Are You In The House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999

This is a Book Quentin Tarantino Would Love and Why You Will Too…
“…The Networks didn’t need it great, they needed it Tuesday…” (Jeff Burr Foreword)If you grew up in the ‘70’s the Tuesday Night Movie of the Week was a household event and “Are You Alone in the House” celebrates those indelible TVM memories and nostalgia. This book is a must-have for film geeks and I would venture to bet Quentin Tarantino has a copy on his film shelve library and you should too. Amanda Reyes’s book was well-referenced, and I was personally surprised, and reminded, about how many of these movies I have seen growing up and how important, influential, and entertaining this format and period of filmmaking was for home entertainment.Some of the films were campy or Drive-In quality, however many still hold up and remain classics to this day, such as “Helter Skelter,” “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones,” “The Night Stalker,” “Dual,” “Gargoyles” and yes, of course, the apotheosis of the TVM… “Trilogy of Terror” (probably seen it 50 times in my life). Many tackled tough and taboo subjects.Linda Blair in “Born Innocent” and “Sweet Hostage.” Stockard Channing in “The Girl Most Likely To…”Barbara Eden in “The Stranger Within…” And Eve, Portrait of a Teenage Runaway… (The darker side of Jan Brady)Please Note: This is not a definitive collection, as Editor Amanda Reyes points out, it would be impossible to review every film which unfortunately many are still not available for streaming or on DVD.Are You Alone in the House unites readers and transports fans back to a period of time when we still anticipated and waited and when not everything was on-demand. The telefilm format brought big talent to the small screen, broke barriers, and type-casting. Actors are still returning to the smaller screens with Netflix and Amazon, but it’s different now as it was a different vibe then and I was glad to be there on Tuesday nights.Thank you, Amanda, and the contributors, this was a great read and reference book.

Good BUT….
This is overall a good compendium. However, there was a lack of interesting & relevant information missing on some of the movies listed. As others have mentioned, there were films that were noticeably absent that should have been included. I also didn’t care for the inserted opinions on the films from the author(s). That’s the bad.Putting the bad aside, it’s still a fun read & can be a nice guide for those newly interested in this realm or for long time fans.I do wish there was a more complete, in depth book on this subject that focused more on the films themselves. Not on what the authors thought of the films. Really getting tired of the over saturation of “film historians” with their essays & reviews. This is not a selling point for anything. There are other books out there but this isn’t a bad place to start.

Re-Discover Classic Made for TV Movies!
Made for TV movies have generally received a bad reputation over the years as being cheap and subpar to theatrical films. However as this book helps to prove there are a treasure trove of honestly great classic TV movies to be sought after online and on DVD etc.Edited by Amanda Reyes who is shedding some light on the fact these movies are becoming long forgotten and hopefully fans of TV movies can help spread the word of rediscoving or possibly discovering them again from the very first time.Featuring Amanda’s own reviews and reviews from many others this book is the perfect way to compile great lists for TV movie get togethers or possibly a rainy day binge fest! You may end up seeking out movies featuring Harrison Ford as a Biology Teacher that aired in May of 1977! A Wes Craven classic about a satanic Susan Lucci offering the best of the 80’s material world for Robert Urich’s family. Lynda Carter volunteering on a helpline that leads to suspense! Or a battle of family friendly tv show icons like Melissa Sue Anderson of Little House on the Praire and Mary Beth McDonough of The Waltons in a showdown of high school witchery.You’ll discover so many other great films! The book is a must for tv film lovers or even just those finding out about such movies! Seek out Amanda Reyes and her other TV movie loving companions Daniel R Budnick and Nathan Johnson on her Made for TV Movie Podcast for more great TV Movie Discoveries and fun trivia!

….the only downside is that it is an American book so features quite a few movies that never made it over here, although the Stephen King section have all been shown here many times, it is a well written book by a group of people who clearly love these movies even the very bad ones, there are quite a few that I would like to see but they have been unavailable for a while now, maybe youtube and google will show those ones up.This is a sizeable book and gets broken up into decades and obviously it is the earlier decades that I will struggle to find in stores, but it was nice to read about them and knowing that the sequel to When A Stranger Calls is actually a stronger film certainly motivates me to look out for more obscure TV movies.

Stunning book,expertly put together that took me way back to all the TV Horror flicks I would stay up late to watch when I was young.Painstakingly researched and well worth your time.