Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares - Tapa dura

As director of An American Werewolf in London and Innocent Blood, Landis is no stranger to horror films. Here, he offers a whirlwind tour of just about everything related to the genre, from the silents to today's computer-generated imagery. Typical of DK, the book includes thousands of captioned photos featuring Landis's commentary on the films. Chapters cover vampires, werewolves, mad scientists, zombies, giant apes, atomic mutations, space monsters, and much more. Subsections spotlight actors like Lon Chaney Jr.--this book is extremely thorough. Landis also provides brief interviews with actor Christopher Lee, directors David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, Guillermo del Toro, and Sam Raimi, makeup master Rick Baker, and legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, a wonderful bonus. Verdict: With tons of cool pics and beautifully reproduced film posters, Landis's volume knocks it out of the park as a superbrowsable overview of the beasties, ghosties, and ghoulies that have terrified us on the big screen all in the name of fun. Horror fans will love it. (Library Journal 2011-08-01)

Witty captions and a concise text make this a souvenir to die for. (Mail on Sunday Mail on Sunday 2011-10-02)

From Kong to The Kraken, gremlins to gill-men, John Landis knows his monsters. (Guardian.co.uk Guardian.co.uk 2011-10-31)

Landis examines the monsters of the fantasy, science fiction and horror cinema in a unique and highly personal way. (Big Issue Big Issue 2011-10-24)