Fright Favorites: Horror Classics to Haunt Your Movie Night by David J. Skal

It might not be referred to officially as American Movie Classics anymore, but I love the AMC Channel. It's where I feel in love with Walter Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's also where I saw Marilyn Monroe get her toe stuck in that faucet in The Seven Year Itch. And every October, I can count on each night's programming being loaded with creepy classic horror and sci-fi thrillers in lead up (or countdown, depending on how you look at it) to Halloween. 

While it seems that the 24th-31st of each October is devoted solely to the exploits of Michael Myers night of mischief; except for that one time Silver Shamrock Novelties tried to ruin All Hallows, you can count on an amazing array of horror flicks from the past 100 or so odd years of cinema.

I found my copy at a Five Below of all places. Just as some have said that they felt like Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye was just speaking to readers to pick it up, I felt like this book was screaming at me for attention. Maybe I should have stopped at the introduction. The author clearly states that this book is anticipated for Halloween viewing sessions. I'm all for seasonal reading. But nothing on either sides of the cover indicated a need for autumn weather and falling leaves. So I just went for it. Besides, if you are creating this book for Halloween watch parties, you should focus on 31 films and not just 27! Maybe I have the wrong calendar but October is supposed to have 31 days of which #31 is Halloween. 

(Note: upon editing my review and searching for an image of the book to put on my blog, I have learned that there once was an edition of this book sponsored by Turner Classic Movies. In that volume, Skal featured 31 different books. From what I can glean, the 4 missing books are not titles that  ACM has the rights to. Regardless, I am staying with my original assumptions of the book post-review.)

The author starts off with some of the earliest horror films that thankfully still exist. As he works his way through the Silent Era, into early exploration of color and then through the Hayes Code of Hollywood through the renegade 1960s that gave birth to the R-rated or worst slasher pics, Skal gives an amazing history of the history of horror in film. 

Technically, Skal examines 54 total movies. For every THEM! the author explores in depth, he also devoted the last page of each chapter to another similar film. It's a lot like when I worked at Suncoast Motion Picture Company and I would give customers recommendations on the VHS movies they selected. "If you like A then you'll like B!" (Man, did I love working there. I still marvel at the time during the busy Christmas rush, this lady came up to me and said, and I quote "I'm looking for this movie. It stars that guy and he's always with that girl and they fall in love.", as much as I remember with pride correctly guessing the film in 1 try, for the life of me, I can't remember which movie it was I said!!!)

Anyways, despite 54 films being looked at, there are some noticeable absences. If you're looking for Hitchcock, it's only The Birds. The only 'Alien' in this book is John Carpenter's The Thing. Halloween obviously gets an entire chapter while Friday The 13th only a recommend. As for the 2 films that scarred me for life, Roddy McDowell in The Legend of Hell House and The Amityville Horror II, they are not to be found. As for comedy, there's quite a few looked at. Alas, John Carradine's visit to The Monster Club, co-starring Vincent Price, is not one of them. 

That's how these types of books go. They can only go so far without turning into an encyclopedia. Some great films are going to be left out. Some others that are real head scratchers like 1993's Hocus Pocus, get added. But there is 1 film that I will never watch, even if you paid me. It's so evil, I hated reading the chapter about it!

I would love a sequel. In fact, I'd love even more a spin-off. A look at Christmas movies! But make it 25 films. No!! Make it 26. Throw in a Thanksgiving romp for good measure. Oh, who am I kidding. Cover Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years with 31 days worth of holiday flicks. It would be an Advent I'd never forget from my film recommending friends at AMC!

Worth Consuming! 

9 out of 10 stars.