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HorrorMovie books

A Sense Of Dread: Getting Under The Skin Of Horror Screenwriting by Neal Marshall Stevens (book review).

Horror scriptwriter Neal Marshall Stevens book, ‘A Sense Of Dread: Getting Under The Skin Of Horror Screenwriting’, is a bit different to the usual books and I hope other aspects of writing is covered because it extends beyond film. Essentially, Stevens explores what makes us jump and why do some people run towards an obvious danger than run in the opposite direction, a common element in horror films.

Knowing these triggers is part of the horror writer’s handbook and understanding the human psyche. Understanding this can apply outside of horror writing into other genres and even into real life. Although I’m sure I don’t want to put it to the test but you’re better off running at stampeding cattle wavering your arms than away from them, more so as they are a lot faster and are likely to be more scared of you doing that. Stevens draws you in and examines various fears and phobias and why they happen and I would be surprised if you didn’t find any or more that affects you.

Producer Charles Brand in his introduction points out that Stevens has an encyclopaedic knowledge of horror films but, unless they are all classified that way in chapter 4, his knowledge extends beyond that. The main indicator is many films in other genres rely on making you jump making this book useful for practically any scriptwriter and writers in general. Stevens pointing out the pace leading up to the gag and jump at the right point has to transcend the script. I know Stevens contests that the script shouldn’t direct the story but surely it is a mixture of both the writer and director, who ultimately tweaks the information given.

He uses one of his unused scripts, stopped only because another script along similar lines was in production and expense, to analyse and show how to make people jump. In some respects, I don’t think it was as necessary as the first two-thirds of the book.

If you write in any genre, then you will learn some important lessons from this book whichever side of the pond in how to raise the level of scariness when you see the possibilities in a scene. Walk carefully as you approach that door. You don’t know what’s behind it.

GF Willmetts

January 2022

(pub: Michael Wiese Productions. 178 page small enlarged paperback. $27.45 (US), £23.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-61593-3333-4)

check out website: www.mwp.com

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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