|
|
Horror Film Criticism
See also: Film Criticism, On
Individual Films, General Film History,
Manuals, Dictionaries & Guides and Reference/Annuals.
 Monsters in the Movies
John Landis
A lushly illustrated guide to all the best mummies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, mad scientists, ghosts and more from throughout the world history of film. An unparalleled guide to all things nasty in the cinema. Hardcover, 340 pp. $45.00.
 Shock Value
Jason Zinoman
The classic horror films of the 1970s conquered both the multiplex and the art house, and they have taught us what to be afraid of. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of the most important artists in horror, Shock Value is an enormously entertaining account of a hugely influential golden age in American film. Hardcover, 275 pp. $30.00.
 Hammer Films: The Unsung Heroes
Wayne Kinsey
This is the story of the creative team behind the legendary production company. Wayne Kinsey presents an oral history, detailing the fascinating biographies of Hammer's key players, many telling their stories for the first time in all new interviews specially commissioned for this book. The book is filled with 1000 rare, behind-the-scenes photos. Softcover, 484 pp. $45.95.
The Vampire Film
Alain Silver & James Ursini
In this volume with nearly 800 colour illustrations and a filmography of over 700 titles, you will discover why the 21st-century undead are thirsty for more than blood. For this fourth edition, editors Alain Silver and James Ursini has compiled the definitve encyclopedia of vampires in film and tv. Softcover, 488 pp. $32.95.
 Horror Movie Freak
Don Sumner
You'll scream with delight while reading this fun and engaging book that discusses all of the classics of the horror genre. The movies themselves have been divided into various categories including Asian horror, homicidal slashers, supernatural thrillers, and zombie invasion. Softcover, 255 pp. $23.99.
 Horror Zone
Ian Conrich
Horror is still immensely popular but its assimilation into our culture continues apace. In Horror Zone, leading international writers on horror take horror into the world outside cinema screens to explore the interconnections between the films and modern media and entertainment industries, economies of production practices, cultural and political forums, spectators and fans. Softcover, 306 pp. $37.50.
 Hammer Glamour: Classic Images from the Archive of Hammer Films
Marcus Hearn
Bursting at the seams with an astounding collection of rare and previously unpublished photographs from Hammer's archive and private collections worldwide, and featuring many exclusive new interviews, Hammer Glamour is both a lavish celebration of Hammer's female stars and a fascinating insight into a bygone era of movie publicity. Hardcover, 160 pp. $37.00.
 Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios
Jennifer Osborne
With today's fantasy and horror films ruling the box office--and special-edition DVDs available of Universal's masterpieces--Monsters is an invaluable guide for a new generation. It shows where the "creature feature" began, from the twenties silent classic The Phantom of the Opera to fifties favorite Creature from the Black Lagoon. Frightening and fun, this splendid volume is perfect for monster fans of any age. Hardcover, $39.95.
 Hammer Films: A Life in Pictures
Wayne Kinsey
Through rare and mostly previously unseen images, many from original Hammer negatives in the BFI National Archive, Hammer Films: A Life in Pictures tells the visual story of Hammer's output. This book explores the wider and fascinating side of one of the British film industry's greatest success stories, showing once and for all that Hammer was not just a purveyor of cheap horror pictures. Hardcover, $65.99.
 Beyond Hammer: British Horror Cinema Since 1970
James Rose
Critically neglected after the decline of Hammer Studios, the British horror film remains a significant -- and popular -- body of work within a nationally grounded cinema. These 'post-Hammer' films move beyond their predecessor's Gothic traditions by situating their threats within contemporary Britain. Beyond Hammer provides new critical readings of several classic, contemporary, and lesser seen films from this period. Softcover, 173 pp. $33.95.
 Introduction to Japanese Horror Film
Colette Balmain
This book is a major historical and cultural overview of an increasingly popular genre. Starting with the cultural phenomenon of Godzilla, it explores the evolution of Japanese horror from the 1950s through to contemporary classics of Japanese horror cinema such as Ringu and The Grudge. Divided thematically, the book examines key motifs, situating them within traditional japanese mythology and folk tales. Softcover, 214 pp. $38.95.
 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die
Steven Jay Schneider
Fascinating and disturbing, horror films expose our most primal fears: our nightmares, our terrors, our vulnerability and revulsion, our terror of the unknown, and our fear of sex, death, or loss of identity. With insight from critics, historians, and academics, this book explores and illuminates the enduring popularity of this genre. Softcover, 415 pp. $17.99.
 Dark Places: The Haunted House in Film
Barry Curtis
Horror films revel in taking viewers into shadowy places where evil resides. Whether a house, a graveyard or a disused hospital, these mysterious spaces foment the terror at the heart of horror movies, empowering the ghastly creatures that emerge from them. In Dark Places, Barry Curtis leads us deep inside these haunted spaces to explore them - and the monstrous revenants who dwell there. Softcover, 240 pp. $20.00.
 Horror Films
James Marriott
From the slick horror of Alien, Scream and The Ring and the cult classics Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy to the slasher icons Jason, Freddy and Leatherface, horror just won't stay dead. James Marriott gives an incisive account of the definitive works of the genre over the last 80 years - from silent Expressionist classics to Japanese wraiths. Softcover, 341 pp. $14.95.
 The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films
Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn
The Hammer Story is the definitive, authorised history of Hammer Films, and the company has provided unlimited access to its archives. The crypt doors have been thrown wide open, revealing a treasure chest of nearly 500 rare posters, photographs, press books, clippings and even ticket stubs. Hardcover, 192 pp. $44.00.
 Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For
Arnold T. Blumberg & Andrew Hershberger
Zombiemania takes an in-depth look at one of the most popular horror film categories of all time. What is it that makes us so scared of and yet so intrigued by the living dead? Why is it that shambling corpses with a taste for brains, or mindless automatons controlled by a voodoo master still retain such relentless power? This book is illustrated with many still photographs from films of this genre, some published for the first time. Softcover, 497 pp. $29.95.
 The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within
Chantal Bourgault du Coudray
Embodying our primal fears, the werewolf has revealed in its various
lupine guises radically shifting attitudes to the human psyche. Tracing
the werewolf's 'use' by anthropologists and criminologists and shifting
interpretations of the figure - from the 'scientific' to the mythological
and psychological - Bourgault du Coudray also sees the werewolf in
Freud's 'wolf-man' case and the sinister use of wolf imagery in Nazism.
The Curse of the Werewolf looks finally at the werewolf's
revival in contemporary fantasy, finding in this supposedly conservative
genre a fascinating new model of the human's relationship to nature.
Softcover, 224 pp. $31.95.
 Pretend We're Dead: Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture
Annalee Newitz
In Pretend We're Dead, Annalee Newitz argues that the slimy zombies
and goresoaked murderers who have stormed through American film and
literature over the past century embody the violent contradictions
of capitalism. Newitz looks at representations of serial killers, mad doctors,
the
undead, cyborgs, and unfortunates mutated by their involvement with
the mass media
industry. Pretend We're Dead shows that as literature and film tell
it, the story of American capitalism since the late nineteenth century
is a
tale of body-mangling, soul-crushing horror.
Softcover, 224 pp. $28.95.
 Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema
Jamie Russell
Covering hundreds of movies, from America, Europe, and Asia, this exhaustive
history chronicles the zombie's on-screen evolution from Caribbean
bogeyman to flesh-eating corpse. Along the way, Book of the Dead takes in Bela Lugosi,
B-movies, Italian gore films, blind monk movies, shot-on-video backyard
epics, and genre classics like Night of the Living Dead. Complete
with hundreds of stills and artwork including 64 stunning pages of
colour illustrations,
and an exhaustive filmography, this is the ultimate zombie movie resource.
Softcover, 319 pp. $38.95.
 Eyeball
Compendium
Stephen Thrower
Culled from the pages of Eyeball Magazine this omnibus of
interviews, essays and reviews focuses on the very best of cinematic
sex, horror, art, and exploitation -- everthing from Argento to Zulawski.
Fans of off-beat genre films will appreciate this brilliantly written
and generously illustrated volume. Softcover, 395 pp. $38.99.
 Creeping Flesh: The Horror Fastasy Film Book, Volume 2
Creeping Flesh takes horror and fantasy cinema from around
the globe and combines it into one thrilling volume. Compiled into
a zine-like book,
it takes a focused look at obscure and vilified horror movies, the
discovery of "lost" films, and American and British exploitation.
Softcover, 159 pp. $26.95.
 Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters
William Tsutsui
In November of 1954, Godzilla crawled out of his radioactive birthplace
onto the silver screen and into our imaginations. Today Godzilla stands
as a pop icon of Japan -- the third most recognizable Japanese celebrity,
according to a New York Times poll. In this short reflection on Godzilla,
William Tsutsui, a life-long fan and professional historian, gives us
a light-hearted look at 50 years of the big, green, radioactive lizard.
Softcover, 240 pp. $18.95.
 The Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy
Milly Williamson
Over one hundred years after Bram Stoker's influencial novel was published,
the vampire is as ubiquitous as ever in popular culture. The Lure
of the Vampire explores the enduring myth of Dracula and vampires and just
why
it has remained so popular for so long. Milly Williamson examines several
movies and television shows in this stimulating volume. Softcover, 213
pp. $33.95.
 Shocking Representation
Adam Lowenstein
In this imaginative new work, Adam Lowenstein explores the ways in
which a group of groundbreaking horror films engaged the haunting
social conflicts left in the wake of World War II, Hiroshima, and
the Vietnam War. Lowenstein
centers Shocking Representation around readings of films by George
Franju, Michael Powell, Shindo Kaneto, Wes Craven, and David Cronenberg.
Softcover, 255 pp. $31.95.
 A Vault of Horror
Keith Topping
From Night of the Demon to House of Whipcord, this book profiles 80 British
horror films which collectively made a lasting impression on the
psyche of a nation. Author Keith Topping examines the films which
shaped his childhood,
taking a wry and often irreverent look at their triumphs and failings,
their stars, their continuity blunders and impact on the genre as
a whole. Illustrated with many rare colour and black and white photographs,
this
is one film guide guaranteed to raise a smile as we take you back
to the terrors of yesteryear. Softcover, 427 pp. $24.95.
 Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia
Horror / Fantasy / Science Fiction
Thomas Weisser & Yuko Mihara Weisser
Within the pages of this exhaustively researched text you'll find expertly written
reviews of Japanese genre films -- horror, fantasy, and science fiction -- post-1950.
Remarkably, this is only the first volume of the co-authors' life-long project
to chronicle the entire canon of modern Japanese cinema by genre. No cult film
aficionado will want to be without this remarkable encyclopedia. Softcover, 327
pp. $29.95.
 Fangoria's
101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen
Adam Lukeman
Fans of horror films will scream with delight over this movie
guide of 101 lesser-known horror classics. Inside you'll find everything
from foreign gems and box-office disappointments, to straight-to-video
sleepers and under-appreciated works by genre directors. Whether
you like low-budget slasher films, tales of the supernatural, stylish
giallos, or wall-to-wall splatter-fests, this book will guarantee
you 101 sleepless nights. Softcover, 270 pp. $20.00.
The Rough Guide To Horror Movies
Alan Jones
The Rough Guide to Horror Movies is a comprehensive guide to the world's
scariest films. Conjuring up vampires, monsters, ghosts and zombies, it tells
the stories behind the movies that have frightened us from the birth of cinema
to the present day. Softcover, 277 pp. $21.99.
 Framing Monsters: Fantasy Film and Social Interaction
Joshua David Bellin
This academic volume reconsiders the cultural significance of this storytelling
mode by investigating how films which are seemingly divorced from reality are
actually encoded with the social practices and beliefs of their era of production.
Golden era classics like King Kong and The Wizard of Oz, are discussed alongside
contemporary classics such as Jurassic Park, Edward Scissorhands, and The Lord
of the Rings trilogy. Softcover, 240 pp. $49.50.
 Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film
Revised Edition
Barry Keith Grant & Christopher Sharrott
The original edition of Planks of Reason was the first academic critical
anthology on horror films: a book that explored the genre with a rare degree
of understanding. This revised edition retains the spirit of the original, but
also offers new takes on rediscovered classics and recent developments in the
genre. Robin Wood, Steven Neale, and Noel Carroll are amongst the contributors
included in this valuable volume. Softcover, 416 pp. $67.95.
 Horror Film: Creating & Marketing Fear
Edited by Steffen Hantke
In this exciting anthology, a wide variety of critical approaches are used to
discuss how film technology, marketing, and distribution effectively create the
aesthetics and reception of horror films. Nosferatu, The Blair Witch Project,
The Exorcist, Peeping Tom and several other seminal horror films are examined
in these previously unpublished essays. Hardcover, 261 pp. $76.50.
 The Horror Film
Stephen Prince
In this volume, Stephen Prince has collected essays reviewing the
history of the horror film and the psychological reasons for its persistent
appeal, as well as the discussions of the developmental responses of
young adult viewers and children to the genre. This well-balanced collection
will appeal to anyone interested in serious scholarship about horror
cinema. Softcover, 272 pp. $37.95.
Legacy
of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide To Slasher Movies
Jim Harper
The "slasher" movie is the bloodiest incarnation of
the modern horror film. Although reviled by most critics -- objecting,
particulary, to the apparent misogyny -- the genre has nevertheless
had enduring appeal. Legacy of Blood is a serious attempt to
identify and explain the essential traits of the genre and to provide
a historical context in which to view its evolution. This book is also
the most exhaustive catalogue of the genre, boasting more than 200
astute
film reviews.
Softcover, 192 pp. $26.95.
 The Astounding B Monster
Marty Baumann
Based upon the award-winning website of the same name, this priceless compendium
of personality profiles, interviews and reviews, will delight B-movie fans of
all ages. This nostalgic collection features interviews with Beverly Garland,
Bruce Campbell, Pamela Duncan, Anne Robinson, James Arness, Robert Clarke, Jack
Hill, and several others. Softcover, 239 pp. $19.99.
Back to top |
|
