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Crimson Orgy
Grindhouse director Sheldon Meyer is cultivating an obsession. He has just one hellish week to shoot "Crimson Orgy," seventy-six minutes of mayhem destined to become the world's most notorious cult movie... and just maybe the first true "snuff film" ever made. Struggling to cope with a reluctant starlet, a booze-ravaged leading man, a backwoods cop bent on revenge, a mutinous crew, a devastating hurricane, and his own inner demons, Meyer relentlessly pursues a vision of unrivaled box office horror. He gets what he's after, but at a price no one could imagine!
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2008
2 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Austin Williams
6 books188 followersAustin Williams is the author of the cult suspense novels Crimson Orgy and The Platinum Loop. and co-author of Straight Whisky: A Living History of Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll on the Sunset Strip.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 19, 2008
Well-developed and utterly believable look at the making of an exploitation film in South Florida during the mid-1960s.
I loved the references to Herschell Gordon Lewis and his early films, plus the quick snippets of fandom. In other words, this could easily be a real film with a real cult following and swirls of gorey rumors. Its a great blend of reality and fiction.
The characters follow certain types and don't really do anything unexpected, but they are pretty solid and there's a great sense of tension. You know the results of the failed attempt to get Crimson Orgy out to the drive-ins and grindhouse theaters right from the beginning, but you are never sad to stick around to discover why it was such a failure. Genuine tension and suspense make for a really fun and quick read.
A must for horror fans.
I loved the references to Herschell Gordon Lewis and his early films, plus the quick snippets of fandom. In other words, this could easily be a real film with a real cult following and swirls of gorey rumors. Its a great blend of reality and fiction.
The characters follow certain types and don't really do anything unexpected, but they are pretty solid and there's a great sense of tension. You know the results of the failed attempt to get Crimson Orgy out to the drive-ins and grindhouse theaters right from the beginning, but you are never sad to stick around to discover why it was such a failure. Genuine tension and suspense make for a really fun and quick read.
A must for horror fans.
January 8, 2010
Austin Williams, Crimson Orgy (Borderlands Press, 2008)
Crimson Orgy is not, most likely, a book that's going to resonate with everyone. You have to be a fan of a certain stripe of exploitation film to really get everything out of it that was intended, I believe. (I could be wrong. I'd certainly like to be, because this book deserves the widest audience possible.) But whether you completely grok Williams' love affair with exploitation films may be beside the point; Crimson Orgy is a good read nonetheless.
Director Sheldon Meyer and producer Gene Hoffman are in the business of exploitation—which until the late fifties basically meant nudie-cutie pictures (as they were known at the time, I kid you not). Then came Herschell Gordon Lewis, the Wizard of Gore. In Williams' world, it's the early sixties, and Lewis' first gore film, Blood Feast, has just been a sensation in drive-in theaters around the country. Eager to cash in, Hoffman tasks Meyer with the creation of a Lewis-like flick. Meyer has other ideas, though; he wants to take the template with which Lewis had such success and turn out the deep, meaningful art film he's been wanting to make ever since he got into the game. So there's tension behind the scenes, and what's going on in front, well, that's not going to well, either. Meyer, out of an odd sense of prudishness, is feeding the leading lady the script a scene at a time, keeping her in the dark about the nature of the movie. The male lead is a drunk who's already on the wrong side of the hick lawman who runs the obscure Florida seaside town where they're filming. And the key grip is convinced the production is cursed. When one of the film's extras dies in a weird accident, the rest of the cast and crew start wondering if he isn't right...
For me, much of the pleasure of reading this book came from Williams' integration of the quick-and-dirty shooting schedule, and the techniques of shooting exploitation film, into the narrative. For others, that may not be the case, but Williams balances the movie-geek stuff and the actual story here quite nicely; non-movie-geeks will still have a strong narrative to work with, though what kind of narrative it is is up for debate. The book effortlessly switches gears from high drama to comedy to suspense novel. Impressive, but it does leave me wondering what impression we were supposed to come away form the book with. Still, that's not a gripe as much as it is a moment of confusion, and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book in any way.
This is very good stuff, and I recommend it without hesitation. Read this the next time you've got a few spare hours; once you start, you won't want to stop until it's done. *** ½
Crimson Orgy is not, most likely, a book that's going to resonate with everyone. You have to be a fan of a certain stripe of exploitation film to really get everything out of it that was intended, I believe. (I could be wrong. I'd certainly like to be, because this book deserves the widest audience possible.) But whether you completely grok Williams' love affair with exploitation films may be beside the point; Crimson Orgy is a good read nonetheless.
Director Sheldon Meyer and producer Gene Hoffman are in the business of exploitation—which until the late fifties basically meant nudie-cutie pictures (as they were known at the time, I kid you not). Then came Herschell Gordon Lewis, the Wizard of Gore. In Williams' world, it's the early sixties, and Lewis' first gore film, Blood Feast, has just been a sensation in drive-in theaters around the country. Eager to cash in, Hoffman tasks Meyer with the creation of a Lewis-like flick. Meyer has other ideas, though; he wants to take the template with which Lewis had such success and turn out the deep, meaningful art film he's been wanting to make ever since he got into the game. So there's tension behind the scenes, and what's going on in front, well, that's not going to well, either. Meyer, out of an odd sense of prudishness, is feeding the leading lady the script a scene at a time, keeping her in the dark about the nature of the movie. The male lead is a drunk who's already on the wrong side of the hick lawman who runs the obscure Florida seaside town where they're filming. And the key grip is convinced the production is cursed. When one of the film's extras dies in a weird accident, the rest of the cast and crew start wondering if he isn't right...
For me, much of the pleasure of reading this book came from Williams' integration of the quick-and-dirty shooting schedule, and the techniques of shooting exploitation film, into the narrative. For others, that may not be the case, but Williams balances the movie-geek stuff and the actual story here quite nicely; non-movie-geeks will still have a strong narrative to work with, though what kind of narrative it is is up for debate. The book effortlessly switches gears from high drama to comedy to suspense novel. Impressive, but it does leave me wondering what impression we were supposed to come away form the book with. Still, that's not a gripe as much as it is a moment of confusion, and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book in any way.
This is very good stuff, and I recommend it without hesitation. Read this the next time you've got a few spare hours; once you start, you won't want to stop until it's done. *** ½
March 15, 2014
I think a book like this would appeal especially to fans of Hershell Gordon Lewis era gore films. The story follows the events of a movie crew in a hickwater town in Florida in 1965, attempting to cash on on the drive-in movie gore fad. What happens on the set leads to the death of more than one person. Not a horror novel, but a novel about the making of a cheap exploitation grindhouse movie, that eventually goes snuff. I liked it. You might also.
August 28, 2011
Let's start off with a couple of things. Well one thing. A really vastly important thing that I personally feel you need to know: this is not a horror novel.
See that blurb that says something about "maybe the first true 'snuff film' ever made" near the bit about opening "up a ultra-violent slice of American pop culture"? Ignore it. Mostly. Because this is not a horror novel. This is a novel about the making of a [fictional] horror movie, one that became infamous due to an on-site accident, the erratic actions of its director afterward, and dark rumors surrounding it. You, like me, maybe assumed these dark rumors were foreshadowing of a moment where a movie crew goes mad with gore and bloodlust and slaughters buxom starlets while a depraved director cackles and screams "CUT!" [pun intended]. You, like me, would have the wrong end of the stick. You find this out kind of early one when a prologue starts describing the scope of the horror-to-come and it seems at odds with phrases like "ultra-violent". Cover scrawls be damned, what you have is a book made up of equal parts of fandom towards the exploitation films of mid-60s South Florida, a study of misunderstandings*, and a sort of dark comedy about all that can go wrong when you are making a low-budget hack film.
At the novel's core is Sheldon Meyer, a director of nudie-cuties who, driven by the success of BLOOD FEAST, wants to make his own gore picture. He is backed up by Gene Hoffman, a gregarious and charismatic man larger than life who sees the potential to make money off the budding scene. This is the 1960s and horror drive-ins are about to be huge and all they have to do is get butts in the seats and do so by promising bigger and badder thrills than have been seen before. Meyer, though, sees this as something more. He is done with cheap smut. This movie will be his redemption. It will sum up a lot of his personal tragedy in a way designed to conquer it while thrilling people at the same time. Sure, Meyer is a hack (actual clips of dialogue help to confirm this fact) and Hoffman is just after box office returns, but at least they have a mutually obtainable goal.
Then things start to go wrong, and go wrong again. You have a drunk pretty boy for a leading man (Vance). The leading lady (Barbara) has a hot body but has been kept in the dark about the film as a whole and can barely act. The guy playing the villain considers himself a method actor (and yes, you can guess what this entails). One of the crew starts falling for Barbara. They are staying in a dump and only have one week to shoot the whole thing. A week involving a hurricane. The local deputy has some deep insecurities that begin to interfere. People brought on to obey the director regularly balk at his orders and force him to rewrite scenes or to become mildly violent and very petulant to get their attention. Hoffman can ease many wounds but as money runs out, film cans go missing, and sets are destroyed (due to natural causes and extended shoots) tensions rise.
All culminating in...well, let's not spoil that but I feel the need to point out something. CRIMSON ORGY is not a horror novel and many of the 1-star reviews bashing it for not being one are ludicrous insomuch as they are attacking the novel for something missing rather than looking at what is there. However, marketing surrounding this book definitely leads one to that assumption. What's worse, Williams himself drives up so many red [or is that crimson?] herrings about "HORRIBLE THINGS TO COME LIKE OHMYGOD THAT ACTOR IS RIPPING HEADS OFF OF BARBIES!" and hinting at dark pasts and violent tendencies. Much of what he is describing is a combination of building up an [ultimately largely false] tension as well as keeping the reader guessing while exploring much pop-psychology behind the genre** but by the end it leads to something of a extended teasing and stimulation with little proper payoff***. Any reader who fails to pick up on the red herring nature of some of these (and some are pretty obvious caricatures of popular caricatures of people involved with horror films) is bound to hit the end of the book with a deeply frustrated and maybe even angry mood. Which might be the point. We are talking about a book that is all about misunderstandings and dedicated to a genre that regularly promises "deep explorations of the blackest humor of man with buckets of red gore and horrible thrills" but gives us men in rubber suits mildly accosting a sea-side resort. In a somewhat ironic mode, I grew to appreciate some of the "so sly you might blink and miss them" jabs, but would not be surprised if someone reading it tossed it into a wall.
Now that I have said this, let me go ahead and assure you there is some gore and more violence and some weird and odd moments [and again, you should read this more for the many fandom shoutouts than any of those things]. Maybe in an alternate universe, Williams wrote a slightly more reigned in novella that took a few of its suggestions more head on and eschewed a few of the others, but in this universe we get this novel: a bit overlong and fairly misrepresented. I enjoyed it, but some of its tricks need to go. Or maybe, go even further. Primarily recommended to people who know horror movie history and like seeing behind the scenes style discussions and maybe to those who don't get horror and are wondering why someone would make a movie about busty women getting chopped up. I'm not saying either group will be fully satisfied, but they at least will find things to appreciate.
Before I return you to your regularly scheduled show, already in progress, four quick things that I think will make you like this novel more:
(1) Do not take Barbara's questioning of Shel's motivations as mere ramblings of someone who just doesn't get it. While some of the crew are obvious parodies of horror-haters, some of her observations (like getting pleasure out of pain and the way the crew kills off several pretty women but then skips over the killing of a man as unnecessary) are a lot more reasonable.
(2) Treat the time/place of this novel as important. While Williams mostly fails to make you feel the Time as well as he does the Place, the time is essential to keep in mind. This is *before* we became so nonchalant about gore pictures, back when people were truly disturbed by crap effects and poorer execution. It is wrong to assume that people did not get it back then, but what would have been ignored now would have at least had a bigger impact then.
(3) Watch a couple of Herschell Gordon Lewis's movies. See the blood and how the effects, while sufficient, were not quite so realistic that you could not see them as effects? That they required a bit of disbelief suspension to really get them? Picture those as people talk about having panic attacks about seeing the effects up close (without even the grainy film quality to lessen their clarity). I think some of that was meant for something like comic relief. I may be wrong.
(4) I think the most interesting irony in the whole thing occurs in the last couple of paragraphs. I am serious. There is a single line there that is treated as slightly throw-away but really brought my appreciation of the novel up.
* Also a somewhat brief study of the way past mistakes, hopes, desires, and preconceptions shape us at the present.
** For every person we have that complains about the way that sex gets censored while violence does not, you have five who complain about gore/horror movies and the perceived sick minds behind them.
*** Note: I bailed out of a masturbation/cock-tease reference there through sheer force of will.
See that blurb that says something about "maybe the first true 'snuff film' ever made" near the bit about opening "up a ultra-violent slice of American pop culture"? Ignore it. Mostly. Because this is not a horror novel. This is a novel about the making of a [fictional] horror movie, one that became infamous due to an on-site accident, the erratic actions of its director afterward, and dark rumors surrounding it. You, like me, maybe assumed these dark rumors were foreshadowing of a moment where a movie crew goes mad with gore and bloodlust and slaughters buxom starlets while a depraved director cackles and screams "CUT!" [pun intended]. You, like me, would have the wrong end of the stick. You find this out kind of early one when a prologue starts describing the scope of the horror-to-come and it seems at odds with phrases like "ultra-violent". Cover scrawls be damned, what you have is a book made up of equal parts of fandom towards the exploitation films of mid-60s South Florida, a study of misunderstandings*, and a sort of dark comedy about all that can go wrong when you are making a low-budget hack film.
At the novel's core is Sheldon Meyer, a director of nudie-cuties who, driven by the success of BLOOD FEAST, wants to make his own gore picture. He is backed up by Gene Hoffman, a gregarious and charismatic man larger than life who sees the potential to make money off the budding scene. This is the 1960s and horror drive-ins are about to be huge and all they have to do is get butts in the seats and do so by promising bigger and badder thrills than have been seen before. Meyer, though, sees this as something more. He is done with cheap smut. This movie will be his redemption. It will sum up a lot of his personal tragedy in a way designed to conquer it while thrilling people at the same time. Sure, Meyer is a hack (actual clips of dialogue help to confirm this fact) and Hoffman is just after box office returns, but at least they have a mutually obtainable goal.
Then things start to go wrong, and go wrong again. You have a drunk pretty boy for a leading man (Vance). The leading lady (Barbara) has a hot body but has been kept in the dark about the film as a whole and can barely act. The guy playing the villain considers himself a method actor (and yes, you can guess what this entails). One of the crew starts falling for Barbara. They are staying in a dump and only have one week to shoot the whole thing. A week involving a hurricane. The local deputy has some deep insecurities that begin to interfere. People brought on to obey the director regularly balk at his orders and force him to rewrite scenes or to become mildly violent and very petulant to get their attention. Hoffman can ease many wounds but as money runs out, film cans go missing, and sets are destroyed (due to natural causes and extended shoots) tensions rise.
All culminating in...well, let's not spoil that but I feel the need to point out something. CRIMSON ORGY is not a horror novel and many of the 1-star reviews bashing it for not being one are ludicrous insomuch as they are attacking the novel for something missing rather than looking at what is there. However, marketing surrounding this book definitely leads one to that assumption. What's worse, Williams himself drives up so many red [or is that crimson?] herrings about "HORRIBLE THINGS TO COME LIKE OHMYGOD THAT ACTOR IS RIPPING HEADS OFF OF BARBIES!" and hinting at dark pasts and violent tendencies. Much of what he is describing is a combination of building up an [ultimately largely false] tension as well as keeping the reader guessing while exploring much pop-psychology behind the genre** but by the end it leads to something of a extended teasing and stimulation with little proper payoff***. Any reader who fails to pick up on the red herring nature of some of these (and some are pretty obvious caricatures of popular caricatures of people involved with horror films) is bound to hit the end of the book with a deeply frustrated and maybe even angry mood. Which might be the point. We are talking about a book that is all about misunderstandings and dedicated to a genre that regularly promises "deep explorations of the blackest humor of man with buckets of red gore and horrible thrills" but gives us men in rubber suits mildly accosting a sea-side resort. In a somewhat ironic mode, I grew to appreciate some of the "so sly you might blink and miss them" jabs, but would not be surprised if someone reading it tossed it into a wall.
Now that I have said this, let me go ahead and assure you there is some gore and more violence and some weird and odd moments [and again, you should read this more for the many fandom shoutouts than any of those things]. Maybe in an alternate universe, Williams wrote a slightly more reigned in novella that took a few of its suggestions more head on and eschewed a few of the others, but in this universe we get this novel: a bit overlong and fairly misrepresented. I enjoyed it, but some of its tricks need to go. Or maybe, go even further. Primarily recommended to people who know horror movie history and like seeing behind the scenes style discussions and maybe to those who don't get horror and are wondering why someone would make a movie about busty women getting chopped up. I'm not saying either group will be fully satisfied, but they at least will find things to appreciate.
Before I return you to your regularly scheduled show, already in progress, four quick things that I think will make you like this novel more:
(1) Do not take Barbara's questioning of Shel's motivations as mere ramblings of someone who just doesn't get it. While some of the crew are obvious parodies of horror-haters, some of her observations (like getting pleasure out of pain and the way the crew kills off several pretty women but then skips over the killing of a man as unnecessary) are a lot more reasonable.
(2) Treat the time/place of this novel as important. While Williams mostly fails to make you feel the Time as well as he does the Place, the time is essential to keep in mind. This is *before* we became so nonchalant about gore pictures, back when people were truly disturbed by crap effects and poorer execution. It is wrong to assume that people did not get it back then, but what would have been ignored now would have at least had a bigger impact then.
(3) Watch a couple of Herschell Gordon Lewis's movies. See the blood and how the effects, while sufficient, were not quite so realistic that you could not see them as effects? That they required a bit of disbelief suspension to really get them? Picture those as people talk about having panic attacks about seeing the effects up close (without even the grainy film quality to lessen their clarity). I think some of that was meant for something like comic relief. I may be wrong.
(4) I think the most interesting irony in the whole thing occurs in the last couple of paragraphs. I am serious. There is a single line there that is treated as slightly throw-away but really brought my appreciation of the novel up.
* Also a somewhat brief study of the way past mistakes, hopes, desires, and preconceptions shape us at the present.
** For every person we have that complains about the way that sex gets censored while violence does not, you have five who complain about gore/horror movies and the perceived sick minds behind them.
*** Note: I bailed out of a masturbation/cock-tease reference there through sheer force of will.
June 6, 2017
I enjoyed CRIMSON ORGY. It was a bit of a slow burn to start but it kept me interested and engaged until the very end. The slow burn could probably also be attributed to setting the scene and mood; the book is based in 1965.
The book starts by discussing Crimson Orgy, a cult classic film based largely on the cursed production and possible snuff film aspect. The film was never truly released but had a couple different cuts leaked out to the public. Events then time shift to 1965 and focus on Shel Meyer and Gene Hoffman, the founders of Stupendous Pictures, known primarily for making nudie exploitative pictures during the early 60s. Then they see Blood Feast and realize that blood and gore can make them more money. So they start making Crimson Orgy in the small town of Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The cast and crew for their movie is pretty small but the difficulties experienced are many. And as things build to the end, the readers are wondering who will die, how they will die and who is present when it happens.
As I alluded earlier, the plot is a bit slow but it also gives the reader time to know the characters. Each character is developed nicely and fully. I was easily able to create a mental picture of them. Additionally the details of the movie making rang true with the various movie biographies and low budget films that I have watched over the years. These elements helped make the setting real. The story will probably disappoint readers expecting more horror or gore; overall, the gore factor was pretty minimal. I still consider the book a solid read and would recommend it. However, I would also set expectations appropriately.
The book starts by discussing Crimson Orgy, a cult classic film based largely on the cursed production and possible snuff film aspect. The film was never truly released but had a couple different cuts leaked out to the public. Events then time shift to 1965 and focus on Shel Meyer and Gene Hoffman, the founders of Stupendous Pictures, known primarily for making nudie exploitative pictures during the early 60s. Then they see Blood Feast and realize that blood and gore can make them more money. So they start making Crimson Orgy in the small town of Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The cast and crew for their movie is pretty small but the difficulties experienced are many. And as things build to the end, the readers are wondering who will die, how they will die and who is present when it happens.
As I alluded earlier, the plot is a bit slow but it also gives the reader time to know the characters. Each character is developed nicely and fully. I was easily able to create a mental picture of them. Additionally the details of the movie making rang true with the various movie biographies and low budget films that I have watched over the years. These elements helped make the setting real. The story will probably disappoint readers expecting more horror or gore; overall, the gore factor was pretty minimal. I still consider the book a solid read and would recommend it. However, I would also set expectations appropriately.
September 7, 2009
A trashy little novel (in a good sense). It's unlike a lot of what I've been reading lately, but in my sphere of interest.
As the synopsis says, this fictional novel sets out to tell the true story behind what happened in 1965 during the one week shooting schedule of a notorious, and now lost, gore film called CRIMSON ORGY - notorious because someone ended up dead, a hurricane struck the small town half-way through filming, the film was never completed and many people were injured (either physically or emotionally).
Basically, this is a seedy, lurid pulp novel that envisions what the experiences of someone like Hershel Gordon Lewis (BLOOD FEAST, 2000 MANIACS, THE WIZARD OF GORE) must have had cranking out some cheap, nasty, gore film in the Florida backwaters. The Director and Producer have decided to switch to this new, lucrative genre, taking HGL's lead (and resulting box office) instead of sticking with the cheap "nudie cutie" and "nature films" they previously made. There's a well-sketched (in the pulp genre sense) group of related characters, the boozing Lothario lead, the tightly wound guy playing the psycho in the "method" style, the grips and lighting guys, the lead female who can't act, the hayseed deputy, etc. etc.
And it kept me turning pages and well-entertained. It has a little bit to say about the morality of making gore films, and people's inherent disgust with themselves and the product, and the violence that the mere filming of such material seems to engender in those surrounding it. There's a tense moment or two, but fans of horror fiction should be warned that this isn't a "horror novel" in a strict sense, nor is it a mystery so much as a thriller. The author deliberately keeps the resolution of important scenes hidden, creating suspense, and the oddly slippery third person point of view (clumsily moving back and forth between characters mid-scene, probably the most distracting thing about the writing) is, despite its clumsiness, used to good advantage in keeping a major character completely out of the loop, effectively making him an efficient red herring to the reader.
There are some typos and misspellings (sadly) and I have to admit that while the use of the hurricane works to effectively wrack up tensions, its logical after-effects then seem to be ignored by the writer - it happens simply for suspense's sake, and so seems a bit mechanical in retrospect. Also, occasional word choice worked against the 1965 setting (specifically the use of "category" classes with the hurricane - they might have been in use at the time, but I don't believe it's likely the common man was aware of them). But the novel does effectively capture the seedy, hothouse feel of lurid pulp, and so is worth a look for those who find the scenario interesting.
As the synopsis says, this fictional novel sets out to tell the true story behind what happened in 1965 during the one week shooting schedule of a notorious, and now lost, gore film called CRIMSON ORGY - notorious because someone ended up dead, a hurricane struck the small town half-way through filming, the film was never completed and many people were injured (either physically or emotionally).
Basically, this is a seedy, lurid pulp novel that envisions what the experiences of someone like Hershel Gordon Lewis (BLOOD FEAST, 2000 MANIACS, THE WIZARD OF GORE) must have had cranking out some cheap, nasty, gore film in the Florida backwaters. The Director and Producer have decided to switch to this new, lucrative genre, taking HGL's lead (and resulting box office) instead of sticking with the cheap "nudie cutie" and "nature films" they previously made. There's a well-sketched (in the pulp genre sense) group of related characters, the boozing Lothario lead, the tightly wound guy playing the psycho in the "method" style, the grips and lighting guys, the lead female who can't act, the hayseed deputy, etc. etc.
And it kept me turning pages and well-entertained. It has a little bit to say about the morality of making gore films, and people's inherent disgust with themselves and the product, and the violence that the mere filming of such material seems to engender in those surrounding it. There's a tense moment or two, but fans of horror fiction should be warned that this isn't a "horror novel" in a strict sense, nor is it a mystery so much as a thriller. The author deliberately keeps the resolution of important scenes hidden, creating suspense, and the oddly slippery third person point of view (clumsily moving back and forth between characters mid-scene, probably the most distracting thing about the writing) is, despite its clumsiness, used to good advantage in keeping a major character completely out of the loop, effectively making him an efficient red herring to the reader.
There are some typos and misspellings (sadly) and I have to admit that while the use of the hurricane works to effectively wrack up tensions, its logical after-effects then seem to be ignored by the writer - it happens simply for suspense's sake, and so seems a bit mechanical in retrospect. Also, occasional word choice worked against the 1965 setting (specifically the use of "category" classes with the hurricane - they might have been in use at the time, but I don't believe it's likely the common man was aware of them). But the novel does effectively capture the seedy, hothouse feel of lurid pulp, and so is worth a look for those who find the scenario interesting.
January 29, 2011
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I kept on running into it while reading reviews from some random favorite reviewers on Amazon but in the end the cover was pretty much the most exciting thing about this book, I don't even know why the word "orgy" was used because seems more like an enticing lure to get people to read it but in the end I failed to deliver for me. The writing felt a bit stiff and too realistic, it didn't read like a book, it felt more like a typed out screen play with some dry forced action, characters that were so paranoid, stereotypical and unlikable that it was hard to feel anything for them, the book was a bit boring really. I hate to read things that I don't enjoy but it was not something I would recommend, I see that this has its fans as well as people who didn't like it, which is fine by me, I don't think that it's great when everyone likes the same thing, what fun lies in that? I wish it was as colorful and spicy as the title leads it to be.. but no such luck. This was NOT horror and maybe a bit of a thriller, more of a day gone wrong type of a thing, but it was definitely not scary and there was nothing spicy about it at all.
I judge this purely on what I felt about it once I read the last page and that this was rather slow and painful. There was so much of a back story that the filming of the movie and the strange happening that end up casing quite a stir are almost pushed to non existence, actors and the producers for a very low blood soaked budget movie clash over what is okay and what is an obstacle, personal demons and weaknesses come into play and are magnified to the point of posing a risk, accidents and death crowd the set, the ending is the only exciting thing happening, too little too late for me, not a gripping book that I would recommend, rather tedious and painful and not really rewarding in the least. I wish this was as exciting as it seems but I guess it's not going to please everyone because it didn't work for me. This was perfect for times when I had chores, suddenly washing dishes seemed more appealing that reading this, so it served some sort of a purpose I guess, just not the one I wanted!
- Kasia S.
I judge this purely on what I felt about it once I read the last page and that this was rather slow and painful. There was so much of a back story that the filming of the movie and the strange happening that end up casing quite a stir are almost pushed to non existence, actors and the producers for a very low blood soaked budget movie clash over what is okay and what is an obstacle, personal demons and weaknesses come into play and are magnified to the point of posing a risk, accidents and death crowd the set, the ending is the only exciting thing happening, too little too late for me, not a gripping book that I would recommend, rather tedious and painful and not really rewarding in the least. I wish this was as exciting as it seems but I guess it's not going to please everyone because it didn't work for me. This was perfect for times when I had chores, suddenly washing dishes seemed more appealing that reading this, so it served some sort of a purpose I guess, just not the one I wanted!
- Kasia S.
May 14, 2009
So I'm walking out of the library one afternoon and I see a book on a shelf titled, "Crimson Orgy." The title obviously caught my attention and intrigued me. What could this book possibly be about? My first instinct was a detective-type thriller.
I meant to look the title up when I got home, but me being me, I quickly forgot. The next time I was at the library, likely a few days later, I remembered the book and read the description on the back. It sounded vaguely interesting, but not especially compelling, but being the book whore that I am I decided to check it out and if I had time to read it I would.
Now I gave the book three stars, but I actually rate it at 3.5 stars. I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I really enjoyed it. I read it in about a day. The characters were awesome, and while the storyline dragged and some sections of it became a bit convoluted at some parts, overall is was pretty entertaining. And I have to say, what happened in the last scene of the book caught me COMPLETELY by surprise, never saw it coming, at least in the way that it did. I think reading the entire book was worth it just for that one part.
The major downfall of this book for me, and this is not surprising to anyone who knows me, were the typos. This is the kind of thing that nine out of ten readers won't even notice, but it drives me INSANE. And by no means the author's fault, this is why the publishing house gets a huge cut of sales profits, because they are supposed to EDIT the damn books. It's just incredibly distracting and takes away from the story itself.
I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this author. I'm curious to see what he comes up with next after this debut.
I meant to look the title up when I got home, but me being me, I quickly forgot. The next time I was at the library, likely a few days later, I remembered the book and read the description on the back. It sounded vaguely interesting, but not especially compelling, but being the book whore that I am I decided to check it out and if I had time to read it I would.
Now I gave the book three stars, but I actually rate it at 3.5 stars. I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I really enjoyed it. I read it in about a day. The characters were awesome, and while the storyline dragged and some sections of it became a bit convoluted at some parts, overall is was pretty entertaining. And I have to say, what happened in the last scene of the book caught me COMPLETELY by surprise, never saw it coming, at least in the way that it did. I think reading the entire book was worth it just for that one part.
The major downfall of this book for me, and this is not surprising to anyone who knows me, were the typos. This is the kind of thing that nine out of ten readers won't even notice, but it drives me INSANE. And by no means the author's fault, this is why the publishing house gets a huge cut of sales profits, because they are supposed to EDIT the damn books. It's just incredibly distracting and takes away from the story itself.
I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this author. I'm curious to see what he comes up with next after this debut.
December 7, 2024
Nobody pays to have their book copyedited anymore.
Or fact-checked, too, I guess—this takes place in Florida in the 1960s and I counted at least three factual errors about Florida and its environs.
Otherwise, it’s an okay enough read.
Or fact-checked, too, I guess—this takes place in Florida in the 1960s and I counted at least three factual errors about Florida and its environs.
Otherwise, it’s an okay enough read.
August 23, 2011
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
The first novel of a film scholar who has also written a nonfiction book on the same subject, Crimson Orgy is Austin Williams' loving ode to Miami, Florida's exploitation film industry of the 1960s, which he claims is the actual birthplace of the ultra-violent slasher flicks that have become such a mainstream staple by now. As such, then, despite its salacious cover and jacket copy, this is really more of a look at the boring ins and outs of the actual filmmaking process, and especially the struggle among such Kennedy-era filmmakers to push the boundaries of an industry still being defined by the censorious Hays Code; and interested readers would be wise to prepare themselves not for bloody kills by cackling serial killers but instead lots of exposition-heavy scenes about distribution deals, on-the-fly special effects, and the surprisingly heavy influence that New York Jewish intellectuals had on this notoriously raunchy subgenre. Not exactly a bad novel but definitely full of beginner's mistakes (clunky dialogue, two-dimensional characters, a muted sense of conflict, etc), this is of more interest as a clever history book than as a simple beach read, and it should be kept in mind before picking it up yourself.
Out of 10: 7.9
The first novel of a film scholar who has also written a nonfiction book on the same subject, Crimson Orgy is Austin Williams' loving ode to Miami, Florida's exploitation film industry of the 1960s, which he claims is the actual birthplace of the ultra-violent slasher flicks that have become such a mainstream staple by now. As such, then, despite its salacious cover and jacket copy, this is really more of a look at the boring ins and outs of the actual filmmaking process, and especially the struggle among such Kennedy-era filmmakers to push the boundaries of an industry still being defined by the censorious Hays Code; and interested readers would be wise to prepare themselves not for bloody kills by cackling serial killers but instead lots of exposition-heavy scenes about distribution deals, on-the-fly special effects, and the surprisingly heavy influence that New York Jewish intellectuals had on this notoriously raunchy subgenre. Not exactly a bad novel but definitely full of beginner's mistakes (clunky dialogue, two-dimensional characters, a muted sense of conflict, etc), this is of more interest as a clever history book than as a simple beach read, and it should be kept in mind before picking it up yourself.
Out of 10: 7.9
January 3, 2009
Great premise. Fans of exploitation movies circa the 1960s and HG Lewis will be interested in this.
However..because he whole premise showed SO much potential, I must say I was pretty pissed once I finshed the book. I do not think that the author really took advantage of the material.
That being said, I think if you are interested in exploitation film-making in the 1960s.. you'll like this book. I gave it 3 stars because the author obviously loves the subject and did research before writing it. I just wish he had come up with a more satisfying wrap-up to the whole thing.
A good thing about this book is the feeling of dread that the story does provide. At times it really made me feel uncomfortable and had me worrying about a certain character. It made me want to have the ability jump into the story and warn that person. So really, Williams was successful is constructing characters that were human not just fodder for horrible things.
I guess another criticism that I had was that the writing lacks any style and comes off as a non-fiction writer's attempt to write fiction (which is accurate in this case). Don't get me wrong - the writing isn't terrible..it's just nothing special and feels utilitarian.
Anyway, I still do think it's worth the read..
However..because he whole premise showed SO much potential, I must say I was pretty pissed once I finshed the book. I do not think that the author really took advantage of the material.
That being said, I think if you are interested in exploitation film-making in the 1960s.. you'll like this book. I gave it 3 stars because the author obviously loves the subject and did research before writing it. I just wish he had come up with a more satisfying wrap-up to the whole thing.
A good thing about this book is the feeling of dread that the story does provide. At times it really made me feel uncomfortable and had me worrying about a certain character. It made me want to have the ability jump into the story and warn that person. So really, Williams was successful is constructing characters that were human not just fodder for horrible things.
I guess another criticism that I had was that the writing lacks any style and comes off as a non-fiction writer's attempt to write fiction (which is accurate in this case). Don't get me wrong - the writing isn't terrible..it's just nothing special and feels utilitarian.
Anyway, I still do think it's worth the read..
April 28, 2016
GOOD GOD!
I feel as though I just came careening around a sharp corner in an unmarked white van and went SPLAT against a brick wall.
This wasn't good, this was better than good can be. This was pure EVIL, pure sleaze, unadulterated, RAW, gritty, witty, satirical, and terrifying. This felt as though a hurricane rained hell down upon you and turned everything in your normal world upside down.
I never include a summary of a book within my review, and I tend not to read too much summary before I dive into a book. I love the element of surprise. I don't want any precautions, unless there is some sort of a trigger alert.
This.... needs a trigger alert. If you are faint of heart or have a light stomach, or highly sensitive to graphic images and gore… STOP RIGHT HERE. Don’t go any further.
THAT ENDING It took a while to sink in, but once it did, I was like- OH SHIT!! I refuse to say anything else and spoil the fun for anyone.
This makes me want to either direct a film, or be the leading actress of a gritty film.
Recommended for ALL fans of HORROR films
I feel as though I just came careening around a sharp corner in an unmarked white van and went SPLAT against a brick wall.
This wasn't good, this was better than good can be. This was pure EVIL, pure sleaze, unadulterated, RAW, gritty, witty, satirical, and terrifying. This felt as though a hurricane rained hell down upon you and turned everything in your normal world upside down.
I never include a summary of a book within my review, and I tend not to read too much summary before I dive into a book. I love the element of surprise. I don't want any precautions, unless there is some sort of a trigger alert.
This.... needs a trigger alert. If you are faint of heart or have a light stomach, or highly sensitive to graphic images and gore… STOP RIGHT HERE. Don’t go any further.
THAT ENDING It took a while to sink in, but once it did, I was like- OH SHIT!! I refuse to say anything else and spoil the fun for anyone.
This makes me want to either direct a film, or be the leading actress of a gritty film.
Recommended for ALL fans of HORROR films
August 18, 2008
This book had an interesting setting, but compared to other books, it came across much like the title movie would have 40 years ago. No suspense, little action and a lousy ending.
January 7, 2024
I just couldn't finish and I typically wouldn't leave a review but as this book sits on my book shelf I know it will remain there, bookmark still in the halfway mark. This book was just so random and I feel like it could have been a decent story but they lost it pretty quickly.
The title makes no sense to it, or maybe I missed it cause I didn't get to the end. But they are making a horror movie, mind you the characters are boring and I really didn't need a chapter about the sheriff of the small town getting head while driving. It was a lot of pointless characters and then the random pages of the movie script thrown in really didn't work.
A coworker read the ending just to see that is was all an accident during a hurricane that someone died. She wasn't murdered for the movie or murdered on accident. The so-called movie was never released they said in the book, because the director and producer died due to the events of the movie.
Honestly I don't know what to consider this book, and I do really know why they chose this title but I won't be going back ....
The title makes no sense to it, or maybe I missed it cause I didn't get to the end. But they are making a horror movie, mind you the characters are boring and I really didn't need a chapter about the sheriff of the small town getting head while driving. It was a lot of pointless characters and then the random pages of the movie script thrown in really didn't work.
A coworker read the ending just to see that is was all an accident during a hurricane that someone died. She wasn't murdered for the movie or murdered on accident. The so-called movie was never released they said in the book, because the director and producer died due to the events of the movie.
Honestly I don't know what to consider this book, and I do really know why they chose this title but I won't be going back ....
April 19, 2011
As a fan of 60s exploitation flicks (and Eurotika!), I enjoyed this story about a group of very-low-budget filmmakers in the depths of Florida, creating a drive-in masterpiece called “Crimson Orgy”. The characters and location were well defined, there were a lot of nods to real life people and films of the period and it read quickly and easily. My only problem was with the write-ups - in the spirit of this genre, they played up the idea that the film “just maybe the first true ‘snuff’ film ever made” - which did colour my reading, since I kept reading things into characters that were never there. This isn’t a genre novel at all, really, but it is good fun nonetheless. Very much recommended, even if you’re not a big exploitation fan.
April 18, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It was a good fast paced fictional account of the making of an exploitation film. I always like reading about the making of small/no budget films, and I thought the author nailed it in this story. All the characters felt realistic, with the stresses of trying to complete the film and in their interactions with each other. Final note: I was a recipient of this book for free from GoodReads.
June 16, 2011
This book kept my interest, but I guess I was waiting for it to *pop*, to really suck me into the storyline, which it never did. It was a good read that flowed well, so I will continue to read this author's works.
June 27, 2008
Amazing book! Relentless suspense, vivid atmosphere, engaging characters, just a bit of sly humor and plenty of jolting plot turns. The best novel I've read in quite a while.
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