I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more than I did but I found myself struggling to get into it. It certainly wasn’t bad by any means, but I suppose it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Solid read though!

“She’d relive the horror until at last the monster couldn’t hurt her anymore. That’s how the Final Girl truly won.”

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.”

I have read a few other of Craig DiLouie’s books and this one seemed quite different. In a good way. I love the node to early horror films. The slasher film references in the beginning of this novel were everything I was hoping for in SGJ’s ‘My Heart is a Chainsaw’. This novel was the final girl trope done right and in a perfectly new way. This was such an original idea wrapped up in the psychoanalysis of the horror genre as a whole.

I thought the ending was perfectly wrapped up and full circle. Only missing one star because part of the middle chunk of the book was slow for me personally. Great start and finish though.

From Bram Stoker Award‑nominated author Craig DiLouie comes a darkly humorous horror novel that sees a famous 80s slasher director set out to shoot the most terrifying horror movie ever made using an occult camera that might be (and probably is) demonic.

A very fun and quirky horror novel about a slasher director using a possessed camera. Everything you enjoy about slasher movies and grimy 80's horror movies. I had so much fun reading this one and I can bet you will too!

Craig DiLouie takes a horror obsessed director, a cursed camera, and throws them into the eighties slasher scene. He's created a fantastic novel which fans of horror fiction and/or horror movies is going to love.

Set in Hollywood during the eighties, Max is an acclaimed horror director. But he's unsatisfied with his latest film even though people are loving it. He wants to create something deeper, something that contains true horror, something visceral and unforgettable.

Then he discovers a camera with a haunted background. And the rest of this book is going to show us how this obsession can be gruesomely deadly.

I loved this book because it has so many great themes throughout. It's got that eighties Hollywood vibe with all its cruel unflinching madness, it has some delightfully gory and creative kills, and it delves into the whole genre of horror films. With a sprinkling of dark humor on top, what's not to like?

Who will survive the ultimate horror movie making process? As Max's obsession grows, his mental health starts to nosedive. Yet, it's hard for me to call him the antagonist. The author cleverly paints Max as a sympathetic character despite the massacre he has planned. I really loved that.

I highly recommend this book.

This was a fun read. It was exactly what I expected, I enjoyed the journey, and all the characters were perfect. My only critique is that it could've been a shorter read; there were some unnecessary details that I felt didn't add to the story. Definitely 3.5 stars.

This was a promising one. I really enjoyed Episode 13 so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the same notes for me.

It’s a slow start. A lot of film making talk without a ton of substance. The characters felt a bit cliche and their actions were nonsensical at times. I don’t mind a slow burn that develops into something, but this stayed on a very predictable path. I didn’t really care about any of the characters and just felt this book never came together completely

2.75 stars rounded up. I still look forward to checking out more of DiLouie’s work in the future, but this one just didn’t grabbed me as I’d hoped.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have always loved comedy on the horror tropes and this was perfect for that. The haunted camera gave a found footage vibe but the ending fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.

Max Maury is a famous horror director and he has just made a sequel to one of his films. It's the 80s and horror movies are what's hot. The audience loves his movies but they are having fun and laughing throughout the premiere. Max is tired of the typical horror formula and he would like to make a new fresh horror film that will actually scare his audience. Unfortunately his producer doesn't agree and wants to keep making these popcorn horror films because that is what sells.

When a famous director dies Max attends his estate sale and purchases a camera that is infamous in Hollywood. It filmed a real life accident during a production of a movie. After using the camera one day with his friend, Max is enamoured with the camera and is determined to make his own horror movie that will really frighten people. The problem is, the camera isn't just a normal camera... but Max doesn't seem to care what evil is within it

Sally is a horror film actress and she has never been the final girl. She meets Max at a party she is determined to be a final girl in his next film. They develop a friendship and she has no idea what Max and his camera has in store.

I am having a hard time rating this book. There was a lot I liked about it. I loved the premise of the book. I am a fan of horror movies and enjoyed the behind the scenes methods of making one. Max and Sally characters were well developed and you really understood who they were and why they made the choices they made. I was also satisfied with the conclusion of the book but I felt like the book was too rambling and there was a lot of unnecessary writing. I think a lot could have been cut out and the book would still be the same book but a much more enjoyable read. It just didn't work for me and made what should have been an enjoyable read feel more like a task.

3.5 stars but I will give it a 4 because I think the author has a great book here despite the issues I had with the writing. Overall I would recommend this book especially if you are a horror movie fan!

3.5 stars

I don’t understand the low ratings on this book. I thought it was fun, and quite enjoyable. While there were some parts that fell a little flat or felt padded, for the most part this was an above average read for me.

Max Mairey, a renowned director known for his low-budget slasher films, crosses paths with Sally Priest, an aspiring actress longing to become the final girl in a horror movie. Their encounter at a party sets the stage for intrigue. When Max stumbles upon an old camera linked to one of Hollywood's most infamous real-life horrors, he disregards warnings and decides to use it for his latest project. Departing from his usual slasher fare, Max aims to explore deeper fears. How will this decision impact Max, Sally, and the rest of the cast and crew? Max and Sally were well-developed characters, and the overall experience was entertaining. I recommend it for a fun read.

It’s 1988 and Max Mairey is a director famous for making cheap, popular slasher movies. Sally Priest is a bit-part actress with big dreams - she wants a to be the final girl in a horror film. She meets Max at a party and tries to impress him.

Then Max finds an old camera used to film one of Hollywood’s most notorious real life horrors and, despite a warning, he decides to film his new movie with it, a movie where he wants to move away from the slasher schlock and toward what he really finds scary. What result will this have on Max, Sally and the other members of the cast and crew?

I have said before that mixing horror and movie-making might be my favorite subgenre of literature, so how lucky am I to get both this book and Paul Tremblay’s HORROR MOVIE in so short a period of time? And while I liked HORROR MOVIE a bit better, this was good too. Max and Sally were good characters. The whole thing was fun and enjoyable. Recommended.

Be careful what you wish for.. a film director wants to create a movie that is truly horrifying and he gets something far more real.

This book gives off a Final Destination franchise vibe - high death count and cheesy (don’t get me wrong it was fun).

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. Both stories are tributes to the authors love for the horror genre.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.

I love horror movies; I can't say it enough. I love horror, I watch horror movies, I read horror.

It's not easy to scare me, real life is far scarier.

There are many reasons why I love horror and why horror is such a visceral part of the moviegoing experience, not to mention how to hits all of our psychological, emotional, social and mental aspects of our lives.

I love horror because I love to be scared. It's a way to face your fears without judgement or consequence, sort of prepping for real life.

The premise had decent potential; Max Maurey is the 80s slasher film director at his height. He should be celebrating the recent release of his horror sequel but he's dissatisfied with how his favorite genre is presented.

Horror is not classy or literary; it's not stylish or respected.

Max wants to make true horror, horror that keeps you riveted to your seat and wet your pants.

When he discovers a cursed movie camera, Max knows it will create the horror movie of his dreams. Or his nightmare.

The author truly loves horror movies and this book is an ode to all things horror, but it's also a look at the bureaucratic, political and business side of filmmaking, regardless of genre.

The tedium, the wheeling and dealing in all aspects of the filmmaking industry.

Is this well written? Sure.

Is it scary and horrifying? Well, yes, if you take into account how predatory and sexualized Hollywood and most industries are.

The cursed camera and horror that follows its use makes up a small minority of the narrative; the rest of it is about how Max gets his movie made, produced, getting his actors together, Sally's personal demons and family drama, all that unnecessary filler.

I wanted to love this, be horrified by it, and tell my friends how much I enjoyed this but I can't.

It's not scary or suspenseful or dramatic; this had real potential and as I was reading, I thought of numerous ways to expand on the cursed movie camera concept, and wished the author had gone in a different direction.

This read more like a business playbook in how to produce a movie, horror or not. That was horrifying in and of itself.

Suffer the Children is great. One of Us was good.

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is average. The idea isn't big enough for a full novel. Could've made a good novella.