I’ve just read the reviews for this book on Amazon’s US site, and there seems to be some annoyance about the films included. I came to this book as a casual fan of horror films, and the selection of films didn’t seem a big deal to me, I simply enjoyed it for what it was.

In his introduction, Peter Normanton clearly states that this is not a comprehensive list, despite having over 250 films listed. By the end of his research, he had over 1000, so he’s tried to come up with a good selection. One thing I did notice is that sequels don’t get their own entries, but are simply mentioned under the original film. I’m sure a whole book could be written about horror movie sequels, but don’t expect to find them here.

The films included are in alphabetical order, with basic info, a synopsis of the story, and some background information, such as whether they were banned, or notes on filming. They’re also given a ‘splatter rating’. It seems important to point out that these are ‘slasher and splatter’ movies, which means a lot of zombie type films are included.

There are a few little extras, such as an overview of the genre, information on some of the directors, and a list of ‘video nasties’ which were banned.

I enjoyed looking up the films I’ve watched in the past, as well as finding some I’d like to try.