witchyfingers's review against another edition
5.0
I only needed to read a few paragraphs before I decided to pre-order a physical copy of this book. The Introduction and "Scare Tactics" sections explain how movies qualified for this collection, and preface how they will be analyzed and rated. The author uses a really detailed and interesting rating system that assigns a symbol to each of seven scare tactics - Dead space, the subliminal, the unexpected, the grotesque, dread, the uncanny, and the unstoppable. Each of these is explained before we begin with the first movie discussed - Psycho. Each movie's section contains details such as release date, director, and cast. Rather than summarizing the movie (if you're reading this book, you've probably seen most or all of these), it gives cultural context and rates specific timestamps and scenes on a Scare Rating scale from 1-10. It also has a table that rates the movie on a scale of 1-10 for each of the Scare Tactics. Finally, it wraps up with a Further Viewing section that recommends films (in a few different decades!) that can be viewed as similar to the movie at hand. This book is so well structured and organized, visually interesting, gives a concrete but fun way to consider each of the films, and is a definite must for any fan of horror. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance - I look forward to adding it to my collection when it comes out on 9/22.
bookwoman37's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
I enjoyed reading this book. The audience for this book is viewers who have already seen these movies. It is a critical look at these horror movies and why they are so scary. There are a lot spoilers so if you have not seen the movie in question watch it and then come back and read about it. While I had seen most of these movies I appreciated the sidebars of other movies to watch since I had missed some of those. Any fan of horror movies will enjoy reading this book.
ghoulnextdoor's review against another edition
5.0
Though I’m a life-long fiend for all things horror, my love for the genre does tend to wax and wane. Sometimes I become a bit unplugged, only to dive back in with a voracious ferocity that’s probably a bit alarming from an outsider’s perspective. Matt Glasby’s The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear on Film, and has marvelously rekindled my love for all things horrid, haunting, and harrowing. Glasby examines some of the most frightening films created and explores with us what it is exactly, that makes them so scary. Which sounds like it might be a dry, scholarly affair, but it’s not even a bit! The analysis is tightly written, wryly humorous, and exceptionally insightful, and, coupled with the spare elegance of the striking black and white artwork—I’m utterly immersed and enthralled and I haven’t been able to put it down.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
3.0
Stylish but superficial exploration of fear in horror films. The book is structured in a series of very short chapters, one per film, with a quick analysis of what makes each film so fear-inducing. It is, however, more subjective in its decision of which films are most frightening than I think the author is willing to admit. Frankly, I began to be sceptical in the introduction, where Glasby claims that he doesn't include Jaws or Alien as horror films because "scaring us is not their primary objective," apparently, to which I call bullshit. There are in fact no animal horror films here at all, and no eco-horror either. That's a subjective criticism in itself, given that these are the horror films I most enjoy personally, but I think when you're trying to put forward a list of "the scariest movies ever made" you either need to justify your biases or put forward a more objective rationale for including them (or preferably both). When you don't have even a single film representing some of the major sub-genres of horror, it's time, I think, to consider whether stacking your best-of list with serial killer films is a result of personal preference. (It's fairly obvious that serial killers, violent sadism, a dose of supernatural horror, and found footage is the horror Glasby likes best.) And personal preference is fine, as far as it goes, but relying on it limits the analysis of fear which is the goal of this book by excluding other types of fear produced by other types of horror films.
It's a pimped-up version of My Favourite Horror Films, basically, and it is very stylish, but it is also, as I said, a bit thin. Likeable enough, but I won't be referencing it in any of my own scholarship, for instance.
It's a pimped-up version of My Favourite Horror Films, basically, and it is very stylish, but it is also, as I said, a bit thin. Likeable enough, but I won't be referencing it in any of my own scholarship, for instance.
talkingmongoose's review against another edition
4.0
I bought this for the gimmicky 'scare tactics' charts and graphs, but was happily surprised by the general quality of the book. The black and white illustrations are beautiful and the mini-essays on how some of the best(ish) horror films since the 60s work are interesting, even if they sometimes drift into plot-descriptions.
Other than the odd unwelcome opinion, my only issue was the selection process for the included films. Glasby claims that horror is intended to scare. I don't agree, but won't go into detail here. Fine, whatever. The problem is, he uses this excuse to (for some reason) exclude the likes of Alien and The Thing. How anyone could watch either of those masterpieces and not describe them as horror is beyond me.
Other than the odd unwelcome opinion, my only issue was the selection process for the included films. Glasby claims that horror is intended to scare. I don't agree, but won't go into detail here. Fine, whatever. The problem is, he uses this excuse to (for some reason) exclude the likes of Alien and The Thing. How anyone could watch either of those masterpieces and not describe them as horror is beyond me.
amalia1985's review against another edition
1.0
The writer’s views on The Exorcist are the epitome of idiocy. ‘’Dated’’? ‘’Dragging’’? ‘’Spinning head LESS convincing’’? Are you for real? At least, learn to use the phrase ‘’in my opinion’’!
This book is a horror made of grammatical and syntactic mistakes.
The Others had no place in the book. It is a horrible film, a cheap, boring imitation of the Sixth Sense. And while the abomination with the ever-wooden Kidman takes the spotlight, The Sixth Sense becomes a meagre ‘’honorary’’ mention. And no, you idiot, no one could guess the closure.
The ‘’writer’’ is trying to appear funny and clever. All he comes across as is someone who hasn’t even finished primary school.
All in all, useless.
This book is a horror made of grammatical and syntactic mistakes.
The Others had no place in the book. It is a horrible film, a cheap, boring imitation of the Sixth Sense. And while the abomination with the ever-wooden Kidman takes the spotlight, The Sixth Sense becomes a meagre ‘’honorary’’ mention. And no, you idiot, no one could guess the closure.
The ‘’writer’’ is trying to appear funny and clever. All he comes across as is someone who hasn’t even finished primary school.
All in all, useless.
whateveryoneelseisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion in exchange for an honest review.
What a fantastic book this is! I am a huge horror fan and I particularly enjoy reading about horror films, so I was excited to see what this book would be like. Thankfully it lived up to all my expectations and more. This book is a brilliant snapshot of the history of horror movies, covering both famous films and more obscure ones. It picks a single movie from each year (starting in 1960) and then discusses both the movie and horror more generally in the time period. It also lists additional films for further viewing which I really appreciated as this is where the more obscure stuff comes in. I got a lot of great recommendations from this book and I can't wait to watch them all.
My only minor gripe is that is picks a pretty strict definition of horror, excluding all franchises and blended genres (for example, no Friday the 13th or Alien) which seems like a bit of an oversight. The author does give a reason for this but I don't think it's a full discussion of horror due to these exclusions. Still, this is a brilliant book and I enjoyed my ARC so much that I've actually asked for the full copy for Christmas. This is definitely a must have for any horror fans, particularly those who want to learn more about horror cinema over the years.
What a fantastic book this is! I am a huge horror fan and I particularly enjoy reading about horror films, so I was excited to see what this book would be like. Thankfully it lived up to all my expectations and more. This book is a brilliant snapshot of the history of horror movies, covering both famous films and more obscure ones. It picks a single movie from each year (starting in 1960) and then discusses both the movie and horror more generally in the time period. It also lists additional films for further viewing which I really appreciated as this is where the more obscure stuff comes in. I got a lot of great recommendations from this book and I can't wait to watch them all.
My only minor gripe is that is picks a pretty strict definition of horror, excluding all franchises and blended genres (for example, no Friday the 13th or Alien) which seems like a bit of an oversight. The author does give a reason for this but I don't think it's a full discussion of horror due to these exclusions. Still, this is a brilliant book and I enjoyed my ARC so much that I've actually asked for the full copy for Christmas. This is definitely a must have for any horror fans, particularly those who want to learn more about horror cinema over the years.
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