 Book Review: Shock October by Richard Glenn Schmidt
"There's nothing more charming than a failed attempt at scaring someone." Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we lock ourselves in the darkness of our apartments just to watch movie after movie, slowly pushing the boundaries of acceptable hermitism and forcing reality farther and farther away from our front doors? Obviously, it's for the cash and the girls, duder! The gentlemen behind the glory that is Shockmarathon, Matt Farley, Charles Roxburgh, and Tom Scalzo, return once again with Shock October, their best effort yet. In 48 hours, these three heroes watched 21 horror films on VHS (not DVD, VH-frickin'-S) and documented this event for your reading pleasure. One thing I enjoy about this book is that instead of each Shockmarathon participant giving their full length review of each film watched during their movie marathon, resulting in three reviews per film, this time, the guys take turns. A film will be reviewed by only one person with one or two sentence blurbs from the others. While I enjoyed the saturation effect of the older books, I definitely prefer the streamlining of reviews. It makes for an easier read and that big print sure does make my old man eyes* happy. I don't always agree with the Shockmarathoners opinions on movies, in fact, I almost never agree with them. For instance, how could anyone not see the magic of Don't Open the Door? Did these guys not get the memo about director S.F. Brownrigg? Hello! The man's films are masterpieces and cannot be reviewed negatively. End of discussion! End of topic! But that's what makes these books so great, I can completely disagree with these duders and not give a damn because the way they captured their reactions to their VHS horrors are awesome. Things are said in the heat of a movie marathon that one wouldn't normally come up with. I don't really believe that anyone could really hate "all British horror films" though I could see why one might say that while watching Killer's Moon. Farley, Roxburgh, and Scalzo have such specific and eccentric aesthetic requirements for their selected films that I am just baffled as to how these guys are able to find anything they like. They prefer to dwell on the lives of a film's characters and the storylines in between the horror scenes. One thing they enjoy in these movies is awkward love scenes between non-professional actors. They also champion the unsung heroes of cheap filmmaking: the animal actors. The award ceremony at the end of the book contains a category called "Worst Life Circumstances" along with "Best Actor", "Worst Movie", etc. Also included in this book are a trip to a VHS tent sale and a pre-awards ceremony debate in a moving vehicle. Let me just say, Shock October is more than just chuckle worthy. I found myself laughing out loud at not only their enjoyment of offbeat screenwriting and quirky cinematic scenarios but also their complete stupefaction in the face of hilarious continuity mistakes like soundmen gracing the shot with their presence or missing dialog when the actors' mouths are moving. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has ever watched more than 5 movies in a row, found their sanity slipping just a little bit, and kept going. *I am not joking; I really love books with big print nowadays. Where's my walker!?!? But the book right here. Check out the Shockmarathons site for more info. My reviews of Shock December and Shock June/January.
My reviews of Freaky Farley and Monsters, Marriage, and Murder in Manchvegas.
|