There are classic horror films...and then there are these. Some of the films in this book are reviled by fans; Rue Morgue columnist and author Paul Counelis attempts to defend the merits of some of his favorite, much maligned horror movies, and names his choice for the greatest horror film ever made: THE EXORCIST. Plus: some of the genre's brightest pros make their own "Top 5 Underrated Horror Films" lists, including well known actors, directors and writers!
WHAT IS THE GREATEST HORROR MOVIE EVER MADE? Paul Counelis tries to answer that impossible question by making the case for ten of the most popular horror flicks ever to terrorize the screen. Witty, informative and thoughtful commentary highlight this collection. With "Greatest Horror Movie" lists by industry pros from writers, musicians, directors, horror hosts and actors. With a foreword by author Glen Birdsall and an amazing cover illustration by artist Roger Scholz!
In late August or so in Flint, Michigan, many different Halloween tinged businesses, ideas and displays start popping up around town. There are the different Halloween stores that invade previously empty buildings for a few months between late summer and the indoctrination of fall. There are also a number of inspired haunts that seem to rise from nowhere to add an exciting flavor to the season, and many yard displays from Halloweenies all around the city. It's not entirely clear why Halloween is such a big deal in cities like Flint, except for perhaps the escapism aspect of it all, and the fact that Halloween can be a relatively cheap holiday to take part in. "Voices of October" is an intimate, look at Halloween through striking photos and stirring prose that captures the spirit and magic of the season. With additional photos by Freda Counelis, Magen Randol, Crystal Counelis. BLACK AND WHITE VERSION with added photos and prose!
This forward-looking exploration of contemporary American film across the last 40 years identifies and examines the specific movies that changed the film industry and shaped its present and future. Since the mid-1970s, American cinema has gone through enormous changes, such as the birth of the modern summer blockbuster, the rise of the independent film industry, ongoing technological advancements in special effects, and the ever-evolving models for film distribution. Written by a professional film critic and film buff, this book tells the story of contemporary American cinema in a unique and engaging way: by examining 25 key movies that demonstrated a significant creative, technological, or business innovation that impacted the industry at large. Each chapter in this chronological survey of contemporary film is divided into two sections: "The Film," which offers a critical overview of the film in question; and "The First," which describes the specific innovation achieved by that film and places that achievement in the larger historical context. Two additional appendices in each chapter explore other significant aspects of both the film and its groundbreaking nature. The broad coverage—ranging from action movies to horror films to science fiction favorites—ensures the work's appeal to all film fans.
“Elegant and troublingly, wonderfully disturbing.” —Victor LaValle, award-winning author of The Changeling This gripping novella of terror by Shirley Jackson Award–winning author Nathan Ballingrud is the basis for the film Wounds starring Dakota Johnson, Armie Hammer, and Zazie Beetz! An eerie dread descends upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in the novella “The Visible Filth,” which has been adapted for film by director Babak Anvari—premiering at the Sundance film festival!—and starring Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, and Zazie Beetz. Wounds will release on April 12th, 2019.
Featuring hundreds of movie posters from silent films to the present day. This book includes some of the best known posters for movies such as: The Phantom of the Opera (1925); Dracula (1931); The Mummy's Curse (1944); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956); Psycho (1960); Clockwork Orange (1971); Nightmare on Elm Street (1984); Scream (1996).
A popular phenomenon since antiquity, the image of the haunted house is one that has translated elegantly into the modern medium of film. The haunted house transcends genre, appearing in mysteries, gothic romances, comedies and horror films. This book is the first comprehensive historical and critical study of themes surrounding haunted houses in film. Covering more than 100 films, it spans from the Mystery House thrillers of the silent era to the high-tech, big budget productions of the 21st Century. Included are the works of such acclaimed directors as D.W. Griffith, Robert Wise, Mario Bava, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro. The book also covers the real-life "haunted house" phenomenon and movies based on paranormal case files, including those featured in films like the Conjuring series.
"This is a brilliant study, warm and frequently thrilling, of an inspired combination of subjects. Postindustrial American urban culture has found its great poet-theorist in Carlo Rotella."—William Finnegan, author of Cold New World: Growing Up in a Harder Country "In the hands of others, we have learned much about the process of deindustrialization. Rotella powerfully brings the reader to the core of these socio-economic transitions in a manner that is almost palpable in its ability to connect the reader to any one of his subjects. Rotella held me, taught me, opened my eyes to an appreciation of new ways of seeing. The writing is electric, the broader conceptual framework is rich and complex, and his touch is deft throughout the book."—Nick Salvatore, coauthor of We All Got History: The Memory Books of Amos Webber
In October 1957, Screen Gems made numerous horror movies available to local television stations around the country as part of a package of films called Shock Theater. These movies became a huge sensation with TV viewers, as did the horror hosts who introduced the films and offered insight--often humorous--into the plots, the actors, and the directors. This history of hosted horror walks readers through the best TV horror films, beginning with the 1930s black-and-white classics from Universal Studios and ending with the grislier color films of the early 1970s. It also covers and explores the horror hosts who presented them, some of whom faded into obscurity while others became iconic within the genre.
The Turn of the Screw is an 1898Horrornovella by Henry James that first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly magazine (January 27 - April 16, 1898). In October 1898 it appeared in The Two Magics, a book published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. Classified as both gothic fiction and a ghost story, the novella focuses on a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted.
