Let's start by saying, I loved Sally. She was the star to this novel. Her character was physically attractive but it didn't make up her entire personality and that was a pleasant surprise. Max, our other MC was also a fun character to read about. Very dynamic. The relationship between Sally and Max felt genuine and dialogue flowed well thought out the story.

I thought the plot was interesting. I recently read Sylvia Moreno Garcia's novel Silver Nitrate and this book gave me similar vibes. Both focus on films but with their own unique flair. Plot was developed well and Dilouie's style is great, but the book did run on a bit. I feel like that's just how this author is because I had the same thought about his book Episode 13. Both books have me hooked and invested but then it tends to fizzle out because the story feels never ending. But soon after, you're hooked back in. I wish some of the filler was removed, it would help the pacing a lot.

I didn't care for the ending. It was predictable and unsatisfying. For such an intense climax, you expect an insane ending but no, it was pretty much the bad guy goes away and the MC is victorious. I do like that the author tried to foreshadow that the curse will continue on but it read flat.

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive would have been a higher star rating if I didn't get thrown off by the author's ridiculous descriptions and over use of words. Sorry but I can only read "catharsis" so many times. And what is this statement?

" Dororthy flung the door open again, breasts akimbo."

Like what is that? It doesn't even make sense. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't like the book as much as I wanted to but it does have enough positives to pass as a 3 star read.

Craig DiLouie has quickly become one of my go-to horror authors. He’s the one I turn to when I want to be good and creeped out, because he’s never once let me down and this is no exception.

As an addict of all things horror, it sort of felt like this novel was written for me. It’s both a love letter to horror movies, and an unflinching look at the ways we relate to them, good and bad. Some of us just love to be scared while knowing we’re in a safe environment. Some use horror to escape from or reckon with their trauma. Some see themselves for the very first time in horror, and not always as the protagonist.

I especially live for morally gray characters, and while he may tip too far in one direction or another sometimes, Max Maurey perfectly walked that line for me of being terrifyingly unhinged, but also sadly empathetic and relatable. And Sally Priest is a final girl for the ages! Terrified but getting shit done anyway!

Seriously, I could talk about this book forever, but if you consider yourself a horror fan, do yourself a favor and grab yourself a copy when it’s released on June 18!

First off, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A FAN OF 70'S/80'S SLASHER FILMS!!! 🤗💜👏📖📚

Synopsis: Director Max Maurey's is to make a horror movie that leaves people scared instead of laughing; He's gonna use Sally Priest who wants to be the "final girl" to do it.

Review: This book!!! WOW! ALL the stars! I'm such a huge fan of 80's slasher films (my favorite is the Halloween franchise). This book delivered those vibes and then some! There were times I was reading this at night and was genuinely scared, and I've never had a book bring in that emotion for me before. Craig DiLouie did SUCH an amazing job at making you feel like you were right there in the book! The atmosphere, the humor, the horror! I cannot recommend this book enough! This is my first book by this author, but believe me, it will not be my last!! 10 stars!!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This book comes out on June 18th, and you NEED to pick this up if you love horror books!

I was a massive fan of Craig DiLouie’s terrifying Episode Thirteen, but unfortunately this latest offering didn’t resonate with me nearly as much. The story of a deranged director looking to create the perfect horror movie with a murderous, cursed camera, “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” was just a bit too over the top and silly for my taste. I am sure that was the point and this will be appealing to a lot of people who look for that in horror, but it just isn’t for me.

**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Netgalley and Redhook**

Most important things first: Does the dog live? (view spoiler)

Honestly, this book gave me whiplash and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. First I got super excited because OMG, such an amazing premise! And then I got a little bored because nothing much happens for a whole lot of pages and there's lots of film talk and the characters are all unlikeable. And then all the things happen at the end and it's exciting again!

I mean, the ending is fantastic. The epilogue-y bit at the very end is probably one of the best parts of the entire book. And the climax (which relies heavily on the Final Girl trope) is just about perfect, although I did find the vanquishing of the Big Bad to be a little anticlimactic. But, overall, the ending is exciting and original and totally made the book.

And the premise! A haunted movie camera that gives the wielder an unimaginable power? Yes, please!

I also love how this book is basically one big homage to the slasher movie genre. While I do love horror, slasher flicks have never been my favorites (mostly due to a traumatizing A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 incident when I was nine). But it's obvious that Craig DiLouie has a great fondness for the genre and this book is an endearing tribute to the slasher films and scream queens of the 70s and 80s.

The characters, though. So unlikeable. Sally and Clare were decent, but pretty much everyone else was awful … and Max especially so. I don't normally need personable characters in order to enjoy a novel, but this one was a little tough since I absolutely despised the main character (especially in the latter chapters). Max is only a few steps down from Dolores Umbridge on my “unbearable book and film characters” list, honestly.

I struggled a little with the middle bits of the book too. There were entertaining incidents here and there, but a lot of it just consisted of film talk and Max burying and unburying a camera and rambling on about his new horror movie idea. It wasn't a complete slog, but I'm not entirely sure that it was all necessary – this story probably could have been at least a good fifty pages shorter.

But, overall, was it worth it? I … I think so? I really did adore the ending and the premise is certainly original. It wasn't a perfect read, but I'm pretty sure it's one I won't forget any time soon.

My overall rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

How To Make A Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie is like watching a horror movie straight out of the 1980's. This story is a wonderful take on a classic horror plot of a cursed object with a twist. The characters are unique and fully formed. The horror is suspenseful and indeed horrific. This reminds me of all the horror stories in my youth, stories where the scream queen and the final girl battle the evil monster who is attacking them. In this story, the evil monster is behind the scenes and wielding the camera. This is the second book by DiLouie that I've read and I have loved them both. I would love to read more stories by him.

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

I went into this one with high expectations as I’ve loved all of the author’s previous work. This one was no exception! The concept was fun and I had never read anything like it! It had pretty effective comedy mixed in with the horror. The characters were eccentric but also very specific. I spent the majority of the book having no idea what would happen next. My only criticism is that Raph died too early! I really liked his character!! But that’s just a personal preference. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see what is next!

This was fun and fresh. It was a bit slower than I would have liked and predictable, but I was interested enough to read it through from start to finish.

This book was entertaining, overall enjoyable, and it delivered exactly what the premise promised. It does take its time in developing the story, and the characters are somewhat stereotypical in their roles, but the endgame to the story was a promising (albeit predictable) one.

This book was exactly my type of horror! Funny, shocking, self aware - perfect! We follow a director who gets a hold of a camera that might possibly cause people who he's recording to die. He realizes that he could make the best horror movie ever using this camera...

As a huge fan of 80's horror and final girls, I was so excited to receive an ARC of How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive! It fell a lttle short of my expectations, but it was still a fun read! Thank you, NetGalley!

This read like a horror movie about a horror movie - a must read for fans of classic 80's slasher films.

Got a few chapters in and just can’t finish. I thought the first chapter was some sort of bit or lead in to the main story, and then realized it was the actual story. I couldn’t take the writing seriously; i get that it’s the style of the book, but every character’s dialogue sounded the same with no distinct voice, and it ultimately just felt like I was reading someone’s story for a beginner creative writing class. There’s so many needless adjectives to say the simplest things, and I immediately disliked the main character because of the pretentious wording and dialogue.

Sorry, DNF

Max Maury is horror movie director whose latest installment in his 80s slasher series brings him a harsh realization: he's not really the auteur he sees himself as, but instead is making formulaic Hollywood fluff. When he discovers long-lost footage of an actual disaster that wiped out nearly every cast and crew member of a mythic "cursed" film, he's suddenly inspired to create "real horror." Learning that the eponymous film's director recently died, he attends the estate sale and buys the camera that filmed the fabled movie and subsequent tragedy. Soon, he finds that it's the camera that's cursed, and it's hungry for him to feed it souls. Now, he plans on making the best true horror film ever made.
Taking place in 1988, this book is a love letter to the history of horror movies, especially the slashers of the 80s. At times the story straddles the line between artistic horror story and schlocky 80s style of horror, almost a meta interpretation of its subject. The narrative mainly balances two stories, Maury's increasingly maniacal need to make the film he always wanted, and Sally Priest, a supporting actress who's looking for her big break to become a Final Girl and blow up her acting career, something she hopes being in Maury's film will accomplish for her. The story is fairly engaging throughout, though towards the end there were two or three perfect places to end it, yet there were always more chapters which felt like they should have been omitted. Horror stories don't need complete closure of all story lines.

This was a good one! As an avid 80's horror movie lover, this was awesome! I loved following not only the director, but also the wanna be final girl. My only tiny complaint was at times I did find myself getting slightly bored. It was a little too wordy at times. That being said, this was my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading all of his books after this! Loved the details from 80's horror and all of the quotes from some of my all-time favorite movies!!

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary

The synopsis provides an accurate overview of the story. Background development in each step of the cinematic process was noticeable, the details of which made it feel like you were on-set, watching the magic happen.

Although the details provided added legitimacy to the plot, there were times when it felt like it bogged down the flow of the story. However, having more does not do detract from the realism of the narrative, because of those details. Learned some things about the movie industry in-between the characters doing what they were doing. Overall, it was a fun book.

This book was an outstanding love letter to the slasher era of horror. Beautifully written and an artful balance between a story about making movies and genuine terror.

I’m so thankful I was able to get my hands on this book before its release, I absolutely loved it. I love a good 80s nostalgia, a good old final girl, and the makings of a horror novel.

As a fan of other 'final girls' books with nods to the slasher films, I really enjoyed this one. The concept was different and I loved the whole idea of the haunted camera. Very good read and would recommend to anyone who also loves the slasher films and final girls tropes.

This was an interesting concept. Director Max Maury is tired of all the horror that has turned into a joke with over used tropes and over the top stories that make the theater goers laugh instead of scream and run out. He wants a real horror movie and lucky for him he finds a cursed camera that can make his dream come true. It played out like a horror story while making a horror movie with many creative deaths which were actually pretty funny (except for Lady Susan, that was just sad) and the pretty quick slide of Max into madness as he makes his only dream come true. So, yeah it is horror and pretty graphic but I still liked it and the opposite of Max, Sally did a good job of realizing her dream to be a Final Girl. I would not want to watch the movie Max made though. The story's descriptions were good enough for me to picture it quite vividly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.