The Golden Age of Crap: 77 B-Movies From the Glory Days of VHS [Paperback]

Nathan Shumate (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2010

Just because you can't respect a movie doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. The Golden Age of Crap serves up a sampling of junk-food flicks that gained their audiences on videocassette rental shelves during the '80s and '90s, a time when one couldn't visit the video rental store without being tempted by Italian post-apocalyptic adventures, ninja revenge yarns, and zombie-filled "camcorder epics." The movies covered here run from sleeper hits (Phantasm II) to cult favorites (The Dead Next Door), from unknown stinkers (Plutonium Baby) to undiscovered gems (America's Deadliest Home Video), all examined with a critical but fun-loving eye.

"Nathan Shumate is a B-movie encyclopedia. I stand in awe of anyone who has seen this many films with the words 'Blood Bath,' 'Zombie,' or 'Bikini' in the title." - LARRY CORREIA, author of Monster Hunter International

"This book skips the usual cult classics and highlights some real gems lost in the wreckage of '80s B-movie video stores with funny and insightful reviews. A must read for B-movie fans!"-BILL GALVAN, comic book artist for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics

"Remember that dude's head exploding in Scanners? Well, that's what would happen to you if you watched more than seven of the bad B movies in Nathan Shumate's The Golden Age of Crap. But Nathan has saved you some messy head explosions by watching the films for you, and his reviews are funnier and more entertaining than all 77 of the films combined." - WILLIAM C. MARTELL, screenwriter of Hard Evidence and Crash Dive

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

NATHAN SHUMATE has reviewed genre movies-"sci-fi, horror, and general whoopass"-on his website Cold Fusion Video Reviews for over a decade. He has also professionally written short stories, screenplays, comic scripts, and book reviews. He lives in Utah with his wife, four children, two turtles, a cockatiel, and the neighbor's damned cat that won't stay in his own yard.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (April 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1452822204
• ISBN-13: 978-1452822204
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nathan Shumate has reviewed genre movies -- "sci-fi, horror, and general whoopass" -- on his website Cold Fusion Video Reviews for over a decade. He has also professionally written short stories, screenplays, comic scripts, and book reviews. He lives in Utah with his wife, four children, two turtles, a cockatiel, and the neighbor's damned cat that won't stay in his own yard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Golden Age of Insight, September 3, 2010

By 

B. I SIMPSON "beckoningchasm" (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Age of Crap (Kindle Edition)

Nathan Shumate's new book does a number of things, and it does them all well.

First of all, it resurrects several long-forgotten b-movie titles for discussion. Some of these, quite honestly, would not have been mourned by history had they been left in obscurity, but Mr. Shumate doesn't just review them. He uses them to illustrate many facets of film-making and story-telling, especially when the budget is lower than low. And since you're not likely to see these any time soon, why not use them to reflect on low-budget film-making in general? This makes this a first-rate guide to making low-budget movies because, while Mr. Shumate does mention technical areas now and then, his real focus is the one thing (to my mind) that must be rock-solid before a frame of film is shot: the script. His insights into the stories of these films are a gold mine of excellent advice for screenwriters. I can imagine the responses of the film-makers: one group smacks their foreheads: "Why didn't I think of that?"; another relievedly claims, "Uh, yeah, I totally meant to do that." (As a bonus, several film-makers responses to the reviews are included.)

Secondly, and most importantly, Mr. Shumate's criticism, while biting, is also fair. He manages to find the things a truly poor film does right, and he shows where a well-made effort still has flaws. The perfect movie may not have been made yet, but neither has the totally worthless one (especially as a learning experience).

Thirdly and finally, Mr. Shumate's writing is not only clear and loaded with insights, it's also frequently hilarious. So you can learn while you laugh without guilt. Highly recommended.

One slight oddity about the Kindle edition are the breaks between reviews. There are many times when the wrap-up of one review occurs on the same page as the onset of the next. Not enough to diminish the pleasure of reading the book, but perhaps a matter to be checked for the next edition.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Funny Stuff, May 26, 2010

By 

J. A. KONRATH "Thriller Author" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Age of Crap (Kindle Edition)

Read about ten entries. Laughed aloud several times, waking the wife. Nicely done.

I remember most of these movies, though I seem to have blocked them out. This book worked like regression therapy, bringing the crap back so I could finally deal with it after all these years. I may still require medication in the form of hard liquor.

If you like to laugh, like bad movies, like VHS, or like to laugh at bad VHS movies, pull the trigger and buy this. It's good stuff.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Take that, you dinosaur!", July 20, 2010

By 

David Kantrowitz (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Age of Crap: 77 B-Movies From the Glory Days of VHS (Paperback)

The Golden Age of Crap is a well written, exhaustively researched gold mine of information for anyone who has ever hosted a "Bad Movie Night" or enjoys self-abuse in video form. Nathan Shumate is a clever and insightful reviewer and his entries are fun to read. I read this book like any other, simply working through from beginning to end and laughing a lot along the way.

I quickly realized that I'd only actually seen two of the 77 movies reviewed here, despite being a child of the 80's. I'm looking forward to finding more of these selections, although the author does warn that a few of them are hard to come by these days.

Aspiring filmmakers might well find good advice here, since there are right ways and wrong ways to make a cheap movie. Among with the humorous play-by-play of all the gory details, Shumate details elements of plot, editing, and production that demonstrate good knowledge of what works and what doesn't.

If you've ever trolled the aisles of a rental store looking for something that so good it's bad, or the modern equivalent of looking for something to watch on-demand over a subscription service, you need to get this book!