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Feature
Overview
From the beginning of cinema, things that go bump in the night have colored our collective storytelling experience. The hypothetical “monster,” in whatever guise or otherworldly shape it may take, is the manifestation of our fears and social paranoias, and an effective watchdog for making sure we all toe the line. This book peels back the flesh on a few monsters that have tingled our spines and caused more than a聽few聽nightmares over the past 100 years,聽from the creepy talons of Max Schreck in 1922鈥檚 Nosferatu through the Tokyo-stomping Godzilla to the present day.聽Cinematic monsters聽from such touchstones as聽Alien, King Kong, The Fly,聽and Evil Dead聽are categorized by chapter聽under creature type, such as space monsters, infectious monsters, and large/overgrown monsters. Through literature, the monster has found a lasting legacy but, through cinema, it has developed from black聽and white into full technicolor glory making the monster movie an enduring document of social times, movements, fears, and desires.
April 17th, 2011 on 2:54 pm
Essential reading for monster buffs and novices,
I must confess that monster movies are not my number one genre when it comes to celluloid gems, but after reading this book, I have a strange desire to see every one of the films discussed, either again or for the first time. The author covers a wide range of movies from the early days of Frankenstein et al, right up to current day modern masterpieces, all with the same degree of insight and affection. Each chapter focuses on a different movie, and provides lots of background regarding the inspiration, characterisation and provenance of the monsters, as well as gossip and interesting stories about the actors, directors and technical accomplishments. The writing is concise and snappy and sometimes lol funny, with Emma Westwood not being shy to throw in her own opinions. Given that she clearly knows more about the genre than most (or possibly anyone), her opinion and thoughts are pretty valid. All in all, Monster Movies is very enlightening and a cracking good read. Special mention too, to Ross Meade, who apparently indoctrinated Ms Westwood into the monster movie cult at an age when most girls are playing with Barbies. He sounds like a cool dude.
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|April 17th, 2011 on 3:02 pm
Informative + original + great interviews,
Most film reference books are well-researched but dry OR an easy read but light on actual insight and ‘meat’. Monster Movies treads this line perfectly, it’s informative and entertaining in equal measures.
The highlights, for me, were all-new interviews with some of horror cinema’s greats including Corman, Carpenter etc.
Should be noted that the although the term Monster covers a REALLY broad area (it includes vampires, kaiju (like Godzilla) and the shark from Jaws), the author* states right up front that she’s not trying to be totally comprehensive, rather she has picked films she likes (it is a Pocket Essential after all). Which is good, I think, cause who the heck wants to read ANOTHER article about the ape in the diving helmet from Robot Monster.
Good value too.
*A woman, rather than the usual ‘pale white male’, which is another point of interest.
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|April 17th, 2011 on 3:46 pm
For every horror/monster movie fan’s bookshelf,
As a horror film buff I’m used to reading deconstructions of movie monsters written with some kind of political agenda. What Westwood does here is list monsters in categories and then describe what makes them great (or not so great monsters). It’s so simple but it works so well.
The discussions about the evolution of special effects through monster movies is informative and entertaining. From Nosferatu to The Host, Emma Westwood clearly knows what she is talking about.
It’s so refreshing to read about monster movies by someone who gets it. These are meant to be fun. Yes they exist in a greater culture and are heavily affected by the times they were made, but they’re also meant to be fun. The book really concentrates on those aspects with descriptions of both the monster as an individual and the film in which it appears.
This is also a great guide to start using as a seen/unseen list to take to your local video store. It’s useful and enjoyable.
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