Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive

This certainly has been a year for horror books about horror films!

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is author Craig DiLouie’s second foray in a row with writing Hollywood horror into an unsettling novel (Episode Thirteen is about a paranormal reality show). The blurb calls it darkly humorous, and it has its moments. The tagline for the book is, “Horror isn’t horror unless it’s real”. Make of that what you will.

The first 25% of this book was very wobbly for me. While I was invested in the story and intrigued by the characters, it felt like the pacing was off and like the tone of the novel wasn’t quite tuned. When the book found its footing I was very satisfied with everything about it until the last 20% of the book. Then it started to crumble again a bit for me and then limped a bit to the finish. I want to be clear: At no time did I stop reading this book. At no time did I think about DNFing. I was invested the whole time and felt compelled to finish. It’s a total page-turner. I just didn’t find the book as a whole to be completely solid. I think the issue may have been that the book was probably too long.

What I loved about this book was the sheer love of horror movies it showed as a whole. From quotes by famous movie directors to film references to on-page deaths that would be at home in a “Final Destination” movie, this book shows a deep and abiding respect for the horror genre, even for what came after the time period after this book is set in.

Craig DiLouie is a fantastic horror author and his books are always a great read. This one may not be 100% solid, but I still recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Ghost Fiction/Horror/Occult Fiction/Occult Horror