Justin Burning — Hand-Held Hell: The Outbreak of Homemade Horror(Bo
Hand-Held Hell: The Outbreak of Homemade Horror is a wonderfully informed and truly dedicated look at the world of micro-budget horror- be it SOV, digital, or general captured on less-than-a-shoe-string fare. The nearing four-hundred-page tome takes in not only the history/ growth of the micro-budget horror genre, but forty-four in-depth reviews, and twenty-two well-questioned interviews with some of the film's creators.
The book appears on Savannah-based Graveface Publishing. The three hundred and sixty-four-page book takes in both texts and a great selection of coloured pictures- be they stills, cover artwork, etc. It’s the first book from lifelong horror fanatic Justin Burning, and his writing blends a good research grounding, humour, and of course true passion/ love for microbudget horror. Each of the chapters creatively starts off with short snippets of Burning’s horror fiction writing which all link together- which adds an interesting twist to the proceedings.
After a couple of page Introduction, chapter One is entitled The Rotten Foundation. Here he discusses the origins of horror films, the genre's output in the 70s and 80s, independent VHS stores- and how from this grew the first shoots of the 1980’s SOV horror.
Moving into the second chapter The Dirty Work Begins( The Analog Boom) things step fully into SOV. This chapter takes in a big chunk of the book, running at over one hundred and thirty pages. It brings together twenty-two reviews of films from between the 80’s and the 90’s, as well as ten interviews with some of the film's creators. We have the likes of Boardinghouse(1982), and Day Of The Ripper( 1984)-with a nine-page interview with its writer/ director Tim Ritter. Moving onto a Polonia brother SOV classic Hallucinations(1987)- followed by an interview with co-writer/co-director Mark. Also from 1987 is Demon Queen- its review is followed by an interview with key low-budget horror creator Donald Farmer.
Chapter Three The Underground Talent is a shorter chapter- looking at the zines & magazines that grew out of the scene, and the growth of fandom in general. Chapter Four What Giveth, Taketh Away- covers the death of the smaller VHS shops, the growth of film rental franchises, the birth of DVD, and what impact the net has had on the scene. Chapter Five Clearing The Rubble looks at the beginnings of cheaper digital cameras, and boutique labels- who of course have been reissuing a lot of low-budget/lesser-known horror fare in recent years.
Chapter six The Dirty Work Continues( The (mostly) Digital Boom) is another long chapter- running at just under the one hundred and forty page mark. This chapter brings together twenty-two reviews and eleven interviews. We move from the mock snuff of August Underground (2001)- followed by an interview with its co-writer/ director Fred Vogel. Moving on we get reviews of the likes of The Gateway Meat( 2008), Found( 2012), Thanatmorphose( 2012)- followed by an interview with the film's writer/ director Eric Falardeau. There are reviews of Skinless ( 2013), American Guinea Pig: Bouquet Of Guts And Gore(2014), and Pieces Of Talent( 2014)- so a good selection of more recent(ish) micro-budget horror fare.
If you only have a passing interest in micro-budget horror this book is a must, and if like me you’re a big/longtime fan of the genre you’ll find it both an important & extremely worthy study of the genre. I’ll most certainly be keeping an eye out for future books from Mr Burning - as his writing is most readable, well-informed, and full of passion for his subject.