The Gore Score: Chas Balun’s Cult Horror Guide Series for Gorehounds
The Gore Score is a legendary horror film review book series by the late Chas Balun, cherished by 1980s gorehounds and modern collectors alike. Originally a self-published fanzine-style booklet, The Gore Score grew into a cult phenomenon with multiple revised editions and follow-ups spanning into the 2000s.
The Gore Score Series: A Brief History
Chas Balun (1948–2009) was a horror journalist and fan-favorite writer known for his brutally honest, witty, and profanity-laced style(thebedlamfiles.com , severed-cinema.com). Before the internet made horror reviews ubiquitous, Balun’s work in magazines like Fangoria and Gorezone (where he penned the “Piece O’ Mind” column) and his own fanzine Deep Red earned him a devoted following(severed-cinema.com). The Gore Score books remain his most famous contribution to horror fandom(thebedlamfiles.com), providing an essential guide to the splatter films of the era. Below is a brief timeline of The Gore Score series and its key editions:
Each installment of The Gore Score series built upon the last, creating a through-line of gory film commentary from 1980s slashers to the video nasties of the ’90s.
Differences Between The Gore Score Editions
Despite sharing the same blood-soaked DNA, the various editions of The Gore Score have some distinct differences that collectors and fans often note:
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Content and Coverage: The primary difference is which films are covered in each edition. The original 1985/87 Gore Score focused on “ultraviolent horror in the ’80s”, reviewing the splatter classics (and duds) up through the mid-80sarchive.org. By contrast, More Gore Score (1992) explicitly covers films released from 1987 onward through the early ’90sarchive.org. Balun deliberately avoided repeating reviews; in fact, he mentions that More Gore Score contains all-new reviews and should be used alongside the earlier Deep Red Horror Handbook (which had the older reviews) for completenessarchive.org. Finally, Gore Score 2001 adds a wealth of ’90s titles and late entries up to around 2000, ensuring almost two decades of horror are documented between the three books. In short, each volume is complementary: the 1987 edition covers the core ’70s and ’80s gore films, More Gore Score updates the late ’80s/early ’90s, and Splatter Years tackles the ’90s into 2000s.
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Rating System: Across all editions, Chas Balun used his signature dual rating system, but he presented it with slight twists. Generally, movies received a “Skull” rating (1 to 4 skulls) for overall quality and a “Gore Score” (or gore meter) often on a 0–10 scale for the quantity/quality of gorethebedlamfiles.comsevered-cinema.com. In the original book, four skulls meant a horror classic, whereas the lowest of the low earned a derisive “Dog” rating – literally an icon of a dog, meaning the film was “dogshit”severed-cinema.com. This irreverent rating scale carried into the later books. For example, in More Gore Score Balun might give a splatter epic like Bad Taste a perfect “10” on the gore meter and a four-skull salute for excellence, while doling out a “dog” to the most wretched Z-grade trash. The consistency of the rating format makes it fun to compare Balun’s scores across editions (and yes, he wasn’t shy about noting when newer films outdid older ones in the guts department!).
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Tone and Writing: All Gore Score entries are written in Balun’s colorfully caustic, enthusiastic style, but there’s a noticeable evolution in his voice. The 1987 edition often reads like a fan reveling in the underground tape-trading era of horror – full of excitement at uncovering Italian gore gems and skewering Hollywood slashers. By the 1992 More Gore Score, Balun’s humor and sarcasm are still on full display, but now with the confidence of someone who knows his audience. He maintains the same irreverent tone (and profane quips) in Gore Score 2001, but occasionally acknowledges the changing horror landscape (like the rise of self-aware slashers and mainstream hits). Despite a few shifts, readers will find a unified voice across all books – it’s always Chas Balun talking straight to fellow gorehounds, whether in 1985 or 2001.
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Book Length and Format: The page counts grew with each iteration. The original 1985 booklet was just 32 pagesarchive.org and very limited in print. The FantaCo 1987 update expanded that content significantly (reports say around 80+ pages). More Gore Score in 1992 was roughly similar length (the 1995 reprint is ~85 pages + indexabebooks.com), while Gore Score 2001 ballooned to 303 pagesthebedlamfiles.com, by far the heftiest tome of the series. The larger Splatter Years volume reflects the huge output of horror films in the 90s – Balun had a lot more ground to cover by then. Physically, all editions were trade paperback size books, making them easy to tote around to video stores as a buying guide. Early editions were self-published or small press, often with simple layouts, whereas the later ones had more polished designs (including photo illustrations, indexes, and professional typesetting).
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Publisher and Availability: The publisher changed over time, which affects collectibility today. The 1985 first printing was self-published by Balun (under his Fever Pitch Studios or a similar DIY imprint), making it extremely scarce nowebay.com. The 1987 “official” edition came from FantaCo Enterprises, a horror comics and collectibles publisher, which means more copies were circulated (though it’s long out-of-print). More Gore Score was first from Chunkblow Press (Balun’s imprint) in 1992, then Fantasma Books for the 1995 editionsevered-cinema.com. Gore Score 2001 was released by Obsidian Books around 2001thebedlamfiles.com. Each switch in publisher sometimes meant new cover art or minor changes, but content stayed true to Balun’s vision.
In summary, each edition of The Gore Score builds upon the previous, updating the horror timeline and refining Balun’s presentation, while staying true to the cheeky rating system and gory focus that fans love. Next, let’s talk about the eye-catching (and occasionally stomach-churning) cover art that adorned these volumes, as well as some of the most memorable reviews contained within.
Cover Artwork and Notable Reviews
One of the joys of The Gore Score series, especially for collectors, is the cover artwork and overall aesthetic that captures the grimy charm of 80s and 90s horror fandom. While information on each cover’s specifics can be scarce, here’s what we know:
Chas Balun’s reviews are notable both for their guidance (steering fans toward the must-see gore flicks) and for their outrageous humor. Some infamous examples from the books give a taste of Balun’s style:
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Brutally Honest Pans: Balun had no mercy for films he deemed poor. In the More Gore Score era, for instance, he hilariously trashed Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan by declaring it “sucks major league dick… and swallows”thebedlamfiles.com. (Ouch! Tell us how you really feel, Chas.) Similarly, in Gore Score 2001, he skewered the overhyped The Blair Witch Project as “an incompetent, scare-free, amateur home video”thebedlamfiles.com. And one of his most colorful slams was reserved for the obscure 1989 slasher Night Visitor, which he described as “goat shit served hot and runny on stale toast”thebedlamfiles.com. With insults like these, Balun’s negative reviews became as legendary as the movies themselves – horror fans still quote those lines today for a laugh.
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Enthusiastic Praise: On the flip side, The Gore Score also passionately recommended the genre’s triumphs. Balun championed filmmakers like Lucio Fulci, whose splatter epics were often ignored by mainstream critics. (In fact, Fulci himself once called Chas Balun “the king of splatter films” for his advocacythebedlamfiles.com.) In his books, Balun would rave about deserving films – for example, Peter Jackson’s gonzo splatter comedy Bad Taste earned a perfect 10 on the gore meter and a four-skull rating. Balun wrote that Bad Taste “should be worshipped, memorialized and time capsulized by discerning, classically trained gorehounds everywhere. And I mean it!”severed-cinema.com. Such genuine enthusiasm helped readers trust Balun’s recommendations. If The Gore Score gave a movie four skulls, you knew it was a must-see for horror buffs.
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Wit and Slang: Part of what makes these reviews notable is Balun’s inventive slang and humor. He often coined terms (like calling over-the-top gore scenes “chunkblowers”) and infused his critiques with metaphor. Reading The Gore Score is almost like chatting with a hilarious, horror-obsessed friend who pulls no punches. For instance, he quips that one lackluster creature feature was “as much fun as chewing moth cocoons”severed-cinema.com. His prose could be sarcastic one moment and scholarly the next, but it was always entertaining. Balun even acknowledges in his introduction that some critics accused him of focusing on gore over substance – to which his retort was a resounding “fuck it” and an unapologetic celebration of splatter films that changed his lifearchive.org. That rebellious spirit pervades every page.
The Gore Score books are as enjoyable to read for their color commentary as they are useful as guides to horror cinema. Balun’s reviews have become a part of horror fan lore. Many of us discovered cult films thanks to his biting one-liners and passionate recommendations.
Cultural Impact on the Horror Community
When The Gore Score first appeared, it filled a crucial niche in the horror community. During the 1980s, information about extreme horror films (Italian zombie flicks, underground slashers, etc.) was not easy to come by. Chas Balun’s work popularized the appreciation of gory horror as a legitimate subculture. In fact, Balun is often credited with helping elevate directors like Lucio Fulci from obscurity to cult stardomthebedlamfiles.com. By enthusiastically reviewing and rating films based on their splatter quotient, he gave gorehounds a language and reference point to discuss what they loved.
Horror fanzine culture was thriving in the ’80s, and Balun was at its forefront. His magazine Deep Red (and later the Deep Red Horror Handbook) alongside The Gore Score books created a community of readers who traded these guides like treasure. Fans would consult The Gore Score to decide what VHS tapes to hunt down at conventions or via mail-order. Remember, this was pre-Internet and even pre-blockbuster-video in many areas – a time when finding a notorious title like Nekromantik or Cannibal Apocalypse required some dedication. In a retrospective, one fan recalled that before the internet, guides like Chas Balun’s Gore Score made it easier to learn about horror films of the past and presentrottenink.wordpress.com. Readers (often teenagers at the time) would obsess over Balun’s descriptions of films like Zombi 2, Blood Feast, or Rawhead Rex, dreaming of the day they’d finally see themrottenink.wordpress.com. In this way, The Gore Score wasn’t just a review book—it was a roadmap for exploring the horror genre’s unrated fringes.
Moreover, Balun’s cheeky, unpretentious approach helped foster a sense of camaraderie among horror fans. He wrote as a fan to fellow fans, coining the term “chunkblower” for gore flicks that could make you lose your lunchthebedlamfiles.com. He showed that one could critique horror intelligently while still reveling in the blood and guts. This balance of analysis and fan passion influenced later horror journalism. Modern horror bloggers and YouTube reviewers often echo Balun’s style, mixing humor with genuine appreciation, whether they realize it or not.
Culturally, the impact is also seen in how often The Gore Score is cited or fondly remembered in horror circles. It’s not unusual to see horror forum discussions where someone references a Balun quote, or long-time fans reminiscing, “I discovered [obscure movie X] thanks to The Gore Score.” The books also contributed to the lexicon of horror fandom – for instance, using “skulls” as a shorthand rating for horror quality, or even the idea that gore could be quantified and celebrated rather than something to shy away from. Balun’s work helped validate the tastes of gore enthusiasts. Rather than being derided for loving “video nasties,” readers of The Gore Score felt seen and catered to. The series affirmed that loving gory horror was okay – even cool – as long as you approached it with a sense of humor and appreciation for the artistry of special effects.
Notably, The Gore Score was one of a few influential gore review guides of its time. It often gets mentioned alongside John McCarty’s Splatter Movies (1981) and later books like Jack Hunter’s Eros in Hell or Danny Peary’s cult film guides. But Balun’s voice had a particular swagger that set The Gore Score apart. It wasn’t academic or censored – it was like getting recommendations from the wildest horror geek in your friend group. This tone endeared him to fans and has given the books a legendary status. Even today, horror enthusiasts seek out these volumes not just for nostalgia, but because many of Balun’s reviews still hold up as fun reads and historically insightful takes on the films.
Lucio Fulci’s endorsement of Balun (“the king of splatter”)thebedlamfiles.com and the involvement of figures like Jack Ketchum and Stephen Bissette in Gore Score 2001 speak to Balun’s credibility and impact in the horror creator community as well. He was not just a commentator but also a tastemaker whose opinions mattered. In some cases, a positive Gore Score review could boost a film’s profile among fans, while a scathing one could cement a movie’s infamy (to the point where being trashed by Balun became a badge of honor for certain “so-bad-it’s-good” films).
In summary, The Gore Score series left an indelible mark on horror fandom: it educated a generation of gorehounds, influenced horror criticism with its feisty style, and helped knit together a community around splatter films.
Collectibility and Where to Find The Gore Score Today
For horror collectors, The Gore Score books are prized items – authentic artifacts from the golden age of horror fandom. Because these books had relatively small print runs and are long out-of-print, they’ve become collectible and can sometimes command high prices on the secondhand market. Here are a few notes on collecting the series and how to track them down:
The Gore Score books are collectors’ items that capture a slice of horror history. Owning one of the original editions is like owning a piece of 80s fanzine culture. They look great on a shelf next to your Fangoria magazines or your DVD collection of 70s/80s grindhouse horror. More importantly, they’re still incredibly fun to flip through. Many collectors report that once they finally obtained a Gore Score, they spent hours reliving Balun’s reviews and getting movie recommendations (or laughs) as if they were reading it decades ago as a teenager.
