coverage on the films”, all now encompassed in this 354-page hardcover edition. Includes a foreword by director Gordon Hessler and actress Valli Kemp.

You can order your copy directly from Little Shoppe of Horrors through their website HERE. The price is $55 plus $6.50 shipping, if you’re in the states. If you’re in the UK, Hemlock Books should be getting them in stock shortly. Otherwise, email Mr. Klemensen from LSoH for a shipping quote.