As a sci-fi/horror movie blogger, sometimes people ask me for recommendations concerning horror and sci-fi film reference books. Up until now, I had three standards I recommended without hesitation: Keep Watching the Skies (American sci-fi/horror of the 1950s) by Bill Warren, Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes (interviews) by Tom Weaver, and The Rough Guide to Horror Movies (a great horror film overview) by Alan Jones. Lately, a new book has made my recommendation list, and I endorse it as full-heartedly as the former tomes.
Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies Volume 1 is a collection of essays edited by Dr. AC (aka Aaron Christensen).
Here’s how the book is described in its Introduction:
Herein, you will find 101 essays on 110 vital cinematic offerings within our beloved genre. With this book, we hope to accomplish a number of things: First, to get a list of essentials out there in the world, hopefully inspiring today’s younger horror fans to partake of the pleasures to be found within some “older” films. Second, to create an opportunity for the voice of the everyday horror enthusiast to be heard, allowing them to celebrate his/her favorite fright flick. After all, it has never been the “serious” critics who have helped these films stand the test of time, it has been the tireless masses who have slavishly devoted themselves to the cause. This is for the fans, by the fans.
Horror 101 is everything it promises to be. I was a bit reluctant to purchase it at first because I was fearful of the phrase “for the fans, by the fans.” I didn’t want to read gushing approval by rabid fans for films that were, at best, mediocre. (I know, I know, I see the irony here!) However, as soon as I started reading, my fears were put to rest.
Horror 101 is written by an intelligent group of writers who have both a knowledge of and an enthusiasm for the genre. The selection of films are of a top-notch variety (not the kind I usually review here, so you can relax), making this a great primer for the newly initiated. However, it also offers insights for people who have been hardcore fans for years.
I’ve read nearly every essay now, and I can honestly say that I’ve learned something from each piece. I was surprised to find unknown tidbits about films I thought I knew inside-out. The enthusiasm for the films is refreshing while not being “fan boyish.”
Click here to read reviews and order the book from Amazon.com. If the book should be out of stock (it’s already happened at least once!) you can always contact Dr. AC himself and I’m sure he’d be glad to fix you up. That’s what I did when the book became unavailable at Amazon, and not only did I get the book at a discount, but he personalized it for me, too!
As regular readers know, I don’t promote much on my blog, so this is something special. I also have a selfish motive: I’m hoping that this book does well enough that I’ll soon be purchasing Volume 2.
(Oh, and did I mention the forward is written by horror legend, Tom Savini? It is!)
Mark’s Rating: ! ! ! ! ! out of 5.
