How to Survive a Horror Movie : all the Skills to Dodge the Kills

Locations
Call Number: BOCD 791.436 Gr
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	BOCD 791.436 Gr	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"With tracks every 3 minutes for easy book marking"--Container.
Compact discs.
Unabridged.
Narrated by Johnny Heller.
Seth Grahame-Smith's handy guide to surviving scary movies might just get you through the night. But it might also be the last book you ever read.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Funny submitted by zmclaugh on July 30, 2018, 1:38pm This is a funny book about horror movie cliches.

Enjoyable and funny submitted by Cherie on August 4, 2023, 4:52pm I’ve never been a big horror movie fan, but this book gave me an appreciation for the genre that I feel I was lacking. Written by horror movie expert Seth Grahame-Smith, this is an entertaining “guidebook” that outlines the major genres, sub-genres, and tropes of horror films. It takes on a parody approach to surviving horror movies by instructing the reader on how to avoid the traditional pitfalls, what to do in different horror scenarios, and how to subvert the writers by changing genres. The illustrations are also quite excellent.

Something I found both fascinating, and cringe-worthy, was the abundant use of token and stereotyped characters that never really crossed my mind as I grew up watching these movies. The book points these things out with no applause, but I feel that a small statement could have been made about the apparent sexism and racism in older horror movies, and how more contemporary horror is stepping away from those toxic traditions to create a richer and more robust horror filmography.

The final chapter, on how to defeat Satan, was a real let down. It feels like the author just gave up. Even with the “change genres” approach, there could have been so much more than just “whip out your penis.” I can’t speak to horror films specifically, but there are plenty of films and books where Satan is defeated - a rousing game of chess, a fiddle battle, satanic spawn rebelling against daddy-dearest, divine intervention. And if you’re truly suggesting the only way to defeat Satan is by changing genres, then what better way than to divert to a Hallmark made-for-tv movie?

The best parts of the book were the Foreword by Wes Craven, the Appendix of recommended horror films with comments on each one, and the humor throughout the entirety of the reading. An enjoyable and funny book that gave me a new appreciation for a film genre, and excellent film recommendations.