Mike Mayo On The Gruesome 'The Horror Show Guide The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies'

Mike Mayo on ‘The Horror Show Guide The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies’

You have lots of gems in here some I have never heard of and that I am going to locate to watch myself. I love your book. What are some gems out there that some people may not know of that you can tell us about?

MM: This list could take up your whole website. Off the top of my head:

Blood Freak – Ed Woodsian craziness, absolutely indescribable

Creep – Don’t miss the last subway train. With the wonderful Franka Potente

Dead Weight – Very low-budget zombie film. Effects and gore are less important than a fairly complex plot and characters. Fine acting.

Dead Snow – Fast, smart Nazi zombies!

Borderland – Legitimate successor to Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die – An undiscovered comic gem from 1962.

Cronos – Guillermo del Toro’s debut.

The Mothman Prophecies – Excellent adaptation of an excellent book

Wendigo – a good place to discover the work of Larry Fessenden

What new horror movies are you looking forward to? I can’t wait to see the new Evil Dead and the Blair Witch guys are putting together Existz about Bigfoot and Bobcat Goldthwait is putting out a serious Bigfoot movie called Willow Creek. Excited about these. Any that excite you coming out in the future? Have you seen God Bless America by Goldthwait by the way? If not check it out.

MM: I tend to be hot and cold with Rob Zombie’s films but his The Lords of Salem looks good. Exhumed sounds interesting and it stars my pal Debbie Rochon. As a rule, Im leery of big-budget special effects stuff but Pacific Rim comes from Guillermo del Toro, so I’m jazzed for it. And despite my reservations about remakes, Spike Lee’s take on Oldboy could be terrific. I loved Max Brooks’s World War Z but I can’t say that I hold out much hope for the Brad Pitt adaptation. Since the novel is essentially a collection of stories, it would probably work better as a cable mini-series.

What would you like to share from your book with us that you love the most? A wildcard question if you will regarding your book’s contents. What is something you would like our readers to know about regarding The Horror Show Guide?

MM: I hope that the book will appeal to younger fans and that they’ll surf through it, discovering titles old and new that they might not have considered watching. I know that many older films, particularly those that are black and white, seem dated now. Fans of the Scream and Friday the 13th series may think that the relatively restrained violence of older fare is too tame, and that the special effects are neither special nor effective. You mentioned Frankenstein earlier. Even though the original Jack Pierce make-up has become a familiar cultural icon, it’s still a shock the first time you see Karloff’s face. Every young fan should experience that and I hope that The Horror Show Guide will help them find those moments.

Much more can be found with Mike here answering many more questions about Horror films. This was fiendish fun. Stop by and check out the rest!

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