Are you a child of the 1970s and/or 1980s? Did you grow up sneak-watching slasher flicks like The Slumber Party Massacre and Silent Night, Deadly Night while your parents slept? Were you the kind of kid who felt there was only one holiday worth celebrating, and that was Halloween? Was Elvira your number one crush? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please, I implore you, drop everything and immediately pick up a copy of Grady Hendrix’s new book, Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction (Quirk Books, September 2017). You won’t be disappointed. It’s a thoughtfully curated tour through the horror publishing boom era, one that is sure to please every fan of the genre. Whether you enjoy splatter punk or emo vampires, killer crabs or devil worshiping toddlers, you’ll find something to love within these pages. Most importantly, the book’s tone and style is a perfect blend of thoughtful criticism and riotously funny observational humor, making for a truly addictive read.
Grady Hendrix acts as our tour guide through the twisty and trashy tale of the horror publishing boom that came at just the right time for many of us who were entering adolescence during those years. We were the prime audience for stories of cannibalistic cadavers and satanic panic, and we lapped up everything publishers could churn out. If our parents were disgusted by it, then we wanted it even more. Horror writers in those days were absurdly prolific—the more they wrote, the bigger the paychecks—working at warp speed to write and submit as many novels as possible. The books covered any number of wildly insane horror tropes and genres, while also inventing some new ones along the way. It was a time when ideas and execution melded beautifully to create some truly terrifying tales of murder and mayhem. These novels are close cousins with the b-movies and horror films of the same era—and like their cinematic counterparts, the books sought to provoke, titillate, and most importantly, entertain.
Hendrix is both critically astute in his analyses of these books and also hilariously frank about how absurd some of them can be. I could practically see him rolling his eyes at certain points, but he’s never laughing at the stories or authors. No, he’s laughing because it’s all so damn delightful and life affirming. Fans love these sorts of books for several reasons, but largely because there is usually little or no artifice about them. Yet despite their proclivity for lean, mean storytelling, many of these authors also delivered incisive social commentaries on a range of topics, including race, gender, reproduction, and of course S&M Nazi dwarfs.
Paperbacks from Hell is also an impressively designed book, packed tight with scads of flesh-eating vermin, deranged psychopaths, and dancing skeletons galore. The hundreds of book covers given prominent display throughout are never less than frighteningly magnificent. Once you’ve seen one demon-baby you think you’ve seen them all, but alas, each fresh take on the vicious killer-infant cover design manages to intrigue and shock. It’s no surprise the book looks this good. Quirk consistently turns out some of the most elegantly designed books on the market, the sort you want to display prominently on your coffee table. In this case, there’s the added bonus of weirding out your square or devoutly religious visitors when they’re faced with this staring back at them. That’ll teach ’em to stop coming over to your house.
The only downside to Paperbacks from Hell is actually an entirely desirable problem: you’ll want to run out and purchase a slew of the vintage paperbacks covered in its pages. Based on Hendrix’s synopsis of Thomas Tessier’s 1979 novel The Nighwalker, this reviewer has already snagged a cheaply priced, well-worn copy of the metaphorical werewolf tale about an emotionally troubled Vietnam vet’s descent into murder and madness. You can bet I’ve also got my eye on several other old paperbacks currently being sold for a song on eBay. Resistance is futile. My reading list has only grown since reading this heartfelt love letter to the golden age of horror paperbacks. And truly, as both a book lover and horror aficionado, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Kudos to Quirk Books for publishing such an essential document of an era long since forgotten by most, but still deeply cherished by those of that appreciate a scary-good late-night reading experience.
The CW has released a new extended trailer for The Flash, offering up some new footage from several upcoming episodes and teasing the unmasking of Zoom:
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
Zone 414 is an upcoming American science fiction thriller film written by Bryan Edward Hill and directed by Andrew Baird. The film stars Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz, Jonathan Aris, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Olwen Fouéré, Colin Salmon, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Read more
It is the final episode of Season 1, and as expected following the somewhat calmness of last week's episode this week is about to go off the scale. Our crew Read more
Episode 5 of Zomboat! is the penultimate episode of Season 1 and it gave the audience a chance to catch their breath before the grand finale. Instead of the fast Read more
In Zomboat! Episode 4 we discover that even a shopping trip can be hazardous to your health in post-apocalyptic Birmingham. With the boat moored and apparently safe Amar (Ryan McKen) Read more
After our diversion last week our Zomboat crew begin travelling in the right direction and end up back where they first got on the boat. This also happens to be Read more
Zomboat! burst onto our screens last week and while we loved it we noted that it felt "a bit rushed with lots crammed in." As Episode 2 washed over us Read more
Debuting on ITV2 in the UK, Zomboat! is filmed in the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio of most zombie movies and answers the life long question of what would happen if you Read more
Homemade horror-comedy feature Zomblogalypse received its UK premiere at Dead Northern Film Festival - in association with Fangoria and Shudder - at City Screen York on 26th September 2021. The Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6NTQhEqn4 Read more
In Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of Read more
Zombie With A Shotgun is the feature adaptation of the popular web series of the same name. Aaron and Rachel are on the run due to the fact that Aaron is Read more
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Zombie Tidal Wave aims to pick up where the Sharknado franchise left off. More serious in tone, the film plays more like the original Sharknado Read more
It's a Zombie Tsunami! From the same twisted minds behind Sharknado comes an all-new disaster: Zombie Tidal Wave starring Ian Ziering. Watch the world premiere Saturday August 17th at 9/8c Read more
11 years ago, a zombie virus killed many people, while others had their family members turned into zombies. Society is still angry, and so outside the city, a zombie fight Read more
The looming release of ZOMBIE ARMY 4 draws ever closer, but there’s a whole new realm of terror lurking just behind! A new three-part campaign called Hell Cult, comprising three Read more
Zombie Army 4: Dead War is OUT NOW! Get your copy on PlayStation 4 TODAY! A reanimated despot and his ghoulish backup dancers shake a precariously attached leg in this Read more
IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE - YOU’RE DEAD WRONG! The year is 1946. Europe lies in ruins, torn apart by the nefarious “Plan Z.” A brave band of heroes Read more
I’m reading it now. It’s great!