Sunday, January 3, 2021

5 Film Books You Need to Read Pt. 1: For the Sleazehounds

Tired of your snobby friend constantly pushing Godard in your face? Can no longer stand being told that anything outside the AFI Top 100 isn't considered worth your time? I have a cure. 5 of them. 


1. The Psychotronic Encyclopedia and The Psychotronic Video Guide by Michael J. Weldon (tie)
What is a psychotronic movie? Michael J. Weldon describe it as: 

"Psychotronic films range from sincere social commentary to degrading trash. They concern teenagers, rock n' roll, juvenile delinquents, monsters, aliens, killers, spies, detectives, bikers, communists, drugs, natural catastrophes, atomic bombs, the prehistoric past and the projected future. They star ex-models, ex-sports stars, would-be Marilyns, future Presidents (and First Ladies), dead rock stars, and has beens of all types."

Both books have become invaluable reference tool for me. If I come across a movie I never heard about or if one of my favorite boutique blu ray companies is releasing a movie that is new to me, I consult these books and 9 times out of 10 it's in there. 

What separates Weldon's writing style from say, Danny Pearry's is that the volume of movies is exhaustive while the information pertaining to each one is a bite sized nugget of information. Whereas Pearry


2. Nightmare USA by Stephen Thrower
Sometimes the story behind how a movie is made is more interesting than the movie itself. There's enough information on regional made exploitation to keep someone entertained for days. Can also be used for beating house burglars to death. 

3. Cult Movies 1, 2 and 3 by Danny Pearry
Pearry chooses 100 films that range from the silent era up to the date the book was published, 1998. 
The author argues for misunderstood movies and is informed, opinionated and passionate about what he loves. Name dropped by the likes of Edgar Wright and Patton Oswalt, his 3 books on cult movies were essential building blocks to thriving genre film culture.


4. Shock Value: A Tasteful Book About Bad Taste by John Waters 
John Waters writes exactly how he speaks- like a friend dishing out gossip with honest casualness. If you listened to any of his interviews, you know he can't be beat as a storyteller. His philosophy: outsiders are the heroes of the world and to lead a normal life is to lead a boring life. This is the weirdo manifesto. Get on it. 

5. House of Psychotic Women by Kier-La Janisse
What is so unique about this book is that the author mixes the world of academic writing on horror films with her own personal stories. Janisse splits the book into ten chapters. Each covering an aspect of female hysteria or neurosis.If you are a fan of Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Zulawski's Possession, Altman's Images, Carrie, Ms. 45, Repulsion, or any genre film that focuses on female neurosis, you owe it to yourself to check out this book. 


-Luke

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