What do you get when you combine a celebrated director, a love of monsters and a
publishing company known for producing high quality coffee table books? You get Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares from DK Publishing written by John Landis.
Landis, known for movies such as Animal House and most memorable werewolf movie ever, American Werewolf in London has turned his love for all things monstrous into a 320 page photo filled tome that is a joy to read. Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares is not meant to be a complete history but as Landis states in the introduction, it is a pictorial overview. Though not a complete history, it is packed with photos, some highly recognizable and some rather obscure. Each photo has an accompanying blurb about it; some are more amusing than informative.
The book isn’t just pretty pictures. Landis has interviewed some of the most influential figures in monster movie history. For the book, Landis interviewed directors John Carpenter (The Thing), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), Joe Dante (Gremlins) and David Cronenberg (The Fly). The interviews aren’t just with great directors. Included are interviews with OSCAR® winning make-up master Rick Baker, Ray Harryhausen the visual effects visionary and Dracula himself, the great Christopher Lee.
The book is broken down into 16 chapters with each chapter devoted to a particular type of beastie. All of the classics are represented including vampires, werewolves, mummies and zombies. The creatures that Landis discusses in the book are not just limited to the ones in the horror genre; he also touches on the creatures of science fiction. Sometimes the thought of dealing with an artificial intelligence that has gone amok is scarier than the image of a werewolf in a dark and foggy forest. Actually the A.I. instills more fear because it could happen. There is even a chapter on “Human Monsters” which we all know really exist.
Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares is not just a massive book it is massively entertaining. Measuring 12×10.2 inches this four pound book would be a perfect addition to your book collection. John Landis has a definite love of the monster genre and it comes across in his writing.
Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares retails for $40.00 and is available at your local bookstore. You can also check out the full line of great books DK Publishing has to offer on their website. This would make a great gift for the monster lover in your life so pick up your copy today.
