Customer Reviews

Horror Films of the 1980s

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I am a huge horror film fan, and try to read every book I can on the subject. As such, I was thrilled when I received this huge release for my birthday last month. However, I honestly had no idea that it would be as entertaining and insightful as it is. I have now read up through 1988, and must say that I've never in my life read such astute critique of genre films -- generally reviewers either stick to the plot basics or try to impose some sort of critical theory on it ("the male gaze" and all that). Muir on the other hand manages to recognize and explain sub-texts that I never, EVER would have noticed by myself -- then when I think back to the films he's describing, I realize, "My God! He's RIGHT!" Plus his book has encouraged me to buy a whole bunch of horror films I'd never have considered seeing (ex. I'm no vampire film fan so I wouldn't have bothered with "Near Dark" had he not put it on his "Top 15 of the '80s" list. But wow! What a fantastic movie!)

My only problem now is that I'm dying to read his '70s book and it's not being re-released for another month!

Muir's "Horror Films of the 1980's" is an excellent companion to his like-titled "Horror Films of the 1970's". While not all-inclusive (an impossible task) it does take all of the important films (and many (many) of the obscure films) and succinctly dissects them from various viewpoints. The author is an obvious expert in the genre, easily able to cross-reference the production with what was happening in society at the time.

This is the sort of reference that you will return to time and time again and continue to be surprised by the depth of the content.

I can't wait for "Horror Films of the 1990's".

It can be argued that the decade of the 1980's was the most important ever for horror films. While the films may not have always been good, and many were downright terrible, the advent of home video soon taught filmmakers that they could turn a profit even with direct-to-video releases. "Horror Films of the 1980's" by John Kenneth Muir, is an exhaustive guide to perhaps the most memorable era of horror films. Over 300 films are covered in detail within this massive, 800 plus page hardcover tome.

Anyone who has ever read one of the fine books from McFarland knows that they don't do fluff, and this book is no different. This isn't merely a listing of films and stars like you get in some books. Each film gets at least two pages of coverage that includes full cast and crew credits, rating (one to four stars) running time, detailed plot synopsis, commentary by Muir, as well as selected critic's comments from the time that the film came out.

The films are listed alphabetically, by decade, beginning with "Alligator" in 1980 and ending with "Stepfather 2" in 1989. Even if you think you know your 80's horror films well, you're sure to find some films you probably never heard of such as The Killing Hour, Bloodkill, and New York Ripper.

As I thumbed through the book I felt like I was looking at an old scrapbook or photo album of friends and family members that I had not seen in many years. I have not seen a lot of these films since their original debuts over twenty years ago and I fondly recalled many nights at the drive-in where I saw quite a few of these films. I loved reading about these old friends, Motel Hell, One Dark, Night, Gates of Hell, The Keep, Near Dark, Night of the Demons, and countless others.

Muir, and his small group of reviewers show a depth of knowledge, but more importantly, a true love of this era of horror films, often resulting in ratings that are a bit more generous than I would have given. A lot of films included here are not true horror films. There are sprinklings of sci-fi (Saturn 3, Lifeforce, Moontrap, Terminator), thrillers (Ten to Midnight, Jaws 3D, Blood Simple, Body Double) and comedy horrors (Ghoulies, Critters, Gremlins), but their inclusions are welcome nonetheless.

The book concludes with several interesting appendices that feature the 1980's Horror Hall of Fame, Recommended Viewing Then & Now, and Memorable Ad Lines. Heres' something fun...read one of the ad lines and see if your friends can guess the film. This is simply one of the finest horror reference books I've ever read. Well worth the $60 price tag!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

A fine companion piece to HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, this is another tremendously entertaining overview of an entire decade of fear flicks. This was so much fun revisiting these films that I grew up with. The author is interesting and informative throughout. Highly recommended!

Thanks, Amazon! This book arrived really fast, and it is what it promisses! A great book about a movie genre and history of cinema!

This is a great horror film reference book that goes along with the 1970's volume. I loved it!

This is a well-written book with some interesting observations on the styles that dominated the horror genre during the 80s. The individual reviews and overviews of the films are also informative and insightful. The author's inclusion of many obscure titles helps give a broader body of works to see the highlights and low-lights of the era's work.

The only critique I have is the author's seeming preoccupation with Ronald Reagan. He seems to go out of his way at times to express his distaste for him, to the detriment of the overall book.

That complaint aside, this is one of the best books I have ever read on the genre of 80s horror.

I bought this book when it first came out and I have not put it down since. I had to track down the 70s edition as well after going through this one. He hits it out of the park. The layout of the book is great. It's broken down by years and movie titles are alphabetical order within each year, making a search for a particular movie very easy to find.

One of the great things about this book (and there are MANY...I can't wait for the 90s edition...HURRY UP SEPT. 2011!!) is that he includes oddball titles that only TRUE HORROR fans would know about. This gives everyone an opportunity to learn more about these movies. Yes, FRIDAY THE 13th, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and HALLOWEEN are all represented, but so is HELL NIGHT, MOTEL HELL, WITHOUT WARNING, etc. There were a LOT of movies in this book that I didn't even know about. And a good portion of my DVD collection is made up of 80s horror movies.

I am a TRUE horror fan, especially 80s horror, and if you need to get one book on 80s horror, this is the one!!

John Kenneth Muir's second entry into the horror genre hits the mark again. "Horror Films of the 1980s" provides a fantastic reference guide for the horror films made in the decade of excess.

At over 800 pages long, the book provides an introduction to the films of the decade and how social and political events influenced them. (Muir is obviously no fan of Reagan and on one page he has a photo of the former president along side a photo of Freddy Krueger making a not so subtle comparison of the two). The next chapter is "The History of the Dead Teenager Decade." in which he explains common devices and elements which make up the bulk of films of the era. Muir then goes into the films themselves......breaking them down by year. He provides critical reviews, cast and crew lists, a brief synopsis of the plot and then a personal commentary of his own views of each film. Some films also have a "close-up" section where additional information about cast/crew/film is given. From here, Muir gives a chapter on "The Conclusion to Horror Films of the 80s." Also provided are several appendixes including information such as memorable ad lines, Hall of fame, a list of actors appearing in these films and recommended viewing.

Overall, a great book. Muir even improves on his "Horror Films of the 1970s" (which I also have) by providing in-depth commentary and info on ALL of the films listed. The 1970s tomb has some films only briefly mentioned with no commentary at all by the author. And thanks to Netflix, I can check out most of the films from both decades for myself. Muir also mentions in his book that he's working on a third edition....Horror Films of the 1990s. I'll be first in line to buy it!

I saw this book and was amazed that someone had written descriptions and reviews of most of the horror movies made in the 80's. I was even more impressed after I started reading it. Just like what other reviewers have said, John Muir has a love for horror films and it shows in how he comments and categorizes them. His reviews of these movies make you feel like he's your best friend sitting beside you watching these films and either hating or loving them with you. There were many movies he commented on that I would never have watched because either they were in an overdone series (Friday the 13th Part 3) or because they look completely hokey (Re-Animator). But because of his reviews, I did and am glad for it.
Something other reviewers didn't mention but I love, is how he comments on the directors themselves and mentions how their individual style comes through all of their movies (or are edited out by their producers creating a bad movie). I learned about such great directors as Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper and Thom Eberhardt who I knew only a little about before. I recommend this book to anyone who even had a passing interests in horror movies and wants to relive some of the great ones (and horrible ones) from the 80's.