A Cut Below: A Celebration of B Horror Movies, 1950s–1980s

Kingdom of the Spiders and Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre are films that elude most must-see lists. In this book, however, Drebit celebrates William Shatner’s performance in the arachnocentric Kingdom and the audacity behind the surprisingly cleaver-less HMM. Continuing the mission Drebit started online as senior columnist at the Daily Dead website, in his “Drive-In Dust Offs” series, his book highlights obscure horror movies made between the 1950s and the 1980s and finds joy in the poorly funded, the questionably marketed, and the occasionally out-of-focus. Covering 60 films, categorized into 12 themed “film festivals,” the book acts as a guide to movie nights for readers interested in horror pictures with themes such as “the Animal Killdom” or “Back Bacon Bloodbath.” Each movie receives a few pages of enthusiastic text, weaving together plot summary with production information, and an image of the often-garish movie poster, which gives the book a Paperbacks from Hell vibe. There are no deeper dives beyond Drebit’s affection for the genre, and incomplete cast and crew information limits this book’s use as a reference source.