Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Spurred on by the popularity of such recent films as The Sixth Sense, Hannibal and Signs, Lukeman and his colleagues at the horror magazine Fangoria present a rousing rundown of lesser-known terror flicks. Some of the movies they include were initially flops; some are foreign films, others never even appeared on the big screen. Each entry takes up two or three pages, listing the film's category (e.g., "Killers/Slashers," "Supernatural/Hauntings" or "Monsters") and its lead actors and characters, along with a description of the story and a bit of "terror trivia." The editors mix old and new, ranging from 1964's Two Thousand Maniacs!, which was "inspired by, of all things, the Broadway musical Brigadoon," to 2001's Session 9, a psychological thriller that was one of the first features to be shot on high-definition 24-frame video, the same process George Lucas used to shoot Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

A FEAST OF FRIGHTFUL FLICKS WAITING TO BE REDISCOVERED

As the leading name in the world of horror, Fangoria magazine has been the source of information for fans of fright flicks for more than twenty years—covering feature films, video games, comic books, collectibles, and all aspects of horror entertainment. Working closely with Fangoria’s experts, including Editor in Chief Anthony Timpone, Adam Lukeman has compiled a must-have guide for casual horror fans and hardcore horror junkies with Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen.

With a brief synopsis for each of the included films, lists of cast and crew, “Terror Trivia,” and little-known facts about these lesser-known but must-see gems, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen offers a feast of gruesome information. Featured here are flicks that were dumped by their distributors or were initially flops, like Cherry Falls, Manhunter, and Pumpkinhead, foreign winners such as Cronos, The Vanishing, and Funny Games, and straight-to-video sleepers waiting to be discovered, including Shadowbuilder, Jack Be Nimble, and Nomads. There are even surprise entries directed by industry giants—movies like George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, Brian De Palma’s Sisters, or Dario Argento’s Opera—that are frequently overshadowed by the filmmakers’ other, better-known works but are worthy of further examination.

Entertaining and informative, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen offers more than a hundred reasons to look beyond the often ho-hum Hollywood hype fests . . . when you’re really in the mood to feel your flesh crawl.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400047498
• ISBN-13: 978-1400047499
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #329,516 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Lukeman Is Saying...Is Give These Flicks a Chance!, July 22, 2006

By	Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Adam Lukeman's 101 BEST HORROR MOVIES YOU'VE NEVER SEEN: A CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD'S MOST UNHERALDED FRIGHT FLICKS is a great resource for fans of the horror genre, and younger fans or those new to the genre--that is, those who don't have the time or resources to go back and check out every obscure horror flick of the past--might especially find it helpful.

Of course, hard-core genre fans are sure to find some entries in the book with which they are very familiar (probably even some cherished favorites). GINGER SNAPS (2001), EXORCIST III (1990), and George Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) are a few notable examples. I am a life-long horror fan, however--one who is now staring the age of 50 damn near straight in the eyes--and I am not the least bit ashamed to report that this book spurred me to check out at least a dozen great flicks that, for various reasons, I might otherwise have forever passed over. For example, I've been a longtime admirer of auteur Frank Henenlotter's quirkily campy classic BASKET CASE (1982) and his 1990 Frankenstein send-up FRANKENHOOKER, but I'd never heard of his even better sci-fi satire BRAIN DAMAGE (1988) until I picked up a copy of Lukeman's tome. And though I'd heard a bit of buzz about maverick independent director Larry Fessenden, I'd never been motivated to actively seek out any of his movies until I read Lukeman's review of Fessenden's 2001 opus WENDIGO. The review intrigued me so much that I secured a copy of WENDIGO on DVD and immediately gave it a serious screening. I loved that flick so much that I went through a lot of trouble to get copies of Fessenden's two earlier flicks NO TELLING (1991) and HABIT (1997)--both of which were well worth to effort to locate--and he has since become my all-time favorite indie director.

No doubt many longtime genre fans will disagree with some of the reviews in this book. In fact, some will argue that a few entries are downright dogs that don't even belong in the book at all. But it's unlikely that Lukeman or the FANGORIA editors expect every serious genre fan to see eye-to-eye with them on every film mentioned. Instead, Lukeman and his cohorts simply hope to expose fans to some good--and, in some cases, really great--horror flicks that have been panned by fans and critics in the past.

And isn't that the point? I don't know about other horror fans, but I read the articles and reviews in FANGORIA and other horror magazines and web sites to help me weed out some of the genuine stinkers at the box office and the home-video store. I mean, I just don't have the time and money to watch everything offered up in the name of horror. But realistically, I know that every once in a while, a good flick falls through the cracks and doesn't get a fair shake. With Lukeman's 101 BEST HORROR MOVIES YOU'VE NEVER SEEN: A CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD'S MOST UNHERALDED FRIGHT FLICKS, some of those deserving flicks will get a second chance at life...and death!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for finding "new" horror movies, January 23, 2005

By	M. Souza (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It seems like many of the reviewers are looking down their noses at this book since they'd seen all the movies (then why buy it?) or think that the reviews are too short. For my purposes, however, it's been a godsend. Having really gotten into horror movies the past few years, I was running out of movies to rent at the video store. This book really provided me with a whole host of movies to check out and explore, in a wide range horror genres - monster, slasher, zombie, vampires...you name it. The only downside may be that some of these may be hard to come by on video or DVD these days.

This book is such a fantastic resource, and I either take it with me or skim through it every time I head out to the video store. If you're a horror fan and are looking for some movies that you may have overlooked or weren't sure were worth renting, then check this out.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 13, 2003

By	K. L. Uminski "Tiny Bubbles" (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I find it difficult to find lists of obscure horror films that I haven't seen, and this book give me 96 that I haven't seen (though many of the 96 I have heard of.) While I do not agree with every review (I am generally not a fan of Italian gore) I have already discovered 2 gems (Christmas Evil and The Dentist) that I would have passed over many times before. All and all a great effort for gore hounds.