**3.5 stars**

This was a phenomenal idea: a cursed object story mixed with a real life slasher flick. The execution could have been a bit better, some parts were a bit boring and overall not very scary but I did end up really liking it. I’d have loved more backstory with the camera. It’s worth a read if you love horror movies, it is a very original story.

Warning: a dog….kind of dies.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-ARC I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this arc I’m advance! I had so much fun with this one! Thank you so much net galley, red book publishing and Craig Delouie.

I really enjoyed this one! It comes off a little campy at times, but still has some pretty gruesome kill scenes and creepy moments. Max is a somewhat complicated character. I wouldn’t call him likable, but he’s definitely interesting. Sally Priest, though not a very deep character, is a nice twist on the final girl stereotype. I love the cursed camera element of the story and all that went along with it.

My only complaint about this book is the pacing. How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is a love letter to filmmaking, and thus, contains a lot of details and explanations of the craft. While I found all the information interesting (and necessary for someone who knows nothing of film making), it did slow the story down, especially in the beginning. The ending ramped up nicely though, so it was definitely worth gutting through the slower parts! If you love cursed objects and the art of filmmaking, definitely check this one out!

Ratings:

Plot: 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥 /5
Characters: 💁‍♂️💁‍♀️💁‍♂️💁‍♀️ /5
Gore Meter: 🩸🩸🩸 /5
Ending: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

This book feels like a giant inside joke.

Written in a strange style, a director wants to make a movie with a cursed camera. He wants it to be the most horrifying horror movie ever, with bodies, blood and the quintessential Final Girl.

This got bogged down in filmmaking details. it's not interesting. Take that and focus on other things.

Maybe more details in what the twist of the movie will be - with a real book twist happening later. The camera - a good touch. But this overall felt fake. Like a book about a movie about a camera about a ghost/killer.

Paul Tremblay wrote a book "Horror Movie" with the plot of a movie being made. It's worlds apart from this one. Pick that one up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is wildly unique and gorgeously crafted with the kind of menacing, subtle horror that any slasher lover will appreciate deeply. I was fully sucked into this book that is part homage to slasher films, and part psychological thriller that keeps you stuck to the page to see just how far these characters will go for success.

I am a HUGE slasher film fan, and so this hit so many of the right notes for me. I love the sneak peek behind the scenes of film making and the throwbacks to the 70's when the genre was gaining steam is the perfect era for this book. Give me all the characters who are hugely flawed and SO FREAKING FUN to read, and toss in the right amount of gore and you have yourself a bonafide summer must read.

Honestly, despite the dark turns this book takes, and the gritty noir vibes from the central plot, this one is otherwise just a delight to read. It's fun, its action packed, and it jumps off the page in a way that just screams for it to be adapted to screen. I really thoroughly enjoyed it, and absolutely recommend it for your summer tbr piles.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy!

The nitty-gritty: An imaginative take on the cursed movie trope, How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is a bloody, shocking and surprisingly humorous story about a director who is determined to make the perfect horror movie.

There’s been a slew of recent books centered around horror movies—a trend I love, by the way—and now Craig DiLouie has added his version to the mix. How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive feels very different from DiLouie’s other work, and I had a great time with it. Most everything worked well for me, although there were a few elements that didn’t. But still, this was a solid four star read, and if you’re a horror movie fan, especially if you love slashers and edgier horror, you should definitely pick this up.

The story centers around horror film director Max Maurey, who is best known for his movie Jack the Knife and its two sequels. Now that Jack the Knife 3 has just been released and the trilogy is complete, he’s eager to finally make the horror movie that he wants. Box office success is great and all, but Max’s true vision is to create visceral, “real” horror that will terrify theater goers, not just entertain them. Max is obsessed with a movie that was never released called Mary’s Birthday, in which director Arthur Golden inadvertently caught a freak accident on film, an accident where every one of the cast and crew were killed (for real!), except for a few survivors. To Max, this event—which is little more than urban legend, since no one has seen the footage—is the type of horror he’s striving for.

Max gets his chance to finally break away from mainstream horror when he discovers an old Arriflex 35BL film camera at Arthur Golden’s estate sale—the very camera that Golden used to film Mary's Birthday—and when he tries it out one day, he gets some very…unexpected results. Max has finally found the vehicle to make his ultimate horror movie and fulfill his dream of making something “real,” but at what cost?

Meanwhile, we meet Sally Priest, an up-and-coming horror actor who dreams of being cast as the Final Girl. When she hears about Max’s new movie If Wishes Could Kill, she knows that if she can secure the Final Girl role in the movie, it could take her career to the next level.

But the actors are in for a surprise, because Max has his sights set on something completely different and shocking.

This was so much fun! DiLouie’s story is full of black humor and wry commentary on horror movies and the movie business in general, and I think the humor was the surprise element for me, since I wasn’t expecting it. A couple of trigger warnings first: Max has a dog and the dog dies, so do be aware if you’re a dog lover (although I have to say, despite my loathing of killing off dogs in stories, it actually made sense here, and the scene is a perfect example of the black humor I was talking about). There’s also lots of graphic violence, which honestly, you should expect, but some of the descriptions are very disturbing, especially when you find out what Max’s camera does.

Max was an interesting character, although I can’t say I liked him that much. His motivation to create horror movies stems from a terrible childhood memory of his father sitting at the dinner table one night and telling a joke—and then dying of a heart attack right after. This juxtaposition of humor and death colors his life from that point on, especially when he learns he has the same heart defect that his father had. In this story, Max is approaching the age his father was when he died, so the timing is particularly poignant, and Max is more determined than ever to make his movie. When he acquires the cursed camera, or “occult” camera as he calls it, he’s both horrified and elated at what the camera can do, and here is where his manic personality really comes through. DiLouie did a great job with Max’s character, a man who seems to be under the camera’s spell and is unable to resist its power, which makes him both vulnerable and a monster.

Sally is the other main character, and DiLouie spends a lot of time with her, building up to the events during the shooting of If Wishes Could Kill. At first I didn’t enjoy her chapters as much as Max's, but Sally ended up growing on me. There’s an emotional backstory about the relationship between Sally and her mother, who pushes her daughter to sleep her way to the top, but Sally has too much integrity for that, and she honestly believes she can make it on her own talent. Once Sally and Max meet, their relationship takes on a dangerous tone (I can’t really say any more due to spoilers), which added lots of tension to the story.

But really, the camera is the star of the story, and while I’ve read a bunch of “cursed movie” stories, I haven’t read one quite like this. DiLouie’s idea is horrifying but brilliant, and I cringed every time Max picked up the camera.

The author is obviously a big horror fan, since the story is packed with horror movie trivia and interesting details about the genre. There’s also lots of introspection about the meaning of horror and what makes it real, and here’s where the message became a little too heavy-handed for me. Both Max and Sally have lots of thoughts and opinions about horror, and sometimes all those thoughts interrupted the flow of the story.

We also follow Max as he’s making his movie, from conception to casting to production, and I did love that DiLouie included lots of information about the nuts and bolts of movie making. However, I didn’t like that he felt the need to explain all the movie terms to the reader, like “treatment,” “final cut” or “martini shot,” terms that most readers probably already understand. If he really felt these needed an explanation, it would have been much better to include a glossary at the end of the book.

But aside from these minor issues, this was a blast. The final section was perfectly done, and even though this isn’t technically a slasher story, it’s got the same energy and vibe. There’s a lot more I’d love to talk about—there are some really funny scenes that involve ghosts, for example—but I’m trying to avoid spoilers so you can experience the surprises for yourself. How to Make a Horror Movie an Survive is a worthy entry in the “cursed movie” trope, don’t miss it!

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Later in his career, legendary horror director Wes Craven explored the intersection between cinematic horror and the real-world kind in “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” and, more successfully, “Scream 3.” Horror author Craig DiLouie goes Craven one step further in “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.” DiLouie’s protagonist, acclaimed horror director Max Maurey, is a warped version of Craven who learns how to incorporate the supernatural in his new movie to gruesome effect. The result is a dark, humorous story that succeeds as satire and horror.

“How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” takes place in 1988, as Maurey celebrates the premiere of his newest hit slasher film, “Jack the Knife III.” But he’s not happy. His first “Jack the Knife” movie was a low-budget horror story, with him in complete control. Thanks to producer Jordan Lyman, success led to a major studio and a bigger budget. It also resulted in a script that adhered to all the horror film conventions, including the Bad Girl and the Final Girl. The result is a box office success, with the premiere audience whooping it up and laughing at each kill scene. Lyman is ecstatic; Maurey is not. He’s shattered that audiences view his work as an update of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” minus the “Time Warp” dance number.

A distraught Maurey finds salvation when he attends the estate sale of a less successful horror director who became a cult legend because of a film that was never released. Fifteen years earlier, Arthur Golden made “Mary’s Birthday,” a typical horror movie marred by a bizarre helicopter crash at the site of the wrap party. Almost the entire cast and crew were killed, and Golden became a recluse for the rest of his life. At the estate sale, Maurey purchases a box containing the camera Golden used to film the wrap party. Maurey soon discovers that the camera is cursed. Anybody it films soon dies grotesquely. Eventually, Max decides to make a new horror film that will be an artistic masterpiece. The pièce de résistance will be the finale, filmed using Golden’s cursed camera and capturing the carnage resulting from the curse.

A book about a cursed camera wreaking havoc on a movie shoot could be entertaining by itself, but the author has grander ideas. Max can’t just show up somewhere, with camera in hand, and start filming hapless victims-to-be. Instead, he assembles a cast and crew, finds a suitable script, and persuades a novice screenwriter to join the project. He has to negotiate with the despised Jordan Lyman to get funding for the new movie, agreeing to do another “Jack the Knife” sequel in exchange. (Max even agrees to have a Lay’s potato chip product placement in his new movie, a gag that pays off beautifully during the final shoot.) He finds an actual location that’s almost too good to be true, the Uber-environmentally unfriendly Salton Sea (even in 1988). Much of the middle portion of “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” is devoted to the nuts and bolts of filmmaking but with a twist. While Max is organizing and planning his film, he knows what everyone else in the project doesn’t. Namely, this film will mark the end of their careers.

Horror movies (and books about making horror movies) need a Final Girl, and “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” has a great one. She’s Sally Priest, a prototypical young actress with a demanding mother. But instead of going the usual route of years of romps on studio executives’ casting couches followed by bit parts, Sally realizes she can get ahead more quickly in horror films. So, she becomes a Bad Girl, the one who makes poor choices and dies at the beginning of Act Three. Sally also studies acting to become a serious actress. And, somewhat by coincidence, she befriends Max, accompanying him to Golden’s estate sale. Sally later joins the cast of Max’s new movie, “If Wishes Could Kill.” Naturally, she’s going to play the Bad Girl. Here, however, while the Final Girl is an unobservant cokehead who’s made a name for herself playing Final Girls, Sally figures out what’s going on and tries to warn her fellow cast members. Ironically, Sally is the only person in the cast or crew of “If Wishes Could Kill” whom Max cares about, and from an artistic, not a lustful, standpoint.

The thought of a horror story about a cursed movie camera becoming a death-wielding instrumentality may excite many horror fans. However, they may be disappointed at this book’s relatively leisurely pace. The story gets repetitive sometimes, with many text inserts of italicized portions of the screen treatment describing the plot and setting of “If Wishes Could Kill.” But “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” has enough gruesome death scenes to satisfy all but the most jaded gore buff. Moreover, the manner of the deaths in this book is highly stylized, resembling the elaborate scenarios in the “Final Destination” movies.

The author has chosen this book’s time frame well. The late 1980s represent the transition of horror movies, especially slasher movies, from extremely low-budget exploitation works to studio tent poles. When reading “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive,” I could easily imagine Wes Craven, George Romero, or John Carpenter expressing many of Max’s feelings... without the deadly cursed camera, of course. The author also repeatedly references “Cannibal Holocaust,” a notorious faux-documentary with footage so graphic that the director was actually arrested on murder charges based on suspicions that he had killed some of his cast. (The charges were dropped when the live cast members showed up.) It’s easy to see how Max appreciates the “artistry” of “Cannibal Holocaust” and wants to go one better.

The brilliance of “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive” is that it works very well as a horror story, although one that moves slowly in spots. But it’s also a pointed commentary on moviemaking in general and horror moviemaking in particular. The author repeats Max’s favorite mantra several times in the book: “Horror is only horror when it’s real.” DiLouie successfully contrasts the stylized, rule-bound version of horror movies in which potato chip bags become props because a sponsor pays for them with the genuine horror Max is after. This is a book that only an authentic, very talented horror movie buff could have written. Horror film fans will love surviving “How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.”

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

This book follows a horror director who finds a cursed camera and he wants to make a movie with it. We also follow a young woman who wants to become a Final Girl.

This book had a lot of potential for me. I will start with the good stuff. I loved all of the horror references throughout. I could see others not liking that but I enjoyed it. I thought the characters were well written and interesting. The book itself was just fun.

On the other hand, I was just a bit bored at times. Not much action happened the first half and it did drag a bit.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Redhook books for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Brilliant premise! A film director is hell-bent in making THE best horror film ever and goes to crazy lengths to make it including getting his hands on a so-called cult camera 😮

Unfortunately I found it a tad meandering and too predictable:( 😑

I think an audiobook would make this a lot of fun though:)

80's slasher movie director Max views making horror movies as his calling, and he is desperate to make a horror movie that truly terrifies his audience. Sally Priest is an actress who has always wanted to play a final girl. When they meet at a wrap party after a screening of Max's latest movie, Sally is determined to impress Max and win a role in his next movie, a film he is determined will be a groundbreaking horror film. When Max gets his hands on a cursed movie camera, he's convinced that this will be the key to his next movie. However, Max has underestimated the true evil inside the camera, and by the time he realizes what he is really dealing with, it may be too late for both him and Sally.

This book was on my list of most anticipated 2024 releases, and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect mix of campy, cheesy slasher fun, and some truly gory horror. I loved our final girl wannabe Sally, she was so easy to root for and fun to follow. This book is really a love letter to horror movies, and has some great discussions on horror movies and their tropes. I really loved this one, and recommend it if you're a horror movie lover.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My husband got me into horror and I am loving the semi-meta feeling that DiLouie is bringing to the genre with this novel. I tore through it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the opportunity to read and review How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie.

A film about making movies, horror movies, to be exact. Max, a horror director, is making money and living the high life. He makes slasher movies, and the audience loves them, but Max is looking for something deeper and more meaningful to do in the horror genre. Something that will be different and truly horrific. At the after party of his latest film, he meets Sally an aspiring actress. They hit it off and have a short conversation about what horror really is and what maybe it should be instead. This conversation solidifies a friendship between the two.

Later Max attends an estate sale and purchases an old film camera he knows belonged to someone he admired in the movie business that had recently passed away. The camera comes with a warning, but Max has to use it. Once he finds out what he can-do with-it Chaos ensues.

This is a book about making a movie. Specifically, slasher films that were well-represented in the 80s. Lots of discussion about what audiences really want out of a horror film and the lengths some will go to give it to them. I loved the nostalgia of being back in the 80s and the mentions of all the popular horror films from the past. You do have to play along and not get caught up in the fantastical way the "movie" story plays out toward the end of filming. I liked some of the very campy moments between characters, that actually had me laughing. Horror lovers will really like this one. I gave it 3.5 stars. Very fun, easy summer read. A little gory in some parts, but hey, that what horror is at times supposed to be. This one will release on June 18th. Happy Reading!

Thank you Netgalley & Redhook Publishing for an eARC ♥️♥️♥️

_5/5 stars_

“How to make a horror movie and survive “
by Craig Dilouie

A Diabolical Dive into the Heart of Horror

Horror was always my solace, my sanctuary, my saving grace. And this book? A masterful ode to the genre, a love letter written in blood and screams.

Craig's writing is a virtuoso performance, a symphony of suspense and terror that will leave you gasping for air. The camera, a cursed object that captures more than just memories, is a stroke of genius, a metaphor for the dark side of Hollywood and our own morbid curiosity🔥

The characters? Oh, the characters! So beautifully flawed, so deliciously doomed. You'll love them, you'll hate them, you'll fear for their lives as they navigate the treacherous landscape of horror.

This book is a paean to the slasher greats of yesteryear, a nod to the masters of horror who paved the way. It's a fun, self-aware horror romp that will leave you grinning like a maniac and begging for more.🔥
Recommended for fans of:
🎥 - Horror movies
👻 - Supernatural suspense
💅 - Hollywood glamour
👹- Demonic possessions
😈- Cursed objects
🫀- Heart-pounding terror

This book is like a fusion of the films Nightcrawler and Black Swan. You’ve got Max and Sally, both fully immersed in their artistic pursuits, even if it means putting everything on the line. Max is a driven director, reminiscent of Lou Bloom from Nightcrawler, blurring the lines between ambition and morality. And then there’s Sally, a resilient actress whose journey parallels a grittier version of Nina from Black Swan.

It delves deep into the essence of horror, dissecting what truly sends shivers down our spines. DiLouie dismantles the horror formula, revealing its psychological intricacies beyond mere shock value. Through his exploration of the genre, he exposes the psychological underpinnings that draw us to the macabre.

Whether you’re a horror enthusiast or simply intrigued by the creative process, this novel offers a compelling glimpse behind the scenes. DiLouie’s narrative ventures into the shadows of creativity, exploring the sacrifices artists make in their quest for mastery.

I got about 20% into this one, and was already skimming the words. None of the characters interested me and there was way too much detail about the actual filming and equipment that literally made me feel like I was reading a book report. I want a lot more, um, HORROR, to happen in a horror novel and I didn't feel like waiting around for it to happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Craig DiLouie for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive coming out June 18, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoy this author. I was excited to check out this book. I love horror movies and books, so I thought it would be perfect. I think a lot of the book was centered around the process of making movies and actors’ lives. There was a lot of talk about movies. I really enjoyed the story. I think I would’ve liked to see more of the real horror aspect and Final Girl. I don’t think things got really horrific and gory until the last half of the book. I would’ve liked to see a little more of that throughout the book. I loved the ending. It also seemed to have the most action. I was thinking there would be more horror elements throughout the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror movie books!

Max Maurey is one of the most popular 80s slasher director who wants to create something really scary so he acquires a movie camera that he knows has recorded real horror to use in his movie. What he doesn't know is that the camera is cursed. What could go wrong?

A cursed movie camera is such a fun premise, and How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive delivers the slasher movie fun. This book mixes nods to 80s Hollywood, a behind the scenes look into movie making, and really creative kills. I highly recommend this novel especially to horror movie fans.

This book is a great for people obsessed with horror movies and their history. Characters are a little thin, but the plot kept me interested and I was eager to see how it all ended! If you're a big fan of slashers, especially, I'd check this one out.

HOW TO MAKE A HORROR MOVIE AND SURVIVE follows Max and Sally. Max is a successful horror director by the world's standards, but seeing audiences laughing during his movies instead of reacting with terror breaks him. Max is determined to make true horror. When Max gets word that a camera used to film some truly horrible real life horror is on the market, he must obtain it... even if it is actually possessed. Sally is an actress who longs to play the role of Final Girl. Meeting Max seems like the perfect opportunity, but she doesn't know exactly what danger Max's next movie will entail.

I really enjoyed EPISODE THIRTEEN by this author, so have been wanting to pick up more from him. The idea of a possessed movie (or movie camera) really intrigued me as well! I am happy to say that I had a pretty good time with this one.

The book did take a while to warm up for me. There is a lot of setup to be done to get the gruesome history of the camera established, get it into Max's possession, and for Max to realized what exactly this camera is. The back half of the book really did amp up the antics though and I was hooked to keep reading as horrible death after horrible death kept happening!

Well, wasn't this a chilling tale... We start with Max Maury a famous 80s slasher-flick director, and Sally Priest who has dreams of being a "final girl". The two meet at a wrap party and it is there that the wheels for what will follow are set in motion. You see, back in the day, there was this film, which ended in tragedy for almost all concerned. And the director who made that film has his things up for sale. Including the actual camera that it was filmed on... A camera which turns out to, well, have more influence than an inert object should. An influence that, by the time Max realises the true level of which, is far too late to stop...
Oh my days. I loved horror films when I was a kid. It was the 80s and local video shops didn't have the vast amounts of selection that they have these days but it was still a badge of honour to have borrowed and watched all the cert 18 horror films it did have before I was actually 18! I know... It was also then that I developed my love of horror books. Both things I have lost as I have aged... Both things I really hanker to go back to. So.. this book was just what the doctor ordered. And as well as being chilling and jump scary, it was also very funny! I think it helps if you have already sold your soul to the slasher flick genre - Freddie, Jason, Michael etc etc - as it does pay homage and also take the mick out of them very well indeed. It also has a pretty good storyline in amongst all that which, although coasting through the middle section a bit, does come together at the end, with a killer (sorry-not-sorry) epilogue.
All in all, a good solid read that I would recommend to fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.