Packed with reviews of the best (and worst) slasher movies and illustrated with a collection of distinctive and often graphic poster artwork from around the world, this book looks at the political, cultural, and social influences on the slasher movie and its effect.
For fans of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, American Horror Story and The Walking Dead comes a powerhouse anthology featuring some of the best thriller and horror writers in YA Stefan Bachmann, Leigh Bardugo, Kendare Blake, A. G. Howard, Jay Kristoff, Marie Lu, Jonathan Maberry, Danielle Paige, Carrie Ryan, Megan Shepherd, Nova Ren Suma, McCormick Templeman, April Genevieve Tucholke, Cat Winters A host of the sharpest young adult authors come together in this collection of terrifying tales and psychological thrillers. Each author draws from a mix of literature, film, television, and music to create something new and fresh and unsettling. Clever readers will love teasing out the references and can satisfy their curiosity at the end of each tale, where the inspiration is revealed. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From blood horror, to the supernatural, to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for anyone looking for an absolute thrill.
An engrossing A-Z of over 60 gory years of slasher and splatter movies, from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later to Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters. Here you will find the low-down on over 250 movies with entries from 23 different countries. The index, which includes every movie mentioned in the A-Z and accompanying notes, runs to 540 movies. The book includes the list of video nasties which the UK government attempted to ban.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In his work as a Miami crime scene investigator, Dexter Morgan is accustomed to seeing evil deeds—particularly because, on occasion, he commits them himself. Dexter's happy existence is turned upside down when he is called to an unusually disturbing crime scene at the university campus. • The Killer Character That Inspired the Hit Showtime Series Dexter Dexter's Dark Passenger—mastermind of his homicidal prowess—immediately senses something chillingly recognizable and goes into hiding. Dexter is alone for the first time in his life, and he realizes he's being hunted by a truly sinister adversary. Meanwhile he's planning a wedding and trying to learn how to be a stepfather to his fiancé's two kids—who might just have dark tendencies themselves. Macabre, ironic, and wonderfully entertaining, Dexter in the Dark goes deeper into the psyche of one of the freshest protagonists in fiction.
John Carpenter's Halloween, released on October 25, 1978, marked the beginning of the horror film's most colorful, controversial, and successful offshoot--the slasher film. Loved by fans and reviled by critics for its iconic psychopaths, gory special effects, brainless teenagers in peril, and more than a bit of soft-core sex, the slasher film secured its legacy as a cultural phenomenon and continues to be popular today. This work traces the evolution of the slasher film from 1978 when it was a fledgling genre, through the early 1980s when it was one of the most profitable and prolific genres in Hollywood, on to its decline in popularity around 1986. An introduction provides a brief history of the Grand Guignol, the pre-cinema forerunner of the slasher film, films such as Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and cinematic trends that gave rise to the slasher film. Also explained are the slasher film's characteristics, conventions, and cinematic devices, such as the "final girl," the omnipotent killer, the relationship between sex and death, the significant date or setting, and the point-of-view of the killer. The chapters that follow are devoted to the years 1978 through 1986 and analyze significant films from each year. The Toolbox Murders, When a Stranger Calls, the Friday the 13th movies, My Bloody Valentine, The Slumber Party Massacre, Psycho II, and April Fool's Day are among those analyzed. The late 90s resurrection of slasher films, as seen in Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, is also explored, as well as the future direction of slasher films.
Lost in the dark woods. Stalked and butchered. Head severed and tossed into the bushes. She is the first to die. The body count will grow.Slasher horror in the vein of Friday the 13th, Halloween, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.A group of young counselors set out to rebuild Camp Black Bear. But a bloodthirsty killer stalks the woods. Now two counselors must survive the night in the forest. The killer is hunting them. He won't stop until they are dead.And the nearest town is ten miles away.Where is the sheriff who promised to keep them safe? Can the counselors evade the killer until help arrives?More victims are found murdered in the woods. The vehicles are destroyed and the radio disabled. No escape.Footsteps in the dark. The killer is coming.Classic slasher horror that will leave fans of Stephen King, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre breathless. Fans of true slasher horror should get to know Camp Slasher. Start reading now!Praise for Dan Padavona: "One of the most exciting writers to burst upon the scene in quite some time." - Brian Keene, Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author"Dan Padavona is at the top of my short list of must-read authors, and he's just getting started." - Thomas T"Padavona cements his own as a powerful voice in modern horror." - Michael W"Dan Padavona is a rare find. This author makes you FEEL like you are IN the story which is very rare!" - Annamaria B"Padavona filled my mind with visions that made my skin crawl and my heart race." - Ima Kitten"Stunning prose." - Ginger Nuts of Horror"Dan Padavona can flat out write." - Alan N"He is becoming one of my favorite authors." - Ron B"Another thrilling read by the master." - Review"Page turning, pulse-pounding entertainment." - Richard"A foray into the believably creepy. Recommended." - Xtina"It takes a lot to make me squirm, but Padavona does it here." - Russell C
The term "slasher film" was common parlance by the mid-1980s but the horror subgenre it describes was at least a decade old by then--formerly referred to as "stalker," "psycho" or "slice-'em-up." Examining 74 movies--from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) to Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)--the author identifies the characteristic elements of the subgenre while tracing changes in narrative patterns over the decades. The slasher canon is divided into three eras: the classical (1974-1993), the self-referential (1994-2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000-2013).
An engrossing A-Z of over 60 gory years of slasher and splatter movies, from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later to Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters. Here you will find the low-down on over 250 movies with entries from 23 different countries. The index, which includes every movie mentioned in the A-Z and accompanying notes, runs to 540 movies. The book includes the list of video nasties which the UK government attempted to ban.