Editor’s note: We debated whether to publish this review. However, reviewer Lizzy Walker is an academic librarian, subject expert on the horror genre, and co-creator of a digital horror movie film index, all of which gives her a unique perspective and makes her an authority on a title like this.
Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 through 2001 by Kent Byron Armstrong
McFarland, 2009
ISBN-13: 9790786442317
Available: Paperback
This is a slasher filmography, complete with defined criteria, major cast and crew credits, a complete synopsis of each movie, and, at times, a short critique or film facts for each listing presented. To open the book, the author provides his criteria of what a slasher is, the history of the subgenre, and discusses the prototypical slasher film. The bulk of the text presents the slasher films, followed by appendices that include directors, actors and actresses, writers, and composers, as well as a comprehensive index.
There is no denying this book presents some valuable information, and includes a good number of slasher films. However, there are elements that need to be addressed that could have improved the text. Based on the summary from the publisher, the book boasts over 250 slasher films being showcased in this book. However, the final tally I counted was 175. Unless Armstrong is counting films mentioned throughout the book that are not slashers and merely included as film facts, there is a discrepancy between the actual content and what is advertised. The synopses were far too bogged down in details. Rather than providing a full synopsis of each film, the author would have served his readers better by providing a shorter synopsis with as few spoilers as possible, followed by an actual critique. While it is true that the films included are not new, they will be new to someone.
Something I noticed is that, while the author has no problem describing kills, he shies away from straight up stating that a couple has sex. If a couple is or has engaged in sexual activity, just say so. Also, the terms ‘female’ and ‘male’ are incredibly overused. Also, as the book is presented as an international bibliography, perhaps including the country of origin for each movie would be helpful for the reader.
The text overall could have been improved with another round of editing. A few factual errors slipped into the text, too. On page 143, a sewing needle is referenced as a weapon when it is a knitting needle. As the copy Monster Librarian received is a 2009 reprint of a 2003 text, there could have been time and effort devoted to an improved second edition instead.
Not recommended.
Reviewed by Lizzy Walker
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