For those of you who came in late FAB Press
is the moniker of an independent English publisher
synonymous with the finest film publications on
the planet. Since emerging with a superior trashfilm
zine in the early 90s FAB Press have gone full
bore to develop their product to the point where
each new book on their burgeoning schedule achieves
a level of quality that is hard to fault in terms
of subject material and critical writing of the
well-researched, well-written, and infectiously
energetic kind. Their choice of illustrations
must also be noted as utilizing the rarest and
best stills, production art, posters and video
slicks that they can locate. And the road to perfect
bound perfection continues unabated with Making
Friday The 13th: The Legend Of Camp Blood.
With the 25th Anniversary of Friday The
13th upon us author David Grove has collected
and collated dozens of interviews with Friday
cast, crew and creators to form an almost seamless
commentary on the entire feature film series (and
TV show). Taking the chronological route, Grove
goes film by film (up till and including Freddy
Vs. Jason) using original interviews
conducted with the likes of Sean S. Cunningham,
Frank Mancuso Jr., Tom Savini, Steve Miner, Ronny
Yu, Danny Steinmann, Harry Manfredini, David Cronenberg,
Taso Stavrakis, screenwriters Victor Miller and
Ron Kurz, and dozens of actors including Adrienne
King, Betsy Palmer, and Harry Crosby from the
original film to the latest thespian incumbents
and all points in between like Larry Zerner and
Ron Palillo. From continuity problems between
films to the various approaches to Jason, special
effects, casting, crewing, budgeting, censorship
and the myriad influences and strains brought
to bear each time out there's not a lot about
the series that doesn't get discussed. Besides
listing detailed cast and crew credits for each
film, links to other films are made with Last
House On The Left, Twitch Of
The Death Nerve, Case Of The
Smiling Stiffs, Halloween,
Happy Birthday To Me, The
Prowler, The Burning,
Godzilla, Amityville:
3-D, Island Claws, Devil
Dog: The Hound Of Hell, Nightmare
On Elm Street, and a complete chapter
is devoted to Friday The 13th: The Series.
At this point it's hard to see any film series
being so well represented by dead tree technology
much less one that should be appreciated by every
visitor to this website. At the very least Making
Friday The 13th lays down the blue-print
for what could be a dynamic DVD box set and at
the most it's something that all enthusiasts for
the series need to eyeball today.
For further evidence of FAB Press brilliance
you'd be foolish not to check out www.fabpress.com.
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