Well, I have to start this review off by saying that this book seriously rivals Chas. Balun's legendary "Deep Red Horror Handbook" in its
sheer audacity, scope, and importance. Harvey Fenton has compiled a sort of "greatest hits" of the classic "Flesh & Blood" magazine, and what
we end up with is a stunning mix of sex, blood, guts, and gleefully offensive material.
Covering all the bases from porn to graphic horror (and all those grey areas in between), "The Flesh & Blood Compendium" is absolutely invaluable,
for fans of this sort of thing. And, let's face it, you wouldn't be at Atrocities Cinema.com if you weren't at least casually interested in this kind of
subversive subject matter. That said, this book serves up not only heaping, steaming portions of the "red stuff", but also enough
gratuitous, er, umm "pink stuff" to satisfy, as well. Running the gamut from film reviews to in-depth interviews (with the likes of Joe d'Amato, Coffin Joe, Tinto Brass,
and the pre-"respectable" Peter Jackson, among many others), from disections of your favorite gore-met meat movies to literally hundreds and hundreds of
pictures (including many, many titty shots, if you're looking for that sort of thing, you perverts), this book will never be accused of being "soft" or
even vaguely "wussified". So, suffice it to say that it ain't for the faint of heart. In fact, it's almost an "equal opportunity offender", touching all the bases with total,
unrestrained fervor.
Harvey Fenton and everyone at Fab Press are to be heartily congratulated for bringing this weighty (nearly 500 glossy pages), comprehensive tome together. Of course,
those familiar with Fab Press' other releases will certainly attest to the quality of the content as well as the excellent physical properties of their books. "Flesh & Blood" is no
exception; this thing was designed to last. The binding is solid, the paper quality is excellent, and it's a fucking big book...but not so big that you can't covertly slip it into your
briefcase for those long morning commutes (but be forewarned...read this thing in public and you will draw disgusted, frightened looks from little old ladies. That's a promise.
While not as "horror-specific" as the aforementioned "Deep Red Horror Handbook", "The Flesh & Blood Compendium" is equally important. It demonstrates
amazingly well how fine the line is between our beloved genre and the "adult" film industry. Terror, sex, blood, and guts are presented here as being forever deeply intertwined...a point
that I must agree with. Some gorehounds may balk at the books' heavy focus on pink films, but really, it serves simply to drive the point home...these two genres are so interrelated that there's
really no point in trying to hide it.
To sum up, "The Flesh & Blood Compendium" is an absolutely essential piece of horror/sex reference material, and will provide countless
hours of reading enjoyment...even if you may feel the need to take a long, hot shower afterward. It's unique in that it doesn't shy away
from the nature of the films discussed. And, if for that fact alone, this book gets my unqualified "Atrocities Cinema Essential" award.
Buy it today...you won't regret it...
Well, I have to start this review off by saying that this book seriously rivals Chas. Balun's legendary "Deep Red Horror Handbook" in its
sheer audacity, scope, and importance. Harvey Fenton has compiled a sort of "greatest hits" of the classic "Flesh & Blood" magazine, and what
we end up with is a stunning mix of sex, blood, guts, and gleefully offensive material.