New Segment! I welcome you to a brand new feature on the blog. Burnt Pages will explore Film books, Guides and Bios. With a wealth of great film books out there its hard to know which are worth your hard earned dollars. Hopefully in a small way this will help. Since next month is Oct I thought of this book as a nice one to kick it off.
Book: Pumpkin Cinema
Author: Nathaniel Tolle
Rating: 3 1/2 burnt pages out of 5
Its not a stretch to say that every horror fans favorite howl-iday is Halloween. I mean horror movies, candy and its the only time of the year its perfectly acceptable to gross out your friends, family and co-workers. The book we are talking about is "Pumpkin Cinema" a guide for the perfect films to watch this season. I`m going to be breaking the review down into chapters.
Before I get into the meat of the book I like to start out by saying the presentation is well done. From the wonderful cover to the lay out, everything is eye catching and inviting. The book is started by a beautifully written introduction that really helps set the tone for the the preceding chapters. You can tell that he has a true passion for the holiday. After the intro we get into the main book, which is reviews of horror films.
Feature Length Flicks: Two things are clear from reading Tolle's reviews. Hes a talented writer and he knows his cinema. You can also tell that hes having fun with it and it comes through in the writing. From mainstream to weirder horror gems there is something new for every fan to discover. I was very impressed when things like "Blood for Dracula" "Haus" aka "House" (1977) were included. Without the more obscure titles it would be less exciting for the more advanced horror fan. In later editions i`m sure other horror and Halloween themed movies can be added. "Hour of the Wolf" and "Basket Case" would make nice additions.
Next chapter: Fun Sized Films and Creepy Crawly Compilations: This part of the book is perfect for those of you throwing a party and wanting something to play on mute while your ghoulish guests mingle around the graveyard. Its also great because it has selections for those horror fans who also happen to have pint sized monsters of there own.
Halloween on the Small Screen: The real gem in this book is the TV Halloween specials. From Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors to more obscure things like The Paul Lynn Halloween Special its a great guide to tricks and treats on the small screen. Is it totally complete, no. But this being his first edition i`m willing to over look that because its a very good start and misses none of the major stuff.
"Attack of the Top Fives" is a fun list of top five films in different categories.Even if you dont agree with his placements it still is a neat addition to the book and also helps if your looking for 5 films to do a movie thon.
The book ends with a nice outro which like the beginning is well done.
Overall: While its not a totally complete guide, it is a hell of a good read and is very useful when planning a haunted bash or just a get together with some zombie pals. Or can tell the author is a fellow horror fan and his love for the material really shows. Even hardcore fans can find a lot of stranger little gems within. Masks off to Nathaniel Tolle for capturing the fun spirit of the holiday in this well packaged and written book. Get it!
Here is the link, also please review as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Cinema-Best-Movies-Halloween/dp/0764347233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440617261&sr=8-1&keywords=pumpkin+cinema
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