Happy Friday, guys and welcome back for the ninth installment of Daily Dead’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide. We’re now officially three weeks away from Christmas so let’s get right to today’s gift ideas, picked with horror and sci-fi fans in mind.
For today’s guide, we take a look at two books on very different subjects—Tremors and Giallo films—the recent expanded release of the Friday the 13th documentary Crystal Lake Memories, some Goosebumps gift ideas for the younger genre fans out there, the astonishingly great artwork featured at Printed in Blood, Horror Decor’s truly fun holiday items, and much more.
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by RLJ Entertainment and their recent terrifying yuletide release, A Christmas Horror Story, and to help you guys get into the spirit of the season, we’ve put together 10 amazing prize packs filled with goodies, a T-shirt and your very own Blu-ray copy of A Christmas Horror Story to get you ready for the holiday season.
For a chance to win one of our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide prize packs, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with “Holiday Gift Guide” in the subject line and be sure to include your full name and mailing address as well.
Books:
Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors
A throwback to the kind of sci-fi B movies that had long gone out of fashion, Tremors was a box office flop that became a home video phenomenon, spawning multiple sequels and a short-lived TV series.
Seeking Perfection is the first book to go beneath the surface of the Tremors franchise, featuring new interviews with more than 50 cast and crew members, including stars Kevin Bacon and Michael Gross, director Ron Underwood, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, and the monster makers who brought the Graboids to life.
With newly-discovered photos from the Tremors set, storyboard excerpts and commentary on every episode of the TV series, plus a look at the 10-year journey from script to screen of the latest sequel, 2015's Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Seeking Perfection is the ultimate, 100% unofficial, guide to Tremors!
So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
Beginning with the release of Mario Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH in 1963, Italian filmmakers developed and perfected their own peculiar brand of mystery-thriller known as the Giallo. Named after the yellow (Giallo in Italian) covers of the murder mysteries published by Mondadori, the Giallo is awash in fetishistic imagery. For many fans, these films—popularized in the works by writer-director Dario Argento, whose name is synonymous with the genre, thanks to such films as THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and DEEP RED—focus on stylized images of violent death: killers dressed in black stalking glamorous-looking victims through baroque architecture, literally painting the walls red with their blood. This is only one aspect of the Giallo, however.
With their groovy soundtracks by legendary composers like Ennio Morricone and Stelvio Cipriani and glamorous damsels-in-distress like Edwige Fenech, Rosalba Neri and Asia Argento, these films offer a heady mixture of sex, horror and suspense; at their best, they took excess to a hypnotic level. Troy Howarth, the author of THE HAUNTED WORLD OF MARIO BAVA and the co-author of the up-coming THE TOME OF TERROR series, examines the genre from its inception through its inevitable decline.
Covering everything from popular fan favorites by the likes of Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento to lesser-known gems by Cesare Canevari, Massimo Dallamano and Paolo Cavara as well as the worst of the worst by the least inspired of hacks, SO DEADLY, SO PERVERSE provides an in-depth examination of a genre that has too often been marginalized in other studies of the horror film and the thriller. In addition to reviews of every Giallo made between 1963 and 2013, this two-part study of the Giallo—with volume two (covering 1974 onwards) coming later in the year—is also lavishly illustrated with rare and colorful stills and poster art.
Movies:
Inspired by the critically-acclaimed book, CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH takes viewers behind the mask on an epic journey into the making of the landmark horror franchise-from its humble beginnings in 1980 at a New Jersey summer camp to the blockbuster release of its 2009 'reboot'. Combining hundreds of rare and never-before-seen photographs, film clips, outtakes, archival documents, conceptual art and behind-the-scenes footage, and featuring interviews with more than 150 cast and crew members spanning all twelve films and the television series, CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES is the ultimate tribute to one of horror's most iconic and enduring franchises.
Apparel:
Featuring a vast collection of horror and metal-themed apparel and collectibles, Fear Shop has a wide variety of gift ideas for all the genre fans and metal heads in your life. They have a cool selection of items for a lot of cult classics, so be sure to look around their site to find some great gift ideas.
Especially for the Scream Queens:
While their name might be inspired by their purse line, I totally adored the jewelry I found over on the Murder She Tote Etsy store. Their entire collection celebrates all kinds of geekery and fandoms, and of course, all things that go bump in the night. Check out this wonderful Neverending Story Charm Bracelet, this bloody fun Hannibal Charm Bracelet or even this great Penny Dreadful Charm Bracelet.
Music & Art:
From the site: Printed In Blood was born from a mutual love of horror movies, art & design and the wealth of artistic talent working today who you may or may not be aware of.
We here at PiB will strive to bring you not only amazing artwork based upon classic, cult and popular sci-fi, horror and action films, but a product that you will be proud to display in your home, workplace or wherever you hang your art.
As we grow and move forward with our business, we will also try and expand and build new ideas that will bring you, our fans and supporters, into our workspace.
Games & Collectibles:
If you’re looking for cool ways to incorporate your love of horror into your home, Horror Decor offers fans everything from lamps and pillows to homemade candles and handcrafted ornaments. Make sure to shop early—in order to get your items by Christmas, you should place your order NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 6th.
For the Little Ghouls:
Goosebumps Retro Scream Collection: Limited Edition Tin
Reader beware--it's the original scare!
Five of the all-time bestselling Goosebumps books including Welcome to Dead House, Say Cheese And Die!, Night of the Living Dummy, The Haunted Mask, and One Day at HorrorLand. Each with their original cover in an exclusive retro collector's tin!
Monster Mayhem in Madison
All of R.L. Stine's monsters have escaped from his manuscripts and are roaming the streets of Madison. None of them want to go back... including you!
In Goosebumps the Board Game everyone plays as their favorite monster. Players battle each other in a frantic race along a trail of mayhem and manuscripts, trying to reach the typewriter before it sends them away for good! Only the first monster to reach the typewriter will be saved.
THE RACE IS ON!!! Quick... take a shortcut through the graveyard. But watch out for those pesky graveyard ghouls! And if you fall behind, you can always hitch a ride in the Haunted Car. Just hurry up... before it's too late!
Etsy Spotlight:
Wicked Dream Creations creates handmade horror-themed ornaments and necklace pendants that are just too cute for words. Check out this Sam Ornament that would make for a perfect stocking stuffer, this awesome Jason Machete Necklace or even this wickedly adorable Pennywise Necklace.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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