I love a bit of film theory. And especially if it’s about horror movies. And especially if it’s tongue in cheek, poking fun at well-worn tropes and rules. How to Survive a Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills by Seth Grahame-Smith, is quite an old book (2007) in terms of popular culture, but it’s still relevant, and a must read for any horror film fans.
It’s packed with sound advice about how to survive any given horror-movie situation you might find yourself in. To be honest, this book is the only reason I’ve made it to 28. With its guidance, I’ve survived killer dolls, cannibalistic rednecks, hexes, babysitting and snakes on a plane. For real.
Joking aside, this is a cool little book. I love the illustrations, the checklists, the funny headers, but also it does hit all the ‘real’ points an academic horror film critique would. Although it’s played for laughs it includes analysis of the portrayal of women, class, religion and trends in horror to name a few.
Get it read before Halloween comes around if you want to safeguard your survival to Christmas.