The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, by Michael J. Weldon
The Psychotronic Video Guide, by Michael J. Weldon
Review by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Buy The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, by Michael J. Weldon
Buy The Psychotronic Video Guide, by Michael J. Weldon
Weldon should be praised for his unique take on film criticism. He's not
interested in anything prestigious or noble or respectable. You won't
find reviews of Dances With Wolves or Howards End
here. You will find reviews for, not only horror films and b-movies like
Night of the Living Dead, Black Sunday, and Sorority
Girls in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama, but also Hitchcock films,
Herzog films, Kubrick films, Scorsese films, and, Weldon's favorite,
Luis Bunuel films. Weldon writes in a simple, straight-ahead style with
little fanfare (and lots of parentheses). Fans have to buy both books to
get a complete perspective. Weldon is against simply updating one volume
and making readers throw the first volume away. There are thousands upon
thousands of films here, many of them rare or lost, with director,
screenwriter, and producer information, but unfortunately, a fairly
incomplete index. I find that I reference these books more than just
about any other book. The only drawback is that the first book only goes
up to 1983 and the second book only goes up to 1994. I hope we don't
have to wait another eleven years for volume 3!
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