Gore Score 2001: The Splatter Years

by Chas Balun

Book by Balun, Charles

Genres: Film

303 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Chas Balun was without a doubt a horror fan's horror fan. Renowned for his brutally blunt and profane in-your-face wildman writing style, wholehearted and unapologetic love for hardcore gruesome horror splatter cinema, and, most of all, his trademark savagely witty, sardonic, and unconventional iconoclastic perspective, Chas was a true cult figure of horror journalism with a strong and substantial fan following. Born in 1948 in Compton, California, Balun grew up as a hippie in the 1960s in Southern California. He wrote his first book "The Connoissseur's Guide to the Contemporary Horror Film" in 1983. Chas became a regular contributing writer for "Fangoria" magazine in 1987 starting with issue # 62. He achieved his greatest enduring cult fame with his fiercely caustic, outspoken, and opinionated "Piece of Mind" column in the spin-off publication "GoreZone." This column ran from 1988 to 1991 and was one of the most popular and beloved features in the magazine. Balun was the founder of his own self-published magazine "Deep Red" and the author of the novel "Ninth and Hell Street." Among the nonfiction books Chas wrote are "The Gore Score," "More Gore Score," "Horror Holocaust," and "Beyond Horror Holocaust." Besides writing, he was also an underground cartoonist, a graphic designer (he designed the monster for the 1991 Fred Olen Ray horror comedy "Evil Toons"), and a t-shirt designer. Balun lived with his wife Pat in his home in Westminster, California. Chas died from cancer at age 61 on December 18, 2009. Although he's sadly no longer with us, Balun's fiery love and unbridled passion for the horror genre shall continue to bleed on for all eternity in his exceptionally lively, funny, and always entertaining say-it-like-you-see-it writing.

Reviews

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, man, Chas. Balun, where are you now when we REALLY need you?

Back before every know-it-all with a keyboard and internet access decided they were an expert on everything, Chas was writing film reviews and criticism in 'zines and small-press magazines, always in his own unique and memorable voice. Completely unafraid to worry about what others thought, he humorously and honestly told his readers his unvarnished thoughts on hours and hours of films -- good, bad, and otherwise.

In 2018, when so many hard-to-obtain movies are now available to purchase or view with just the click of a button -- it's hard to remember just how hard Chas. had to work to even track down some of these films. His love of genre films shines through in every page -- even when he's spoiling the "shock endings" or telling you to just fast-forward to the good, gory parts.

If you are any fan of "that kind of film," you really owe it to yourself to track this one down. It will inspire you to rewatch some old favorites and track down the ones you haven't seen yet.

It's a shame Chas. isn't around anymore, because we need more writers like him to help us sort through all the crap that's being thrown at us from all sides and find the stuff that's actually GOOD. (Or maybe not GOOD . . . you know what I mean.)

[S. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gore Score 2001 is a hefty collection of horror film reviews that were published in multiple magazines over the years under the Gore Score title, all of them by infamous chunk-blower Charles "Chas" Balun. A veteran of the underground horror film publishing world of the 80s and 90s, Balun was a favorite of horror fans with his over-the-top use of language - he coined the tern chunk-blower, that alone should give you an idea of his writing style - and his unapologetic love for one of the most maligned and misunderstood film genres. With a foreword by Jack Ketchum and an afterword by Stephen Bissette, this collection features hundreds of concise one-or-two paragraph reviews of every video nasty that threatened civilized society in the last two decades of the century. Don't expect to agree with him on every film (The Exterminator was better than Death Wish? Eh...), but be prepared to enjoy his intensity and passion. A must have for any die-hard horror fan.

[brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

this has been my bathroom reader for years. that's an endorsement.