How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive - DiLouie's best yet!
“Max didn’t need the fans’ love. He needed their terror. As long as they feared him, he was happy.”
Max is a horror movie director coming off his latest release; Jack the Knife 3. But he’s tired of making Hollywood pleasing slashers and having audiences laugh instead of scream. He wants to make something truly terrifying that can break down barriers and truly scare the audience. When he finds an old camera that filmed a Twilight Zone-like deadly accident, he quickly becomes obsessed with the evil potential of it. Alongside him is Sally Priest, an actress type-cast as the “bad girl” but fighting to become the “final girl”. Will this camera make Sally and Max’s Hollywood dreams come true? Or is this a fight for their lives?
Hitting shelves June 18th is the newest release from horror veteran Craig DiLouie, How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive, and this might be his best book yet!
“Horror is only horror when it’s real.”
Here’s what I loved:
Genuinely, this is Craig DiLouie’s best novel yet, every book he puts out just keeps getting better and better. And I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve been given the chance to review his last three ARCs over the years. I’m such a big fan of his and I can’t wait to yell at everyone to read this freakin’ book! (Also he is a fellow Calgarian! Hi Craig!)
Okay here’s what I loved the most about this book - this is a horror movie fan’s dream. DiLouie has such a solid knowledge of horror movies and this book feels like a love letter to the genre mixed with an education in film and never ends up being pretentious. There’s so many nods to such great flicks in here as well as direct mentions of like 40 amazing horror films that I love. There’s also nods to greats like Tom Savini, and in between each section are quotes from horror director icons, including my beloved Wes Craven who I still miss every single day of my life.
The death scenes in this are absolutely bat shit insane and are a tone of fun. Reminded me a lot of Final Destination and some of the slasher sequels like Freddy vs. Jason (which is my favourite and I will physically fight anyone about it). By the end the deaths are so over the top it’s comical compared to the first few devastating deaths, which is sort of the point of the whole thing.
I don’t want to say much more as I don’t want to spoil anything. But the lore surrounding the film camera and the places it takes us are absolutely incredible, and some of the scariest parts come out of this. The characters across the board are incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the descent of Max and rise of Sally.
Overall, this is an incredibly fun horror novel with some serious messages and themes. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (Lady Susan you will always be in my heart), you’ll get super freaked out, and ultimately you’ll have a grand old time. Max would hate that…
A big thank you to Redhook for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Please, please, please pick up a copy of How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive this upcoming Tuesday, June 18th. Or better yet - pre-order it today!
“Horror makes the rest of life more interesting. It’s a foil for all the good things we take for granted. It shouldn’t be an end in itself.”
