Book Review: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes

There are so many movie guides out there today that it is really difficult at times to choose which ones we should buy. They range in quality from very good (like Bill Warren’s “Keep Watching The Skies“) to dreadful (like Rob Craig’s “It Came From 1957“) but at least one thing can be said, movies from the 1950’s are getting more coverage than ever. When it comes to movies, my favorites all came from the 1950’s. No other time period has been more prolific when it comes to monster and science fictions films. Though many of these films are now considered classics, there were many stinkers as well. At least most of these stinkers have their own charm and are still fun to watch even today. The book I am reviewing today, “You Won’t Believe Your Eyes: A  Front Row Look at the Sci-Fi/Horror Films of the 1950s“, by Mark Thomas McGee and R.J. Robertson, covers these movies in a way not really seen before, which is why I highly recommend it.

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BOOK REVIEW: “The Fright File: 150 Films To See Before Halloween”

Movie review books. Those film guides that present to you an assortment of movies reviewed by a complete stranger. How do you know which ones to buy and which ones to avoid like the plague? This is really a tough question to answer, especially since we all have our own personal tastes (as do the authors of these books). It seems that a new guide comes out on an almost weekly basis and all have mixed reviews. So again, how do you know which ones to buy? I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. I am not a big fan of the movie guide that features every genre of movie. The reason for this is because, like I said earlier, everyone has their own personal taste and it may not agree with your own. Some people may love dramas but hate horror, so that will reflect in the book. So what do you do, give a book a negative review because the author’s opinion doesn’t match yours? I have actually seen this happen! The key to enjoying a movie guide is to keep an open mind and realize that we do all have our own personal tastes and just because the author may not like a movie you love, it does not make the book bad. When I buy a movie guide I am looking to see what that author liked or disliked about my favorite movies and if he dislikes something, I am very interested in why he dislikes it. Thankfully we are also seeing an increase in genre-specific movie guides, especially when it comes to horror and science fiction, two of my favorite movie types. This review is on one of these books, The Fright File: 150 Films To See Before Halloween.”

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Book Review: The Quorum by Kim Newman

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The Quorum

By Kim Newman
511 pp. Titan Books
$14.95

It’s a tough thing, trying to find a new angle on a horror story. How many different spins could there actually be on the same monster? All the TV shows, movies, and books about vampires, werewolves, and zombies are blending together into an amalgam of brooding bad boys and naughty girls that is getting quite tiresome.

There is one classic horror story that has not been so overdone – the Faustian deal with the Devil story. Most stories that do center around the trope focus on the person making the deal, living a stupendous life, then getting his comeuppance – or getting out of it, depending on the hero – and the devil reaps his reward. Continue reading

BOOK REVIEW: “HIDDEN HORROR: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks”

If you’re a fan of movies, then you’ve probably perused a movie guide or two in search of inspiration. I’ve always been a fan of these books, especially if they revolve a specific film genre. This all started for me with John Stanley’s “Creature Feature Movie Guide” series and continues to this day. These guides aren’t perfect as they’re usually written by one person who has their own personal tastes. What this means is that the author may hate a movie you absolutely love and vice versa. Because they’re trying to cram so many movies into one guide, the films aren’t given as much of a personal touch with the reviews often ending up static. Not so with the subject of this review; a horror movie guide that takes things to a whole new level! I present to you., “HIDDEN HORROR: A Celebration of 101 Underrated  and Overlooked Fright Flicks.”

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BOOK REVIEW: “It Came From 1957” by Rob Craig

Let me start by saying that I really wanted to like “It Came from 1957.” It had everything going for it; it covers one of my favorite subject matters and it is put out by one of the greatest publishing houses that releases horror and science fiction movie guides, McFarland & Company, Inc. All I can say is that this book was one big disappointment despite its potential.

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Book Review: Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allen Poe’s 1st Detective

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Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allen Poe’s 1st Detective

Edited by Paul Kane and Charles Prepolec
324 pp. Titan Books
$14.95

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is used as the template for detectives with amazing memory, visual, and deductive skills. There have been many recent TV shows based on this type of character – “Monk”, “Psych”, “The Mentalist”, “Unforgettable”, “Lie to Me” – all shows with a lead character exhibiting hyper deductive, hyper observant skills. Even shows in the CSI realm depend on this type of behavior, although they use questionable science and computer techniques to produce such deductions. There are even two Sherlock Holmes shows set in the modern day – “Elementary” and “Sherlock”. Holmes must surely be the original!

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