I really enjoyed this. I plan to add a physical copy to my collection when it comes out. In fact, it's really close to my birthday, so I'll buy it as a bday gift to myself.

Anything with the word "horror" in the title attracts me. Weismann shows a broad and deep knowledge of horror that gives me the sense that he's "a confirmed ghost story and horror film addict." (That's a reference to The Shining.) I also liked that there was coverage of everything from - I guess I would call it "soft" horror (like Ghostbusters) to more extreme horror. The pictures throughout were great, and I look forward to adding this one to my horror shelf!

I am a huge horror movie lover and this book was so much fun. Not a comprehensive list by any means but the films that it does cover the author does so very thoroughly. Any horror fan would love this!

I really wanted to like Horror Unmasked, and for the most part I did. However, after about the midpoint it became clear that the author was more interested in Pre-1960's film than anything more recent. Films of the last 30 years felt like they went by in the last couple chapters without much expansion. The chapter on torture porn was horrendous with little commentary on what the films were attempting, then dismissing the entire genre subset. But the most egregious to me was the lack of info on any but a handful of films created especially for streaming. For a short book there just seemed to be way to much meat missing.

This is a thorough and very engaging text on the history of the horror film. I really enjoyed the way the chapters and topics were grouped together and as a huge horror fan and librarian, I will certainly recommend this book to other horror nuts and library patrons! My students sometimes ask for books about horror films and I think this is the best and most comprehensive one I have come across. Thank you to Netgalley for letting me take a look at it!

I generally live in the here and now, and am easily bored by history...and yet, I love horror, so I was instantly intrigued by this book. It goes way back to the beginning of movie making, and I learned a lot about that time, not realizing how early horror actually took part in film. I quite enjoyed moving along through the decades and the changing styles of horror movies. The closer to the present I got, the more familiar I was, and curious as to Brad's thoughts on movies I've quite enjoyed. There are a good amount of pictures, and yet I hoped for more actual footage and less posters. I also quite like sidebars with lists and more would have been merrier. Overall I quite enjoyed reading this and would recommend it as a coffee table book to any horror movie lovers, though sadly my wife is not one of them and therefore it would be hidden on a shelf.

I loved this book from start to finish. Well written, well researched. Super enjoyable. Well done. Highly recommend for horror or movie fans

This book is all about the history of horror movies. It starts with the very first and goes all the way to modern day. It dives into original black and white, movies that have been lost to time, and many modern day classics.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The author deep dives into many examples of each kind of horror movie that is talked about, including many movies that I hadn't heard of before this. I've added a bunch of movies to my must see list thanks to this book. He goes into the life and history of many horror movie actors as well and it was very interesting to learn about. The different chapters follow different categories of films and films from different countries and most of the chapters were very well researched and interesting to read. The chapter on extreme horror (dubbed torture porn in the book, a must disliked term among horror fans) was lacking to me though. it was very short and not many examples were provided. I think the author let their bias toward the genre to show. You can tell from reading the chapter that the author was not a fan and I think they allowed that to color how they wrote the chapter. (It straight up says at the end of the chapter that the author doesn't think that the genre should even exist.)

The book is enhanced with illustrations and scenes from the movies that it talks about, actor pictures, and movie posters. There are also several inserts that talk about specific movies, actors, and directors that provide a lot of interesting back stories to each thing that is talked about.

The book did unfortunately get a little repetitive toward the end. Thanks to the way the book was formatted and written multiple books were mentioned and explained in several chapters and it got a little tedious in my opinion. I also agree with the another review about the sometimes problematic language that was used throughout the book in reference to some of the movies. If the author is quoting how the movie was talked about when it was released then those terms should really be put in quotations. It looks like the authors own wording when they aren't.

Overall I would have to say that I enjoyed the book. It's not perfect but its an enjoyable read. I recommend this for fans of horror in general and horror movies in specific.

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Was a personal deep dive into film. Really enjoyed the historical, factual side of it. The behind the scenes stuff was fascinating!

When I first saw this book I was excited. It sounded like a fun historical breakdown of the horror genre.

However, it wasn’t what I was expecting. More academic than anything else, it felt like reading a textbook rather than a passionate breakdown of the horror genre.

It was ok, but ultimately not the fun read I was hoping for and I found my mind often wandering when my nose was in this book.

I loved that this book covers the obscure horror movies as well as the mainstream ones. It was informative although a bit jumbled in the layout. I think grouping movies by subgenre alone would have worked better than by time and then subgenre. It broke up some of the flow unnecessarily.

This deep dive into horror was such a treat for a lover of the genre! I've always had an interest in film, especially the scarier genres so this was a really interesting one for me.

Horror Unmasked brings you through different decades and countries, showcasing some of the classic movies, tropes and series! From Hitchcock, to Hammer Horror, to Argento all the way up to Raimi, American Horror Story and Jordan Peele, this book has it all! I kept getting so excited flipping to the next page and seeing either a favourite movie or director being discussed, there's even a Buffy mention!

This book would be a great addition to any shelf or table and would make a perfect gift for any horror lover!

Horror is my favorite movie genre so this book captured my attention as soon as I saw the cover. A simple yet effective title with a nice cover image. The book also makes great use of photos of movie screengrabs, posters, etc. I feel like this would be a good-looking book to have a physical copy of on a bookshelf.

The actual content of the book is great as well.. The author has a conversational yet informative style. His writing keeps you reading at a brisk pace while never seeming like a droning lecture. He manages to cover different types of horror films and even delves into the styles of horror that countries outside of the USA are known for. I also feel like newer horror fans will appreciate the multiple film lists throughout the book, curated by the author himself.

Due to the size of the horror genre, it would be impossible for any author to contain it in one book. So don't expect deep dives into every topic presented. But if you are interested in a retrospective of horror that covers the silent film era up to the modern day, this book would be a welcome addition to your collection. The author's love and knowledge of the horror genre is clearly visible as you read through this book.

The spooky skull cover drew me into this book and I was not disappointed. "Horror Unmasked" took me on a complete journey from the silent film era to the latest and greatest horror flicks of the 2020s. The pictures are the real draw here, but I also enjoyed reading the stories behind some of my favorite movies and film stars. While I was expecting just a straight-up anthology, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the special features, especially the chapter on "Mainstream Horror Or: Bring the Kids!" as well as the "From Scream Queens to Final Girls" section. There's even an entire chapter devoted to J and K-Horror, which was unexpected but awesome to read about.

My one complaint about this book is the tiny font. It was tough to read on an e-reader and I think this book would best be experienced in print.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

This was a fun little book about the history of horror on film. Lots of information, lots of beautiful pictures. I loved seeing the vintage posters for the movies.

A must have for horror fans!

Thank you to Brad Weismann, Quarto Publishing Group- becker & mayer! And NetGalley for an e-ARC!

No very informative, I have some issues with the language used in this book. The author properly uses the word Roma when dealing with the Romani people, but still uses words like "freaks" ,"monsters", and "midget" without quotes around them. This gives the impression that he approves and/or holds the beliefs of the people in the past in regards to these words. If there is time before this book comes out, I recommend going back and changing some of the language, or using quotation marks around the words that we no longer use.

A book for horror buffs. Lots of horror film history starting from silent films and how the genre grew and evolved. I absolutely loved the vintage movie posters and cards shown throughout.

This book literally gives reference to it all from directors of horror from the very beginning in the late 1800s to today along with amazing actors that are so well known in the horror genre including the classic “Scream Queens.” This also gives insight to how the horror genre has influenced us over the decades and why we love it so much.

I loved the illustrations along side the references. Overall, this was a quick but great read of all things horror! Definitely would recommend to true horror lovers who are interested in some horror history.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m a lover of horror! In my house we watch it all from old school silent films to pivotal movies like The Thing and Psycho to the classic films we grew up with like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Scream.

This book literally gives reference to it all from directors of horror from the very beginning in the late 1800s to today along with amazing actors that are so well known in the horror genre including the classic “Scream Queens.” This also gives insight to how the horror genre has influenced us over the decades and why we love it so much.

I loved the illustrations along side the references. Overall, this was a quick but great read of all things horror! Definitely would recommend to true horror lovers who are interested in some horror history.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book has been written multiple times before by different people but every single time it happens I'm still going to read it and love it. I've already learned everything that is in here from multiple other sources but it's enjoyable to me every single time and with this book it looks a lot prettier then some of the other books out there.