Clark Collis delivers a fantastic look at the horror genre and its revitalization during the run of films from the game changing Scream in 1996 to the haunted house Conjuring of 2013. That seventeen years of cinema saw countless genre films released, and it documents its growth and evolution.

Collis explores them all, the high-profile and the low-budget, and the cross-section where they meet. The text is filled with promotional stills, posters, and more, and Collis takes us behind the scenes not only of the productions that are explored, but also the studios and creatives behind their creation, release, and in some cases shelving.

It was an engrossing read, that I was eager to explore. It has also helped me fill out my viewing schedule again. Because for all the films I have watched, there are still a number of these films I haven’t written about. Sure, there are a number that don’t appeal to me, but there are a number that will have to be explored.

Collis delves into lives and moments, iconic scenes, and unheard behind the scene stories. It’s an enjoyable read, fact-filled and shows a real love for the genre. The attention to detail, something that horror hasn’t always had in the mainstream, is first and foremost here and every line of it is appreciated.

There are culled interviews and iconic names, Carpenter, Romero, del Toro, Wan, Roth, Coscarelli, Hooper, Wright, and more. There are loved film, and films that bombed. Some that became cult classics, and some that have vanished. They all get their time.

Collis demonstrates the growth and changes in the genre, from Scream’s meta slasher take to ‘torture porn’ to gothic tales, and the mainstreaming of the modern critically claimed horror films. There are titles that you’ll recall fondly, some ar prizes amongst your physical media, and some you wouldn’t want to see again. Butt each of them moved the genre, each of them were a reflection of those around them seen in new ways.

In Collis’ text the big names stand alongside lesser known creators, but all of them had an undeniable impact on the genre, especially in that stretch of time that he explores.

This is a book that I highly recommend for each and every horror fan. There are those of us who love the films of yesteryear, like the Universal Monsters, or the films of the 70s, arguably contained now under the umbrella of classic horror. People know the stories around those films, this book will do the same for genre films of th early 21st century.

I loved this book. This is a must-have for horror fans.