Book Review: AYEAR OF FEAR by Bryan Senn

I recently finished the book, A YEAR OF FEAR: A DAY-BY-DAY GUIDE TO 366 HORROR FILMS by Bryan Senn. The book is published by McFarland Publishers (http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/).

This is by far one of the best Horror film related books I have ever read. The basic premise of the book is that the author has taken literally every day of the year, and listed a holiday, historical birthday, or other event that is associated with that day. As if that wasn't a hard enough task, he then picks 1 Horror movie for each day of the year that somehow coincides with that particular day.

For example, the film picked for October 20th is 1931 film, DRACULA. It was chosen to represent this day because October 20th is the birthday of the film's star, Bela Lugosi!
Each day's entry includes the film's title and production year, a brief plot synopsis, and then info on how or why that particular film was chosen to represent that specific date in history. The entries also include some behind the scenes type info and interesting anecdotes about the film's production. The book is also full of great photos, from production stills and behind the scenes shots, to pics of classic movie posters!

The book is a large, soft-cover book with clocking in at almost 550 pages! This book is definitely worth the cover price, as this is not just an entertaining film, but a good Horror movie reference book to have on hand as well. What better way to plan what movie to watch at your next friendly get together? Now you can watch a film that is actually somehow meaningful to that particular day!!

Some of my favorite entries are:

May 1st -- KING KONG -- Chosen because the Empire State Building was completed on this day in 1930.
Aug. 27th -- DERANGED -- Chosen because August 27th (1906) is the birthday of Ed Gein.
Nov. 28th -- DEATH RACE 2000 -- Chosen because the first automobile race was held on this day in 1895.
Dec. 8th -- RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD -- Chosen because Dec. 8th, 1792 was the date of the first cremation in the U.S.


You can call McFarland's toll free order line at 1-800-253-2187 to purchase this book or order directly from McFarland's website by CLICKING HERE.