Book Review: Here There Be Monsters

Here There Be Monsters
Published by BearManor Media, 2021. 464 pages
By Bryan Senn

Being a lover and collector of horror reference books, it should be no surprise that I’ve been a fan of Senn’s work and have quite a few of his books in my library, even before I met him at a Monster Bash show in 2016. His work is always a joy to dive into because he not only packs it full of information, but you can tell it is coming from a fellow fan. And while we might always agree on some films, I still enjoy reading his take on whichever film he is writing about.

With this book, it is a collection of essays, reviews, and other writings that were either published in magazines or other books but were cut down due to size limitations or just didn’t fit in that particular publication. In this new volume, we get it all. Plus, we get a LOT of it. This volume is huge and is filled to the brim with just about every classic horror subject there is. The films covered go from the early classics of the ‘30s through the ‘60s, as well as a huge section on Mexican monster films, which I particularly enjoyed. There are even a few book reviews and some personal essays included as well.

Here There Be Monsters

I think it was either his book Golden Horrors or Drums of Voodoo when I first became aware of author Bryan Senn. Funny thing is that I had probably read several of the articles that he had written over the years for magazines such as Filmfax and Shivers, to the many books I owned from Midnight Marquee. Several years ago, I got to meet him at a Monster Bash show and we’ve become good friends since then. So anytime he has a new book coming out, I know I’ll be adding it to my library. Not just because we’re friends but because Senn knowns what he’s writing about! He’s just like the rest of us, having a huge passion for the genre, so we know what he’s writing about, comes from the heart.

His latest book, Here There Be Monsters, from BearManor Media, is a collection of “interviews, histories, tributes, and overviews on the diverse world of horror and science fiction cinema” that he’s done over the last 30 years. Some of these pieces are expanded from their original form while some are completely new. Within these pages, you’ll read about the Universal films to Hammer horrors from across the pond, Euro gothic chillers, and even heading south of the border for some mask wrestlers duking it out with all sorts of monsters. From the well-rounded genre cinema fans to ones craving to learn more about titles you might not have heard of, this book sounds like a great way to learn about, or learn more about this great selection of cinema.

It is available only in hardcover format from BearManor Media for only $38. If you get it from Amazon, it will set you back another $10, but then you’ll get probably get free shipping. Either way, I think this will be a nice addition to everyone’s library. And just think, Christmas is coming, so for any horror fans that you’re looking for a gift idea, there you go.

More Books for Your Library

Since I’m always on a quest to add more titles to my ever-growing library of non-fiction titles on the horror genre, I’ve recently come across a few more that I wanted to let everyone know about. Most of these haven’t been released yet, or even listed on the publisher’s website just yet. But I figure the quicker I put them on your radar, you’ll look for them.

The first one is entitled Dead or Alive: British Horror Films 1980-1989, edited by Darrell Buxton. This one has been published by Midnight Marquee and you can order it either through Amazon or their site, though they don’t it listed just yet.

The next one has only been announced by the author, Bryan Senn, and that it is coming from BearManor Media, called Here There Be Monsters, which is a collection of interviews and essays on “Classics (And Not So Classic) Horror Cinema”. Coming from Senn, I’m sure it will be well worth the read!

Opinions, Opinions, and More Opinions

There is a new book that just came out called 40s Universal Monsters: A Critical Commentary, covering all of the monster films that Universal put out during that decade. Author John T. Soister had published a similar book back in 2001 covering the Universal films of the 30s, entitled Of Gods and Monsters: A Critical Guide to Universal’s Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939. Now, along with contributors Henry Nicolella, Harry H. Long, & Dario Lavia, they take on the ’40s, covering 66 titles from The Invisible Man Returns to Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.

But what does have to do with opinions? Hear me out. Looking through my own library, I have several books that deal with the early days of cinema. If we’re talking about the silent era, we have Silent Screams by Steve Haberman, or Wayne Kinsey’s entry in his incredible Fantastic Films of the Decades series, as well as Troy Howarth’s own series, Tome of Terror, who has covered the decade of the ’30s as well. Kinsey is already up to halfway through the ’40s with his ongoing series. But then I also have Universal Horrors by Tom Weaver, Michael and John Brunas, Soister’s aforementioned Of Gods and Monsters, Mank’s Hollywood Cauldron, Senn’s Golden Horrors, and even a few others titles. Then we move into the ’50s and beyond with multiple titles in each of those as well.

Book Review: “Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills!”

“Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills!”
Published by McFarland, 2019. 433 pages.
By Bryan Senn

The double feature was an interesting concept from the start. If you’re not aware of how it all started, then the beginning of the latest book from Senn will fill in all those historical details for you. In fact, I found that part of the book to be a very interesting history lesson, how the studios were reacting to what the TV market was doing to them. It shows that once again how things tend to change because of money, either due to an increase of it, or a decrease, and definitely in the film business.

Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills!

There is just something special about good old fashioned double features! Sure, they might have started to draw in audiences more, getting double the entertainment for your hard-earned dollar. And sure, usually the main feature was followed up by a cheaper B-picture, but none the less, they were a lot of fun. Now, author Bryan Senn takes a look at this special time in our movie history, when double features were something to look forward to.

Starring with Universal-Internationals release of Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra in 1955, Senn goes through the next 20 years covering all the officially sanctioned double-bills of horror and science fiction titles. All 147 of them! You’ll read all about the films with production details, historical notes, and critical commentary.

This 433 page book is now available through McFarland. It’s a bit pricy at $59.95, but Senn’s work is always entertaining and very informative. I am looking forward into diving into this! 

You can order your copy now by clicking HERE.

Twice the Thrills!

Back in golden age of cinema, at least for fans of horror and Sci-Fi pictures, was the double feature. These were usually at the drive-ins, and offered fans two features for the price of one to try and get more patronage through the gates! How could you lose? Sure, the second feature might not be the best film, but that was all part of the fun. Some of these pairings became legendary, such as I Drink Your Blood and I Eat Your Skin!

Now, thanks to author Bryan Senn, you can learn all you need to know about all the different double bills that played in theaters from 1955 to 1974, in his new book Twice the Thrills! Twice the Chills! The book covers the 147 officially sanctioned horror and Sci-Fi double-bills during this period, starting with AIP’s Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra.

There is no specific publication date as of yet, but should be out either the end of this year, or the beginning of 2019. It does have a bit of a hefty price of $59.95, but everything I’ve read by Senn has been well worth the time and effort and I’ve walked away with a lot more horror knowledge! So can you really put a price on that???

Cinevent Part 3: Writers, Writers, Everywhere!

At one point during the first day of the show, a gentleman walked up to my table and we started chatting…the usual stuff, movies, posters, and such. We were talking about the classic Universal monster films and some of the posters for them. I mentioned that I would be scared to death to own something like one of those, just because of the value, I’d be terrified that something would happen to it. He mentioned that some time ago, he had purchased an original one-sheet for The Invisible Man, but had to get rid of it for that same reason. Then he mentions that he put out a book some time ago called Children of the Night, which was a book on movie posters. Of course, I have that book in my library, which I quickly told him, which made him smile even more! His name is James Gresham and is a super nice guy and such a pleasure to chat with. Children came out in 2007 and is a comprehensive guide to classic horror posters, lobby cards, and other items. For someone like me that will never be able to afford these kind of items, it is a great way to at least be able to see some of them and the beautiful artwork. He followed up this book in 2010 with They’re Here Already, which is the same kind of book, but covers the science fiction films of the 1950s. Again, so much fun to look through. These are both beautiful hardcover edition books that are a bit pricey but well worth the money if you are a fan of this kind of poster art.

Book Review: The Werewolf Filmography

The Werewolf Filmography
By Bryan Senn
Published by McFarland, 2017. 408 pages.

Why a book like this has never been written before is beyond me. Yeah, there was the The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide by Stephen Jones, but that just quickly goes through titles with very little written about them, as well as it covering movies having ANY connection to werewolves or changing into a creature listed. A nice book to chew on, so to speak, but not one to go to for any real meat. But it can also be said that maybe the reason a book like this hasn’t been written before was, as author Senn puts it in his introduction, since the werewolf sub-genre is so huge, there are many, many titles that are far from good. So since the bad definitely outweigh the good, it would be a very tough hill to climb to watch and write about all of them. But Senn has taken on that task, and has done an admirably job!

Book Review: A Year of Fear

A Year of Fear: A Day-by-Day Guide to 366 Horror Films
By Bryan Senn
Published by  McFarland, 2007.  560 pages.

There are a ton of movie guides out there for us fans to choose from. Some are great, some are not. Some have the same old comments on the same old movies. But what author Senn has done with this book is a pretty unique angle and very entertaining as well. He reviews 366 films, one for each day of the year. But there is more than just that concept, for each movie has some sort of tie-in with that particular day. For example, Feb. 4th is Torture Abolition Day, so the movie is Torture Ship (1939), April 26th is National Bird Day so the movie is The Giant Claw (1957), and so on. Sure, some title might be a bit of a stretch, but it still a great idea and very entertaining angle.

But it is more than just picking movies to coincide with a particular holiday or date, Senn actually has very good reviews of the films, giving plenty of information about it and/or the people that made them. The titles range from the classics to the very best of the cheese and schlock, but are all reviewed with a positive light, even if the movie is admittedly terrible. Senn may point that out, but never comes across as all out negative.

This is simply a fun book. It’s a great one to go through to make your own checklist, since quite a few of these titles in here I would consider “must-see” films, but also gives a pretty cool angle if you’re trying to decide what movie to watch some evening.  Just look up today’s date, and there you go!