Monster Cinema: Quick Takes: Movies & Popular Cinema by Barry Keith Grant (book review).
Now here we are with another ‘Quick Takes’ book, small enough to slip into your pocket for a read on your travels. This time, Barry Keith Grant is into ‘Monster Cinema’. Oddly, this doesn’t just cover your normal SF and horror creatures, but some of the more general genre ones like Norman Bates and Hannibal Lector. Monsters come in many forms and some will refuse to hurt a fly and others have you for lunch. There are even some surprising films that I haven’t heard of, so keep a notebook or your computer close by to look them up in case you want to see about availability.
Grant covers a lot of ground in his four chapters and just when you think he’s missed some film you think should be there, up it pops. If you’re not sure, always check the index. At such a small size, don’t expect the book to be a complete guide but if you want something to review your knowledge or even act as a template for a guessing game on journeys then this will do nicely.
GF Willmetts
December 2018
(pub: Rutgers University Press, 2018. 147 page indexed A5 small paperback. Price: £15.95 (UK), $17.95 (US). ISBN: 978-0-8135-8880-3)
check out websites: www.rutgerspress.rutgers.edu and www.eurospanbookstore.com