Customer Reviews

Monster Rally

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Because you have clicked this link for product info for MONSTER RALLY I would discern you must be a monster movie fan, and a heartily recommend this book to any and all monster movie fans. But it should be noted that the term "Monster" in the title of this book covers a really broad area. Scattered among the more traditional essays on Jackson's King Kong, Dark Shadows and Lovecraft, Jason and Freddy, Yeti films, 50s' sci-fi, Lugosi's Rue Morgue and the like are more esoteric genres: UFOs, Satanism on screen, Mexican wrestling flicks, Hollywood weirdness, serial killers and their celluloid counterparts, fx maestro Paul Blaisdell and an informative chapter on how Argento "stole" the plot for THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PULMAGE from Fredric Brown's novel SCREAMING MIMI. I thought the blending of "psychotronic-like" topics and classic monsters gave the book great flavor and ensured an unpredictable, yet highly enjoyable read.

If you ever built an Aurora Dracula monster model kit, wore a Don Post Tor Johnson mask (Halloween doesn't count), or own 100 plus consecutive issues of Famous Monsters magazine, then allow me to recommend Monster Rally and its twenty diverse articles that runs the gambit from A (Argento) to Z (Zombies) as a must have in every B-Movie fan's library.

I bought Monster Rally and a few other horror film books after the death of Forrest (4SJ) J Ackerman. Famous Monsters magazine was a big influence on me growing up in the 60s and I wanted to recapture some of that childhood magic. Although this book sports a cover similar to FM the articles are more insightful but still have that FM "fun" energy ot it. Monster Rally is sure to please any, say Bob Burns would say, "Monster Kid."

This book had a great selection of topics. It not only covered a wide variety of films like horror, slasher, alien, monster, and insect, it also deals with old classics as well as newer films. The chapter on Dark Shadows and Lovecraft was my favorite, but the rest was informative and interesting as well. There is probably something for everyone in here. I liked this book a lot, and would recommend it to others.

This is a great read for anyone interested in science fiction or horror film. Each chapter is concise and on topic with each chapter varying from general topics like aliens and zombies to specific subjects like directors and serial killers. Overall it was very well thoughout and writen.

I was lucky enough to snag a review copy of this book on LibraryThing.com, and I do mean lucky! This book is unique in that it covers such a broad spectrum of "monster" films that each chapter is truly a surprise. Even the chapters you would normally expect on subjects like slasher films and aliens are fresh and innovative.

For example, the chapter on Dario Argento was a breath of fresh air from the usual claims of "genius" and "artist" that a lot of horror writers like to throw around when discussing Argento. I've always considered him an overrated hack with decent directing skills, and reading about his blatant plagiarism of an out of print novel for one of his early films practically had me giggling!

Monster film books are a dime a dozen, but very few actually show the reader something new. This book has a new perspective to share, so much so that I will be hanging onto my review copy for good.

I usually don't pick up books on films. They are usually haphazardly assembled collections of capsule reviews interspersed with grainy space-filling movie stills. The ghoulish cover on this one caught my attention, though, and I ended up ordering a copy. I am glad that I did.

No soulless capsule reviews here. Most of the chapters cover entire genres and touch on films in a more thematic nature, and the few singular reviews in the book are lengthy and detailed. This isn't a book for someone who wants to see if a movie is worth renting based on how many chainsaws the editor gave it. This is for the film aficionado who already knows a lot about movies, but is always eager to learn more.

Pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained, I can easily give this book five chainsaws.

It is nice to read a book about cult films written by people who are passionate about the subject. These guys obviously love films. You can tell they eat, breath, and sleep movies, and if you give them even half a chance to preach or rant about them, watch out! I mean, twelve (hilarious and insightful) pages devoted to ranting about how bad Peter Jackson's King Kong was, and a whole chapter linking Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows to H.P. Lovecraft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer? These guys aren't kidding around! I can't wait to see the next book, because it is obvious that these people still have a lot more to say!

I have always enjoyed a good monster flick, and recently I have started collecting books on the subject. MONSTER RALLY rates high in my collection. Not as scholarly as a book written by Gregory Mank, my favorite author on the subject, but much more enjoyable with its "free flowing" associations and offbeat selections. It is a book written by fans for fans.

Monster Rally is a fun and quirky cellabration of all things horror created by former monster zine and mag writers. The charm of this book is that it reads like a 2 A.M. roundtable at the University Diner after a midnight screening of Eraserhead without crossing the line into unbrideled fanboy enthusiasem. The highest complament I can give this book is that after reading the chapter on 50s' monster-maker Paul Blaisdell, I dug out from my video collection Invasion of the Saucermen and She Creature for a Friday night double feature.