“Fervid Filmmaking” from author Mike Watt

Review by Tim Gross

There are all kinds of review books, cult books, and movie companions and sometimes it can be tough to keep up with the books that get printed, released, and so on. And these days most books review or otherwise have a tough time being relevant just for the mere reason it doesn’t have the author that everyone knows behind it or people are just watching way too much YouTube on their iPhone at this point. For me it’s neither of the two because usually my eyeballs are glued to the TV watching the latest Full Moon release or sequel to a direct to video no budget something or other. But from time to time I look for something to read, usually a movie review book and usually a Joe Bob Briggs book as I can be picky.

Very few authors interest me enough to make me want to buy their book since I spend so much time tracking down out of print copies of films like “Trick or Treats” or unrated version of “Leprechaun 4: In Space”. It’s too hard to explain, you can blame it on divorced parents at a young age, I was dropped on my head too much, or hell lets blame ADD or something else many people claim to have but don’t and just won’t admit they like the drugs that comes with the disorder? I love films period folks… So when Mike Watt told me he was putting together a book like this together my ears perked up because I always thought it would interesting of sorts since Mike and I have somewhat different interests in cinema but always have great conversations but certain films good or bad. I have always enjoyed Mike Watt the filmmaker but Mike Watt the author of a review book had to be somewhat interesting just because of his different taste in films than mine?

Well film fans Mr. Watt did not disappoint me as his book “Fervid Filmmaking (66 Cult Pictures)” brought a whole new way of how to look at certain films or should I say the “kitchen sink” films. Mike goes through the years and expands on why certain films should be looked upon differently because they threw everything aka the kitchen sink into them to get made and most were misunderstood by the movie going public, the producers, Hollywood, heck the writers themselves who wrote the scripts. But he sheds light on some films that otherwise people may never heard of and explains their odd origins as the book sucks you deeper into the behind the scenes of films that has more going on than you ever could imagine. Mike uniquely pushes you slowly into a realm of filmmaking that makes you not only watch the films but crave to sit down and rethink how you watch cinema. Whether it’s ‘All About Evil’, ‘The Bed Sitting Room’, ‘Coonskin’, ‘I Sell the Dead’, or even ‘Xtro’ he writes about in his book they all have the ability to make you laugh, cry, and scream and many different ways you could never imagine.

But the brilliant part of Mr. Watt’s well written book after reading it makes you wanna try to find the so called “kitchen sink” type of films or revisit them and look upon them with an open mind. Fervid Filmmaking not only proves Mike Watt has found his inner-Joe Bob Briggs but the book helps separate himself from the glut of authors like myself out there and make you enjoy and excited for his next writing project. Honestly people I never thought to myself I wanna watch the 1984 film “Nothing Lasts Forever” over the next Charles Band film for those who know me when reading this book. If anything Mike showed me that it is still ok to put down the iPhone, turn off the 60 inch HD TVs, stop taking the illegal meds, and imagine what a perfect vision of film can be when everything except the kitchen sink has been thrown into a drama, horror, thriller, or just misunderstood piece of forgotten film history is and was like. For that Mike Watt and fans of cinema books I can no doubt give this book 4 out of 4 stars!

Published by McFarland

www.mcfarlandpub.com

But you can purchase the book at www.amazon.com and several other online websites.