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The Shockmarathoners, Matt Farley, Charles Roxburgh, and Tom Scalzo, are
back with a double dose of horror movie madness as they once again watch
22 horror movies in 48 hours. After a tongue-in-cheek but overdone
introduction, a quick question and answer segment, a brief explanation of
the ShockMarathon rules, the book then dives into the story behind the
marathon and the acquisition of the films reviewed. I too know the
frustrations of tracking down rare horror flicks and the excitement of
raiding the ever-dwindling ma and pa video stores, so these are my
favorite sections of the book. For those of us who have held movie
marathons before, the details of the activities between the films
(including trips to the Red Arrow Diner and keeping the VCR from
overheating) are also very welcome.
Following in the tradition of the first two volumes (ShockDecember
and ShockJuly),
each reviewer tackles every title in the marathon providing a complete
saturation effect for the film reviews. Three reviews per film may make
the book read a bit slower but this is an opportunity for the
personalities of each reviewer to stand out. The film choices are often
quite bizarre and almost always obscure.
Killer Party,
The Devil Master,
Humongous,
The Outing,
Christmas Evil,
and Bloodshed
are just a few of the films adeptly and thoroughly reviewed here.
The most explosive statement in the book comes from Matt Farley when he
proclaims: “The British don’t know how to make horror films!” (Page 284).
Hammer Films… Amicus… Pete Walker… Really, I don’t even know where to
start correcting this one. Much like in
ShockDecember when he refuses to write a review for
The Beyond,
Farley reveals his close-mindedness when it comes to horror films.
However, he does admit that he hasn’t seen enough European horror to make
a final judgment so we’ll just have to wait and see where future
ShockMarathons take Mr. Farley.
The illustrations in the book by Ollie Monsef are kitschy and hilarious,
making up for the lack of screenshots and VHS/DVD covers. Monsef’s
goofball cover art is filled with nutty characters from the reviewed films
sitting at a dinner table together. This gathering of horror movie misfits
probably won’t ever occur but it’s nice to get a picture of what it would
look like.
All in all, another successful entry in the horror movie review/survival
guide canon for the ShockMarathoners. ShockJune/ShockJanuary: A Horror
Smorgasbord is sure to please any horror fan who ever decided that sleep
wasn't an option. Although the number of films reviewed isn’t very high,
the 471 pages should keep you busy for a while. And after all, the Shock
books are definitely more entertainment than horror reference material.
Hell, any book that contains the phrase: “Just when I had given up hope of
ever finding a Memorial Day-themed horror movie…” (Page 165) is a must
have in my opinion.
For more information, check out
iUniverse.
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