Extremely Generous Review of the ‘Handbook’

Many thanks to Gareth Walters over at The Amazing Movie Show Web site for his extremely thoughtful examination of The New Horror Handbook.  His review is especially meaningful to me because 1) He is no stranger to writing extremely insightful reviews of genre releases, and 2) He looks at the Handbook as a whole rather than simply reviewing specific chapters which, admittedly, is a big temptation with a book of this nature.

He’s also the first person to mention the design of the book. I personally think that Pamela Norman has really made this book what it is, especially with the way she handled the marginalia that runs throughout the text.

This fact was really brought home to me early on in the process when I raided my own sizable stash of genre books, looking for a design to use as inspiration for The New Horror Handbook. I was immediately disappointed to discover that, though I have many favorite books, I’ve yet to see one on the subject of horror movies with any truly distinctive style. Some are printed on better paper than others, some feature many gorgeous color photos, but none really break out of the simple picture/text format that has ruled book printing since the early ’90s.

And speaking of design, be sure to check out The Amazing Movie Show site — really one of the best designed genre sites I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Well THAT’S a Dubious Distinction

Sorry, gang. There’s really no “new horror handbook torrent.” (That particular Google search phrase makes me oddly giddy.) As of now, we really need you to go out and buy a copy. (Apologies for the inconvenience.)

‘Handbook’ on Comics101

A hearty thank you to Josh over at Comics101.com for speaking with yours truly about The New Horror Handbook for his column Squib Central; the interest and support is always greatly appreciated.

Some very good questions, too, especially about where this whole “torture porn” trend came from, and why.

Cheers for the Mention, Rue Crew!

Many thanks to Rue Morgue magazine for their mention of The New Horror Handbook on their blog, The Abattoir, today.

As those of you who have already delved into the book already know, Rue Morgue is largely responsible for inspiring the writing of that book. You can also read about the personalities behind Rue Morgue magazine in the pages of the Handbook.

Awesome Review from Bookgasm

Woke up to an eloquent, glowing review for The New Horror Handbook on Bookgasm.com. Even more gratifying than encountering praise for this book is reading a review that understands what I set out to accomplish in the first place.

One of the chief concerns I had writing this book was that its intended audience would expect it to be either an encyclopedia of movie reviews, or a detailed history of the industry itself. I’ve been extremely appreciatitive of the horror community’s embrace of this book for precisely what it is: a history of the genre told through in-depth looks at (and interviews with) some of its landmark creative talents.

Talking ‘New Horror’ on Dread Media Podcast

A big thank you to Des Reddick for letting me talk at length about the “New Horror” and The New Horror Handbook on the latest episode of the Dread Media Podcast.

While you will quickly see why it is that I seldom express myself beyond the printed page, hopefully you’ll also get a better understanding of what The New Horror Handbook is all about.

Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to slip off to take a listen and see how many apology e-mails I need to prepare…

Cheers to the HorrorEtc Podcast

HorrorEtc co-host Tony (right) and genre fave Sid Haig.

Thanks go to Ted and Tony at Canada’s HorrorEtc podcast for their kind words about The New Horror Handbook this week. Episode 96 (the Val Lewton special), carried some very kind words indeed about the book.

And you can enter a drawing to win a copy of The New Horror Handbook from HorrorEtc — details can be found around the last 20 minutes of this episode.

Each week, Ted and Tony (and sometimes Doug) bring you spirited, good natured conversation about movies that fit a specific theme, be it French horror, Vincent Price flicks, indie films, or those based on true events.  Some personal favorites include:

• Guilty Pleasures
• Horror Documentaries
• Shocksploitation

Dread Media Podcast

Just wanted to take a moment to thank Des at the Dread Media podcast for his support of The New Horror Handbook.

We had a long talk this afternoon (which you can hear on the next episode of Dread Media — available Aug. 17, unless I’m mistaken). Please excuse my blathering on that episode; as I told Des, I’m used to asking questions rather than answering them.

Also check out that episode for your chance to win a copy The New Horror Handbook, courtesy of the Dread Media podcast.

In the meantime, here are my own favorite episodes of Dread Media:

• Episode 4: Probably my favorite: Interviews with Rue Morgue’s Stuart Feedback Andrews and (then of Rue Morgue, now of Fangoria) Chris Alexander about an in-the-works documentary featuring Uwe Boll’s boxing match with his critics.
• Episode 64: Des and wife Megan tackle Ginger Snaps.
• Episode 79: Revisiting Faces of Death as an adult.
• Episode 82: This one has it all. From Let the Right One In to Salo. And to cap it off: Megan returns to tell Des why Twilight doesn’t suck.

Cheers to All

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all who’ve been discussing The New Horror Handbook and who have also understood the intentions behind it. Your kind words mean a great deal to me.

I’ve been hearing from some awesome people lately, from a variety of different places. Cheers to the folks on the Horror-Movies.ca forum, from the many Ginger Snaps fans in particular (I KNEW there had to be a number of you), and everyone else who has dropped me an email or checked out The New Horror Handbook Facebook page. (Did I mention we have a Facebook page?)

Some more NHH-related info to come, so stay tuned.

New Horror Handbook at Festival of Fear

If you find yourself at in Toronto Aug. 28-30, don’t miss your opportunity to check out one of North America’s premiere horror conventions: Rue Morgue magazine’s Festival of Fear. While you’re there, you can also pick up a copy of The New Horror Handbook at the Rue Morgue booth.

If you’re feeling particularly enterprising, why not get the Rue Crew to sign the chapter about Rue Morgue magazine? Go on — when are you going to get the chance again?