Red Scare

Invaluable not only for fans of Tobe Hooper or the great cast of I'm Dangerous Tonight, but also for anyone interested in how films are made. Stan Giesea has an astute eye for detail and a warm facility as a storyteller, and he keeps the reader close to his inside perspective on the production. Hooper is a spectral presence, sometimes in the foreground, but mostly as the hub around which revolves the kinetic activity of the crew as they labor over the details. Giesea captures Hooper's gruff conviviality as he steers the production, wobbling but steady, toward completion. Full of life, rhythm and deftly rendered personalities, Red Scare is a pleasure to read. - Dr. Will Dodson, co-editor of American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper