Book Review: Ripped from the Headlines! by Harold Schechter

This was an entertaining, interesting, and DARK trip behind the scenes of some of the most popular movies of all time. Schechter offers a synopsis of each movie and then of the crime underpinning its story. Schechter’s writing is pretty straightforward; he pulls no punches but also doesn’t unnecessarily go for the gross factor (unfortunately, there are still plenty of gross-out details – after all, you can’t cover the activities of someone like Ed Gein without them). I found the level of detail of each description to be appropriate for what this book was: namely, a reference guide that links reality and fiction.

It was tough for me to read it sequentially – it got heavy to read the gruesome descriptions of the parade of horribles that (wo)man has perpetrated against his fellow (wo)man, but the descriptions also necessarily involved spoilers and I hadn’t seen all of the movies described. I found it more of a “read a few, take a break” book, and the length of the pieces on each film worked well with that type of read. I especially enjoyed reading the true crime backstories on the movies I have seen. I was familiar with a few of them, but was surprised at how many “classic” horror or detective stories have reality at their core. It was enlightening and horrifying at the same time…

I liked this as a reference book. I’m not a film buff, but found the connections between life and screen fascinating. I’d be curious to see a similar book that focused on dramatic pieces or legal cases. It’s a great format for tying fact and fiction together in an accessible way.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.