Vincent A. Albarano. — Aesthetic Deviations-A Critical View of American S
Aesthetic Deviations is a recently released book that focuses on the American shot-on-video horror made between the early 80’s and early 90’s. It’s a nearly two-hundred-page affair that treads the thin line between passioned fan write-up, and more scholarly fare- to a largely engaging/worthy results.
The book appears on UK's Headpress books- as either a paperback, ltd hardback, or E book- I’m reviewing the first of these. It features a matt cover- on its front cover we get a collage of characters/ creepy villains from various SOV films. The book has a page count of one hundred and ninety-six page. It’s largely all text-based- though we get a fair selection of film artwork, zine ads, etc. dotted throughout.
The book grew out of Vincent A. Albrano's master's thesis- he wrote while at Ohio State University. As far as I can gather this is his first book- though he has done odds and ends of writing for places like academic film zine Bright Lights Film Journey. His writing is very much a mix of passionate film fan, and more focused scholarly writing- with I guess the balance being more on the fan side of things, say 70% to 30%.
The book opens up with a three-page introduction- detailing how the book came about, explaining Vincent’s love for SOV, and what he’s trying to achieve with the book- one obsessive fan notes on selected/ exemplary SOV from between the years 1984 and 1994..and not the definitive history of the genre/ time. I’d advise those looking for more of a guide/overview of the genre to check out Analog Nightmares: The Shot On Video Horror Films of 1982-1995 by Richard Mogg- which is somewhat mixed/ flawed, but really is the best history/ overview presently available.
Aesthetic Deviations is broken up into seven chapters- each running around the thirty-page mark. The first chapter looks at the birth of amateur American cinema & the birth of SOV horror. Touching on the work of Long Island filmmaker Nathan Schiff- who produced four Super 8 horror films between 1979 and 1991. The development of magnetic video tape and camcorders for home use. Touching on early SOV titles like 1982’s The Toxic Slime Creature (which Albrano claims is the first SOV), Boardinghouse (1982), Sledgehammer (1983), Black Devil Doll From Hell (1984),and Blood Cult(1985). With general discussion about how the films have been treated by general & genre press, as well as in academic writing.
Chapter two largely focuses on three films- Tales From The Quadead Zone (1987), Demon Dolls (1993), and Black Devil Doll From Hell (1984). Chapter three focuses on the early work of Kanas City film-maker Todd Sheets- taking in titles such as Zombie Rampage (1989-92), Nightmare Asylum(1992), and a few others.
Chapter four looks at when the genre darted into the avant-garde/ bizarre- looking at the work of director/ visual artist Charles Pinion like 1988’s punk/ skateboard zombie movie Twisted Issues. And Carl J. Sukenicks who made Incomprehensible sci-fi/ horror Alien Beast (1991). Chapter five focuses on one of my all-time favourites/classic SOV films Splatter Farm (1987)- which was the first film made by teen bros John & Mark Polonia with Todd Michael Smith. The chapter talks about how the film rather mutated the slasher genre. I found these two chapters to be the most compelling of the whole book- as chapter four gave a wonderful insight into films/filmmakers I wasn’t aware of, and five gives a wonderful insight into Splatter Farm- as well as discussing the original more extreme version of the film, which I’d never seen before.
Chapter six focuses on the more transgressive side of the genre, and chapter seven looks at the reception of the SOV in the 2020’s. With the book finished off with a list of sources, and its index.
In finishing Aesthetic Deviations will certainly be appealing to anyone who enjoys, or even has a passing interest in the SOV Horror genre. And I’d most definitely like to see some sort of follow-up/ sequel to this book- as there are more than a few other SOV films I’d like to hear Mr Albrano’s take on. To buy direct from Headpress drop by here