I WAS A TEENAGE MONSTER HUNTER!

Cinephile and film director Irvin presents a compilation of his 1970s fanzine interviews of horror-film legends, paired with a memoir.

Among other works, the author directed the comedy-horror film Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2001), and actor Cassandra Peterson—Elvira herself—provides this book’s foreword. It begins with an account of how Irvin, a North Carolina native, fell in love with horror films at an early age via the 1960s Saturday-afternoon TV show Shock Theater. He had access to other free films, as well, since his father and grandfather were both in the movie-theater business. In 1971, 15-year-old Irvin started his own fanzine, Pit, which, after two issues, he relaunched as Bizarre. The latter’s sophomore issue was a turning point, with director Peter Sasdy and actors Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Ingrid Pitt all responding to his questionnaires. In 1974, he visited London and conducted in-person interviews with Lee, Pitt, and other luminaries, many of whom worked on movies from British studio Hammer Film Productions. This book includes every Bizarre interview in the fanzine’s brief four-issue run; they’re unabridged, and feature occasional cheeky or offensive remarks, as when film composer Malcolm Williamson calls actor Veronica Carlson an “oversized dumb broad.” Irvin adds his own notes to clarify such things as a movie’s title change or to express embarrassment over an awkward question (“Cringe!”). This colorful, oversized book shines a light on Irvin’s personal life, too, primarily focusing on the 1960s and '70s, when, as a closeted gay person, he was afraid of discussing such topics as a movie’s gay subtext. The interviews contain fun tidbits, including unfiltered opinions of cast or crew members, such as actor Donald Pleasence’s amusing criticism of his feline co-stars in You Only Live Twice (1967). Irvin has stories of his own, as well, from his welcome encounters with horror icon Vincent Price to his difficulties securing an in-person interview with Cushing. Personal and on-set photos enliven the book, as does Gallagher’s full-page, cartoon-style artwork featuring orange-haired Irvin who, at one point, is portrayed as literally starry-eyed.

A horror fan shares his love of the genre in this superb work.