Beyond Horror Holocaust: A Deeper Shade of Red

by Chas Balun

An invigorating explosion of fascinating text and graphics this survey examines, with scrutinizing detail - forty years of the darkest, most shocking horror movies ever produced through the eyes of both critic and fan. Each blood-splattered page offers a wealth of detailed information regarding hundreds of shocking fright films Shock films that dared to push the limits of censors by breaking the last taboo of the cinema! In addition, the author also shines the spot light on the creative geniuses behind these trend-setting horror films as he analyzes everything from the wettest, wildest gore films to obscure treasures of the horror cinema.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

257 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

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

[Jason Coffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quote on the back cover says it all when it describes Balun as "the Howard Stern of Horror." He obviously knows what he's talking about and he's really excited about it, but most of the time he comes off like a 14-year-old who just saw "Dead Alive" for the first time and can't stop talking about it. That might be the perfect audience for this book, actually.

[Danny Marianino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chas Balun made writing about horror and gore films an art form. This book is a prime example of his talented work.