Customer Reviews

The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I usually always enjoying reading all the "horror movie" review books/encyclopedias out there, but I really wish I had never wasted my time and money on this one! First of all, the price tag seems a little steep to me for a softcover book. More importantly, though, is that the whole time I was reading this book I had to keep asking myself why did this author even want to write this? It is clear through reading his reviews that he is NOT a fan of 80's horror/splatter films at all. He gives very unfavorable reviews to most of the films in the book. He makes rude comments about them, the people who make them, star in them, or even those of us that like to watch them! He pretty much trashes everything about the very films that he is writting a whole book about! I feel like it must have been absolute torture for him to endure even watching all these movies that he was reviewing. Well, come to think of it I do think he states that a couple of times in the book! So anyways, the reviews aren't much help if you are truly a fan of the genre. There is some useful information on availability of the films in either VHS and/or DVD formats. Cast lists and production information seem pretty accurate too. There are also some rare pictures/artwork included too. Yet another surprising and disappointing thing about the book are the number of obvious omissions from it. There's no reviews to such well known 80's horror films like: He Knows You're Alone, Terror Train, The Fog, Chopping Mall, Intruder, Just Before Dawn, Sorority House Massacre, April Fool's Day, etc.?! The author also states that some of the "older" purchasers of his book will probably be finding themselves having to hide it out of others' sight due to feeling ashamed of owning it! Well, in my case I won't be hiding this book because of being ashamed for liking horror movies but instead for unfortunately owning this particular "book" about them.

The first book Mr. Stine graced us with was all about 60's and 70's splatter films, an era that the writer really enjoys obviously. This 2nd book, covering the 80's horror gore films, should have never even been published, let alone written. The editor comes across bitter, frustrated, and downright mean about the films he's reviewing...which is strange considering the films from the 60's and 70's are even worse than the ones from the 80's. I just don't see the point of this book. Avoid at all costs.

First of all he seems to hate Splatter Movies of the eighties. Every second film is worthless in his opinion. Of course some of this films are cheap and senseless but Mr. Stine seems to lack any kind of objectivity. He was nastier than most of the films effects putting everything down, especially Rock and Metalmusic of the eighties. And that really made me mad because i love this music. He even went so low writing" ....is killing 25 people, well not really people but Rockers"!!! What the hell....this is a discrimination against people who love this kind of music. Scott Aaron SWine sucks!

This book is exactly what it claims to be; a guide to splatter films from the 80s. The author provides several paragraphs on almost all the movies, and also a short synopsis for most as well. As other reviewers have said, he is pretty harsh on the movies he doesn't like, which are quite a few. Cry me a river. We're all big boys and girls; just because the big bad man gave bad reviews to a movie you like, it doesn't mean you have to call the book crap. Afterall, you are free to disregard his opinion and just use the book as a guide to movies you may not have otherwise known about. I didn't agree with all his opinions either; he attacked Evil Dead as a crap movie, but he also acknowledged this is a minority opinion among horror fans, and that most others rate it highly. As well, he can write pretty well, so the reviews are always fun to read, and quite informative. So if a movie sounds interesting to you, you can ignore his negative review and seek it out at your own peril. The point is, his opinions aren't the entirety of the reviews; he also offers plenty of info that is helpful to anyone looking to expand their 80s splatter movie watch-list. Overall, it met all my expectations. The only negative point is the price; I checked mine out from the library, so it wasn't an issue for me.

I picked up the author's first book, and enjoyed it even though I don't care for older gore movies. (I don't know about you, but I don't know how anyone can say they enjoy films by hacks like H.G. Lewis and Andy Milligan without being seriously deranged. Different strokes for different folks I guess.) I liked Mr. Stine's magazines, especially Gick which sometimes covered newer films, but I still buy Trashfiend even though it's all older bad movies. His first book was pricey, and badly edited, but it was still informative and a good read. His second book is much better though. It costs about the same as the first, but is much bigger, by about a hundred pages! It is much better edited, and the reviews are better written. Mr. Stine's humor seems to get better with time, and I can't help but to laugh even when he's tearing apart a film I like. (He doesn't seem to like newer films in general, but I don't mind as it makes for a better read than when he actually dislikes the film he reviews. Especially the Jason and Freddy movies, which are cult films even though they aren't very good.) I don't have much use for all the cast and crew names, but serious film geeks should be happy since most books and even magazines don't have all of this information. Where I would have given the first book four stars, I feel his second book deserves much more, so I'm giving it five because the few faults it has can be easily overlooked. Highly recommended.

These negative reviews make me laugh. HE GAVE LOTS OF THESE MOVIE BAD REVIEWS. BOOHISSBOO!!!! HOW DARE HE!!!! If you just want a friggin fanboy lovefest I guess you'd wanna look else where, though why you'd want a guidebook that gives everything a positive review is beyond me. (I guess some people just aren't prepared to hear that 'Return of the Living Dead 2' is a double turdburger on a toasted turd bun, but that's totally what it is.) Yeah, there are more negative reviews than positive reviews here, but to claim that Stine isn't a fan of the genre is a massive over statement. Anyone who gives 'Dr. Butcher M.D.', 'Dawn of the Mummy' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II' positive reviews is definitely a fan of the genre, I assure you. Furthermore, vitually everything that is considered to be a true classic of the genre is given a positive review, even if it isn't always a rave. ('The Evil Dead', 'Return of the Living Dead' and 'Cannibal Ferox' are the only really notable exceptions, though whether or not 'Cannibal Ferox' is really considered a classic is debatable.) He doesn't hate the genre, he just, gasp, takes these movies seriously and is interested in and quality and ingenuity, and isn't interested in seeing the same damn slasher movie for the thousandth time. It's true, however, that he doesn't care for slasher movies, in general, (and he particularly loathes sequels) though he's written enough positive reviews of them that he'd have his mainstream movie review writers license revoked, if he were one. (See 'Maniac', 'My Bloody Valentine', 'The Prowler', 'Friday the 13th', 'Hell Night', 'Sleepaway Camp', 'Stage Fright', 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' etc.)

This book does have an extraordinary number of reviews, though there are a few strange omissions, especially when considering how much more obscure some of the other films are. As others have said, he does occasionally use the same words a bit too much, but this is a pretty damn minor quibble. Other than that his writing is fine, usually, though not always, covering the films in far greater depth than in you're typical video guide, and with a intelligence and some wit. Though there are a few very brief reviews most of them give at least some specific mention of the particuarly significant aspects of these sorts of films. (i.e. how high the production values are, how gory they are, the quality of the gore etc.) Occasionally, however, his overall feelings on a film may be a bit vague, though this only happens quite rarely.

Really, this book is about all you could hope for in such a thing. It's not some mindblowing revelation or anything, just a nearly comprehensive guidebook written by a smart guy who definitely knows the genre. That's more than enough. It is pretty damn pricey, however.