Horror Introduction Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, A DEDICATION & INTRODUCTIONS

Nothing in life is a “one man show.” I realized this while compiling the reviews for the book you now hold in your hands. In writing it, many times I was taken back to the first time I saw a particular film, and it was nice to be flooded with such pleasant memories. I also realized how many people have influenced and helped me so far in my life, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to take a quick moment to say thanks to a bunch of them.

The first people to thank, obviously, are my parents. I thank them both for having the good taste in producing such a fine son (stop snickering!) and for not having a lot of money when they were young and taking me to the drive-in at a very tender age. I’m not about to start lying to you and tell you I remember those times, but I appreciate the fact they ingrained in me the value of watching flicks in a car, under the stars, the way God always intended, at young age. (Thanks also, to my step-parents who, in later years, always treated me like their own child, even when I did something really dumb.)

I thank, too, all my brothers and sisters (Rick and Nikki, Jodi and Dan) for always putting up with me and almost always letting me pick the movies we went to go see.

Also, thanks to Boyd and P.J. Patterson, who lived up the street from us and always shared their summers with brother Rick and I, watching crazy flicks all night and playing Atari and Intelevsion until dawn. (Thank you to Boyd and Alice, their parents, for always making us feel welcomed in their home.)

Thanks to Mike Overton, a great friend and an old traveling buddy. (Remember, Mike, Madman Marz…he’s real!)

Thanks to John Stanley and John McCarty for inspiring me in my youth and filling my head with horror movie facts with their great books CREATURE FEATURES and SPLATTER MOVIES. I still have early editions of both books, with no spines, taped up and held together with rubber bands.

Thanks to actress Brinke Stevens, who helped me get my first writing job and thanks to Belinda Balaski for being extremely giving of her time and talking with me for my first interview.

Thanks to Richard Laymon, who is a terrific guy and always answers my questions.

Thanks to all the editors who ever published anything I wrote, especially the ones who either paid me or continued to publish my submissions. (My special gratitude goes to Joe Kane, Kim Holston, Jerrica Lee, Dennis Druktenis and Dave Silva.)

Above all, the greatest thanks I have goes to my wonderful wife Frances, who continues to encourage and support me and my ideas and loves me no matter how damn many stupid things I do. She has made me a better man than I could have ever become on my own. It is with all my love I dedicate this effort to her. (I couldn’t have done it without you, Fran.)

My intention in compiling the reviews for INVASION OF THE DRIVE-IN HORROR FLICKS is to celebrate some of the really great horror flicks that have been made over the past thirty years or so, and pick out a couple duds. I tried to come up with a nice blending of monsters, vampires, ghosts, haunted houses, zombies, mummies and psychos. I also tried to stay away from any of the “easy” flicks. There’s some but, as much as I love HALLOWEEN or FRIDAY THE 13TH or DAWN OF THE DEAD, it seems silly to include them here when so much has already been written about them. My goal is to help uncover some of the gems the genre has to offer, flicks you may have ignored in the past because of the weird title or lack of production info.

I see INVASION tucked in your back pocket and used as a checklist for when you visit your local drive-in video emporium. Use it to create your own double, triple and dusk to dawn shows for friends or parties.

Obviously our tastes are going to collide on some titles. It’s all in what you enjoy watching. I’ve tried not to include any title that I don’t feel is unworthy of a viewing.

Okay, you’ve listened to me enough. Grab your hot buttered popcorn, your cheese dog and thirst quenching drink. The stars are out blinking and the screen is coming to life. It’s showtime!

Robert Freese

Fall

1999