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???