BEASTS AND BEHEMOTHS PREHISTORIC CREATURES IN THE MOVIES

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms goes on the rampage!

BEASTS AND BEHEMOTHS: Prehistoric Creatures in the Movies. Roy Kinnard. Scarecrow Press; 1988.

This is one of the earlier books that looked at movies featuring dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Kinnard shows knowledge of and enthusiasm for his subject. If there's any problem with the book is that it was written before or just at the start of the VCR era, and you get the impression on occasion that Kinnard is writing from memory instead of a fresh perspective. Each film gets a chapter but some of the chapters are only a couple of paragraphs long. Still, the book does have some longer, entertaining and informative essays, and boasts some behind-the-scenes interviews as well as many black and white photographs. All in all, it's a fun book for the devotee. Films covered include The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Giant Behemoth, of course. NOTE: For a more recent book on monster movies of this type and others see Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Love those behemoths! ***.