The Modern Horror Film

School Library Journal

YA-- McCarty has sorted through the last 30 years to come up with what he considers the 50 ``contemporary classic'' horror films. Each short, insightful article covers the film's importance and background. McCarty discusses the actors, directors, producers, writers, and composers and their involvement in this and other films. He evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each film, often in terms of its impact when released and today. The Hammer Film, Curse of Frankenstein (1957), starts off the chronological listing of films. While there may be some debate as to why certain films were included and others excluded, most of the films are undeniably some of the best ever made: Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, Jaws, Alien, The Shining , etc. Despite McCarty's slight bias toward the Hammer Film productions of the 1950s and 1960s and the ``splatter'' films of recent years, he has produced a well-researched, readable homage to the horror film. Despite the lack of an index, this would be an excellent addition to any library. --John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA