by Raine Petrie, Staff Writer

For those of us who didn’t grow up during the heyday of horror film magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland and Fangoria, (nor when sites like Letterboxd existed, making the process of discovering new films infinitely easier), horror film history guidebooks were the bible for gorehounds and monster lovers everywhere. Staying up late and flipping through pages of hideous monster makeup, stunning classic horror film posters, and practical effects-induced nightmares was almost a rite of passage for any young horror junkie, and these sorts of guides not only served as a physical watchlist one could work through to complete, but was also how many fans became more interested in the history behind these fright flicks, myself included. Brad Weismann’s Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope follows in the tradition of its many predecessors and will be sure to keep new horror fans up at night.

Chronicling as well as celebrating the long-lasting power and popularity of horror cinema since its inception to the present day and future of the genre, Horror Unmasked is a gorgeously printed 232-paged hardcover treasure trove for both classic and underrated horror gems alike. Filled to the brim with investigation into nearly every prominent player, subgenre and film entry in the genre’s history, it is incredibly impressive for its wide range of scope, particularly for thoroughly covering horror titles from all around the world. Unlike other North American-produced horror texts that often fail to fully encompass an international perspective (outside of noting some prominent European titles and giving a nod to Godzilla), Horror Unmasked devotes entire chapters to the horror films of Japan, Korea, Italy, and, most fascinatingly, the critically overlooked history of Spanish-language horror cinema. Be sure to have a pen and paper or your Letterboxd watchlist open while reading these chapters, because you’ll definitely need it.

While the extensiveness of Horror Unmasked is the book’s strongest asset, it is simultaneously its weakest, resulting in a sometimes tedious read. By taking on the task of exploring such a wide array of films in such a small page count, oftentimes deeper analysis is sacrificed in favor of formulaic plot description, a little background on the cast and crew, and some general trivia about said film. Of course there is a wealth of analysis on bigger horror entries that an intrigued new fan could easily search for elsewhere on their own, however monumentally influential titles such as Dracula (1931), The Exorcist (1973) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Shining (1980) getting little space to breathe and be more thoroughly discussed in what is essentially a horror encyclopedia still feels strange. Similarly, the author’s (seemingly) personal bias for horror films pre-1970 creeps into the pages at times, resulting in the book feeling unbalanced. The chapters on the Silent era and Hammer Horror for instance feel explored in depth lovingly, whereas the chapter on “Torture Porn” where Weismann’s clear disdain for the genre is on full display (even implying that the majority of films categorized under “Extreme Horror” should not exist), feels rushed and reductive in its analysis. 

While Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope may not go into as much depth as a horror aficionado like myself may hope for or expect, it is still an admirable effort that will undoubtedly give a budding horror fan a ton of fun homework. Through connecting horror cinema spanning different countries ands eras through their shared themes of political suppression and censorship (such as through the Production Code, British censors and their tirade on “video nasties”, and dictators outright banning horror films in certain countries), the book showcases the power of horror cinema not only at the box office but in the eyes of political leaders. Horror Unmasked demonstrates that like the killer in a slasher movie, no matter how many blows the genre may take through censorship and through oftentimes not being taken seriously on a critical or artistic level, horror films will never truly die, and through guidebooks such as these turning out new horror fans, will take more and more innocent victims.