Book Review - Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the Seventies - Page 2

Specifically: 143 film entries, 733 illustrations, 48 pages in full color. That's what it claims. I didn't count, but it doesn't appear off-base.

In addition to ten chapters, there are appendixes for: (1) short and experimental films; (2) TV movies and series (for BBC and ITV buffs); (3) borderline cases (what didn't quite fit the editors' definition of 1970s British horror); (4) foreign films shot in Britain (including by us Yanks), and (5) unfilmed British horror movies (some films that were announced but not completed). Appendixes also illustrated, although the entries are briefer.

Ten Years of Terror should not be confused with all those other oversized horror film books, scant on text, heavy on the same old glossy stills. Like them, Ten Years of Terror is big and beautiful, oversized and lavishly illustrated. But it's thick with text. And its stills are rarities, obscure gems.

But wait — there's more! The foreword was written by Norman J. Warren, director of such British gems as Horror Planet (aka Inseminoid) and Terror. I first saw Terror in a New York theater, some 20 years ago. Terror soon sank into obscurity, forgotten and ignored, and I've been partisaning its revival ever since. I discussed Terror in my NYU film school paper on horror films (1982), and in Horror magazine (1997), and for Horrorfind.com, and in my anthology book Halloween Candy (2001), and in my HollywoodInvestigator.com (2004), and in an upcoming issue of Mondo Cult (2006). Happily, Ten Year of Terror grants proper coverage to Terror (Fragments of Fear doesn't even mention the film), generously illustrated.

I also disagree with part of Harvey Fenton's critique. He calls Terror's script "well-written" and adds:

"Terror is an audacious achievement; objectively speaking, there are undoubtedly better movies covered in this book, but few can compete with this film for simple entertainment value. McGillivray's script is efficient and unobtrusive; its sole purpose is to string together the many delightfully exuberant set-pieces."

Terror is wonderfully enjoyable, and stringing together scenes does appear to be the script's sole purpose. But a script should also create a coherent story, with cause-and-effect plotting. Instead, Terror is one of those rare films that becomes less coherent upon repeated viewing. However, that's because one enjoys Terror so much, one fails to notice that its story makes no sense - none at all. It's only after one sees Terror a few times, growing familiar with the twists and turns in the rollercoaster, that one sees the plot holes.

Article Author: Thomas M. Sipos

Thomas M. Sipos is the author of the anti-Communist satire, Vampire Nation and Manhattan Sharks. Some of his essays on horror film aesthetics appear in his horror collection, Halloween Candy. He founded the Tabloid Witch Awards horror film contest and festival. …

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