Rating: Summary: I consult this constantly. Review: "Creature Features" is incredible--not only do I try to never rent or buy a horror or sci-fi film without consulting it first, but I also get yelled at for forgetting to take it along to the video store. This comprehensive book is an absolute must for fans of the genre, and, in fact, fans of film in general.
Rating: Summary: Read This And Beware.... Review: ....Of ridiculous, misinformed reviews below. This is a great, handy guide for horror fans. It has so many movies in here, and a ton of films that probably most people have never even heard of!. Probably some you wouldn't want to know of either. John Stanley has a lot of knowledge. He has a nice sense of humor in his reviews too. Now, I must comment on one star reviews below that will only give you a horrible impression of a fine book. These so-called 'reviews' give one star stating that there some mistakes in the book. Really stupid things like a certain monster in a 'Godzilla' didn't have wings or nonsense like this. This is not something to condemn a book for. Only uptight horror hounds with no lives will get into a snit over that. The only REAL mistake was how he mentioned Jason as the killer in the original 'Friday The 13th'. It was Jason's mother. The other thing was his rating system. People complain that a movie gets a mediocre review, but gets 3 stars. Well, his rating system goes up to five stars instead of the usual four. His three stars really translates into two stars. These were things that needed to be cleared up. Stay away from those reviews. This is a book that will not be far from a horror fan's reach.
Rating: Summary: Buy it. Review: A filmguide like Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide but here is only science fiction-, horror- and fantasyfilms reviewed. John Stanley loves these movies, so you can trust his reviews. I know this seems obvious, but in some other horror guides I've read the author look down on the genre he write about. Here you can read positive reviews on films other critics just spit on if they mention them at all. The only thing that's bad is that some films that where directed by people using pseudonyms (a very common thing in Europe, where directors changed their name to something that sounded american for commercial reasons) only the pseudonym is mentioned and not their real name. This is just a small problem that many don't care about, and fans of the directors know their pseudonyms anyway. A must have. Buy it.
Rating: Summary: The best gets better! Review: After a long five-year wait, the best guide to fantasy television and cinema is up-dated. Stanley is the grandad expert of all science fiction and horror media and although several others have tried to compile similar guides, no one has come even close. Think of the most obscure Sf movie or television show and look for it here...chances are better than 99% that you'll find accurate information about it here. And when he voices his opinions, at least for me, I tend to agree with them! If you only buy one guide like this, this is the one to get and then keep it handy by the cable box!
Rating: Summary: Not as Good as it looks! Review: At first glance I was very excited to read this book. The large numbers of rare movie reviews interested me very much. But after a reading a number of the reviews in this book i realized this author has a taste far different from mine. Some great movies were listed as bad and some of the worst that really dont deserve to be printed on are raved upon. ...
Rating: Summary: The ratings make no sense. Review: Despite the quote from the always reliable Fangoria, I cannot recommend this book. The errors fly fast and furious in this one. Some examples:Godzilla Raids Again: Stanley says that G battles "Angorus, a spiked creature with wings." Anguiras does not have wings. Godzilla vs. Megalon: "Baragon the stomper" is listed in the monster credits. Baragon does not appear in this one and he is an underground creature, NOT a stomper(whatever that is)! Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster: "A huge rodent creature... comes to the real Godzilla's aid when..." he " squares off against the antagonistic Angorus." The "rodent creature," King Seesar, helps G battle Mecha G at the film's close. Anguiras faces Mecha G early in the film and is defeated. Rodan: Rodan is referred to as a "pterodactyl." He is in fact a Pteranodan. King Kong vs. Godzilla: Stanley ends the review with, "AKA King Kong vs. Prometheus and King Kong vs. Frankenstein." These are alternate titles for the project that eventually got made as KK vs G. This film was never released anywhere as either KK vs. Frankenstein or KK vs. Prometheus. But, it doesn't stop at the G series. Some examples: Friday the 13th: " A blood-drenched psycho killer named Jason is knocking off his victims... at Camp Crystal Lake." The killer in this film was Jason's mother. Return of the Living Dead: "A malfunction frees a corpse and causes a toxic rain to fall on Resurrection Cemetary." The malfunction awakens more than just one corpse(the split-dogs, butterflys) and the toxic rain is caused when Ernie cremates the remains of the medical school cadaver. Exorcist III: Legion: The film was not released under that title. Legion is the title of the source novel. "...A serial killer nicknamed Gemini has possessed the body of incarcerated criminal Brad Dourif, who promises to escape to murder again." The killer is not known as Gemini but as The Gemini Killer. Brad Dourif plays James Venamon, who is the Gemini Killer. He doesn't promise to escape but wants Lt. Kinderman to tell the press that he is the Gemini Killer, who was executed many years ago. If he needed to escape why would he tell Kinderman the "Catatonics are so easy to possess?" Need I go on? This book may be a somewhat useful guide for someone who doesn't pay too much attention to the details. However, for those of us who number ourselves among the fanatical horr/sci-fi followers, this book comes as a crushing disappointment.
Rating: Summary: Riddled with errors. Review: Despite the quote from the always reliable Fangoria, I cannot recommend this book. The errors fly fast and furious in this one. Some examples: Godzilla Raids Again: Stanley says that G battles "Angorus, a spiked creature with wings." Anguiras does not have wings. Godzilla vs. Megalon: "Baragon the stomper" is listed in the monster credits. Baragon does not appear in this one and he is an underground creature, NOT a stomper(whatever that is)! Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster: "A huge rodent creature... comes to the real Godzilla's aid when..." he " squares off against the antagonistic Angorus." The "rodent creature," King Seesar, helps G battle Mecha G at the film's close. Anguiras faces Mecha G early in the film and is defeated. Rodan: Rodan is referred to as a "pterodactyl." He is in fact a Pteranodan. King Kong vs. Godzilla: Stanley ends the review with, "AKA King Kong vs. Prometheus and King Kong vs. Frankenstein." These are alternate titles for the project that eventually got made as KK vs G. This film was never released anywhere as either KK vs. Frankenstein or KK vs. Prometheus. But, it doesn't stop at the G series. Some examples: Friday the 13th: " A blood-drenched psycho killer named Jason is knocking off his victims... at Camp Crystal Lake." The killer in this film was Jason's mother. Return of the Living Dead: "A malfunction frees a corpse and causes a toxic rain to fall on Resurrection Cemetary." The malfunction awakens more than just one corpse(the split-dogs, butterflys) and the toxic rain is caused when Ernie cremates the remains of the medical school cadaver. Exorcist III: Legion: The film was not released under that title. Legion is the title of the source novel. "...A serial killer nicknamed Gemini has possessed the body of incarcerated criminal Brad Dourif, who promises to escape to murder again." The killer is not known as Gemini but as The Gemini Killer. Brad Dourif plays James Venamon, who is the Gemini Killer. He doesn't promise to escape but wants Lt. Kinderman to tell the press that he is the Gemini Killer, who was executed many years ago. If he needed to escape why would he tell Kinderman the "Catatonics are so easy to possess?" Need I go on? This book may be a somewhat useful guide for someone who doesn't pay too much attention to the details. However, for those of us who number ourselves among the fanatical horr/sci-fi followers, this book comes as a crushing disappointment.
Rating: Summary: This book is a MUST for any fan of the horror genre Review: Far to many books have fallen flat trying to accomplish what this book has done. It is THE BEST book i have ever seen when it comes to catalogue Horror flicks both theatrically and direct-to-video. Have you ever heard of Black Devil Doll From Hell? Probably not, but this book has a review of it. Before you rent Class Reunion Massacre you should know that you may have already seen this movie under the name The Redeemer almost 25 years ago. I didnt know that did you? Well it has entries for BOTH titles making it an essential have for people who never want to see a movie twice under a different title. The reviews arent always the best. Honestly, i LOVED Sleepaway Camp 2. But they at least serve as a wonderful checklist of the horror video market through 1995. This book does need to be updated in Y2K but for now it is a MUST OWN, my copy is severely dog eared from many back pocket trips to the video store! Buy this book!
Rating: Summary: Great book for Horror movies fan. Review: Great, I loved it. If you need to find old or new movie to buy or rent. Make this you bible.
Rating: Summary: Don't like MST3K? I don't trust you then... Review: His poor review of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is proof enough that this man has no sense.
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