Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia by Peter Dendle

The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia by Peter Dendle
2010, McFarland

Synopsis: The exhumation of zombie films from obscurity is accomplished in terrifying detail in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. The first exhaustive overview of the subject, this book evaluates over 200 movies from 16 countries over a 65-year period starting from the early 1930s. It mostly treats feature-length films, covering everything from large studio productions to backyard videography, but also touches on memorable episodes of television series and miscellaneous shorts.

Why read: Received for review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

What impressed me: I enjoyed that Dendle put his own voice and opinions in the reviews. It felt more personal that most movie encyclopedia reviews.

What disappointed me: The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia is terribly out of date. Why publish a book in 2010 if you haven't updated the information since it was first published in 2001? A huge amount of zombie movies have been released in that time period, all of which would be of interest to zombie movie fans. Reading the reviews, Dendle often sounds like he really doesn't like the genre. He favors a few classics, but for the most part the reviews are negative, telling potential viewers not to waste their time.

Recommended: No. I'd recommend reading any other zombie film review book as they would most likely be more up-to-date and written by someone who actually enjoys the films.

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