Category Archives: Reviews: Horror Reference Book

Book Review: Hammer Glamour

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hammerglamourHammer Glamour
By Marcus Hearn
Published by Titan Books, 2009. 160 pages.

One of the things that Hammer was known for was the lovely ladies that filled their movies. This book is a celebration of those women. At first glance, you might be disappointed that this isn’t the cheesecake type of book that most would have thought (and probably hoped). Sure, there are plenty of photos throughout this tome, and a few of them a bit cheeky, but most of them are just studio glamour shots of the actresses. But it is an excellent mini-biography book of the many beautiful women that graced their films. We all know the names of Ingrid Pitt, Veronica Carlson, and Caroline Munro, but there are so many others like Diane Clare, all are given a little spotlight, giving us info about their careers and their lives.

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Book Review: The Hammer Vampire

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HammerVampireThe Hammer Vampire
By Bruce G. Hallenbeck
Published by Hemlock Books, 2010. 240 pages.

Now being pretty familiar with Hammer films already, I was wondering just what I was going to be able to learn that I didn’t know already. But this just goes to show you that when it comes to horror history, we are all students of the genre. I have been a fan of Hallenbeck’s work every since I discovered Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine quite a few years ago. I believe it was issue # 8 which came out in May of 1984. It had a shot from The Vampire Lovers on the cover and the main article was written by Hallenbeck. In fact, believe in most of the issues, the main article was written by him. There is a reason for that. Mr. Hallenbeck knows his Hammer. With each issue of the magazine, we learn more and more about the “studio that dripped blood” and the people that worked there. This book is no different.

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Book Review: Classics of the Horror Film

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classics-hcClassics of the Horror Film
By William K. Everson
Published by Citadel Press, 1974.  246 pages.

Recently, I posted our review of Denis Gifford’s Pictorial History of Horror Movies, stating it was one of the real first of its kind. This book here was another one, and is again, one that is remembered by older fans as being a book from their childhood that opened their eyes to so many movie monsters.

Everson was another film scholar and collector that set out to save and preserve thousands of films from the ’20s and 30’s from being destroyed. He would go to great lengths to not only find rare films, but more importantly, made it a point to have screenings of them, giving others the opportunity to see them, even when some of these screenings would get him in trouble with the studios, arguing the ownership of the prints. But Everson’s whole point was to let audiences see these movies and to keep them from being forgotten.

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Book Review: Hammer Films – A Life in Pictures

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hammerlifeinpicturesHammer Films – A Life in Pictures
by Wayne Kinsey
Published by Tomahawk Press, 2008. 240 Pages.

Being a huge Hammer fan, I knew this was a book I was going to add to my collection eventually. Luckily for me, it was given to me as a recent birthday gift. And what better gift could a movie fan ask for? This book is a filled with over 600 photos covering the history of Hammer Films. There are candid shots, on the set production stills, promo shots, and much more. In these pages, you’ll see shots of actors like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Oliver Reed, Ingrid Pitt, the Collinson twins, directors like Freddie Francis and Terence Fisher, and many more. Most are in black and white, but there are a few full color shots, all showing the beauty of these films and the people that made them. I have to say the candid ones were the ones I enjoyed the best. You’ll see some familiar ones but a lot that you’ve probably never seen before.

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Book Review: The Art of Hammer

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artofhammerThe Art of Hammer: Posters from the Archives of Hammer Films
By Marcus Hearn
Published by Titan Books, 192 pages.

There was a time when movie posters were created not only before a single frame had been shot, but sometimes even before a script had been written. An artist was simply given a title and told to come up with a movie poster design for it. This was then used by the studio to try and sell the film before it was even started. Hammer Films did this, but they weren’t the first. But some of the artwork that came out for those movies is just stunning. Now, thanks to Hammer scholar Marcus Hearn, we all can enjoy these incredible pieces of art, but also keep these images alive and well for us collectors.

I know this as cliché as this sounds, this book really is a must. But not just for fans of Hammer Films, fans of movie posters in general, This coffee table size book is filled with beautiful images from Hammer movies from the ’50s to their end in the late ’70s. They display a mixture of close to 300 posters from around the world, from British quads, American 1-sheets, Spanish, Polish, and many others that will make any poster collector just drool. They are divided by decades, with a great index at the end in case you’re looking for a certain title. Each poster has the country from it is from listed, as well as the size of it.

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Book Review: An Illustrated History of the Horror Film

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historyhorrorfilm-pbAn Illustrated History of the Horror Film
By Carlos Clarens
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.    256 pages.

Strange that while horror films were around since the beginning of film, books on this genre did start until quite a few decades later, with this one by Carlos Clarens being one of, if not the first, authors to tackle these kind of films.

Clarens wrote for magazines like Film Quarterly and Films in Review before he wrote this book. Clarens takes us from the birth of the cinema, with Méliès, Edison and the Lumiére Brothers, and ends with the early days of Hammer Films. Clarens knew his film history and mentions countless films throughout this book that even the biggest horror fan might not have heard or. It’s a great one to start a “Need to see” list.

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Book Review: It Lives Again! Horror Movies in the New Millennium

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It Lives AgainIt Lives Again! Horror Movies in the New Millennium
By Axelle Carolyn
Published by Telos Publishing Ltd, 2008.  191 Pages.

Author, actress, journalist, director, and all around horror fan, Axelle Carolyn has given us a beautifully laid out book that covers the horror films of the last decade. Filled with a great selection of stills and poster and DVD box art, there is a lot more to this book than the look of it. Carolyn is no slouch when it comes to the horror genre. She knows her stuff, and knows it well. This book covers the good, the bad, the well known, and even the not-so-well known. Plus, for us fans in the states, it’s great that she has complied films from all over the world. So no matter where you are, you’ll hear about films from Japan, Korea, the UK, and even Switzerland.

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Book Review: A Pictorial History of Horror Movies

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PictorialhistoryA Pictorial History of Horror Movies
By Denis Gifford
Published by Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1973.  216 pages.

Those of you who know me or have seen me at the conventions, know that I sell horror reference books. And there is no other title that I sell (when I come across them) that seems to bring back childhood memories for some of the people that come to my table than this book. The amazing greenish cover art (by Hammer poster artist Tom Chantrell) is filled with some great images of classic horror characters. I mean, just look at the full piece of artwork used for this book below? How could a cover like this not just capture the attention of any horror fan, young or old? The best part is seeing into the eyes of an older fan gaze upon this book, almost transforming them into a child again. Honestly, seeing that look is one of the best things about selling these books at the conventions. But let us get back to the book.

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Book Review: Illustrated Movie Guides

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The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide – Published by Titan Books, 1993. 144 pages
The Illustrated Frankenstein Movie Guide – Published by Titan Booka, 1994. 144 pages
The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide – Published by Titan Books, 1996. 144 pages
All Volumes by Stephen Jones.

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