The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s [Paperback]

Scott Aaron Stine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078640924X | ISBN-13: 978-0786409242 | Publication Date: January 2001

For the uninitiated the author has obligingly supplied a definition for the slasher/splatter film: "Any motion picture which contains scenes of extreme violence in graphic and grisly detail...." For those film viewers who think this is a good thing and are more likely to select The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than The Remains of the Day, or for those who are not quite sure but are nevertheless drawn to the phantasmagoric, or for those horrified by gratuitous violence and blood for blood's sake but are researching this filmic phenomenon, this reference book provides all the gory details. From At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul Away to Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us, this book is an exhaustive study of the splatter films of the 1960s and 1970s. After a history of the development of the genre, the main meat of the book is a filmography. Each entry includes extensive credits, alternate names and foreign release titles; availability of the film on videocassette; availability of soundtracks and film novelization; and reviews. Extensive cross-referencing is also included.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An opinionated and often entertaining survey of classics such as Hor ror Hospital, I Drink Your Blood, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Recommended" -- -Booklist/RBB

"Useful and entertaining" -- -Interzone

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078640924X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786409242
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading For Splatterpunks and Horror Fans, July 8, 2002

By 

"hiddennoise" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s (Paperback)

Being a long time fan of both horror and splatter films, I was happy to see that someone finally devoted a book to the types of films covered in The Gorehound's Guide. I was also happy to see that it was written by Mr. Stine, whose magazine GICK! was one of my favorite reads, as is his new magazine Trashfiend. Even having already read some of the reviews in this book that were originally featured in his magazine, it was nice to have them all under one cover.

Mr. Stine's writing is both entertaining and informational. (It is easy to spot earlier reviews that were reprinted from his magazine because even though they are still good it is obvious that he has improved much over the years. Some light rewriting would have benefited these entries, especially pertaining to the overused words mentioned by the previous reviewer that used to occasionally clutter Mr. Stine's prose.) The author has an equal love for films both good and bad, which is refreshing because most film reviewers are elitist. Finding someone who can appreciate both Cronenberg's intellectualizing and gutter films like Blood Freak, and not be patronizing to the reader, is rare.

Even though it is complete, as far as I can tell, it is not a perfect book. The main reason I couldn't give it five stars is because the book is a little overpriced. I wouldn't have complained about paying a few extra bucks had the book not been so poorly edited. Typos are commonplace and the layout is occasionally inconsistent. The layout itself could also have been better too. McFarland has produced numerous quality books, some of which I own, so it is strange that they did not take the time to properly prepare this book. Hopefully, it is not because they look down on the subject matter. Time will tell, because Mr. Stine has announced that McFarland has picked up the second volume, which will be devoted to films from the 1980s. Having proclaimed his distaste for most 80s films, I am curious to see Mr. Stine's no holds barred approach used on this subject matter.

This book is still an extremely good read, and is filled with many cool ad illustrations and video box covers that make it fun to flip through as well. The Gorehound's Guide reminds me of the original Psychotronic Encyclopedia that inspired many of the older fans like myself to search out these films years ago, and hopefully it will do the same for some of the younger readers.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag, March 12, 2002

By 

Oliver L. (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s (Paperback)

THE GOREHOUND'S GUIDE TO THE SPLATTER FILMS OF THE '60S AND '70S is a good book, but not a great one.

To the author's credit, his knowledge seems extensive, and the reviews are enthusiastic and well-written.
On the other hand, the slim book is certainly not the 'exhaustive' guide it claims to be. Although it provides reviews of many obscure titles, I found that it concentrated too much on low-brow, T&A Eurotrash films, while overlooking a few of the era's better splatter flicks. Stine also seems to be somewhat hazy on which films to include and which films not to.
A few trivial complaints:
-The book's opening essay is a good overview, with the exception of the occasional foray into in-over-his-head scholarly contextualizing.
-The author has a propensity to overuse (to the point of distraction) certain words (eg. aforementioned, selfsame, exemplary)
-Stine's view of HALLOWEEN as the birth of the slasher film is an uninformed one, in my view.
-A rather thin, limited-in-scope volume like this book is vastly overpriced ....

I don't want to leave the impression that I disliked this review guide. It's probably worth buying for horror film fans, but readers looking for a treasure trove of quality films will find the pickings rather slim. As I said, the book focuses largely on trashy flicks (which may have been unavoidable given the work's objective).