Italian Horror [Paperback]

Jim Harper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2005

ITALIAN HORRORS covers Italian horror films released between 1979 and 1994. Why those years? Well, primarily for convenience. They mark the release dates of Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE, the film that instigated the last great wave of Italian horror, and Michele Soavi's DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, the last great Italian horror film. After the release of Soavi's film, relatively few new Italian horror movies were made; the trend had run its course, and such films were no longer seen as commercially viable. The aim of this work is to guide the unfamiliar viewer to the best films of the period, while hopefully steering him or her away from the dross.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Luminary Press a Division of Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887664556
• ISBN-13: 978-1887664554
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are far better ways to spend $25, February 3, 2008

By 

M. Theologidis "Programming the Psychodrills" (Thessaloniki, Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian Horror (Paperback)

If you're reading this then you are most likely a die-hard horror afficionado like myself. Of course any die hard fan already knows to some extent of Italy's incredibly diverse and prolific b-movie industry, the horror scene a pivotal part in it.

I'm sorry to say that Jim Harper's book falls terribly terribly short of the occasion. A monstrous disappointment, an altogether haphazard effort that barely even scratches the surface of the subject it purports to discuss and ignores arguably the best era of Italian horror. The early 70's. The book spans the period from Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2" (1979) to Michele Shoavi's "Dellamorte Dellamore" (1994).

Why anyone setting out to create a convincing roadmap of the Italian underground scene would decide to completely omit the 60's and 70's, arguably the zenith of a genre that was quick to decline, mystifies me. What about the dozens of gialli that emerged in the early 70's? What about Dario Argento's 70's work, which includes (well known yes, but essential in any book about Italian horror) such gems as Profondo Rosso and Suspiria? What about master craftsman Sergio Martino, perhaps only second to Dario Argento in the giallo realm? What about second rate but competent genre directors like Aldo Lado, Duccio Tessari, or Pupi Avati? What about the godfather of Italian horror, maestro Mario Bava? It's Mario Bava we're talking about here, how can a book titled Italian Horror NOT feature extensive writeups on the man who almost single-handedly defined the genre? You guessed it, there's nothing of the above to be found here and "Italian Horror" immediately stops being an essential book on the subject right there and then.

What "Italian Horror" ends up offering instead is a series of reviews on schlocky psychotronic exploitation b-movies that span the 80's and early 90's. You're asking; couldn't I just read up on all these flicks on IMDB? Definitely. Is Harper's critical analysis so insightful as to warrant $25 despite all that? Absolutely not. Mr. Harper doesn't even seem to be a journalist, film scholar, or at least passionate fan. He lacks the eloquency, power of convinction, and capacity for subtextual analysis or at the very least the entertaining prose, to make his texts worth reading. IMDb reviewers write better. Simply put, at no point did I feel I was at the hands of a master.

To add insult to injury, Harper evinces no passion at all for the subject. Does the guy even LIKE Italian horror or is this simply a case of exploiting a bibliographic gap for a quick buck? Sure, no one claims Paganini Horror is a staggering masterpiece of modern cinema. Ratman will probably never be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane and Metropolis and Fulci is a bit short of Tarkovsky and Bergman. But when you set out to write a book about all these things, surely there must have been something that attracted you to them in the first place. Harper's writing offers no clue as to what that "it" was.

I'm not arguing that most of the movies featured here aren't bad movies. No, but they still carry with them a psychotronic charm that makes us love them, despite (or perhaps because of) their obvious flaws. If you're ready to shell out $25 for a book about Italian horror, much less write one about it, that means you have already come to terms with their flaws and still love them.

Now the back cover reads "Italian Horror covers Italian horror films released between 1979 and 1994. Why those years? Well, primarily for convenience."

If you want convenience, then don't write a book. Good things come to those who try and frankly Harper didn't try hard enough to make this book worthwhile. I suggest taking a page from Stephen Thrower's massive tome "Nightmare USA", which offers a rich probing informative insight into American exploitation, and how well and in depth the subject matter is handled, not to mention all the photos, stills, posters, interviews, reviews and critical analysis. This pales by comparison. I mean, you're writing a book about Italian horror. How hard would it be to track down and interview Dario Argento, Ruggero Deodato, Michele Shoavi and Lamberto Bava while they're still alive?

Jim Harper offers nothing that can't be found on IMDB. At the exorbitant price of $25 for the relatively small size of the book (a little more than 200 pages), the poor handling of the subject matter and the altogether lackluster edition, I suggest waiting for the definitive book on Italian horror. This isn't it.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible..., March 20, 2008

By 

William Lecklikner "Bleck" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian Horror (Paperback)

This book is one of the worst I have ever read on ANY movie genre. I am a die hard horror fan, especially when it comes to Italian horror. But the author wrote this book as though he were not a fan of the genre. I liken it to reading reviews by someone like Roger Ebert when he id looking at the horror genre. These films ARE NOT trying to win Oscars. They are made for fans of blood and gore and sometimes a plot. Please do not waste your money on this book.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splats Italian, March 4, 2007

By 

C. Dunn "THE Bart" (New Albany, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Italian Horror (Paperback)

Ever since I can remember reading Fangoria magazine many years ago I had/have been fascinated by the articles on Italian horror films. The reviews were seemingly few and far between. Since the advent of dvd and the internet the availability of these films are now more constant than ever.
Also, more and more books are emerging on the subject. This book is THE starting place for those who are looking for a good guide and what to see and what not see. If you are looking to seek out Italian horror films and are looking for a coffee table book, then look no further and get this one now. Highly recommended.