Book Review: THE G.O.R.E. SCORE Vol. 2 by Tony Schaab

If you are a fan of all things horror and of zombies specifically than Tony Schaab’s book The G.O.R.E. Score Volume 2 is right up your alley.  If you are already familiar with Schaab and his previous book Volume 1 than you already know what’s in store for you in this volume which continues to review everything zombie related from films to television series and comics and books and music and video games. 

Schaab has a unique way of reviewing (and thus scoring) horror films which makes up a film’s G.O.R.E. score (which is explained in the book) but it should be safe to say that the higher the G.O.R.E. score the more you’ll enjoy the film.  Schaab does an excellent job of reviewing everything in the book on its own merits and highlights the components of what he is reviewing that will most appeal to his readers.  This is especially helpful when the film, overall, doesn’t get a very high cumulative G.O.R.E. score but still has merits it other areas.

Some of the reviews to look out for are those on the films The Serpent & the Rainbow, Pontypool, The Walking Dead: Season 1, and episodes of the TV series Eerie, Indiana and South Park, to name a few.  Some of the books of note are Stephen King’s Cell, David Dunwoody’s Empire, and Craig DiLouie’s The Infection.  Comics on review this volume are graphic novels from the Army of Darkness series, The Mammoth Book of Zombie Comics, and Victorian Undead, to name a few .  Of great notice is Schaab describing his experience as a zombie extra for the live stage version of “Night of the Living Dead.”

There are a lot of great moments in this book as Schaab is a great storyteller and has some interesting outlooks on the things that he is reviewing.  What is missing from this volume are reviews on anything classic zombie or more mainstream.  Schaab’s choice of reviews for this volume is very eclectic but most of the things reviewed are mediocre at best.  There are no great revelations to be had here in this book so it is more designed for fans of zombie films from a zombie fan.  Readers who don’t love zombie related films or entertainment will find very little reason to give this book a chance but zombie fans may find more interest in Schaab’s look at the more indie films and smaller zombie related items that they may have looked over or missed.

Book Review: THE G.O.R.E. SCORE: Vol. 1 by Tony Schaab

Writer Tony Schaab has made a career or reviewing everything zombie through his website The G.O.R.E. Score (www.TheGOREScore.com) and his book The G.O.R.E. Score: Vol. 1, A Review Guide to All Things Zombie which is a collection of some of these articles that appeared on his site plus a few that are exclusive to this book.  Zombie fans should rejoice as Schaab touches upon not only zombie related films but games, comics, television shows, and various other media.  Now, there are a ton of books out there dedicated to horror films and probably just as many dedicated to zombie films but Schaab doesn’t just review films he rates them in a way that fans of these films can decide whether or not it is worth their time to watch some of the films he’s listed. 

The way in which he rates the films is known as his “G.O.R.E. “score.   The “G” is for General Entertainment; “O” is for Original Content; “R” is for Realism; “E” is for Effects and Editing; the average of the score makes up the film’s “G.O.R.E. Score.”  Schaab doesn’t spend time on zombie films most horror fans have already become fans of.  Instead, the majority of the films reviewed are independent films or films that have been overlooked over the years or become cult favorites.  Some of the favorites are Dead Snow (2009), Undead (2005), Planet Terror (2007), and Verses (2000).  He even touches upon the not-so-good such as Night of the Living Dead 3D (2007), Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959), House of the Dead (2003), and Zombie Strippers (2008).  Only half of the book focuses on zombie films.

The second half of the book focuses on games, comics, books, and music.  Schaab wants zombie fans to have the chance to open up to everything else out there that fans may have missed but would be interested in.  He does a great job with presentation of the material and his G.O.R.E. score for each reviewed item is very even giving you the impression that he isn’t biased for or against any type of item reviewed.  Schaab’s writing is also highly entertaining which is what you would expect from a fan of zombie films writing a book for zombie fans.

This is one of the better books of this kind that will appeal to both zombie fans and general horror enthusiasts as well.