Exquisite Terror issue 4 scratched me right where I itch. Since I am my friends’ “go to” for horror, I pride myself a bit on my love and knowledge of the genre. But this blew my expectations out of the water and could not have come at a better time. By the end of August, I am usually getting amped up for October by getting my own month long “Horrathon” list together, but because the last couple of years have lacked much of anything horror, with a few obvious blips here and there, I have sadly been considering not even doing my month long celebration of terror. No longer! Exquisite Terror 4 has revitalized my thirst for horror in every aspect and I cannot wait for October to get here.
The issue’s cover is an exceptionally beautiful black and white image of a vampire set before a moon as it turns into a flock of bats. Then, as you begin going into the contents, you find a couple articles about the history of Dracula and his castle; both of which made me want to read the novel - and gave me a list of others I want to find; an interview with Jim Van Bebber, a very insightful interview about how independent filmmaking is changing with the digital takeover; an intriguing article about an interesting screenwriting endeavor, another on the future of German Cinema; a sort of comparison look on Buffalo Bill, the page vs the screen; then, most interestingly to me, were two fantastic looks at the film and the script of the horror classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Each article is exceptionally written, and for the most part had my attention the entire time. A particularly nice touch I found in the magazine was the full page art work that was injected into a couple of the articles. They are beside the written pages and glow with the adoration that the writers put into each page. Now, admittedly, being a fan of the films, the Buffalo Bill and the Chain Saw Massacre articles had me completely because I love hearing such insight to films that I have grown up with and admire more with each viewing. So as I think back, one or two of the articles, while I found mildly interesting, were lost a bit in the shuffle.
I found Exquisite Terror 4 to be a swift and engaging read that I would suggest to anyone who enjoys horror, be it literary or film. As a matter of fact, after reading it, I was so impressed with the articles that I visited their web page and found that you can order each of their four issues there. So if you are interested in “An academic exploration of the beauty that is horror,” I strongly encourage that you head over there and check out what they have to offer.