Unsung Horrors — Unsung Horrors(book)
The book comes from the minds behind classic horror & fantasy film magazine We Belong Dead. With the 448 page book coming in an oversized perfect bound form, featuring full colour on every page, with even the black & white films getting a snazzy, eye-catching, and colourful backdrop.
In all the book features around 200 films, with between two to four pages on each film. As well as the reviews/ discussion on the films you also get a good selection of stills, posters & related artwork from each film as well. In all the book features writing from a hand full of writers, so you get a nice blend of the way films are covered- from nostalgia filled recalls of the first viewing of a certainly film, onto more playful & tongue-in cheek coverage, through to more detailed & informative studies. Though thankfully the writing never becomes too stuffy or academic, with the writers passion for horror cinema always shining through…because at the end of the day this is a book by horror film fans for Horror film fans.
Sure as a long & seasoned Horror fan there are more than a few films mentioned here that I’ve seen, but there is a whole host I haven’t!. And even with films I know of it’s nice to read others takes on them, and often I’ve found out details I didn’t know or notice. So I came away from the book with a growing list of new titles to track down, and films I want to re-watch again.
The films in the book are laid out in a seemingly fairly random manner, with no contents or index- so it means one is constantly flicking though the whole tome, but I guess this has it plus & negatives. Another slight criticism is that the reviews often don’t make it clear what version of the films are available & in what format- but I guess such facts do quickly date a book of this sort. But really both of these points are miner niggles, and on the whole the book is most rewarding.
We get also get an introduction from Joe Dante(Director of Germlins, The Howling, Piranha, etc ). As well as a six page interview with Jeff Grant who was the filmmaker & writer behind the classic UK Public Information Film Dark & Lonely water, which of course was voiced by the late & great Donald pleasance.
So in conclusion if your are a long-term fan of horror Cinema you’ll find Unsung Horrors a real treat & joy. Both giving you a whole host of new titles to investigate, and old favourites reacquaint yourself with again. I’m not sure what the pressing of this book is, but I can’t imagine it’s huge, so I’d suggest picking it up sooner-than-later!. The book can be purchased direct from here http://unsunghorrors.co.uk/