Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares

by John Landis

From B-movie bogeymen and outer space oddities to big-budget terrors, Monsters in the Movies by legendary filmmaker John Landis showcases the greatest monsters ever to creep, fly, slither, stalk, or rampage across the Silver Screen! Landis provides his own fascinating and entertaining insights into the world of moviemaking, while conducting in-depth "conversations" with leading monster makers, including David Cronenberg, Christopher Lee, John Carpenter, and Sam Raimi€” to discuss some of the most petrifying monsters ever seen. He also surveys the historical origins of the archetypal monsters, such as vampires, zombies, and werewolves, and takes you behind the scenes to discover the secrets of those special-effects wizards who created such legendary frighteners as King Kong, Dracula, and Halloween's Michael Myers. With more than 1000 stunning movie stills and posters, this book is sure to keep even the most intense fright-seekers at the edge of their seats for hours

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, History, Art, Pop Culture

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2011

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

John David Landis is an American comedy filmmaker and actor.
(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I resist a behemoth, colorful coffee table book about cinematic monsters put together by the legendary John Landis? I couldn't of course, it would have been impossible, which is why I'm writing this review.

I have a bit of fangirl squee going on for Mr. Landis, who wrote and directed one of my favorite movies of all time -- An American Werewolf in London. He's also famous for Animal House and The Blues Brothers (and a plethora of cheesy stinkers that I won't mention here). Landis hasn't made a lot of monster movies, but what makes him the perfect person to put together a book like this is two-fold: 1) he's a screaming fanboy for the genre and 2) he's best friends with a lot of the directors -- and more significantly, special effects masters, who make the monsters come to life.

This entire book really does read like a love letter from a fanboy. Landis's characteristic exuberance pours across every page captured in about 1000 exclamation points. Seriously, this book has A LOT of exclamation points. So many I began to giggle and couldn't help but remember this scene from Seinfeld. No amount of exclamation points however, can truly capture Landis's passion and enthusiasm for the medium, his sparkling eyes, his fervent gesticulating, his habit of leaning forward as if he spends most of his life perched on the edge of his seat (which I firmly believe is the case). Watch this guy in person and you'll see what I mean.

So this is not an academic treatise on cinema culture. Landis makes this very clear in his introduction when he calls his book "a labor of love" and not "a ponderous examination of film theory." Budding special effects geeks out there should take note that the book is also missing detailed descriptions from the creators of how movie monsters actually get made. There are no secrets of the trade I'm afraid.

This book is mostly a magnificent, shiny compilation of movie stills and posters featuring just about every monster that has appeared on film in the last 100 years (the good, the bad, the ugly and the cheesy). It is by no means an all-inclusive encyclopedic list; still, there's so much to feast your eyes on, I don't think you'll be left feeling cheated. Some of the most fun I had was spent pouring over the movie posters and laughing at some of the ridiculous tag lines:

Dracula's Daughter - "She gives you that Weird Feeling"
Night of the Living Dead - "They won't stay dead!"
Teenage Zombies - "A fiendish experiment performed with sadistic horror!"
Zombie - "We Are Going To Eat You!"
Day the World Ended - The screen's new high in NAKED SHRIEKING TERROR!
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? - "The hand that rocks the cradle has no flesh on it."

That's not how you write a tagline. This is how you write a tagline: (can you name them all without employing Google?)

1. In space, no one can hear you scream.
2. When there's no more room in Hell, the Dead will walk the Earth.
3. Who will survive, and what will be left of them?
4. A romantic comedy. With zombies.
5. Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.
6. Man is the warmest place to hide.
7. To avoid fainting, keep on repeating...it's only a movie, it's only a movie.
8. If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming, she won't wake up at all
9. Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders, and another one on his desk

In addition to Landis's short introductory essays to every chapter, he has also included "conversations" with some of the biggest names in the business -- Christopher Lee, Joe Dante, David Cronenberg, Sam Raimi, Guillermo Del Toro, Ray Harryhausen, Rick Baker and John Carpenter.

I adore Guillermo Del Toro. To me he is a big giant teddy bear with a soft warm voice and a generous expansive laugh that erupts from the bottom of his belly. He is articulate, introspective, and acutely observant of the human condition. It is what makes him such an extraordinary storyteller and filmmaker. I would listen to him talk about any subject under the sun (and have in countless interviews), but when he speaks of horror and what scares us I am absolutely, positively riveted. The world could end around me and I wouldn't even notice. In the conversation recorded between he and Landis, Del Toro shares very specific ideas of what constitutes "monster" both philosophically and cinematically.

John Carpenter is the "old guy" now, cynical, almost curmudgeonly, wise with the long view. I love his take on the value of getting "to see" the monster. Implied horror which is only hinted at is basically bullshit and a cop out to Carpenter. Movies like The Haunting and The Innocents represent "the bad and beautiful way of making horror movies." He argues: "I paid my money, I want to see what the fuck it is." That made me laugh so hard. It's true that there is power in what we can imagine, but turning on the spotlights, pulling back the curtain, and letting us really see everything -- leaving nothing to the imagination -- can be a satisfying, cathartic experience in its own right. Ballsy filmmaking too, cause it can blow up in your face if the audience sees any strings or zippers.

This is one of the things that made American Werewolf in London so ground-breaking. Landis wanted to show David's violent metamorphosis from man to werewolf in broad daylight with no cutaways and thanks to the amazing work by Rick Baker he pulled it off. To this day it remains an extraordinary transformation, putting to shame many modern day monsters and their over-reliance on CGI effects.

The chapter entitled "The Devil's Work" includes Carrie White, and I do not think this is the best fit for her, since her abilities and acts of violence do not originate with or are influenced by Satan (Carrie's mother certainly believes this to be true, but we know better). I was also disappointed that Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Lucifer in The Prophecy did not make the cut. Viggo has very little screen time, but what he has he uses to astonishing effect. It's a chilling, convincing performance (certainly heaps better than Gabriel Bryne's in End of Days alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Missing from the "Ghosts" chapter is Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon, which always gets overlooked in favor of its more famous cousin The Sixth Sense. For the record I think Stir is the better movie. If you haven't seen it, pick it up because it is awesome.

If you have a coffee table in your home, this is the perfect book for it (or your bathroom if that's how you roll). Wherever you keep this book in your house, you'll likely never run out of horror movies to watch. There's plenty I haven't seen, and plenty more I can't wait to see again. It's a luscious, visual feast for the eyes and incredibly fun to flip through. It would make the perfect gift for the film buff or horror junkie in your life.

All I can say is, when do we get the movie? This book would make an awesome documentary. Watch the trailer here.

This review also appears on my blog.

[Shainlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5

[Jessica Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun romp through the history of monsters in film, though it leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to analysis. It felt like it was just listing movies, while I hoping it would dive into each different type of Monster and our history/relationship with them. Still fun, especially if you're a horror nut like me!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never "finish" reading this...

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent book for what it is. I bought it for myself with birthday money several years ago, before I was into reading novels. I have never actually read it from cover to cover as it is more like a giant scrap book of all the most famous horror movie monsters. It's got Jaws and Alien and King Kong etc so it knows what it's talking about. (To be honest I am just trying to build my 'books read' count on Goodreads).

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Such an Amazing book filled with photographs, artwork and interesting details on horror movies over the past 100 years!

From Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Jerry Dandridge, the Deadites, the Hammer movies and The THING right up to the present day monsters, it has it all; an essential book for horror movie fans!

[Edward Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I'm a sucker for anything that features creatures or beings from the dark recesses of our minds and nightmares. The fact that it was authored by a seminal horror film director also helps pique my interest in this book. Of course, it means that I expected the book to be filled with pictures aplenty. That's exactly what I'm getting.

The book's contents are divided into chapters based on the kinds of creatures that have inhabited horror movie fans' minds since the beginning of film age. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, mummies, the Frankenstein monster, aliens, ghouls, ghosts, basically anything ever put on screen, even human psychotic killers. The pictures are nice and should take up readers plenty of time to savor them.

The text that goes with each picture is obviously filled with Landis' personal feelings towards the film from which the picture is taken as Landis writes down the positive or negative points of the film. There are, however, mistakes and inaccuracy in some of the details of the films that Landis writes in the description of the pictures. I won't point them out, but the horror fans should be able to discover them.

Overall, this book should please fans of horror films, particularly the creature feature ones. Recommended, but not for the faint of heart, though.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing you need to know about this book is that its author, Mr. John Landis, is a huge fan of movies and monsters. He makes no apologies for the content within because it doesn’t matter how fantastic or terrible the film, if the creature in question is pretty bad-ass, then it earns a spot among the pages of Monsters in the Movies. He approaches the subject matter with a sense of wonder and glee that is as infectious as anything cooked up in the lab of a mad scientist.

You can read ZigZag's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was the cutest little thing and especially made for me. It’s just a horror buffs little encyclopedia or moodboard about movie monsters. But the funny thing about it is that it’s made by none other than John Landis. Dude made the Thriller video and Blues Brothers and the Twilight Zone film and Trading Places, just to name a few. Saw him a couple of times last autumn when he was visiting the Night Visions Festival and he was so sweet and enthusiastic. What a treasure.
Ah yes, the book! It’s not very good. But I loved it! A must-read for horror fans!

[Alfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Every picture makes me want to add to my dvd/Blu-ray collection.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea who John Landis was before I read this book. He was a director who directed "American Werewolf in London" and "Blues Brothers". He was also involved with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Black or White."

I first read about this book in the Globe and Mail and knew I had to see it. I have a love of old school monster movies, the macabre and special effects.

"Monsters in the Movies" is a huge coffee table book broken into sections like "Vampires", "werewolves", "giant creatures", "witches etc." In each section, there are stills and reviews of movies, bits of dialogue, photos from the sets, and commentary about that particular monster. There are copies of movie posters and interviews with horror figures like Sam Raimi, Guillermo del Toro and monster makeup wizard, Rick Baker. I have a deep love of the macabre, even though I can't even watch some of the horror films mentioned in this book (I have never seen The Exorcist and will probably never watch it because I would never sleep again if I saw it. Same with The Shining, The Changeling or The Omen. I once saw an excerpt of "Child's Play" and was uneasy for days.)

Landis' commentary on the movies is pretty funny. He's a wealth of knowledge and writes commentary like, "This scared me when I was eight but don't watch it if you're over eight." He also describes the plots of some really bizarre movies. Or writes something like, "in this unpleasant and totally implausible film, a young Tom Cruise and his hair...." I actually laughed out loud a few times.

However, I do have a deep love of older horror films and the macabre and I learned a lot of movie history. For example, there were actors that specialized in playing gorillas and they would often travel around and have their gorilla suit for hire and then appear in movies as gorillas. Crazy!

Some of the pictures are downright gory. Looking at the page devoted to demonic doll characters used in movies gave me the willies :)

I'd recommend this book as a purchase for anyone who is a horror buff or obsessed with movie history. Even I came away with a list of movies that I'd like to watch.

[Joe Vigil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Full of great old pics and old horror film posters. I want a copy for the coffee table I'll get around to buying someday. Oversized and full of awesome images.

[T. Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster book

This is a nice overview of monsters on film, with interviews from legendary film makers. Any horror fan will love this book.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid horror movie fan, I have some very mixed feelings about this book. When I ordered it, I didn't realize it would be a coffee table-type book that is 90% photos; instead I thought it would be a more in-depth, behind the scenes look at movie monsters through the eyes of a great director who has, himself, made a great monster movie. What Landis gives us though is much more quantity over quality, as he touches upon thousands of horror movies without going in-depth on very many of them. He also has an EXTREMELY loose interpretation of monster movies. Is The Shining a monster movie? The Exorcist? The Blair Witch Project? Poltergeist? None of these are monster movies in my view, but according to Landis they are. (Where is there a monster in Blair Witch, exactly?)

Another rather frustrating aspect of this book is the many interviews with luminaries from the horror field. He interviews John Carpenter, Rick Baker, Christopher Lee, and many others. I was excited to read these two-page interviews sprinkled throughout the book, but it turns out that rather than go in depth about their work, he mostly focuses on the same questions for each, asking them "How do you define a movie monster?" "Is a vampire a monster?" "Is a ghost a monster?" It almost seemed like he was trying to defend his own interpretation to justify the title of the book. I would much rather have heard about these filmmakers' movies and learned some new insights about their process or some behind the scenes stories. Amusingly, Guillermo del Toro totally calls Landis out on his definition of a movie monster in his interview. I was pleased that del Toro agreed with me.

Each chapter of this book focuses on a different type of "movie monster": vampires, space creatures, werewolves, etc. At the start of each chapter, before it goes to just pictures with captions, Landis gives us a two-page synopsis of the sub-genre. Again, these are very basic overviews and mostly decent snapshots of the sub-genre. But how in the world did he miss talking about "Night of the Living Dead" in his synopsis at the beginning of the zombie chapter!?! He has photos of the movie and briefly makes mention of "Dawn of the Dead" but somehow, inexplicably, he makes no mention of the single most important zombie movie ever made in the synopsis section. (The movie and its significance is brought up by several of the folks he interviews in other parts of the book, though.)

Having said all of that, it may sound like I hated this book, but I did not. Again, I'm a big horror fan, so I loved the tons of pictures of the flicks throughout the book. He really leaves nothing out in terms of photos. And there were quite a few movies sprinkled throughout the book that I wasn't that familiar with and now want to check out as a result of the pic and caption. So I will add this book to my many horror movie coffee table books and check it out from time to time.

Oh, and despite my mild disappointment with this book, "An American Werewolf in London" remains one of my favorite horror movies of all time.

[D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writer/director John Landis makes no bones about this being a very personal book from him. He has to his credit one substantial contribution to horror films (An American Werewolf in London) amidst several substantial contributions to comedy films (e.g., The Blues Brothers and Animal House). So his qualifications for even being considered to make this book are largely his celebrity and his vocal, lifelong affection for monster-movies.
Landis makes no attempt to be exhaustive or comprehensive on his topic, and opens up the concept of what makes a 'movie monster' to include pretty much anything that can take top billing in a horror movie. Being a DK book, this is a volume stuffed with loads of photos; these range from movie stills to posters and publicity shots, as well as including the occasional behind-the-scenes photo. Throughout, Landis provides the captions and section introductions in his own uniquely offhand humourous tone.
The book is divided thematically, providing sections for ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc.; the concept starts to feel a little thin when movies get cross-entered between categories, though, and we get 'big living things' split up across 'Dragons & Dinosaurs,' 'Monstrous Apes,' 'Nature's Revenge' and 'Atomic Mutations.' There is one last section devoted to 'Monster Makers,' which gives quick nods to some of the major movers in the creation of the creatures herein.
The real strength of this book lies in the handful of interviews Landis himself has conducted with other forces in the monster-movie industry. Directors Guillermo del Toro, Sam Raimi, Joe Dante, John Carpenter and David Cronenberg all contribute, as do effects maestros Rick Baker and Ray Harryhausen, with the only actor being horror stalwart Christopher Lee. Each interview is only two pages long and follows a basic formula ('What are monsters?' and 'Why are we drawn to them?' with expansions beyond by each interviewee), but they are clearly brief conversations between friendly mutual professionals and make for engaging reading.
Also included is a thorough pictures credit, index of both films and personalities, and a one-page acknowledgements section.
I had wanted to read this since it was published, but it fell off my radar until I found it cheap in a charity shop. Having spent so little on it, the price of admission was more than justified; if I'd paid cover price for what is essentially an oversized, handsomely produced fanzine, I would have felt a little cheated.

[Holger Haase]

In the 1970s/80s there was a glut of photo books dedicated to the history of horror cinema. John Landis' MONSTERS IN THE MOVIES is somewhat of an updated version of these oeuvres bringing these into the 21st Century.

Very few of the pictures displayed are really rare. Most have been printed elsewhere before and most can easily be found online. Still it's a massive tome and I spent a few enjoyable afternoon hours perusing it and being reminded of all the films I have seen (and the few I haven't).

And this would be it if it had just been another cinematic picture book.

Thing is, though, that the author is a significant film director and horror movie buff who (at least at one stage in his career) had a very distinct voice and style. So even though the text is naturally on the light side for this kind of work you would expect some personal touch with the contents but there was little of that.

The few sentences of info underneath the photos are very generic and could easily be ripped from IMDB or any number of websites. The relevant introductory chapters are not very in depth yet at times contain some very basic errors. Even when Landis covers some of his own films he more often than not writes about them in a neutral 3rd person review style which is a) pretty weird and b) a completely wasted opportunity. During the couple of interviews with film makers and stars such as Christopher Lee, John Carpenter etc he comes across as quite repetitive and often woefully uninformed.

The slap dash editorial approach to the contents is represented in the book's subtitle: "100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares". The earliest film mentioned is from 1899, the latest from 2011. You do the maths.

Still, not bad for a generic pictorial overview but not essential. And given the author definitely something of a wasted opportunity.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

A generous 2 stars (rounded up from 1.5) for this let down of a book. Some of the greatest to ever make monster movies are interviewed and we manage to get the least information possible from those interviews. It felt like they were just trying to finish for a deadline but in the style of a “natural” conversation. It was like a pro bowl game where the best players take part but it’s the most boring game of the year because no one is really trying.

I have a lot of respect for the people here, Landis included, but this was just disappointing. Extra disappointing because I wanted these people to say more and Landis doesn’t ask (or edits out) any follow up questions. I’m sorry, but this book would have been better served by a real interviewer that loves movies and was organized with follow-up questions and dug in a bit. Landis gets an interesting half-answer then just changes the subject instead of digging into what they started to talk about.

I mean, an hour on Wikipedia researching movie monsters would probably give you more depth than this book even though John Landis, John Carpenter, Ray Harryhausen, and other greats were literally right there to talk to. Ball dropped.

Most of the book is movie posters or advertisements for old monster movies and quick introductions of different monster types. I was hoping for a little more behind the scenes photos or never before seen type stuff, but not much of that.

Don’t buy it, get it from the library if you can.

[Elise Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handsome volume packed with hundreds of stunning images from legendary films MONSTERS IN THE MOVIES covers "100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares". The collection of unique and revealing photographs on display here (all courtesy of the Kobal Collection) is what makes this book truly indispensable as the text - although informative and wide-ranging- does not go into any serious depth. What we get instead is a personal journey through the history of horror that explores the origins of all the great monsters that have terrified and delighted us over the decades. Landis also clearly called in a few favours from his friends - interviewing several of his illustrious colleagues, who all offer their thoughts and fascinating insights into the assorted creatures of the night. This include such legendary figures as John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Dante, David Cronenberg, Christopher Lee, Sam Raimi, Ray Harryhausen as well as Landis' old collaborator make-up FX artist Rick Baker. John Landis' book is a delight from start to finish. A wonderful book that is worthy of sitting on every horror fan's shelf. Keep it within reach as these photos and interviews are to be treasured.

[Satu Ylävaara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mainio John Landis on tuikannut v. 2012 kansien väliin kaikki merkittävät Elokuvien hirviöt.. John Landista on vaikea olla pitämättä, haastatteluissa hän on silmät tirrillään niin täynnä puhdasta intoa ja rakkautta laajaan genreen, että... Mm tässä Ingmar Bergman -dokussa jossa hän samoili Bergmanin saarella...

Kyseessä on visuaalinen kokoelma, millaisia hirviöitä elokuvan sadan vuoden taipaleella on nähty, miten niitä on tehty. Mukana mm hunajaisten Christopher Leen ja Sam Raimin huastattelut. Pätevä, edullinen ja suht tuore jokaiseen suomalaiseen kirjahyllyyn. Metamorfooseista uupuu tietenkin Valkoinen peura, mutta Vampiraa eli Maila Nurmea piisaa. John Landis: Elokuvien hirviöt

Hirviöt elävä renessanssia, 2000-luvun vampyyribuumin jälkeen on tullut surkea vampyyri-sarja, jota ei jaksa millään tasolla seurata, mutta tv:ssä pyörii yhtä aikaa Kaunotar ja hirviö, Dracula, Grimm, Olipa kerran... Ja ihmishirviöitä on Game of Thrones tulvillaan - päivän politiikasta puhumattakaan.

John Landis: Elokuvan hirviöt 20.01.2015

[Elwyn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Landis has put together a loving tribute to all the cinematic horror movie monsters, mad scientists, aliens, mutants, carnivorous sea and land creatures, haunted houses, cyborgs, pandemic viruses, body horror - you name it and you'll find a very nicely written description alongside a photo of that particular movie. Now there are a very few unavoidable errors when the photo clearly belongs to another movie and definitely not the one described, and that's understandable because of the subject matter scope this book covers. It's also a pretty heavy book in weight to hold and a lot larger than the horror movie genre books that had all the photos of movies we used to look at with fascination and hope to see one day but weren't able to see them yet because we were too young or they weren't available to rent on VHS. This is the horror movie book no horror fan should do without.

[Joel Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty informative for a coffee table book about the history of monsters in movies, going all the way back to the silent films era and up through the present day. This was very extensive, although most of the movies only get a brief paragraph, very entertaining, and had a ton of photos. I'm not sure how much of this John Landis actually wrote himself, but there is some humor in the movie summaries (for example, I laughed out loud when it described "Cloverfield" as filmed through the video camera of "one of the young people that we don't care about"), and the interviews with actors and creators of various movies were full of fun anecdotes.

I only read a little of this at a time, which is why it took so long for me to finish, but you could probably get through it much faster if determined.

[Evan Bolick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so psyched to get this book, I mean, just look at that cover. But as gorgeous as the book looks, it was bone dry (pun intended) inside. Divided into various monsters, each section starts with a very unenjoyable intro that essentially gives a dull history of the monster on film and ends with an interview with a filmmaker or actor that is iconic in that particular monster genre. But despite featuring talent like Christopher Lee, none of the interviews was interesting (with a few even expressing dismissiveness for the monster work). If it had stuck to images, or been compellingly written, I would have loved it. As is, it's probably better flipped through at a library than on your own bookshelf.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the opening paragraph Landis says this isn't supposed to be a comprehensive encyclopedia of movie monsters or an in-depth discussion. It's basically a big coffee table book filled with cool pictures of movie monsters over the years.

And if you go in with that in mind, you'll be fine. It also features some short discussions between Landis and several other film makers who have dabbled in horror.

My only complaint is that the discussions with the other film makers were too short, aside from that I found this to be a pretty fun book to flip through.

[Kevin Pitchford · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter what one thinks about John Landis and there is plenty to think about, the man knows cinematic monsters. The book is an enjoyable popcorn read through cinematic history and the celluloid monsters of yore by predictable categories such as ghosts and vampires. The entertainingly stupid category of the man in the ape suit which included Landis’ own film “Schlock,” was entertaining and informative and I have never read anything which contained such passion for actors wearing ape suits.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool book that has lots of cool info, great interviews with stars like christopher lee and a beautiful pictures from nearly all the films he mentioned. Really loved this book; reading is all in one go is insightful but I thinking having it as a reference book and dibbing into it now and then would be great.

[Chris McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, with some nice pictures and fun blurbs about the monsters and the movies they starred in. Though the book contains a few interviews with famous monster filmmakers, don’t expect much in the way of behind the scene stories or thoughtful insights, though. It’s just a fun picture book, not a bad thing for many monster movie lovers.

[Harold · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun celebration of movie monsters from director John Landis, whose classic An American Werewolf in London more than establishes his horror credentials. Mostly just a collection of captioned photos arranged by monster type (vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, demons, aliens, etc.), along with conversations between Landis and other horror filmmakers.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great coffee table art book overview of monster cinema, from a director who knows what he's talking about - except when it comes to Blade 2. It's unapologetically a "this is what I think is cool" book and not an academic study of the genre which makes it fine to dip in and out of for a casual overview, not so much if you're looking for an in-depth analysis of themes and historical trends.

[Mbur · Rating 5 out of 5]

From director who did 'American Werewolf in London'. 'Blues Brothers', 'Trading Places'. and Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' music video. John Landis touches on the historical origins of archetvpal monsters and the memorable contributions from leading directors, actors and monster makers - all the while adding his own entertaining insights.

[Jonas Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hvis du elsker creature-feature og monsterfilm- så er dette den eneste bog du behøver. John Landis kommer rundt om alle genrer og subgenrer, og altid med et glimt i øjet- for der er også langt mellem snapsene i hans øjne når det kommer til gode monsterfilm, inkl dem han selv instruerer.