Category Archives: Reviews: Horror Reference Book

Book Review: A Vault of Horror

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vaultbookA Vault of Horror: A Book of Great (and Not So Great) British Horror Movies from  1956-1974
By Keith Topping
Published by Telos Publishing Ltd., 2004.  427 pages.

Okay….do we really need another book on British horror films?  Damn Skippy we do!  Especially when they are laid out like this one.

We are always a sucker for trivial information about our favorite films and this book gives us that and so much more. Each film reviewed is in different categories. We have the basic cast & crew info, plot/synopsis, and even tag lines and famous quotes. But then we also have different categories like “Nudity, Violence and Sadomasochism” or “Outrageous Methods of Dispatch“, or “You May Remember Me From…” There is also quotes from actual reviews of the film, as well as the authors own thoughts.

But the tons of extra trivia within these pages here are what makes this book a joy to read. No matter how much you know about these films, there is going to be something in here that you didn’t know. It also helps you connect certain actors or filmmakers with other films, giving you other titles to add to your “to-watch” list.

We had a lot of fun reading through this book and is a great one to go back to for research, or just an occasional time-killer. Topping has done an excellent job putting this volume together and is a must for every library. Highly recommended.

Book Review: A Year of Fear

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yearfearA Year of Fear: A Day-by-Day Guide to 366 Horror Films
By Bryan Senn
Published by  McFarland, 2007.  560 pages.

There are a ton of movie guides out there for us fans to choose from. Some are great, some are not. Some have the same old comments on the same old movies. But what author Senn has done with this book is a pretty unique angle and very entertaining as well. He reviews 366 films, one for each day of the year. But there is more than just that concept, for each movie has some sort of tie-in with that particular day. For example, Feb. 4th is Torture Abolition Day, so the movie is Torture Ship (1939), April 26th is National Bird Day so the movie is The Giant Claw (1957), and so on. Sure, some title might be a bit of a stretch, but it still a great idea and very entertaining angle.

But it is more than just picking movies to coincide with a particular holiday or date, Senn actually has very good reviews of the films, giving plenty of information about it and/or the people that made them. The titles range from the classics to the very best of the cheese and schlock, but are all reviewed with a positive light, even if the movie is admittedly terrible. Senn may point that out, but never comes across as all out negative.

This is simply a fun book. It’s a great one to go through to make your own checklist, since quite a few of these titles in here I would consider “must-see” films, but also gives a pretty cool angle if you’re trying to decide what movie to watch some evening.  Just look up today’s date, and there you go!

Book Review: Slasher Films

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slasher-filmsSlasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 Through 2001
By Kent Byron Armstrong
Published by McFarland, 2009. 376 pages.

Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers.

I have to say one of the key elements in many slasher films is the mystery of who the killer is. While in the later day Friday the 13th films, we all know who it is, but in the first entry, it really is a mystery until the ending. Sure, there are a few where the killer’s identity is given away early in the film, but for the most part, it is hidden from the viewer until the filmmaker decides to let you in on the secret. That really is a key part of the fun with some of these, even ones that are low budget and/or cheesy.

But the first thing that I noticed here is that Armstrong gives detailed plot synopsis for each of the titles covered, including who the killer(s) is. So if you haven’t see a particular film, you’re not going to want read his review of it since it will spoil the surprise. If you have seen a particular title, then there isn’t a real point to reading his review of it because about 90% of it is the synopsis with the last paragraph being his thoughts on it, which sometimes are just a sentence or two. Not a lot of meat on the bone for the reader to chew on here.

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Book Review: Feeding Hannibal

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feeding-hannibal

Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook
By Janice Poon
Published by Titan Books, 2016. 240 pages.

Okay…am I really reviewing a cookbook here on the Krypt? As a matter of fact, I am. But this isn’t just any cookbook, but one made for a cannibal. Okay, not a real cannibal, but one of the most famous ones on TV, Hannibal Lecter. Poon was the chef and food stylist on the show that had to create all the different foods that Hannibal creates for (and of) his guests. This is a real cookbook to make real food. And it is simply art to look through.

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Book Review: Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films

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turn-to-gruesomeness-in-american-horror-films

The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931 to 1936
By Jon Towlson
Published by McFarland, 2015. 240 pages

One of the wonderful things about reading up on the history of horror films is that there is always something new and interesting that can be learned once a subject is really put under the magnifying glass. Now this isn’t to say that if you look for something you’ll find it, even if it isn’t there, but Towlson has done a great deal of research to back up his thoughts and ideas in this recent book. It also shows that no matter how long you’ve been a fan, there is always more to learn.

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Book Review: When Animals Attack

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When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals
Edited by Vanessa Morgan
Published by Moonlight Creek Publishing, 2016. 415 pages.

when-animals-attackFirst of all, I must state that I am in this book, writing about the ’50s flick The Giant Claw, so some might think this review could be a little jaded. But I can assure you, I am only a very small part of a much larger picture here. What editor Morgan has done is collected a wonderful array of voices here to give praise (some more than others) to a particular killer animal movie that hits home to them. And that single element alone is reason enough to pick up a copy of this book.

While there are a ton of classic films discussed within these pages, I will say that some of them covered here are not great films at all. In fact, some are real turkeys. But that doesn’t mean they are not entertaining, or at least deserve their little day in the spotlight. Or even just the fact that they need to be covered, no matter what. I mean, this is a book about killer animal films, right? Even with the lesser films, the author gives their reasoning on why they enjoy it so much, and that is probably my favorite part about this project. The essays are personal. This isn’t just stating facts upon facts, but why the author loves it and why it means so much to them.

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Book Review: Horror Films FAQ

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horrorfilmsfaq

Horror Films FAQ
By John Kenneth Muir
Published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2013. 383 pages.

With this title, we weren’t really sure what this book was actually about. The text on the front of the book says “All that’s left to know about slashers, vampires, zombies, aliens, and more”. Is it just a collection of questions answered that the FAQ in the title would imply? Actually no. But what it does give the reader is both a very interesting and entertaining read, as well as giving some great insight to some of our favorite movies.

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Book Review: Graphic Horror Movie Monster Memories

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graphichorror

Graphic Horror Movie Monster Memories
By John Edgar Browning
Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2012. 192 pages.

I love movie posters. I believe these really are works of art and don’t get the appreciation they deserve, especially the ones from the horror genre. Strange though that when it comes to movie poster auctions, horror titles have always been the ones that draw the most money. But as we move more and more into the digital age, poster art is becoming more of a lost art form, or at least a completely different medium. Nowadays, these things are seemingly cranked out with very little time or effort, mainly using computer graphics/artwork to churn these out. Back in the heyday, these pieces of advertisements had a big job to do. They have to make people want to go see this movie just by looking at this poster. So it had to be catchy…and it had to be good.

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Book Review: Little Horrors

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little-horrorsLittle Horrors: How Cinema’s Evil Children Play on Our Guilt
By T.S. Kord
Published by McFarland, 2016. 228 pages.

I first became aware of this book from my friend Gavin Schmitt’s review, which immediately grabbed my attention at the author’s introduction and her feelings towards some of the more scholarly reference books. When writing this book, she was told on more than one occasion that it wasn’t academic enough. But Kord didn’t care and states that “they failed to convince me that a good idea is worth less because it’s expressed clearly, and I’ve never been a fan of the academic credo that if a book is comprehensible to more than three people, the author must have sold out.” For that, this author has my undying attention and praise! That is exactly the problem I have with a lot of these film theory books, that it seems more important to them to talk over their audience than to actually get down to their level to get their point across. So major kudos to Kord for standing by her thoughts on this subject and not be swayed to change it just to get published.

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Book Review: The Art of the B Movie Poster

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b-movie-poster-book

The Art of the B Movie Poster
Edited by Adam Newell
Published by Gingko Press, 2016. 320 pages.

I’ve got a confession to make: I’m a sucker for poster books. I truly believe that movie poster art really is just that…artwork. It is also something that should be treated as such, meaning it should be saved and displayed. But most importantly though, it should be remembered, since there are hundreds of talented artists that put their soul into these and got little or no fanfare, let alone getting paid a decent price. It was because of the hard work of these artists put into these designs that made us go to the theater to see the film, sometimes solely based on what the poster showed them. As Pete Tombs writes in his wonderful introduction here about what this kind of art should be doing…”move, inspire, and entertain – and occasionally startle too, for that’s all part of the plan.”

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