The Ultimate Book of Movie Monsters

By Christopher Carton

Do you believe in monsters?

We dare you to take a look inside this cursed tome containing some of the most iconic and obscure monsters from the history of cinema.

Cower in fear of Count Dracula and his dreaded children of the night. Abandon hope as the mightiest kaiju ever seen on film decimate all around them. Pray that silhouette at the end of your bed is just a shadow and not the dreaded Babadook.

Spanning nearly a century of cinematic terrors, The Ultimate Book of Movie Monsters showcases creatures from genres such as horror, fantasy, B-movies and even musicals. Along with legendary beasts like Frankenstein’s monster, Godzilla, the Living Dead and the (mostly) friendly creatures of Monsters Inc., you’ll find film facts, creature strengths and weaknesses and over 150 full-color pictures of the monsters themselves. From the era of stop-motion beasties to the cinematic showdown of the century in Godzilla vs. Kong, film lovers and horror aficionados will find plenty to keep their lust for terror satiated.

But beware, for the beasts that dwell within these forsaken pages may just keep you up all night. You have been warned…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Jul 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781399096836

Christopher Carton

Chris Carton was born into a family of movie and game lovers. He cut his teeth on Commodore 64 platformers and Amiga point-and-click adventures like the Monkey Island series and has loved video games ever since. He’s also obsessed with cinema and movies of all genres. Chris was born in Galway but now lives in Cork, Ireland, with his wife and three kids, who he has bestowed his gaming passion upon!

Reviews for The Ultimate Book of Movie Monsters

[coachtim30 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

"Just ok", is about the best I can give The Ultimate Guide to Movie Monsters. First of all, it's not an "ultimate guide" and it doesn't contain an index. It's not a very long book and it glosses over a number of famous film favorites in exchange for pages on Krull, Harry Potter, Critters, and so on. It seemed to be the kind of book that a publisher rushed an author to finish. There's not a lot of in-depth information and not much background or research. Just a list by chapter of what author Carton believes are members of the cinematic all-star movie monster team. For this reviewer, the book spent way too much time and emphasis on more modern films, and not enough on the classics. C'mon, the Sta-Puft Marshmellow Man, the Corpse Bride, Coraline, and the Hocus Pocus witches movie monsters? Really?

[pomo58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Ultimate Guide to Movie Monsters by Christopher Carton is a quick stroll through the many creatures and entities that we have come to love/hate as movie monsters.As the title says, this is a guide, not an analytical assessment nor an attempt at finding something new for no reason. besides, who in their right mind expects "new" pictures from movies that have been viewed millions of times and are far too old to still be finding unknown behind the scenes pictures. Yes, the pictures are things we have seen, did you think Carton could travel back in time and maybe take a couple selfies with the stars of movies made over 50 years ago? Really?The strength of this book is in bringing the various types of monsters together into one book for both casual reference and for those who might want to find movies they haven't seen. I was surprised at just how many sequels some of these lesser known movies had. I was also reminded of some movies I enjoyed years ago but had forgotten about, though I am curious to see how some of them may have aged for me.All in all a fun read and a handy book to have for when you want to find yet another vampire movie. Recommended for those who like reference type books that are also good reads, well, unless you think there are a lot of undiscovered "new" photographs of all the movies, then you'll be disappointed (like your parents, no doubt).Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.