Included in a post on my newsletter, Crooked Reads:

If you want to be in the know about all the popular horror movies of the world, but are too afraid to watch them yourself, have no fear. Emily C. Hughes did the work for you in Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know about the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch, an excellent new book that gives a plot summary, an analysis of the film and its cultural significance, some talking points if you have someone you want to impress, and a list of recommended readalikes. It also serves as an excellent refresher for movies you may have watched ages ago but have no interest in revisiting.

https://crookedreads.substack.com/p/horror-scaredy-cat

horror for weenies was such a fun read! I appreciated the review of various horror films and i can skip some of them now!!

"Horror for Weenies" was interesting and informative. The "say this at a party" sections with random facts about the movies was excellent. Each chapter also had a list of readalikes for each movie, which I will be looking into immediately. This book is fun and great for people just getting into horror, don't want to watch horror, or are old horror buffs.

Bonafide horror aficionado, I loved Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know about the Films You're Too Scared to Watch. Emily C. Hughes’ brilliant novel is both cheeky and authoritative. Narrator Cassidy Brown captures the reader’s attention.

Its title is an intelligent marketing strategy but is a bit of a misnomer as it seems to reduce the book to the category of books for dummies. The novel is SO much more.

For each horror film, whittled down to the twenty-five most important films of the genre, Hughes includes a summary, trope spotlight, interesting facts, iconic moments, and cultural significance. She even includes what would make one watch or avoid based on personal triggers.

She explains sub genres of horror films within the context of the times as well as the social commentary it makes. I found the explanation of the nods to other horror films fascinating.

Thank you to Tantor Media and NetGalley for an audio version of this title for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Tanor Audio and Emily C Hughes for the audio Arc of Horror for Weenies.
Narrated by Cassidy Brown

Being a horror fan ( but not a horror buff ) I was really curious to what this audio book offered. I have watched Horror films over the years as well as reading so this was right up my street! I loved how Emily sectioned the subgenres of horror films as well as where the history of horror films came from. Each film had a very basic synopsis and what happens in a rough sense so a few spoilers. Not overly done though so if you are a weeny and decided to watch the films, there would be lots to gain! What I loved about the overall feel of the book was the books that may of been in the same vein/feel so if you were a weeny and decided NOT to watch the film, you could reach for a similar book instead.

Narrated by Cassidy Brown, made the book come to life for me. I loved how she narrated this book, with enthusiasm and humour.

4.stars

I had a bad experience when I was 5 and my family took me to the drive-in to watch The Night of the Living Dead. I was so scared I wanted to go home, and when I was an adult, I watched the movie in broad daylight while standing on my porch and looking at the TV in the living room. So I know what it's like to be a weenie, but this experience somehow also made me really love horror movies.
This is such a fantastic book, because it goes through the important, influential horror films, giving a summary, and then explaining why the films are important. The commentary is smart and snarky, and it makes me want to go back and watch them all again. The narrator is fantastic and seems to understand the topic, giving just the right balance between seriousness and humor.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for the audiobook ARC! Cassidy Brown did a nice job, handling the author’s humor well.

This was a unique read for me. The kind that stuck out to me the entire time. It is a nonfiction book, about many horror movies that are originally books. So… a book about film based off a book. I don’t know, maybe that’s not that special/weird.

For me, the ones I appreciated listening to the most, were the ones I’ve seen before (and some I’ve even read). They are: Psycho, The Exorcist, Halloween, The Shining, The Thing, Candyman, Scream, The Blair Witch Project, The Ring, 28 Days Later, Saw, The Conjuring, It Follows, Get Out, and Hereditary. While the majority here may not be based off books, there is a slew of unmentioned goodies throughout that are, and are equally worth checking out I’m sure. I enjoyed these because it was nice to hear someone else’s take aways and thoughts on things I don’t get to discuss much.

As somewhat of a newbie to horror myself, it was interesting to read someone else’s journey through finding horror later in life. And no spoilers, but it was equally interesting to find out which of the FanFi/FearForAll crew were also Weenies! I used to not even stay in the room if someone else had something scary on, and what counted as scary was shockingly mild compared to now.

The author runs the reader through each film almost like giving a synopsis, then discusses why they found it an important inclusion, and then explains some interesting tidbits that they say you could use at a party with diehard fans. I took this as more wit, because honestly I wouldn’t go toe to toe with any facts on something that was someone else’s favorite. Not me at least.

My favorite part was the author discussing what impact the choices had on horror as a whole. Why it was a hit, or flop, and how it impacted the horror industry. Not everyone may agree with the choices made, but for me, there’s a whole new set on movies on my to-watch list now.

_Horror for Weenies: Everything You need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch_ written by Emily C. Hughes and read by Cassidy Brown is a fun, comprehensive, and approachable read for fans of horror as well as those who are interested but hesitant to watch horror films. Filled with great synopses of 25 important films to the horror genre, it also includes interesting facts and why the movies mentioned matter. The narrator is engaging and keeps the reader interested.

I really loved this book! I'm not a "weenie" about horror films, but they just don't interest me and never have. I'n not sure why, they just weren't my thing. But I really appreciate this critical and pop culture look at this genre.

Author Emily Hughes analyzes the most important horror films of history in different ways. First, she gives you a quick summary of the film. Then, she gives a detailed recapping of the entire film. Next, she gives some trivia facts that "you can say at a party" so people think you saw the film. And finally, she explains why the film is important to the horror genre.

I thought the recaps of the film were wonderful and I enjoyed that they included funny and snarky comments along the way. She includes which horror film tropes were included in each film, like "creepy kids", "last girl left", "haunted house", "don't go in there", and many more. And her insights into the importance of each film are very insightful.

And since I listened to the audiobook, I really enjoyed narrator Cassidy Brown. Her voice and inflections fit the source material perfectly. She has the tone that fits with the serious analysis as well as the funny comments.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

as a reformed weenie who in the past couple years has become a devout horror fan, i loved this book. i LOVE stuff like this that walks you through a film, providing commentary and fun facts. if you’re familiar with dead meat’s kill counts, this is almost like an audio version of that, minus the running death tally. all the movies covered are definitely influential, and deserve loving discourse like this.

the narrator was VERY easy to listen to; i felt there was no adjustment period to her voice!

🎧 listened to audiobook
#netgalley

More than anything else, this was just a really, really good idea for a book. If you’re a bit of a scaredy cat about horror, or even just looking for a shortcut on the genre’s most influential movies without having to watch every single one of them, this is a really good way to get the basics.

Hughes makes the content really funny, which helps when it’s a movie you don’t have much interest in, and she’s very good at the most important part of this, which is letting readers know what about each movie might either appeal to them or make the movie a no-go for them.

Though some of the most recent movies mentioned don’t exactly feel influential on r significant yet to me (with the exception of Get Out), for the most part the selection of movies covered feels both correct and entertaining. If I had a gripe it’s that I wish more movies had been included even if it meant a little less information on each, but that’s an issue of preference, not quality.

This book is a must own for any horror fan (or want to be horror fan). I loved everything about it. The movie summaries, the trivia, the filming backgrounds and the movie to book recommendations all add up to a well written brilliant do-not-be-afraid concept. Fantastic!

All the stars for Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had so much fun listening to this arc audiobook and for the record, I am NOT a horror movie Weenie. Out of the 25 movies mentioned, the only one I haven’t seen is The Wicker Man.

Yes, this book is perfect for those who just can’t do the visuals of scary movies but it’s also a great experience for those like me, who love to reminisce about these classic films.

The author Emily C. Hughs offers mini recaps that are extraordinarily detailed. She also gives us added tidbits about the films, like info about its book (if it’s based on a book), highlights about its actors, or the movie’s cursed history. Her witty comments and style made me smile to myself and even giggle out loud.

I wholeheartedly recommend this audiobook to horror lovers everywhere. Be forewarned though, that the recaps are definitely SPOILERY. Cassidy Brown narrates and adds a perfect touch of humour in between the often shocking and disturbing scenes.

These are the movies that are covered:
Psycho
Night of the Living Dead
Rosemary’s Baby
The Exorcist
The Wicker Man
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Carrie
Halloween
The Shining Poltergeist
The Thing
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Fly
Hellraiser Candyman
Scream
The Blair Witch Project
The Ring
28 Days Later
Saw
The Conjuring The Babadook
It Follows Get Out
Hereditary

Thanks to @netgalley, @tantoraudio and the author @emchughes17 for this audio arc opportunity.

Great introduction and discussion of horror and its place in modern culture. I have a few friends that want to love horror but can’t sit through a film. This will be a gift to them and a good reference to have on the shelf. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

In the past few years I've tried to start watching scary movies a little bit more, so this book seemed right up my alley. It takes 25 horror movies starting in 1960 up to 2018 and explains the plot and common scary movie tropes that go along with the film.

More importantly though, it explains what was going on culturally at the time and how that relates to why each film was made when it was in response to the culture. Very fascinating.

Here is a list of the movies covered:

Psycho
Night of the Living Dead
Rosemary’s Baby
The Exorcist
The Wicker Man
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Carrie
Halloween
The Shining
Poltergeist
The Thing
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Fly
Hellraiser
Candyman
Scream
The Blair Witch Project
The Ring
28 Days Later
Saw
The Conjuring
The Babadook
It Follows
Get Out
Hereditary

Special thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion. I was so intrigued by this that I went ahead and purchased my own copy of the Kindle book to have on hand for future reference.

4.5/5 from this horror lover!

I knew going in to this that I was both the prime audience and not the intended audience at the same time.

I LOVED it. Most of the information was information I knew as a person who consumes horror films at an alarming rate, but there were still tidbits I didn't know. This is the perfect breakdown for a person who may not think they have the stomach for horror staples.

Highly recommend for weenies and horror fans alike!

I LOVE everything horror. It’s an ever evolving genre and I’m always keen to read/listen to anyone’s POV on the subject matter.

I should’ve really paid closer attention to the title. This is really horror for dummies not weenies. If you’ve never seen a horror movie but want to know their plots/relevance this book is for you. If you are a connoisseur of the genre this book will bore you.

First off, I will say Hughes did an amazing job in her curation of titles. She goes through the rise of horror in the 70s with Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween to the slasher craze of the 80s to the genre becoming aware of itself in the 90s and 00s to the found footage craze in the 10s and finally the social commentary surge of the 20s.

In each chapter she gives a LENGTHY synopsis of a film followed by a short explanation of why the film is relevant.

Honestly you could just read the IMDB synopsis and trivia for each film she covers and it would be the same info. Where is the commentary?? It’s so brief. This book is 75% movie summary.

Sigh…It’s probably just me, but if you are a newbie you might dig this overview of the genre.

I absolutely loved this book. For me the scarier the better but I still found such wonderful trivia, reminders of favorite parts, and recommendations throughout the book. I was hoping their would be an audio and it's super fun to listen to but I highly suggest purchasing a print version too. I love the area dedicated to talking points at a party the most.

I really enjoyed this book. I will say I am not a "weenie" and absolutely love horror movies so I was already familiar with all of the films discussed in this book. As someone that loves horror movies, I thought that I might find this boring, but it was quite the opposite. It was great to revisit many of my favorite movies and the additional discussions around each movie was great. It was like listening to one of my favorite horror movie podcasts.

I loved that the author added a recommended reading list to end of each chapter if someone is too nervous to watch the movie or if they want similar vibes in books. The author includes "you could probably watch this if ..." and "you'll want to avoid this movie if ..." recommendations for those who are scared to watch but maybe want to give some of the movies a try. It also includes fun facts to jump into horror movie conversations that don't require you having seen the movie.

I am not sure if the print version has movie illustrations but I hope so! I'll be looking for a print copy soon. The narrator is great as well. My only drawback (and it's personal preference) was there are some slang? (if you want to call it that) statements at some point that felt odd from this narrator, but wouldn't bother me if I was reading the print.

Disclaimer: I received a free ALC from Netgalley.

This was a lot of fun. I am not a horror weenie and I have watched every one of the films mentioned here but I really enjoyed the recaps and insights provided throughout. This is definitely a great way to check out movies you may have been too scared to watch. Even if you have seen them all the commentary provided is fun to listen to. All the films spoken about are classics, even the more modern ones. As an aside, I listened to the audiobook version of this provided by NetGalley and the narrater does an incredibly job. Thank you NetGalley!