Terror on Tape: A Complete Guide to over 2,000 Horror Movies on Video (Billboard Books' Entertaining and Informative)

Rating:
Summary: the only referance book i keep going back to
Review: i bought this book when it first came out, i was in junior high at the time. its been with me for two high schools and and two collage degrees. its lived with me in three collage dorms, three states, two countries and a half dozen apartments. i cannot think of any other personal item that has. the reviews are brief, but informative and writen with a visable appreciation for the horror genre. where other horror references tend to over explain the plots or not rate the movies, this book does not spoil endings and it cross references the relationships between remakes, sequals, knock-offs and source material. also the writter's personality makes reading this book feel like talking to your favorite video-store clerk. the only complaint i have is that the biographies are not in alphabetical order. i only hope that soon there will be a supliment published

Rating:
Summary: the only referance book i keep going back to
Review: i bought this book when it first came out, i was in junior high at the time. its been with me for two high schools and and two collage degrees. its lived with me in three collage dorms, three states, two countries and a half dozen apartments. i cannot think of any other personal item that has. the reviews are brief, but informative and writen with a visable appreciation for the horror genre. where other horror references tend to over explain the plots or not rate the movies, this book does not spoil endings and it cross references the relationships between remakes, sequals, knock-offs and source material. also the writter's personality makes reading this book feel like talking to your favorite video-store clerk. the only complaint i have is that the biographies are not in alphabetical order. i only hope that soon there will be a supliment published

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, Comprehensive, and Concise
Review: I had read both positive and negative reviews on this guide and figured I would take a chance. I found this guide to be comprehensive in its coverage of titles with concise yet informative reviews (do keep in mind that this book was published in 1994). James O'Neill comes across as someone who is a horror movie buff yet is objective enough to sort out the bad and the good in a very cliched genre. Since there have been some negative reviews on this page for the book, I present the following short summations as an attempt to answer some of these reviews: 1) This book is titled 'Terror on Tape' and therefore concentrates its focus on horror movies available on tape. It was never represented as a complete coverage of horror movies whether on tape or not. 2) O'Neill is not anti-slasher, just anti-bad movie. Too many horror buffs reviewing movies have a tendency to rate them on their gore, infamy, and nudity content as opposed to whether they are any good (plot, script, direction, etc). 3) The reviews are concise giving a basic plot outline, the particulars (actors, director, year, etc.), alternative titles, and of course his opinion. He accomplishes in his reviews what others have failed to do in longer reviews and does not attempt to spoil the movie. Additionally he does not borrow stock reviews and rewrite them for his guide as is a practice in many video review guides. 4) Since this guide concentrates on horror movies on tape (pre-1994) the coverage is obviously going to be slanted toward available titles on tape (although it would appear obvious, some reviewers apparently missed that point).---Although I do not agree with every review in the guide, I do find more hits than misses. It is additionally notable that it is obvious that O'Neill has seen the movies he has reviewed as compared to some guides I have read which left me wondering if the reviewer had actually seen the movie they reviewed. Unfortunately, that appears to be a common practice for the sake of coverage. You will not find that to be the case with 'Terror on Tape'. A comprehensive yet easy to carry guide.-Bob *[James O'Neill also wrote a companion book called 'Sci-Fi on Tape'. Amazon has it listed as well.]

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional quick reference guide
Review: I think the negative reviewers may have been seeking something else when they examined this book--this is general reference book that gives the reader a quick, concise synopsis & review of a great number of films. It covers over 2000 films whereas McCarty's (very good) Splatter Guides only cover around 400 movies each. I agree that the reviews are lacking in depth, but the breadth of coverage is what makes this book a fantastic reference. I don't know of any other book that covers so many films. When I encounter a new film or am trying to recall a film, this book provides just the right amount of information. If I wish to get in-depth analyses and do extended reading, I'll go elsewhere, but this is an essential reference book--the one I go to first. I only hope there is plan to keep it updated.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Bad
Review: In a world where so many books have been slopped together trying to cover a genre such as horror videos, this one is reallly the worst. A comparison would be the volumes done by Joe Bob Briggs, the CREATURE FEATURE sets, and so on, who don't think that horror films were non-existant before NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Very, very poor homework.

Rating:
Summary: Smashing
Review: this Book Roxs........ i am hoping that this man of mistery makes a conclusion of this book......Terror on Tape:The Nightmare is not over