There are a thousand books out there that cover every facet
of the horror film so why should you pick up Don Summer’s Horror Movie
Freak? Well, if you’re like me and
you’ve already read those thousand other books then there is no reason to pick
up this one as there is nothing new in this book that you haven’t already read
before, but those new to the horror genre or don’t have a very large obsession
with the genre but wanted to know more than Summer’s book is actually a very
good starting point.
Summer’s book is a very good primer for opening up the
vocabulary for horror film enthusiasts as it covers a wide range of sub genres
and time periods as well as foreign films and low budget oddities as well. This is a well rounded book that strives to
cover it all. The chapters are broken up
into easy to reference headings such as “Monsters,” “Asian Horror,” “Classics,”
etc. Summers even opens the book with a chapter called “Why We Love Horror
Movies” which goes a long way to explaining why audiences have continuously
gravitated towards these films. Within
each chapter there is a list of notable films which are briefly plot detailed
but more importantly explain why they are included in the book over other
films. This goes a long way in
explaining why Summer includes some while not others although he does provide a
list of notable mentions at the end.
The book doesn’t dismiss the age of the remake either as a
chapter at the end is dedicated exclusively to all manner of the infamous
remakes from the notable classics such as John
Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and Dawn
of the Dead (2004) to the derided remakes of The Eye (2008) and Pulse
(2006). Scream Queens are touched upon (or those women in horror who have made
a lasting impact in the genre) as well as a special section entitled “Ten Days
of Halloween,” which list the best films for horror fans to watch just before
the best holiday of the year.
Each of the entries for the films is brief and a quick read
followed by a huge collection of posters and productions stills from the film
providing a very lavish book that every horror fan will cherish. There is even a copy of George A. Romero’s
original classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) on DVD at the back of the
book. This is a film that should be
included in every one’s video collection (whether a horror fan or not).
All in all this book is a perfect jumping on point for new
horror fans or those wanting to open up their horror film vocabulary while hard
core fans will find little use for this book.
Thankfully, Summer keeps the book entertaining and fast paced so even if
you are a hard core fan (such as myself) you may still come across something
that you didn’t already know.
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