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My Favorite Horror Movie: 48 Essays by Horror Creators on the Film That Shaped Them
The lights go down. 90 minutes from now, your feeble mind will never be the same. Thoughts of flowers, puppy dogs, and serene shopping malls will be replaced with ghosts in your TV, zombies tearing your flesh, and chainsaws ripping through your chest! This singular horror movie experience, which caused you to forever hold disdain for preppies, wear black to family functions, and scare your siblings to death, is now embedded in your DNA! Long live horror!
Produced and edited by horror film-maker Christian Ackerman, My Favorite Horror Movie is a ghoulish celebration of how the singular viewing of a horror film can inspire someone to find their identity and develop an obsession of dark arts.
Featuring contributors with various professional horror backgrounds such as film-makers, actors, writers, directors, painters, musicians, journalists and film festival directors, the essays in My Favorite Horror Movie celebrate classic films from the likes of George Romero, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, Dan O’Bannon, Wes Craven, Alfred Hitchcock, and many more!
Produced and edited by horror film-maker Christian Ackerman, My Favorite Horror Movie is a ghoulish celebration of how the singular viewing of a horror film can inspire someone to find their identity and develop an obsession of dark arts.
Featuring contributors with various professional horror backgrounds such as film-makers, actors, writers, directors, painters, musicians, journalists and film festival directors, the essays in My Favorite Horror Movie celebrate classic films from the likes of George Romero, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, Dan O’Bannon, Wes Craven, Alfred Hitchcock, and many more!
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 8, 2018
9 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2019
This was a fun read that reminded me of some of my favorite horror movies and also gave me some new ones to add to my watch list. As a horror fan, I was able to relate to each author as they used their essays to search for a reason behind their love of the dark genre. It was refreshing and comforting to read stories of other people who’s lives were forever altered by horror movies, especially in a society that forever places horror in the “low-brow” arena of film-making.
December 21, 2024
Reading about people's favorite horror movies and why they love them rocks. The essay by Bill Shafer was particularly funny
September 13, 2020
This is more than just people telling what their favorite horror movie is and walking off stage left.
The unique voices of the authors comes through. These are not whitewashed to make for pleasant, easy reading. These are raw takes from people who look at life through a lens that includes the horrific possibilities that may, or may not, represent reality in a different context. I found relatable passages throughout the 223 pages. The personal level brought to the essays is one strong reason this collection is worth reading.
Read the complete review at https://guildmastergaming.blogspot.co...
The unique voices of the authors comes through. These are not whitewashed to make for pleasant, easy reading. These are raw takes from people who look at life through a lens that includes the horrific possibilities that may, or may not, represent reality in a different context. I found relatable passages throughout the 223 pages. The personal level brought to the essays is one strong reason this collection is worth reading.
Read the complete review at https://guildmastergaming.blogspot.co...
January 2, 2022
This is a collection of essays from people involved in the horror community in some way, shape, or form as they detail what their favorite horror movie is and why.
It was fun reading about other people’s experiences with horror movies. Some of the essays did drag a bit, but the majority flew by. There were some typos through the book which bothered me a bit but I won’t hold that against it. I also wish that each essay was about a different movie! You do get some multiples in there.
Also, one writer, when talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street, confused Glenn for Rod during the waterfall of blood from the bed scene. Totally sus!
Otherwise, I enjoyed it!
It was fun reading about other people’s experiences with horror movies. Some of the essays did drag a bit, but the majority flew by. There were some typos through the book which bothered me a bit but I won’t hold that against it. I also wish that each essay was about a different movie! You do get some multiples in there.
Also, one writer, when talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street, confused Glenn for Rod during the waterfall of blood from the bed scene. Totally sus!
Otherwise, I enjoyed it!
November 11, 2025
I just finished ‘My Favourite Horror Movie’ book by Various Authors today. It’s an excellent book!
Filmmakers and creative talents talk about horror movies that inspired them to make their own movies or their favourites in general. A lot of people picked Halloween, Jaws and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and many of the other choices that I’ve yet to see were written about eloquently and I fully intend on watching some of them, also!
This book is a series of 3 so far, thus I’ll probably be reading the follow-ups in the near future, too! 📖👻👻👻😈💀 🧟 🧟♀️ 🧟♂️ 👍👍😎
Filmmakers and creative talents talk about horror movies that inspired them to make their own movies or their favourites in general. A lot of people picked Halloween, Jaws and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and many of the other choices that I’ve yet to see were written about eloquently and I fully intend on watching some of them, also!
This book is a series of 3 so far, thus I’ll probably be reading the follow-ups in the near future, too! 📖👻👻👻😈💀 🧟 🧟♀️ 🧟♂️ 👍👍😎
April 22, 2025
This is such a cool concept for a book. Gathering together a bunch of horror filmmakers/producers/actors etc and asking them the question, “what’s your favorite horror movie?” I really like how many of their movies led them to the career they had because of specific aspects of the movie. Some essays were better than others, and I think my favorite essay was the one about the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
May 15, 2020
A Great Read
I read the second book in this series first, but that matters not at all. What you get here is people involved in horror one way or another writing about their favorite horror films. It's a great read, and I will definitely check out the third one. It may be a simple concept, but if you love horror, this is a goldmine.
Now when will I be asked to contribute?
I read the second book in this series first, but that matters not at all. What you get here is people involved in horror one way or another writing about their favorite horror films. It's a great read, and I will definitely check out the third one. It may be a simple concept, but if you love horror, this is a goldmine.
Now when will I be asked to contribute?
May 25, 2020
None of the people in this book were particularly strong writers. All of the essays felt super similar. They had nothing insightful or interesting enough to say to warrant buying a book. If I had not spent money on this I probably would have rated it 2 stars.
February 20, 2022
As a genre obsessed fan, it was fascinating to hear each individual's favourite horror movie, and why! It was so interesting to hear how some early childhood viewings have moulded and shaped the lives of adults. Remember kids,,,,, stay scared.
July 10, 2022
I'm not sure I can take say anything here other than the fact it's honestly cool and a real treat to read through these essays and see horror creators share in the love of that which connects all of us~. Worth going through, at least once!
May 30, 2022
I like books like these- a series of essays with opinions, and these opinions and stories were about horror movies. Inspires me to go re-watch a few and buy some others.
October 19, 2022
Fun read even for this older horror freak!
This book has some fun essays of some good and some great films. Recommended for any generation of horror fans and freaks!
This book has some fun essays of some good and some great films. Recommended for any generation of horror fans and freaks!
March 18, 2024
Fun book. I appreciate that the author also likes the greatest sequel in the Freddy franchise.
December 10, 2024
There's no groundbreaking insights but that was never the intention. Instead, this is full of personal reflection and connection.
Does exactly what it says in the title.
Does exactly what it says in the title.
December 24, 2023
This collection is a pleasure to read through. Hit or miss (you can really tell who writes and who doesn’t) every snippet has merit and every new personal anecdote gives you another lens to see these glorious films through. Some of these made me feel so seen, especially ones discussing how horror films impacted their childhoods or even comforted them while they were young. I grew up similarly to a lot of these people and it’s crazy to think horror lovers just always have all this shit in common. There’s nothing like being 9 years old and obsessed with gore! I got banned from talking about graphic death when I was really young because I would recount it in explicit detail to my extended family members. Such is how things go, you only get freakier from then. My 21st birthday I had friends over to watch Dead Alive. You can see where I’m going with this.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews