Reel Terror

Reel Terror
Author: David Konow
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 551
Release: 2012-10-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1250013593

From the author of the definitive heavy metal history, Bang Your Head, a behind-the-scenes look a century of horror films Reel Terror is a love letter to the wildly popular yet still misunderstood genre that churns out blockbusters and cult classics year after year. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Paranormal Activity, Konow explores its all-time highs and lows, why the genre has been overlooked, and how horror films just might help us overcome fear. His on-set stories and insights delve into each movie and its effect on American culture. For novices to all out film buffs, this is the perfection companion to this Halloween's movie marathons.

American Gothic

American Gothic
Author: Jonathan Rigby
Publisher:
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2007
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

From the author of the acclaimed English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema, American Gothic presents an in-depth survey of the early years of the American horror film--ranging from the birth of cinema and the silent era to the mid-1950s. Jonathan Rigby examines a great many of the seminal films, including Cat People, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, The Fly, Frankenstein, Freaks, House of Wax, The Invisible Man, and She. He also looks at the actors and directors--Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Vincent Price, to name but a few. For fans and students of the horror classics, American Gothic is an essential work. This is the genre as it flourished from Univeral's early-thirties cycle and which culminated in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho, a film which forever changed and expanded the possibilities of horror cinema.

Uncanny Bodies

Uncanny Bodies
Author: Robert Spadoni
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2007-09-04
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0520940709

In 1931 Universal Pictures released Dracula and Frankenstein, two films that inaugurated the horror genre in Hollywood cinema. These films appeared directly on the heels of Hollywood's transition to sound film. Uncanny Bodies argues that the coming of sound inspired more in these massively influential horror movies than screams, creaking doors, and howling wolves. A close examination of the historical reception of films of the transition period reveals that sound films could seem to their earliest viewers unreal and ghostly. By comparing this audience impression to the first sound horror films, Robert Spadoni makes a case for understanding film viewing as a force that can powerfully shape both the minutest aspects of individual films and the broadest sweep of film production trends, and for seeing aftereffects of the temporary weirdness of sound film deeply etched in the basic character of one of our most enduring film genres.

House of Horror

House of Horror
Author: Allen Eyles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 188
Release: 1994
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

"House of Horror traces the complete history of Hammer, from its early origins through to its golden era of classic horror movies, and presents a comprehensive overview of Hammer's importance and influence in world cinema."--Cover

The Nosferatu Story

The Nosferatu Story
Author: Rolf Giesen
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2019-03-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476672989

Director F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, made in 1921, right after the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic, has become the ultimate cult classic among horror film buffs around the world. For years there was much speculation about the production background, the filmmakers, and their star, the German actor Max Schreck. This book tells the complete story drawing on rare sources. This book tells the complete story, drawing on rare sources. The trail leads to a group of occultists with a plan to establish a leading film company that would produce a momentous series of horror movies. Along the way, the author touches upon other classic German fantasy silents, such as The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Metropolis.

Horror Films of the 1970s

Horror Films of the 1970s
Author: John Kenneth Muir
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 682
Release: 2012-11-22
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786491566

The seventies were a decade of groundbreaking horror films: The Exorcist, Carrie, and Halloween were three. This detailed filmography covers these and 225 more. Section One provides an introduction and a brief history of the decade. Beginning with 1970 and proceeding chronologically by year of its release in the United States, Section Two offers an entry for each film. Each entry includes several categories of information: Critical Reception (sampling both '70s and later reviews), Cast and Credits, P.O.V., (quoting a person pertinent to that film's production), Synopsis (summarizing the film's story), Commentary (analyzing the film from Muir's perspective), Legacy (noting the rank of especially worthy '70s films in the horror pantheon of decades following). Section Three contains a conclusion and these five appendices: horror film cliches of the 1970s, frequently appearing performers, memorable movie ads, recommended films that illustrate how 1970s horror films continue to impact the industry, and the 15 best genre films of the decade as chosen by Muir.

Sacred Terror

Sacred Terror
Author: Douglas E. Cowan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-04
Genre: Horror films
ISBN: 9781481304900

Sacred Terror examines the religious elements lurking in horror films. It answers a simple but profound question: When there are so many other scary things around, why is religion so often used to tell a scary story? In this lucid, provocative book, Douglas Cowan argues that horror films are opportune vehicles for externalizing the fears that lie inside our religious selves: of evil; of the flesh; of sacred places; of a change in the sacred order; of the supernatural gone out of control; of death, dying badly, or not remaining dead; of fanaticism; and of the power--and the powerlessness--of religion.

The Horror Film

The Horror Film
Author: Rick Worland
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2024-09-16
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1119715261

A lively and reliable narrative account of the horror genre, featuring new and revised material throughout The Horror Film: An Introduction surveys the history, development, and social impact of the genre. Covering American horror cinema from its earliest period to the present, this reader-friendly volume explores the many ways horror movies have been received by filmmakers, critics, and general audiences throughout the decades. Concise, easily accessible chapters describe historical instances of the genre's social reception based on primary research, analyze landmark films such as Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and more. Incorporating recent scholarship on the genre, the second edition of The Horror Film contains new discussion and context for Hollywood horror films in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as notable developments in the genre such as “torture porn,” found-footage horror, remakes and reboots of past horror films, zombies, and the “elevated horror” debate. This edition explores the rise of new filmmakers such as Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and Jordan Peele, surveys horror films made by women and African American filmmakers, and investigates contemporary issues in the production and consumption of horror films. Combining historical narrative with close readings of significant works, The Horror Film: Covers major works in the genre such as Cat People, Halloween, and Bram Stoker's Dracula Examines important antecedents including gothic literature and the Grand Guignol Theater Offers thorough analyses of the style, context, and themes of specific horror milestones Provides examples of close analysis that can be applied to a wide range of other horror films Discusses important representative titles across the genre's evolution, including more recent films such as 2017's Get Out The Horror Film: An Introduction, Second Edition, is an ideal textbook for undergraduate surveys of the horror genre and other courses in American film history, and an invaluable resource for scholars, lecturers, and general readers with an interest in the subject.

Hammer, House of Horror

Hammer, House of Horror
Author: Howard Maxford
Publisher: B. T. Batsford Limited
Total Pages: 216
Release: 1996
Genre: Horror films
ISBN:

In its heyday during the Fifties, Sixties and early Seventies, Hammer Films produced a legacy of horror films such as Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Quatermass Experiment, featuring stars who included Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Bette Davis, Ursula Andress, Raquel Welch, Stephanie Beacham and Julie Ege. This book provides a chronological, film-by-film history of the studio, from its obscure beginnings in the 1930s to its decline and virtual disappearance five decades later. It includes coverage of the pre-horror, science-fiction films of the 1950s, and post-horror comedy of the 1980s, with complete credits for all Hammer films.