John Russo

Holiday of the Undead is one of those ebooks that takes perfect
advantage of the ebook revolution: you'd never get to see something like this from traditional publishing. What is this book? 500 pages of stories about zombies and various types of holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving, US Independence Day, bank holidays, fishing holidays, you name it. What makes this collection so great? It's perfect pulp.

These are not stories that you need to sit back and enjoy with a brandy. These stories are show more not fine wine. They are good beer, cheap and lots of it, to quaff. They are cheap melting cheese that goes so great with nachos. One second you're laughing at the way the writers are making fun of how we live and how we celebrate...the next you're flinching with one eye shut to keep the gore out. It's a perfect mix for pulp zombie stories.

As an example (warning, spoilers for this one story follow), my
favorite story is still one of the earliest ones, "A Side of Cranberry Sauce," by Clyde Wolfe. It's the Alfred Hitchcock of zombie stories--and while Big Al was quite the auteur as a director, he had the heart of pulp master (on his desk). A family is painstakingly gathered for Thanksgiving by one brother, who feels guilt at the death of their jointly-murdered uncle. Not one to sit back and bask in dark feelings, however, he brings his uncle back from the dead (using the funds conveniently received at his death and the use of his chemical corporation's resources) and locks everyone in a room. Time for a holiday feast!

With consistently straightforward, fun, and horrific writing, this was a fun read for zombie fans. Thrills! Chills! Mistletoe! Stiffs! Alice Cooper references! This one has it all. show less

I enjoyed this one, it did not deviate from the movie much at all (too bad poor Barbara's all too brief revenge attack wasn't present in the movie), but its descriptions of the ghouls were much nastier than in the film and you get more from the inside the heads of the characters. There was also more with the posse on the move and the sheriff who is more of an actual character here appearing in the latter third of the story. The first half of the book was very thrilling (a little more than in show more the movie and gorier), which I enjoyed. The only thing I really did not like here was that there was a strange semi-philosophical ramble as intro before the story gets started in chapter one which was utterly unnecessary and, in my opinion, a major misstep by the author. Likewise, the preface by George A. Romero was, unfortunately, horribly boring. However, I would recommend this one to those who just want a quick, to-the-point, easy-to-read, zombie romp whether they have or have not seen the film (and/or its 1990 remake). Just skip the preface and that weird little bit at the very beginning of the first chapter. show less

John Russo will go down in history as the screenwriter of the groundbreaking 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. As a horror novelist he has been less artistically successful, churning out a series of uninteresting, drearily violent books; this is the only one that kinda-sorta works. Make no mistake: Black Cat is not a classic. If you're looking for depth of feeling or well-drawn, believable characters, you ain't gonna find 'em here; this is absurd pulp trash through and through. (It's about show more the spirit of a malevolent African witch doctor inhabiting the body of a panther, for christ's sake.) But if you want a quick, easy, action-packed read with occasional flashes of spooky atmosphere, this book will get you through the weekend. Two and a half stars. show less

Did you know that NotLD was initially scripted as a horror comedy? That Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman, who played Harry and Helen Cooper, were also the film's makeup artists? (Eastman, in fact, portrayed the scarred female ghoul who picks an insect off a tree and eats it.) That the brother of NFL great Johnny Unitas served as the film's lighting supervisor? The Complete Night of the Living Dead Filmbook by John Russo (who co-wrote the final script with director George Romero) is loaded show more with such interesting factoids, but ultimately it's far more than a compendium of trivia. In recounting the history of NotLD and how its creators overcame the limitations of a low budget to produce the bleak, terrifying film which ushered in the era of modern horror, Russo fascinates and inspires...which makes this book a must-read. It's exceptionally well illustrated, too. show less