Very well researched and sourced. Thorough, and Newman's knowledge is unrivaled. My only issue is he doesn't seem to like much of anything. He's unduly hard on (or just plain wrong) on films like ALIEN, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE RE-ANIMATOR, all acknowledged classics. His pithy asides are annoying. That being said I'd rather he be opinionated than sycophantic. Recognizing Tim Burton as an "auteur" is a pleasing move, and the section on David Lynch is wonderful as well. A good read for se...

My understanding is that Kim Newman is widely regarded as an authority on the subject of horror films. Unfortunately, I found his tone throughout to be rather snide--he use a footnote at one point to denigrate by name a critic whose opinion he disagrees with. He also has a way of presenting his opinions as though they were objective fact, which becomes an unintentional source of amusement: I was reading the updated version of the book, which presents the original 1988 text with updated footnotes...

This book is bizarrely disappointing. It has good information. But with the amount of references that makes to movies without necessarily giving enough focus a trend setting series or a couple seminal works from the different decades between the 1960s and the present, the book is largely directionless. There are areas where you can see the potential of the book and its project, namely the two sections on auteurs and their works as well as the sections of chapters that slow down with the referenc...

Really enjoyed this chunky tome of horror films!This book is for the hardcore horror fans, as Newman is extensive in the topics/genres he covers. I didn't read all the chapters, but they are basically essays, so you can dip in and out of horror trends that interest you.I enjoyed the later chapters that discussed things like franchises, as well as mentioning spoof horror like Scary Movie. Sometimes, certain parts of the book felt more like a list of films than anything else, but it will definitel...

Kim Newman must have seen about 10,000 movies in his life so far. He must leap out of bed and take in Head Cheerleader Dead Cheerleader (2000) over breakfast before checking the post to see if his contact in Baton Rouge has finally sent the promised copies of Sergio Martino's hard to get Your Vice is a Locked Door and only I Have the Key (1972) and Joel Reed's Bloodsucking Freaks (1978). Speaking of sucking, Kim's book sucks up almost every stupid and every reasonable horror movie from 1960 to n...

Whew! It took me a month but I finished it. I must confess that there were moments when I despaired of ever seeing the end - but my love of horror films and plain, bulldog determination allowed me to pull it off.I was a horror movie fan in my teens and early twenties - then slowly moved away from the genre as the terror got more graphic. I am a fan of the the creeping variety (like the The Omen), but grand guignol disgusts me. Then, I did not have access to a VCR for quite some time between the

I've had the original edition of Nightmare Movies since I stumbled across it in a used bookstore in the early '90s. I have read that thing to pieces -- Newman wrote a classic of film criticism, which makes a great guidebook and a great leisure read alike. The updated edition takes us up to, pretty much, right this second -- he covers everything right up to movies that were released in 2010 and 2011. To do it, he took the original book and the left the text intact but added footnotes when he had

Whew. Reading this was like being inside the mind of a scattered lunatic who spent their entire life watching nothing but horror films. I only was able to get through half of this book as every section felt like it was a mildly coherent list of related horror films. Here's the zombie chapter, here's the midnite movies chapter, here's the vampire chapter and all those chapters did was attempt to rattle off as many movies in that subgenere as possible. There's some opinions bandied about, but they...

for every masterful stroke -- the comparison between the portrayal of hannibal lecter in manhunter and silence of the lambs is perhaps the book's highlight -- there's another 50 pages of dense lists or derogatory comments about actors, subgenres, and even musicians. newman manages to work in a potshot at michael jackson's music in a discussion of john landis' work (two, if you count the footnotes), and like most of the author's negative opinions, it seems more nasty than critical.essentially, yo...

I started this book night before last and it is not what I thought. Way over the top detail on the horror movie industry and who did what behind the scenes along with which producers jumped from one movie to another. The book might be for some people but it is not for me so sticking it on my dnf shelf.

If you want a book of film criticism focused on horror, this is the definitive choice, especially in this newer edition. You will not agree with the author on everything, of course, and it glosses over a couple of things, but it is easily the most in-depth and knowledgeable film study of horror in the era (1960-2010). And it's fun.Let me start with what it is and isn't. It is not a book of film theory, like Men, Women and Chainsaws, nor is it a study of horror across media, a la Danse Macabre. I...

The best and most comprehensive account of the modern horror film (i.e. post-1968, from Night of the Living Dead onwards) I've ever read and could ever hope for, covering in detail all the major trends and movements from around the world in the last 50 years (up to 2011).This volume consists of the original book from 1988, extensively annotated to provide updates or revised opinions where he has changed his mind in the interim (but leaving the original intact), followed by another 300 pages or s...

If there is a Necronomicon, this is surely it.

Newman is one of those people who clearly knows every horror movie that's ever been made and could probably quote you scenes by heart. The knowledge is endless, the writing is witty and clever and draws you in and the sheer number of horror films in this book is mind-boggling. It's a great book for fans and covers every corner of the horror film world.On the personal side: if you read about horror movies often, there's a good chance you probably know Kim Newman and know if you like his critiques...

Encyclopedic view of horror movies since the late sixties. Examines the big tent pole movies (Night of Living Dead, Halloween). And their cultural reaction against mainstream society. Explores the thesis that the world is more frightening than we assume it to be. Although the books ends in the late eighties, anticipates the future waves of horror, such as the golden age of dread that has created some very unique horror movies (hereditary, the lighthouse, babadook)

Front-loaded with its best material (that incredible analysis of Night of the Living Dead), which it never measures up to again. Yet still exceptionally entertaining. Binge-able despite its length.

Mr. Newman has written an exhaustive study on the horror genre, providing some very interesting information throughout. The first half of the book is pretty much the original material from the first publication with added current footnotes by the author clarifying information he wrote earlier. The second half of the book is the updated portion, consisting of all new material where the author picks up the narrative on directors and films that have been released since the first publication of the

This was a nice nostalgic trip through horror movie land. It's arranged in themed chapters so you can pick and choose (torture porn - not my thing but zombie movies - yay!). After reading it, I've decided to watch four movies I never got around to (The Birds, Psycho, Towering Inferno, and The Prophecy) and re-watch three I remember liking (The Monster Squad, Se7evn, and They Live).

One of the most thorough books on the subject. Well set out and a "must have" for any student of film or fan of the genre

I'm disappointed that I didn't like this more. I'm a huge horror fan, and there is no doubt the author has seen as many horror films as anyone on Earth, so it would seem a good match. Unfortunately, I found this really dry and a grind to get through. I think it would almost be better served as a reference book. There are just so many titles and little comment about all but a select few that it's hard to really know what the author thinks about them and whether he recommends checking them out.