Long time Dark Side magazine contributor, Jay Slater, has finally published his homage to what evidently is his favourite genre, Italian horror movies. Rather than offering a narrative overview of the history of these cultural specific sub-genres, it does what Slater does best, piecing together detailed reviews of specific zombie/cannibal films arranged in chronological order, sometimes with accompanying interviews with directors or stars. Occasionally there are multiple reviews for key films from different contributors, for although Slater is billed as author, he is actually the editor, with no less than 25 contributors fleshing out the book.
There's an impressive list of who's who reviewers, including directors like Brian Yuzna, Joel Reed and Lloyd Kaufmann as well as Ramsey Campbell and Christopher Frayling. As you might expect, this is an intense book for specialist fans and excels in wonderfully gossipy footnotes and trivia throughout. Another nice touch is Slater's use of excerpts from film scripts to add extra information and the inclusion of rare stills. Despite being a product of fan culture, there is healthy sense of scepticism about some of the films, which rather than being B movies come in at W or Z; and Slater is not afraid to tells us in plain language 'Zombi 3 is a pig's ear of a film'.
What it does not do is address why Italian horror films have attained such a special place in horror fans hearts outside their native land or acknowledge that many of the featured titles, have become notorious simply because it was particularly cannibal and zombie titles that were banned by the 'video nasty' furore in the UK in the 1980s. Most of the titles here are enjoyed as latter-day DVD and video purchases, and some market information or understanding of their 'Italianess' would have been welcome.
The introduction fumbles a little, digressing to note some US examples of the subgenre without providing a comprehensive overview. The cultural meaning of the films' deployment of cannibal and zombie themes is assessed in terms of their gory effectiveness as plot detail, missing the opportunity to comment on the transmutation of these monster myths. After all, the type of monsters we project reflects something of the society that created them, and cannibalism has always been an implied theme of vampire and werewolf myths. Surely this change in monster imagery means something? The most important critique on the transmuting zombie myth remains Gregory Waller's seminal The Living and the Undead, where he demonstrated how the vampire myth has become a zombie one, indicating the savagery of modern society. This book's theme is utilised more as a reason to splice together reviews of notorious films. Perhaps it would have been better to concentrate on the gems in this subgenre, which do thrill horror fans more than any other. Nonetheless, it is unchartered territory, entertainingly written with a wealth of detail. For Fulci fans a must, and example of how in film terms, you have to take the rough with smooth.
Reviewed by Marcelle Perks
