What do you think?
Rate this book
Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons
As horror movies have become more extreme, even the tools of the tree surgeon have become passé. Besides, why risk industrial deafness dispatching virgins with a chainsaw?
Death by Umbrella: The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons is a fun-filled romp through the world of gore weaponry. Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner explore a variety of very odd weapons that have helped people meet their maker in horror films.
These include deer antlers, exercise machines, curling irons, ears of corn and even basketballs thrown at high velocity (!)
A must for horror fans, the book also features some really cool (and gory) illustrations and even a foreword by Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman.
Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are Toronto horror journalists and hosts of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a weekly celebration of low budget genre film. They also review horror films new and old at www.ReallyAwfulMovies.com.
Death by Umbrella: The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons is a fun-filled romp through the world of gore weaponry. Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner explore a variety of very odd weapons that have helped people meet their maker in horror films.
These include deer antlers, exercise machines, curling irons, ears of corn and even basketballs thrown at high velocity (!)
A must for horror fans, the book also features some really cool (and gory) illustrations and even a foreword by Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman.
Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are Toronto horror journalists and hosts of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a weekly celebration of low budget genre film. They also review horror films new and old at www.ReallyAwfulMovies.com.
188 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2016
3 people are currently reading
569 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Lombardo
4 books37 followersMy latest book is Mine's Bigger than Yours! The 100 Wackiest Action Movies.
https://411mania.com/movies/jeff-kirs...
"If you're an action movie fan, a B-movie fan, a movie book fan, and or a fan of damn good and fascinating movie criticism, you should make an effort to track down, own, and read."
411 Mania
"A must-read for action fans, clearly written with love for the genre."
The Action Elite
"Interesting and hilarious...horrible action flicks that have flown under the radar."
3rd Strike
"A fun encyclopedia of bad action movies."
Vents Magazine
It's a fun-filled pilgrimage through the nuttiest movies in the genre and a must-read for fans of Norris, Seagal, Van Damme...but also genre lesser lights like Reb Brown, Brian Thompson and Brian Bosworth.
I recently co-authored Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (foreword by Troma's Lloyd Kaufman). It was the focus of a piece in LA Weekly:
http://www.laweekly.com/arts/chronicl...
I co-authored The Man Who Scared a Shark to Death and Other True Tales of Drunken Debauchery (Penguin Global).
I'm a Toronto author, film critic and podcaster - co-host of the Really Awful Movies Podcast. It features smart genre film chat, mostly focused on horror movies, but with action, sci fi, martial arts and offbeat musicals occasionally thrown in. https://www.blubrry.com/reallyawfulmo...
https://www.instagram.com/chris_limbo...
https://411mania.com/movies/jeff-kirs...
"If you're an action movie fan, a B-movie fan, a movie book fan, and or a fan of damn good and fascinating movie criticism, you should make an effort to track down, own, and read."
411 Mania
"A must-read for action fans, clearly written with love for the genre."
The Action Elite
"Interesting and hilarious...horrible action flicks that have flown under the radar."
3rd Strike
"A fun encyclopedia of bad action movies."
Vents Magazine
It's a fun-filled pilgrimage through the nuttiest movies in the genre and a must-read for fans of Norris, Seagal, Van Damme...but also genre lesser lights like Reb Brown, Brian Thompson and Brian Bosworth.
I recently co-authored Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (foreword by Troma's Lloyd Kaufman). It was the focus of a piece in LA Weekly:
http://www.laweekly.com/arts/chronicl...
I co-authored The Man Who Scared a Shark to Death and Other True Tales of Drunken Debauchery (Penguin Global).
I'm a Toronto author, film critic and podcaster - co-host of the Really Awful Movies Podcast. It features smart genre film chat, mostly focused on horror movies, but with action, sci fi, martial arts and offbeat musicals occasionally thrown in. https://www.blubrry.com/reallyawfulmo...
https://www.instagram.com/chris_limbo...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2016
When I first heard of Death By Umbrella: The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons, I thought, “What a great concept!” Much of the joy from horror movies, especially when watching with friends, comes from seeing ever more inventive and bizarre kills. We all probably have a particular favorite from the big franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. The sleeping bag scene in Friday the 13th Part 7 or the eye gauge in Zombi 2 might be mine. This book goes beyond those franchises covering classics and movies you may never have seen or even heard of. Our authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner set out to give us some of the best! When dealing with such a crazy topic it’s only fitting that Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman provides the foreword and it’s funny and fitting.
The deaths discussed are divided into seven categories. We have death in the home, in the kitchen, deadly machinery, sports and recreation equipment, art related deaths, death by squeezing and finally good old skewering. Each chapter also includes a few black and white stills. You’ll find weapons ranging from a pogo stick to a vending machine and everything in between.
For each death scene we get a bit of an introduction about the film and then a set up to the scene. This is really entertaining and often amusing. It’s like having all the best bits cut together in one film, except this is a book, but you get what I mean! This book is like a greatest hits album with just the good kills and without the boring other stuff.
Thanks to the magic of YouTube there are lots of clips just of kill scenes from movies so if you find one you want to see, for the most part, you can. You would definitely not want to sit through some of these movies in their entirety. You do have to be aware of spoilers, so if you think you want to watch a film, best not to read about the scene in case more of the plot is given away.
This might be the perfect bathroom book. The only thing missing that I would have liked is an index so you can just flip to a certain movie or kill.
The deaths discussed are divided into seven categories. We have death in the home, in the kitchen, deadly machinery, sports and recreation equipment, art related deaths, death by squeezing and finally good old skewering. Each chapter also includes a few black and white stills. You’ll find weapons ranging from a pogo stick to a vending machine and everything in between.
For each death scene we get a bit of an introduction about the film and then a set up to the scene. This is really entertaining and often amusing. It’s like having all the best bits cut together in one film, except this is a book, but you get what I mean! This book is like a greatest hits album with just the good kills and without the boring other stuff.
Thanks to the magic of YouTube there are lots of clips just of kill scenes from movies so if you find one you want to see, for the most part, you can. You would definitely not want to sit through some of these movies in their entirety. You do have to be aware of spoilers, so if you think you want to watch a film, best not to read about the scene in case more of the plot is given away.
This might be the perfect bathroom book. The only thing missing that I would have liked is an index so you can just flip to a certain movie or kill.
December 28, 2017
A very fun book that put many new to-watch movies on my list. It has a fun way of writing, talks about many lesser-known movies. My only disappointment was that when it was talking about death by power tools it didn't mention the death by large screw in Jason X.
August 20, 2019
You've heard of Death by a Thousand Cuts? Well how about death by one hundred horror movie weapons?
Almost since the birth of horror movies themselves have script writers and directors strived to provide yet another novel manner in which people can come to a gruesome end. In Death by Umbrella, authors Chris Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner have taken the pains to document one hundred of their favorite weapons of singular destruction in a range of films that run the gamut from the classics to some of the more obscure titles.
Despite a short bibliography, Lombardo and Kirschner are no mere wannabe scribes being the hosts of the Really Awful Movie Podcast, where they weekly dissect and serve up reviews of all manner of weird, shocking or simply outlandish films both old and new. Along the way they tabulated an assortment of tools, machinery, sporting goods, utensils, and gadgets that have been immortalized on celluloid to elicit screams and shudders as cast members bite the dust.
Whether a fairly knowledgeable giallo afficionado or a horror neophyte, readers will delight in either reliving some of our favorite kills such Damien on his tricycle rampage in The Omen, or discover previously unknown fodder like a shape shifting car in Super Hybrid. Did you know about the shish kebab skewering in Happy Birthday to Me? How about Linnea Quigley’s untimely deer antler demise in Silent Night, Deadly Night? They’re all here, and more. Much more as the authors have graciously added a number of honorable mentions in each of the seven chapters used to categorize the book.
Fittingly Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman, one of the masters of low budget death dealing himself provides the foreword as the authors provide witty jokes and astute observations and brief synopsis of the films to accompany the blow by blow of the kills. I was especially glad to see some local favorite films that included Homicycle by Ottawa’s very own Brett Kelly (a film that I happen to be an uncredited extra in) and Crawler by Montreal’s Sv Bell. And yes, there are deaths by umbrella. More than one in fact.
I enjoyed the special emphasis on films featuring multiple odd deaths such as the seven deadly sins enacted by Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes while not spoiling some of the more delectable kills in movies such as Audition. I’ve always wanted to see The Town that Dreaded Sundown but more so now that I know there is a trombone-knife kill in it. Reading this tome also raised a few questions such as how did the authors know that strip clubs are not open on Christmas as per their cataloging of the electrified stripper pole in Santa's Slay? (Research?)
I highly recommend this for all horror fans and to follow up the madness by tuning in on the Really Awful Movie Podcast in which I hope the authors are making yet another list for another book.
Almost since the birth of horror movies themselves have script writers and directors strived to provide yet another novel manner in which people can come to a gruesome end. In Death by Umbrella, authors Chris Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner have taken the pains to document one hundred of their favorite weapons of singular destruction in a range of films that run the gamut from the classics to some of the more obscure titles.
Despite a short bibliography, Lombardo and Kirschner are no mere wannabe scribes being the hosts of the Really Awful Movie Podcast, where they weekly dissect and serve up reviews of all manner of weird, shocking or simply outlandish films both old and new. Along the way they tabulated an assortment of tools, machinery, sporting goods, utensils, and gadgets that have been immortalized on celluloid to elicit screams and shudders as cast members bite the dust.
Whether a fairly knowledgeable giallo afficionado or a horror neophyte, readers will delight in either reliving some of our favorite kills such Damien on his tricycle rampage in The Omen, or discover previously unknown fodder like a shape shifting car in Super Hybrid. Did you know about the shish kebab skewering in Happy Birthday to Me? How about Linnea Quigley’s untimely deer antler demise in Silent Night, Deadly Night? They’re all here, and more. Much more as the authors have graciously added a number of honorable mentions in each of the seven chapters used to categorize the book.
Fittingly Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman, one of the masters of low budget death dealing himself provides the foreword as the authors provide witty jokes and astute observations and brief synopsis of the films to accompany the blow by blow of the kills. I was especially glad to see some local favorite films that included Homicycle by Ottawa’s very own Brett Kelly (a film that I happen to be an uncredited extra in) and Crawler by Montreal’s Sv Bell. And yes, there are deaths by umbrella. More than one in fact.
I enjoyed the special emphasis on films featuring multiple odd deaths such as the seven deadly sins enacted by Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes while not spoiling some of the more delectable kills in movies such as Audition. I’ve always wanted to see The Town that Dreaded Sundown but more so now that I know there is a trombone-knife kill in it. Reading this tome also raised a few questions such as how did the authors know that strip clubs are not open on Christmas as per their cataloging of the electrified stripper pole in Santa's Slay? (Research?)
I highly recommend this for all horror fans and to follow up the madness by tuning in on the Really Awful Movie Podcast in which I hope the authors are making yet another list for another book.
February 7, 2020
Fun and inconsequential; lots of little nuggets about movies I have heard of and a few I have not. Plenty of amiable snark that comes from a clear place of affection for horror movies, no matter how goofy. A throwback to the sort of goofery I would have read when I was in school, and I mean that as a compliment.
I was particularly jazzed to see that one death from Prom Night II in here, which is pretty much the only thing I remember from that movie (okay, also the lame-ass ending). That one’s stuck with me for a good twenty years as a clever kill and I definitely got a kick out of revisiting it.
I was particularly jazzed to see that one death from Prom Night II in here, which is pretty much the only thing I remember from that movie (okay, also the lame-ass ending). That one’s stuck with me for a good twenty years as a clever kill and I definitely got a kick out of revisiting it.
May 1, 2025
Actual rating 3.5
October 13, 2016
I love film. I love books. So I love film related books. Whether they are biographies, histories, or reference guides, I've got a stack of them and love learning about the broad and strange world of film from across the globe and across time. Rare is the book that crosses my path that doesn't easily fit into one of aforementioned categories. Death By Umbrella – The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons by Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner is one of those anomalies.
Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are podcasters that run Really Awful Movies and run a blog of the same name. They are also unabashed horror lovers who have dug deep for this book. In a nutshell the book graphically details the bizarre weapons used in (mostly) horror movies. The more strange, the better. Films covered include big name genre titans like The Toxic Avenger, Friday the 13th, Leprechaun, Final Destination, Halloween, and others. They have also dug very deep to bring us crazy kills from movies like Homicycle, The Lift, and Dead Meat among other lesser known gems. Each passage is succinct and written to be funny which of course makes it very enjoyable to thumb through.
We all love lists when it comes to movies. The "Best" horror movies, the "goriest" horror movies, "best horror films you haven't seen" that sort of thing and that's what this book is. It's a list of the most ludicrous ways characters in films have been dispatched. If you enjoy checking out those kinds of lists then this book is for you. If you want a deeper knowledge of horror including some very deep cuts, this book is for you. If you like to thumb through books, looking for the next cinematic treat to watch, this book is for you. If you're looking for an in-depth analysis of each film, this book is not for you. We do get a succinct synopsis of each film and the scene in question. The authors layout the film and get straight into the meat of the matter making each weapon review fun, short, and clear. The book is organized by types of weapons like, around the house, kitchen nightmares, sports and recreation, tight squeezes etc. Each chapter begins with original hand drawn art followed by poster art and images from the films themselves. The book also has an introduction by the captain of weird kills, Lloyd Kaufman.
In short, Death By Umbrella – The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons, published by Bear Manor Media, delivers exactly what you want it to. It features fun writing, well researched picks, and well organized chapters featuring original art as well as images from the films. It's a love letter to the genre we love the most, obsessively compiled into one place. It's a fun book and one worth checking out.
Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are podcasters that run Really Awful Movies and run a blog of the same name. They are also unabashed horror lovers who have dug deep for this book. In a nutshell the book graphically details the bizarre weapons used in (mostly) horror movies. The more strange, the better. Films covered include big name genre titans like The Toxic Avenger, Friday the 13th, Leprechaun, Final Destination, Halloween, and others. They have also dug very deep to bring us crazy kills from movies like Homicycle, The Lift, and Dead Meat among other lesser known gems. Each passage is succinct and written to be funny which of course makes it very enjoyable to thumb through.
We all love lists when it comes to movies. The "Best" horror movies, the "goriest" horror movies, "best horror films you haven't seen" that sort of thing and that's what this book is. It's a list of the most ludicrous ways characters in films have been dispatched. If you enjoy checking out those kinds of lists then this book is for you. If you want a deeper knowledge of horror including some very deep cuts, this book is for you. If you like to thumb through books, looking for the next cinematic treat to watch, this book is for you. If you're looking for an in-depth analysis of each film, this book is not for you. We do get a succinct synopsis of each film and the scene in question. The authors layout the film and get straight into the meat of the matter making each weapon review fun, short, and clear. The book is organized by types of weapons like, around the house, kitchen nightmares, sports and recreation, tight squeezes etc. Each chapter begins with original hand drawn art followed by poster art and images from the films themselves. The book also has an introduction by the captain of weird kills, Lloyd Kaufman.
In short, Death By Umbrella – The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons, published by Bear Manor Media, delivers exactly what you want it to. It features fun writing, well researched picks, and well organized chapters featuring original art as well as images from the films. It's a love letter to the genre we love the most, obsessively compiled into one place. It's a fun book and one worth checking out.
June 26, 2016
The idea is cute, but in addition to having some occasionally questionable ideas of what constitutes horror films (I may not be a great connoisseur of horror, but I don't think I'd ever put _The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_ in that category, however disturbing a film it may be), the book is simply quite frequently badly written. Not bad as an overview of some of horror cinema's odder moments, as long as you can slog your way through, which I at times had problems doing.
February 7, 2017
I have seen a lot of these movies so remember the great death scenes. Being a big fan of horror movies, them being good or bad I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the title and cover photo. I even remember the scene from some of the films. Great job in your selection. Love the book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews