Science fiction, fantasy and horror Books
Liverpool University Press Nosferatu in the 21st Century: A Critical Study
Book Synopsis‘Nosferatu’ in the 21st Century is a celebration and a critical study of F. W. Murnau’s seminal vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens on the 100th anniversary of its release in 1922. The movie remains a dark mirror to the troubled world we live in seeing it as striking and important in the 2020s as it was a century ago. The unmistakable image of Count Orlok has traveled from his dilapidated castle in old world Transylvania into the futuristic depths of outerspace in Star Trek and beyond as the all-consuming shadow of the vampire spreads ever wider throughout contemporary popular culture. This innovative collection of essays, with a foreword by renowned Dracula expert Gary D. Rhodes, brings together experts in the field alongside creative artists to explore the ongoing impact of Murnau’s groundbreaking movie as it has been adapted, reinterpreted, and recreated across multiple mediums from theatre, performance and film, to gaming, music and even drag. As such, ‘Nosferatu’ in the 21st Century is not only a timely and essential book about Murnau’s film but also illuminates the times that produced it and the world it continues to influence.
£90.00
Liverpool University Press Moon
Book SynopsisOne of the most acclaimed debut features of this century, Moon (2009) tells the superficially simple story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who mines Helium-3 on the dark side and comes face to face with his doppelgänger. Out of this scenario, director and co-writer Duncan Jones explores ethical questions that can be examined for philosophical depths, calling back to such 1970s and 1980s science fiction films as Silent Running (1972), Soylent Green (1973), Logan's Run (1976), Alien (1979), and Outland (1981). Just as the moon so often visible above Earth has been interpreted in a variety of ways throughout human history, so the film Moon is open to various readings and interpretations.Brian Robb’s Constellation volume begins by covering the early filmmaking and influences of director Jones, and briefly look at past depictions of the moon in science fiction cinema. He goes on to provide a production history of the film, with a particular focus on how the constraints of British low-budget filmmaking inspire creativity, and how the creative team envisioned the future. Subsequent chapters examine questions of isolation and identity as raised in Moon – what defines a human being? How does differing experience change each of the Sam Bell clones? – and issues of theology by examining notions of curiosity and investigation. Finally, the critical reception of Moon is will be examined, with a consideration of the way film's themes were further developed and extrapolated upon in Duncan Jones' next film, Source Code (2011).
£76.00
Liverpool University Press The Cabin in the Woods
Book SynopsisThe Cabin in the Woods (2012), directed by Drew Goddard and co-authored by Goddard and Joss Whedon of Buffy-fame, was famously described by co-author Whedon as his ‘loving hate letter’ to horror. Interviews with Whedon reveal that his struggles with modern cinematic horror are not merely emotional, but intensely philosophical. This book is the first to read Cabin as a philosophical metatext that asks what horror offers audiences and why audiences accept. Like any good philosophy, the film offers no answers but raises questions: what ‘choices’ are possible in a pre-determined universe? How do we, the audience, see the victims of violence, and with what ethical consequences? And finally, the most fraught question of all: why do we keep looking?
£71.25
Liverpool University Press Poltergeist
Book Synopsis'Created’ by Steven Spielberg yet officially directed by Tobe Hooper, Poltergeist (1982) can be best described as ‘family horror movie’ both in its target audience and in its narrative context, the story of an All-American suburban family, the Freelings, whose home suddenly becomes the site of a spectacular haunting, apparently summoned by their young daughter. The film is somewhat of an anachronism and this Devil's Advocate explores this in both the scope of production and narrative. The book discusses the duality of the text highlighting debates surrounding both Spielberg's somewhat saccharine portrayal of middle-class Americana and his more subversive cinematic endeavours. The duality of the text also will also be discussed in the context of the film's production – with both Spielberg and Hooper on set for much of the time, the result was a movie with the production values, effects and marketing of a high budget mainstream cinema blockbuster apparently directed by a subversive 'grindhouse' cinema auteur. Yet Poltergeist is neither nor both of those things, instead being a unique hybrid of genres and styles taking the best and worst from both aspects of family blockbuster and cult horror film, and as such can be seen as a text that is something unique – a classic modern take on the traditional haunted house story.
£76.00
Liverpool University Press Poltergeist
Book Synopsis'Created’ by Steven Spielberg yet officially directed by Tobe Hooper, Poltergeist (1982) can be best described as ‘family horror movie’ both in its target audience and in its narrative context, the story of an All-American suburban family, the Freelings, whose home suddenly becomes the site of a spectacular haunting, apparently summoned by their young daughter. The film is somewhat of an anachronism and this Devil's Advocate explores this in both the scope of production and narrative. The book discusses the duality of the text highlighting debates surrounding both Spielberg's somewhat saccharine portrayal of middle-class Americana and his more subversive cinematic endeavours. The duality of the text also will also be discussed in the context of the film's production – with both Spielberg and Hooper on set for much of the time, the result was a movie with the production values, effects and marketing of a high budget mainstream cinema blockbuster apparently directed by a subversive 'grindhouse' cinema auteur. Yet Poltergeist is neither nor both of those things, instead being a unique hybrid of genres and styles taking the best and worst from both aspects of family blockbuster and cult horror film, and as such can be seen as a text that is something unique – a classic modern take on the traditional haunted house story.
£21.84
Liverpool University Press Cape Fear
Book SynopsisMartin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991) opens with a shot of water and climaxes on a raging river. Despite, or perhaps because of, the film’s great commercial success, critical analysis of the film typically does not delve beneath the surface of Scorsese’s first major box office hit. As it reaches its 30th anniversary, Cape Fear is now ripe for a full appraisal. The remake of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 Cape Fear was originally conceived as a straightforward thriller intended for Steven Spielberg. Author Rob Daniel investigates the fascinating ways Scorsese’s style and preoccupations transform his version into a horror epic. The director’s love of fear cinema, his Catholicism and filmmaking techniques shift Cape Fear into terrifying psychological and psychosexual waters. The analysis also examines the influence of Gothic literature and fairy tales, plus how academic approaches to genre aid an understanding of the film. Trade Review'[Daniels] attempts to weave the film into the profile of Scorsese‘s filmography, with the unique take that Cape Fear is really a horror film and that certain horror film tropes and styles have informed most of his films... Mr. Daniel makes a thorough case and the reader learns a lot about Scorsese from this slim volume... Cape Fear is a must read for any student of Martin Scorsese.' Douglas Holm, KBOO
£78.38
Liverpool University Press Cape Fear
Book SynopsisMartin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991) opens with a shot of water and climaxes on a raging river. Despite, or perhaps because of, the film’s great commercial success, critical analysis of the film typically does not delve beneath the surface of Scorsese’s first major box office hit. As it reaches its 30th anniversary, Cape Fear is now ripe for a full appraisal. The remake of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 Cape Fear was originally conceived as a straightforward thriller intended for Steven Spielberg. Author Rob Daniel investigates the fascinating ways Scorsese’s style and preoccupations transform his version into a horror epic. The director’s love of fear cinema, his Catholicism and filmmaking techniques shift Cape Fear into terrifying psychological and psychosexual waters. The analysis also examines the influence of Gothic literature and fairy tales, plus how academic approaches to genre aid an understanding of the film. Trade Review'[Daniels] attempts to weave the film into the profile of Scorsese‘s filmography, with the unique take that Cape Fear is really a horror film and that certain horror film tropes and styles have informed most of his films... Mr. Daniel makes a thorough case and the reader learns a lot about Scorsese from this slim volume... Cape Fear is a must read for any student of Martin Scorsese.' Douglas Holm, KBOO
£22.99
Liverpool University Press Scrooge
Book SynopsisThis Devil’s Advocate explores the cinematic wonders of Brian Desmond Hurst’s much loved 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge, through the prism of horror cinema, arguing that the film has less in common with cosy festive tradition than it does with terror cinema like James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein, Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and F.W. Murnau’s Faust. Beginning with Charles Dickens himself, a prolific writer of ghost stories, with A Christmas Carol being but one of many, Colin Fleming then considers earlier cinematic adaptations including 1935’s folk-horror-like Scrooge, before offering a full account of the Hurst/Sim version, stressing what must always be kept at the forefront of our minds: this is a ghost story.
£78.38
Liverpool University Press Scrooge
Book SynopsisThis Devil’s Advocate explores the cinematic wonders of Brian Desmond Hurst’s much loved 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge, through the prism of horror cinema, arguing that the film has less in common with cosy festive tradition than it does with terror cinema like James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein, Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and F.W. Murnau’s Faust. Beginning with Charles Dickens himself, a prolific writer of ghost stories, with A Christmas Carol being but one of many, Colin Fleming then considers earlier cinematic adaptations including 1935’s folk-horror-like Scrooge, before offering a full account of the Hurst/Sim version, stressing what must always be kept at the forefront of our minds: this is a ghost story.
£21.84
Liverpool University Press Possession
Book SynopsisPremiering at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession remains a distinct phenomenon. Though in competition for the illustrious Palme d’Or, its art cinema context did not rescue it from being banned as part of the United Kingdom’s ‘video nasties’ campaign, alongside unashamedly lowbrow titles such as Faces of Death and Zombie Flesh Eaters. Skirting the boundary between art and exploitation, body horror and cerebral reverie, relationship drama and political statement, Possession is a truly astonishing film. Part visceral horror, part surreal experiment, part gothic romance dressed in the iconography of a spy thriller: there is no doubt that the polarity evinced by Possession’s initial release was in part a product of its resistance to clear categorisation.With a production history almost as bizarre as the film itself, a cult following gained with its VHS release, and being re-appreciated in the decades since as a valuable work of auteur cinema, the story of how this film came to be is as fascinating as it is unfathomable. Alison Taylor’s Devil’s Advocate considers Possession’s history, stylistic achievement, and legacy as an enduring and unique work of horror cinema. Beginning with a marital breakdown and ending with an apocalypse, the film’s strangeness has not dissipated over time; its transgressive imagery, histrionic performances, and spiral staircase logic remain affective and confounding to critics and fans alike. Respecting the film’s wilfully enigmatic nature, this book helps to unpack its key threads, including the collision between the banal and the horrific, the socio-historical context of its divided Berlin setting, and the significance of its legacy, particularly with regard to the contemporary trend for extreme art horror on the festival circuit.Trade Review‘It is clear that Taylor has done her homework [on Possession], and you can tell instantly that this piece is meticulously researched, drawing on a range of first-hand sources including the original script… for those with a serious interest in horror cinema, and POSSESSION in particular, this is a worthy read.’ John Upton, FrightFest
£20.89
Liverpool University Press The Omen
Book SynopsisDirected by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer, The Omen (1976) is perhaps the best in the devil-child cycle of movies that followed in the wake of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. Released to a highly suggestible public, The Omen became a major commercial success, in no small part due to an elaborate pre-sell campaign that played and preyed on apocalyptic fears and a renewed belief in the Devil and the supernatural. Since polarising critics and religious groups upon its release, The Omen has earned its place in the horror film canon. It’s a film that works on different levels, is imbued with nuance, ambiguity and subtext, and is open to opposing interpretations. Reflecting the film’s cultural impact and legacy, the name ‘Damien’ has since become a pop culture byword for an evil child. Adrian Schober’s Devil’s Advocate entry covers the genesis, authorship, production history, marketing and reception of The Omen, before going on to examine the overarching theme of paranoia that drives the narrative: paranoia about the 'end times'; paranoia about government and conspiracy; paranoia about child rearing (especially, if one strips away the layer of Satanism); and paranoia about imagined threats to the right-wing Establishment from liberal and post-countercultural forces of the 1970s.
£78.38
Liverpool University Press IT Chapters One and Two
Book SynopsisDrawing on critical analysis of film, the horror genre, the Gothic, and Stephen King scholarship, this book considers Andy Muschietti’s IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019) on multiple levels: as film (both as individual films and through their interconnected narrative), as adaptation, and as a barometer of the horror film’s popularity among fans. Key points of consideration include the significance of the fictional town of Derry as a traditionally Gothic “bad place,” the role of 1980s nostalgia in these two films, the complex navigation of memory and trauma, gender representation, queer representation, and the return of the repressed. The terrifying figure of Pennywise the clown is central to this analysis, including consideration of performance, costuming, and significance within the larger landscape of the “scary clown” popular culture trope, and through comparison to Tim Curry’s iconic performance in Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1990 miniseries. This Devil's Advocate contextualizes Muschietti’s films within the larger landscape of King’s literary and popular culture influence, as well as the debate surrounding “elevated” horror and the “horror boom” of the late 2010s.
£71.25
Liverpool University Press Pet Sematary
Book SynopsisMost scholarship on Mary Lambert's Pet Sematary (1989) overarchingly focuses on the Stephen King novel (1983), and tends strongly towards housing the story within the Gothic literary tradition. The film itself is often absent from considerations of North American horror cinema of the 1980s, and from wider horror scholarship in general. This Devil's Advocate stands as a corrective, and provides a holistic analysis – textual, contextual, and industrial – of the film, in order to properly situate it as an important entry into the history of horror cinema. This book joins a growing body of works – both journalistic and academic – that aim to revisit older films in order to call attention to and/or redress the gendered imbalance in our written horror histories. McMurdo charges Pet Sematary with several contributions to the horror genre: as an important entry within the tradition of “grief horror”; as a horror film that both adheres to and defies the generic conventions of its historical context, one both engaged with and respondent to its time of creation; as a film that changed the fortunes of the cinematic Stephen King “brand” on the cusp of a new decade. Pet Sematary is the highest grossing horror film directed by a woman in cinematic history, and it stands as a story that we keep returning to – as seen by the 1992 sequel, the 2019 remake, and a forthcoming prequel. Pet Sematary’s modern relevance and importance to genre history then, is manifold, and this book argues it is past time for its reconsideration as a classic of horror cinema.
£71.25
Liverpool University Press The Craft
Book SynopsisIn recent years, teen witches have become highly visible figures. Fictional adolescent witches have headlined popular television shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2021) and American Horror Story: Coven (2013-2014), while their real-life counterparts have become minor celebrities on Instagram and TikTok. As such, now is the ideal time to revisit Andrew Fleming’s 1996 supernatural horror film The Craft. A cult favourite, especially amongst young women, The Craft is a story about teen witches that employs the conventions of occult horror to explore themes of power, friendship and responsibility. This entry in the Devil’s Advocates series is a deep dive into the history, production and meaning of The Craft. Situating The Craft within the teen horror revival of the 1990s, Miranda Corcoran analyses the film within the context of nineties popular and political culture, while also discussing its treatment of issues such as race, gender, sexuality and class. Delving into the history of witchcraft beliefs and persecutions, this book also investigates how The Craft modifies the archetype of the witch and traces the film’s influence on subsequent popular culture.
£71.25
Liverpool University Press Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood
Book SynopsisOffering a survey of Hollywood science fiction cinema from 1979 to 2017 (from Ridley Scott’s Alien to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049), Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood Science Fiction Film argues that the trajectory of Hollywood’s dystopianism in that period is inextricable from the phenomenon of the ‘new enclosures’, the new dispossessions and privatisations sweeping across the United States since the 1970s. More precisely, it contends that the critiques of such dispossessions elaborated before the turn of the century – consider the satire of private policing in RoboCop (1987), the portrayal of commodified air in Total Recall (1990), and the nightmarish extrapolations of postmodern urbanism in Blade Runner (1982) and The Truman Show (1998) – begin to disappear in films such as The Matrix (1999), The Island (2005), District 9 (2009), Repo Men (2010), and The Purge (2013), the further commodification of land, forest, reservoir, ideas, even the human genome having diminished the contrast between capitalist and non-capitalist spaces on which the earlier critiques depended. Bringing close readings of blockbuster films into dialogue with historical and theoretical scholarship on dispossession, Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood Science Fiction Film proposes a new understanding of the politics of science fiction in particular and utopian thought in general.Table of ContentsIntroduction – Anticipation: Science Fiction between Spectacle and SpeculationPART 1: ENCLOSURE AFTER ENCLOSURE1. Extrapolation: The New Enclosures in New Hollywood2. Privatisation: Conceptualising Enclosure in RoboCop and Total Recall3. Urbanisation: Images of Los Angeles in Blade Runner and The Truman ShowPART 2: DYSTOPIA AFTER DYSTOPIA4. Expropriation: Marx, Utopia, and the Limits of Political Economy5. Innovation: Intellectual Property in The Matrix, The Island, and District 96. Speculation: Credit, Crisis, and Foreclosure in Repo Men and The PurgeConclusion – Negation: Capitalism at the End of the World
£95.00
Titan Books Ltd Star Trek: The Next Generation Tarot Card Deck
Book SynopsisEngage with the cosmos at a whole new level with this sumptuously illustrated tarot deck featuring captivating visions of the characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Boldly go where no one has gone before with the guidance of this 24th-century update of the traditional 78-card tarot deck. Star Trek: The Next Generation Tarot Deck and Guidebook set features all the fan-favorite characters, from Captain Picard to Counselor Troi, from the series depicted in gorgeous original illustrations based on classic tarot iconography. Featuring both major and minor arcana, the set also comes with a helpful guidebook explaining each card's meaning, as well as simple instructions for easy readings. Packaged in a sturdy, decorative gift box, this unique tarot deck is the perfect gift for any Trek fan or tarot enthusiast.
£19.54
Titan Books Ltd Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: A Timeless Tale
Book SynopsisDelve behind the scenes of Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's first foray into stop-motion animation with Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: A Timeless Tale Told Anew Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: A Timeless Tale Told Anew takes readers on an unprecedented journey into the creation of Guillermo del Toro's hit musical fantasy version of the beloved story of Pinocchio. Inspired by the art from Gris Grimly's 2002 edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio, del Toro's adaptation is a dark take on the classic fairy tale. Featuring exclusive interviews with the star-studded cast, which includes Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, and more, this book showcases the creativity and effort it takes to produce a stop-motion animation film, from concept art to building the puppets to the filming process and beyond.
£36.00
Titan Books Ltd Star Wars: The High Republic - Chronicles of the
Book SynopsisImmerse yourself in the thrilling world of Star Wars: The High Republic with this incredibly illustrated guide to the golden age of the Jedi! Set centuries before the Skywalker Saga, this book is the ultimate in-universe guide to the Jedi Knights of Star Wars: The High Republic, providing fascinating insight into a time of valiant heroes, terrifying monsters, and daring exploration. You will also uncover the mysteries of the Force and learn about the technology of the Jedi Order, including its starfighters and the unique lightsaber designs of this incredible era. Featuring stunning original illustrations and exclusive new revelations, this striking book is an essential collectible that will transport you to the galaxy's gilded age.
£27.99
Liverpool University Press The Wicker Man
Book SynopsisMany fans of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973) may know that this classic is considered a fine sample of folk horror. Few will consider that it’s also a prime example of holiday horror. Holiday horror draws its energy from the featured festive day, here May Day. Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), a “Christian copper,” is lured to the remote Scottish island Summerisle where, hidden from the eyes of all, a thriving Celtic, pagan religion holds sway. His arrival at the start of the May Day celebration is no accident. The clash between religions, fought on the landscape of the holiday, drives the story to its famous conclusion. In this Devil’s Advocate, Steve A. Wiggins delineates what holiday horror is and surveys various aspects of “the Citizen Kane of horror movies” that utilize the holiday. Beginning with a brief overview of Beltane and how May Day has been celebrated, this study considers the role of sexuality and fertility in the film. Conflicting with Howie’s Christian principles, this leads to an exploration of his theology as contrasted with that of Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) and his tenants. Such differences in belief make the fiery ending practically inevitable.Trade Review‘Wiggins proves an engaging, erudite commentator on assorted interlinked elements, with the recurring holiday horror themes (notably, sacrifice) running parallel to an examination of the origins of what we know as “holidays” / “vacations” and a consideration of religion’s transformation through the centuries… Wiggins’ highly perceptive and refreshing study will provide yet another excuse to revisit and celebrate one of Britain’s greatest achievements in the genre.’ Steven West, FrightFestTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Holiday Horror Chapter 2: May Day Chapter 3: Scary Sex Chapter 4: The Horror of Theology Conclusion: Conflict and Legacy
£18.99
Liverpool University Press The Wicker Man
Book SynopsisMany fans of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973) may know that this classic is considered a fine sample of folk horror. Few will consider that it’s also a prime example of holiday horror. Holiday horror draws its energy from the featured festive day, here May Day. Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), a “Christian copper,” is lured to the remote Scottish island Summerisle where, hidden from the eyes of all, a thriving Celtic, pagan religion holds sway. His arrival at the start of the May Day celebration is no accident. The clash between religions, fought on the landscape of the holiday, drives the story to its famous conclusion. In this Devil’s Advocate, Steve A. Wiggins delineates what holiday horror is and surveys various aspects of “the Citizen Kane of horror movies” that utilize the holiday. Beginning with a brief overview of Beltane and how May Day has been celebrated, this study considers the role of sexuality and fertility in the film. Conflicting with Howie’s Christian principles, this leads to an exploration of his theology as contrasted with that of Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) and his tenants. Such differences in belief make the fiery ending practically inevitable.Trade Review‘Wiggins proves an engaging, erudite commentator on assorted interlinked elements, with the recurring holiday horror themes (notably, sacrifice) running parallel to an examination of the origins of what we know as “holidays” / “vacations” and a consideration of religion’s transformation through the centuries… Wiggins’ highly perceptive and refreshing study will provide yet another excuse to revisit and celebrate one of Britain’s greatest achievements in the genre.’ Steven West, FrightFestTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Holiday Horror Chapter 2: May Day Chapter 3: Scary Sex Chapter 4: The Horror of Theology Conclusion: Conflict and Legacy
£71.25
Liverpool University Press I Walked With a Zombie
Book SynopsisI Walked with a Zombie (1943), Val Lewton's second feature for RKO Radio Pictures, was described by critic Robin Wood as 'perhaps the most delicate poetic fantasy in the American Cinema.' Following immediately in the wake of the groundbreaking Cat People (1942), Zombie pioneered an even more radical narrative approach yet proved to be the critical and commercial equal of its predecessor, cementing the reputation of both Lewton and his director, Jacques Tourneur. Despite the lurid, studio-imposed title, I Walked with a Zombie is a subtle and ambiguous visual poem that advanced a daring condemnation of slavery and colonialism at a time when such themes were being actively suppressed by government censors. Clive Dawson charts the complex development and production of the project, essential to understanding the concerns of the filmmakers in the context of wartime Hollywood, then analyses the film in detail, referencing a broad range of academic studies of the audio-visual text and distilling new insight into its layers of meaning. Finally, he explores the film's reception, and the influence it exerted on the horror genre and beyond. Extensive primary research has uncovered a wealth of previously unpublished new material that solves many unanswered questions and dispels various myths about this utterly unique film.Trade Review‘There’s been an explosion of short monographs on individual films over the past years… Among the most recent releases is Clive Dawson’s excellent history and analysis of the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur masterpiece I Walked with a Zombie (1943)… The book can be considered definitive as the most detailed discussion of the film to date.’ Gary Morris, Bright Lights Film Journal‘Dawson has tapped into the film’s stylistics, analyzing it for the reader as if we’re in Lewton’s cinema psyche, lovingly plotting each set-up, characterization, and seductively frightening shadow. It’s a fast-paced yet remarkably in-depth tour of the contributions of Lewton, the director (Jacques Tourneur), and the scenarist (Ardel Wray).’ Gregory Mank, What Sleeps Beneath‘An impressive volume that cleverly tap dances along that fine line between entertainment and academia.’ The Dark Side Horror NewsTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: The Snake Pit Chapter Two: ‘Jane Eyre in the West Indies’ Chapter Three: I Walked with a Zombie Chapter Four: ‘Most Smashing Sleeper of the Season’ Chapter Five: Legacy Bibliography
£71.25
Bonnier Books Ltd Stranger Things: The Unofficial Colouring Book
Book SynopsisBecome fully immersed in the Upside-Down, adding a creative spin to scenes inspired by the hugely popular Stranger Things.
£7.59
University of Wales Press Queer for Fear: Horror Film and the Queer
Book SynopsisQueer for Fear analyses the relationship queer people have to horror film, building upon decades of theory that previously emphasised horror’s queerness as being subtextual, allegorical and figurative. This groundbreaking interdisciplinary empirical study of the LGBTQ+ community not only offers the first inclusive understanding of the horror-loving queer spectator’s opinions, habits and tastes, but also evidences how and why queers have a distinctive relationship to horror. Leveraging original survey data, in-depth oral histories and theory, Petrocelli evidences that queer people have ontological connections to the horror genre, and concludes that horror is queer to the queer spectator. This study also establishes that queer spectators actively engage with horror to work through their trauma, knowingly have a camp relationship to horror, and joyously commune through horror screenings featuring drag performance. Queer for Fear is an overdue contribution to the fields of queer, film, horror, trauma, camp and live cinema studies.
£57.00
Atlantic Books Children of Paradise: Longlisted for the Women's
Book SynopsisWhen Holly applies for a job at the Paradise - one of the city's oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats - she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur. So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise - unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry...Trade ReviewOne of Britain's best young short story writers... eerie... festers in glorious style... there's nothing vanilla in the dark of the Paradise, and even when the corporate takeover comes, complete with managerial drone, it all feels smooth and unearthly - an allegory for lost stories, youth and time. * The Telegraph *There's a strange, tortured beauty to Children of Paradise... Grudova has created a magnificently spiky commentary on the detrimental nature of work hierarchies and zero-hours contracts. * Guardian *Fluent and transporting... utterly enthralling * TLS *A remarkable and memorable achievement. To combine the gothic, the carnivalesque, the ghastly and the sublime in a relatively slender novel shows considerable talent indeed. * Scotland on Sunday *What commends Children of Paradise... is the deft hand of an auteur at work. * Financial Times *Camilla Grudova is Angela Carter's natural inheritor. Her style is effortlessly spare and wonderfully seductive. Read her! Love her! She is sincerely strange - a glittering literary gem in a landscape awash with paste and glue and artificial settings. * Nicola Barker, author of Darkmans *Grudova understands that the best writing has to pull off the hardest aesthetic trick - it has to be both memorable and fleeting. * Deborah Levy, author of Hot Milk *It's easy to write what everybody else writes and that's not what Camilla Grudova is doing. ... We need work like this in the world. * Sinead Gleeson, Arena RTE Radio 1 *The Paradise, a festering and dilapidated cinema, is the perfect ground for Camilla Grudova's filthy, grotesque and exquisitely kaleidoscopic talent. Peeping under the stained red curtain, we meet a cast of ramshackle characters: bloody, bejewelled, debauched and sucking ferociously on cigarette butts - this uniquely eccentric troop of misfits could only have been drawn by Grudova. Children of Paradise is a linguistic joy, an ode to a by-gone era of cinema and, above all, a wonderfully alive carnival of peculiarity. * Alice Ash, author of PARADISE BLOCK *I used to work at an independent cinema that was a lot like the Paradise - full of sticky floors and strange atmospheres and rumours of secret screens. Children of Paradise is a haunting love letter to that work, and to film itself. The world Grudova conjures here is both delightful and disturbing, textured by the rich details that make her stories in The Doll's Alphabet so distinctive: stolen trinkets, brooches and ticket stubs; cocktails crafted with pickled eggs and maraschino cherries. Intimate and claustrophobic, Children of Paradise captures all the dark enchantment that comes with slipping in and out of movie screens for a living. * Laura J Maw *Brilliant in the way only Camilla Grudova can be brilliant. Capitalism, cinema, strangeness - everything you hope it will be. * Heather Parry, author of ORPHEUS BUILDS A GIRL *Gloriously disgusting, bloody, alluring - an ode to a vanishing world of filthy, gaudy independent cinemas and the curious souls who work there. One for any fan of their local fleapit. * Helen McClory, author of BITTERHALL *A weird and haunting examination of the slow decay of the old ways, and the sly encroachment of careless, brave new worlds... A wry cautionary tale for cinema lovers, revealing the rotten core behind the creative industries, the grubby death knell of artistic romanticism. It is, in both senses, an entirely revolting work. * The Skinny *An enjoyable satire on film culture and labour exploitation * Literary Review *
£8.54
Atlantic Books The Coiled Serpent: Longlisted for the Dylan
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean's teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. In a damp, putrid spa, the exploitative drudgery of work sparks revolt; in a Margate museum, the new Director curates a venomous garden for public consumption.In Grudova's unforgettably surreal style, these stories expose the absurdities behind contemporary ideas ofwork, Britishness and art-making, to conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writerat the top of her game.Trade ReviewUtterly triumphant... I can't remember the last time I read satire of the Great British institutions so crisply rendered, so exquisitely batty... Grudova has an instinct for queasily precise imagery that few can rival... She's a thoroughly sui generis visionary - and, after reading The Coiled Serpent, I'd say one of the most startlingly original writers we've got. -- A K Blakemore * Guardian *Camilla Grudova's books make other young writers seem meek... It's weird, dark and graphic, but as her new collection proves, it's also funny and poignant and distinctive, so inventive that it makes other writing seem uncourageous. * Sunday Telegraph *A prodigious instinct for story... careering majestically between the astonishing and the terrible to create something uniquely gripping. * Irish Times *It's gruesome fare, served with cold precision... One imagines these stories pairing perfectly with the painter Paula Rego's paintings of women subverting fairy tales... The simmering undercurrent of rage... is all too recognisable. * Financial Times *Grudova's stories are dark, creepy and strange, each a little off-kilter in a world where mental anxiety and fleshy reality are twisted into surreal scenarios by her fertile but festering imagination... for those with a penchant for gothictinged body horror, these are the business. * Daily Mail *Queen of the grotesque... These stories are not for the faint of heart, and reading them is as sharply satisfying as picking at a scab. * The Skinny *Strange, weird, twisted, sometimes surreal and always absorbing. * The Bristol Magazine *Unsettling... refuses to gloss over the grimy reality of years of austerity with Grudova's signature abstract flair. * Big Issue *An excellent second collection of exultantly gross-out tales * Telegraph Best Fiction Books of 2023 *
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 100 American Horror Films
Book Synopsis"[A] well-plotted survey." Total Film In 100 American Horror Films, Barry Keith Grant presents entries on 100 films from one of American cinema's longest-standing, most diverse and most popular genres, representing its rich history from the silent era - D.W. Griffith's The Avenging Conscience of 1915 - to contemporary productions - Jordan Peele's 2017 Get Out. In his introduction, Grant provides an overview of the genre’s history, a context for the films addressed in the individual entries, and discusses the specific relations between American culture and horror. All of the entries are informed by the question of what makes the specific film being discussed a horror film, the importance of its place within the history of the genre, and, where relevant, the film is also contextualized within specifically American culture and history. Each entry also considers the film’s most salient textual features, provides important insight into its production, and offers both established and original critical insight and interpretation. The 100 films selected for inclusion represent the broadest historical range, and are drawn from every decade of American film-making, movies from major and minor studios, examples of the different types or subgenres of horror, such as psychological thriller, monster terror, gothic horror, home invasion, torture porn, and parody, as well as the different types of horror monsters, including werewolves, vampires, zombies, mummies, mutants, ghosts, and serial killers.Trade ReviewA keen dissection of the unsettled, Grant’s well-plotted survey shows how the genre feeds on the renegotiation of its methods and meanings. -- Kevin Harley * Total Film *Barry Keith Grant provides a treasure trove of information and insights into some of the most important films in the horror genre. Those new to the genre will find this book a useful guide into its many facets and long history. Readers already familiar with the genre will enjoy finding new films and new critical perspectives on old favorites. -- Kendall Phillips, author of A Place of Darkness: The Rhetoric of Horror in Early American CinemaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995) 2. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000) 3. American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981) 4. The Avenging Conscience (D.W. Griffith, 1914) 5. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963) 6. Blade (Stephen Norrington, 1998) 7. The Blair Witch Project (Daniel Myrick and Eduard Sánchez, 1999) 8. Brian Damage (Frank Henenlotter, 1988) 9. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992) 10. The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) 11. Bubba Ho-Tep (Don Coscorelli, 2002) 12. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (Charles Barton, 1948) 13. The Burrowers (J. T. Petty, 2008) 14. Candyman (Bernard Rose, 1992) 15. Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962) 16. Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976) 17. The Cat and the Canary (Paul Leni, 1927) 18. Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) 19. Child’s Play (Tom Holland, 1998) 20. Color out of Space (Richard Stanley, 2019) 21. Contagion (Steven Soderbergh, 2011) 22. The Crazies (George A. Romero, 1973) 23. Creature from the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954) 24. The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, 1983) 25. The Devil’s Rejects (Rob Zombie, 2005) 26. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) 27. Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) 28. Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977) 29. The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi, 1981) 30. The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) 31. Fall of the House of Usher (James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber, 1928) 32. Fallen (Gregory Hoblit, 1998) 33. Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, 1987) 34. The Fly (Kurt Neumann, 1958) 35. Frankenstein (J. Searle Dawley, 1910) 36. Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932) 37. The Frighteners (Peter Jackson, NZ/US, 1996) 38. Funny Games U.S. (Michael Haneke, 2007) 39. Ganja and Hess (Bill Gunn, 1973) 40. Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) 41. Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) 42. Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) 43. The Hellstrom Chronicle (Walon Green, 1971) 44. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (John McNaughton, 1986) 45. The Hills Have Eyes (Wes Craven, 1977) 46. Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005) 47. House of Wax (André de Toth, 1953) 48. The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983) 49. I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943) 50. I Was a Teenage Werewolf (Gene Fowler, Jr., 1957) 51. In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter, 1994) 52. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (Neil Jordan, 1994) 53. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978) 54. It’s Alive (Larry Cohen, 1974) 55. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) 56. King Kong (Meriam C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, 1933) 57. The Last House on the Left (Wes Craven, 1972) 58. Let Me In (Matt Reeves, 2010) 59. The Little Shop of Horrors (Roger Corman, 1960) 60. The Lodger (John Brahm, 1944) 61. Mad Love (Karl Freund, 1935) 62. The Magician (Rex Ingram, 1926) 63. Martin (George A. Romero, 1976) 64. The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964) 65. Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019) 66. Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990) 67. The Mist (Frank Darabont, 2007) 68. The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932) 69. Murders in the Rue Morgue (Robert Florey, 1932) 70. Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) 71. Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) 72. Office Killer (Cindy Sherman, 1997) 73. The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976) 74. Paranormal Activity (Orin Peli, 2007) 75. The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julien, 1925) 76. Phantom of the Paradise (Brian de Palma, 1974) 77. Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982) 78. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) 79. The Purge (James DeMonaco, 2013) 80. Race with the Devil (Jack Starrett, 1975) 81. Ravenous (Antonia Bird, 1999) 82. Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968) 83. Saw (James Wan, US/Australia, 2004) 84. Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) 85. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) 86. The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991) 87. Sisters (Brian De Palma, 1972) 88. Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968) 89. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) 90. The Tingler (William Castle, 1959) 91. Twentynine Palms (Bruno Dumont, 2003) 92. Two Thousand Maniacs! (Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1964) 93. The Unknown (Tod Browning, 1927) 94. Weird Woman (Reginald Le Borg, 1944) 95. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, 1962) 96. White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932) 97. The Wind (Emma Tammi, 2019) 98. The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015) 99. The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941) 100. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974) Index
£17.99
Saraband It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on
Book Synopsis“Horror opened me up to new possibilities for survival … I saw power in freakery and transgression and wondered if it could be mine.” The relationship between horror films and the LGBTQ+ community? It’s complicated. Haunted houses, forbidden desires and the monstrous can have striking resonance for those who’ve been marginalised. But the genre’s murky history of an alarmingly heterosexual male gaze, queer-coded villains and sometimes blatant homophobia, is impossible to overlook. There is tension here, and there are as many queer readings of horror films as there are queer people. Edited by Joe Vallese, and with contributions by writers including Kirsty Logan and Carmen Maria Machado, the essays in It Came from the Closet bring the particulars of the writers’ own experiences, whether in relation to gender, sexuality, or both, to their unique interpretations of horror films from Jaws to Jennifer’s Body. Exploring a multitude of queer experiences from first kisses and coming out to transition and parenthood, this is a varied and accessible collection that leans into the fun of horror while taking its cultural impact and reciprocal relationship to the LGBTQ+ community seriously.Trade Review'A brilliant display of expert criticism, wry humor, and original thinking. This is full of surprises.' -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)'A critical text on the intersections of film, queer studies, and pop culture.' -- Booklist (starred review)'An essential look at how spooky movies so often offer solace through subversiveness.' -- Electric Literature'An impressively diverse array of queer voices contributes their opinions on how and why particular horror movies made a personal and indelible impression on them.' -- Bay Area Reporter'A really terrific collection of essays by a great selection and variety of different authors—both fiction authors, poets, and essayists—about the intersection between queer studies and queer identity and horror movies.' -- Gothamist'In this wonderful and only somewhat disturbing book (the subject is horror, after all), queer and trans writers explore the horror films that have shaped them and most reflected their own experiences. Horror, the anthology argues, while often full of misogyny and anti-trans, homophobic tropes, is also uniquely subversive and queer.' -- Shondaland'This book is perfect for exploring the queerness of horror through a kaleidoscopic lens.' -- Them'Weaving elegantly between passages on theory to first sexual encounters and wrenching experiences with a surrogate, the essays take surprising turns and don’t look for easy answers. The movies they take on are as varied as the writing styles and traverse the queer spectrum.' -- Bomb
£12.74
Mad Norwegian Press About Time: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who:
Book SynopsisIn About Time, the whole of Doctor Who is examined through the lens of the real-world social and political changes as well as ongoing developments in television production that influenced the series in ways big and small over the course of a generation. Armed with these guidebooks, readers will be able to cast their minds back to 1975, 1982, 2005, and other years to best appreciate the series' content and character. The Second Edition of About Time 4 greatly expands upon the commentary and essays offered on Doctor Who Seasons 12 to 14: some of the most beloved material ever, starring the iconic Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor. Essays in this volume include: “Has the Time War Started?”, “What were the Cybermen's Daftest 'Only' Weaknesses?”, and “Mary Whitehouse: What was Her Problem?”Table of ContentsEssaysDo Robots have Rights?Why Couldn’t They Just Have Spent More Money?Which is Best, Film or Video? Has the Time War Started?What were the Cybermen's Daftest 'Only' Weaknesses?September or January?What Does Anti-Matter Do?Where (and When) is Gallifrey?Why Does Earth Keep Getting Invaded?Who Are All These Strange Men in Wigs?Doctor of What?Does the Universe Speak English?Eldrad Must Live – But How?Could Scratchman have Happened?Seriously, Did Rassilon Know Omega?Was This an SF series?Cultural Primer:?Top of the PopsMary Whitehouse: What was Her Problem?
£29.71
Mad Norwegian Press About Time: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who:
Book SynopsisIn About Time, the whole of Doctor Who is examined through the lens of the real-world social and political changes as well as ongoing developments in television production that influenced the series in ways big and small over the course of a generation. Armed with these guidebooks, readers will be able to cast their minds back to 1975, 1982, 2005, and other years to best appreciate the series' content and character. The Second Edition of About Time 4 is such an upgrade, it's split into two volumes! Volume 2 greatly expands upon the commentary and essays offered on Doctor Who Seasons 15 to 17: the Graham Williams Era of Doctor Who, including the "Key to Time" season, all starring the iconic Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor. Essays in this volume include: “Is Doctor Who Unsuitable for Adults?”, “Why Does the Doctor's Age Keep Changing?” and “It's the Panto Essay, Isn't It Boys and Girls?”Table of ContentsEssaysDo Robots have Rights?Why Couldn’t They Just Have Spent More Money?Which is Best, Film or Video? Has the Time War Started?What were the Cybermen's Daftest 'Only' Weaknesses?September or January?What Does Anti-Matter Do?Where (and When) is Gallifrey?Why Does Earth Keep Getting Invaded?Who Are All These Strange Men in Wigs?Doctor of What?Does the Universe Speak English?Eldrad Must Live – But How?Could Scratchman have Happened?Seriously, Did Rassilon Know Omega?Was This an SF series?Cultural Primer:?Top of the PopsMary Whitehouse: What was Her Problem?
£31.96
Common Notions Stepford Daughters: Tools for Feminists in
Book SynopsisIn Stepford Daughters, Johanna Isaacson explores an emerging wave of horror films that get why class horror and gender horror must be understood together. In doing so, Isaacson makes the case that this often-maligned genre is in fact a place where oppressed people can understand, navigate and confront an increasingly ugly and horrifying world. Films like Hereditary and The Babadook show women coming apart at the seams as the promises of both the family and waged work fail them. In Get Out, we see how poor women and women of color perform the invisible labor that holds up our society, experiencing domestic work as a kind of possession. In “coming of rage” films such as Assassination Nation and Teeth, we see the ways social reproduction leads to a futureless horizon. Robbed of their dreams but not their power to resist, these heroines emerge as the monsters and avengers we need.Trade ReviewCapitalism and patriarchy create monsters—but inside the darkness there lurks a strange utopia. In Stepford Daughters, Johanna Isaacson explores an emerging wave of horror films that get why class horror and gender horror must be understood together. In doing so, Isaacson makes the case that this often-maligned genre is in fact a place where oppressed people can understand, navigate and confront an increasingly ugly and horrifying world.What happens when your smile is no longer yours? Films like Hereditary and The Babadook show women coming apart at the seams as the promises of both the family and waged work fail them. In Get Out, we see how poor women and women of color perform the invisible labor that makes society run while experiencing domestic work as a kind of possession. In “coming of rage” films such as Assassination Nation and Teeth, we see the ways social reproduction leads to a futureless horizon. Robbed of their dreams but not their power to resist, these heroines emerge as the monsters and avengers we need.Product DetailsAuthors: Johanna IsaacsonPublisher: Common NotionsISBN: 9781942173694Published: October 2022Format: PaperbackSize: 5.5 x 8.5Page count: 208Subjects: Feminism/Social Reproduction/HorrorAbout the AuthorJohanna Isaacson writes academic and popular pieces on horror and politics. She is a professor of English at Modesto Junior College and a founding editor of Blind Field Journal. She is the author of The Ballerina and the Bull, has published widely in academic and popular journals, and runs the Facebook group "Anti-capitalist Feminists Who Like Horror Films."Advance Praise“Johanna Isaacson’s Stepford Daughters is a brilliant and critically important elucidation of how ‘class horror is gender horror’ in the twenty-first century. The book explores twenty contemporary horror films that depict how public and private, work and family, have become intertwined under neoliberal politics—and how labor at home and in the workplace has become increasingly feminized and devalued. With an incisive theoretical framework and incredibly rich and illuminating readings, Isaacson’s book offers a much-needed approach to horror, eloquently demonstrating how horror films can both diagnose the problems of neoliberal and gendered capitalism and give us monstrous figures who resist and transform.” —Dawn Keetley, editor of Jordan Peele's Get Out: Political Horror “Johanna Isaacson is a worthy successor to Robin Wood and Carol Clover, and Stepford Daughters deftly analyzes some of the most popular and accomplished contemporary horror films at the nexus of feminism and capitalism. Full of brilliant insights that apply decades of feminist theory to horror cinema, this is essential reading for horror scholars, pop culture enthusiasts, and anyone who desires a greater insight into the intersectional dynamics of the capitalist class war.” —Michael Truscello, author of Infrastructural Brutalism: Art and the Necropolitics of Infrastructure“Surveying dozens of recent horror films and engaging a rich critical archive of social reproduction theory, Stepford Daughters makes provocative and evocative interventions into contemporary cultural theory. A leading scholar in the field of horror criticism whose work is also broadly accessible, Isaacson offers readings that are at once militant and playful, and she persuasively locates in the horror genre a radical current of Marxist-feminist critique that we need now more than ever”. —Annie McClanahan, author of Dead Pledges: Debt, Crisis, and 21st-Century Culture“In this brilliant and compulsively readable book, Johanna Isaacson unpacks a bunch of recent horror films, focusing on what they tell us about gender and class oppression. Horror films in the 21st century are a kind of social realism. They hold a mirror up to social conditions that are so ubiquitous and so commonly taken for granted that we have forgotten that we can fight back against them. Isaacson shows us how horror films can work as tools for understanding, and even for social transformation.” —Steven Shaviro, DeRoy Professor of English, Wayne State University“Johanna Isaacson's Stepford Daughters draws from social reproduction to explore the way in which contemporary horror illustrates the intimacy of exploitation. It proposes not just a new understanding of recent horror films, but a groundbreaking illustration of the monstrosity of daily life under contemporary capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy.”—Jason Read, author of The Production of Subjectivity: Marx and Philosophy"Stepford Daughters is a powerful exploration of the trans-generational horror of women’s experience under contemporary capitalism. In an analysis attentive to the possibilities of horror film as a mode of realism, which explores in horror form the anxieties that shape our lives, Isaacson expertly brings together Marxism, feminism, and Queer readings into exciting new configurations. Tapping into the 21st-century horror film renaissance, Stepford Daughters offers an insightful reading of our bad times and how we might end them.” —Benjamin Noys, author of Malign Velocities: Accelerationism & Capitalism “Johanna Isaacson is one of the boldest, most lucid critics working on horror today. Stepford Daughters includes some of her most original and paradigm-defining works on the subject, opening in particular a whole new avenue of thinking regarding the intersections between class and gender in horror. Full of exciting insights and bravura readings, this book is a landmark not only for the study of horror, but for the study of contemporary cinema in general.” —Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, author of Screening Neoliberalism: Transforming Mexican Cinema, 1988–2012 "Jo Isaacson is one of Marxist feminism’s leading lights, and this box of “tools” for horror viewers is more like an arsenal, chockful of weapons with which to abolish the present state of things. Teaching us how to read both with and against the grain of domestic horror cinema, uncovering the bathtubs full of blood in the “hiddener abodes” of social reproduction, Stepford Daughters is a true triumph of cultural criticism, and beautifully written, to boot. Via entertaining and ingeniously grouped readings of movies by turns scary, gory, creepy and uncanny, Isaacson takes us on a denaturalizing journey through housework, motherhood, stratified reproduction, emotional labor, migrant and indigenous oppression, and queer monstrosity, bravely pointing towards the horizon called “abolition of the family.” In these pages, we experience the full potential of the critically utopianist “antiwork” sensibility for which Blind Field, the journal of cultural inquiry Isaacson co-founded, is best known. Inside these elegant interlocking critiques, we glimpse horizons of social possibility beyond the family, beyond whiteness, beyond gender, beyond the state, and beyond capital itself."—Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and LiberationTable of ContentsIntroduction: "Class Horror is Gender Horror"Combining Marxist and feminist analysis, it makes a case for social reproduction feminism as a theory that understands that capitalist logic is always gendered. Chapter One: "It's Coming from Inside/Outside the House: Horror as Care Strike" Discusses the horror genre as a place that doesn’t see the home as a protection from “the other,” but as itself a source of horror. For example, using the film Hereditary, which illustrates the family as a source of terror, it discusses the resurgence of a call for “family abolition.” Chapter Two: "It's Coming from Inside the Boss’s House: Horror and the Domestic Worker"This chapter explores social reproduction and horror through looking at waged domestic work. Looking at films including Housekeeping, Get Out, and La Llarona, it makes the case that while reproductive labor is often personified by the bourgoise housewife poor and women of color domestic workers and surplus populations are the most exploited and diagnostic categories of social production. Chapter Three: "It's Coming from Inside the Telltale Managed Heart: Service Labor and Emotional Labor in Horror" This chapter looks at the ways that the contemporary boom in service work leads to the expansion of emotional labor as a key element of social reproduction. Horror movies in which figures such as personal assistants and sex workers appear, give us a way to understand the problems when love becomes labor, or when a person becomes alienated from her own smile.Chapter Four: "Girls Gone Wild: Coming of Rage into the Futureless Future" This chapter explores the crisis of social production as it produces a sense of futurelessness–the contemporary girls of horror are monstrous in the sense that they threaten the social order as we know it. They are utopian in that the carry a hope that witches and final girls will not give into passivity, but fight for a new, unimaginable world. Conclusion: "Violent Femmes against Rape Economies"The book concludes with the film American Mary and a consideration of questions in feminism about rape culture and how these questions connect to theories of social reproduction.
£14.24
1984 Publishing Sleepaway Camp: Making the Movie and Reigniting
Book SynopsisAs featured in Fangoria, Movieweb, ComingSoon, Queerty, Rue Morgue, Yahoo News, Bloody Disgusting, and more!In 1983, Robert Hiltzik’s Sleepaway Camp was quickly disregarded by film reviewers. Variety called it a “tired version of teen oriented horror film formulas," The Philadelphia Enquirer "had more thrills untangling paper clips," and The Cincinnati Post branded it "more horrible than horrifying."But fans saw something different. Very different. 40 years since its release, the film’s unique blend of horror, tongue-in-cheek comedy, sexuality, and gender roles—along with an ending to end all endings, was seemingly ahead of its time. Sleepaway Camp is now discussed and debated more than when it was initially released.Longtime official Sleepaway Camp webmaster, writer, and filmmaker Jeff Hayes goes behind the scenes like never before, revealing the development and making of the film, its immediate aftermath, and the more than four decades of fandom since its release. This definitive Sleepaway Camp compendium includes interviews with much of the cast and crew (with many new exclusives), more than 75 production and memorabilia images (including previously unreleased on-set stills), and takes you backstage to the reunions, retro screenings, and convention events that have united fans and reignited interest in this beloved horror tale.Two sequels later, plus Hiltzik's retcon film Return to Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp continues to resonate in a big way with ’80s film buffs, global horror fans, and the LGBT community, all of whom enjoy their horror films…with a twist.Welcome to Sleepaway Camp. Meet you at the waterfront, after the social.Trade ReviewHoliday 2023 Gift Guide Mention: /Film."Jeff Hayes might be the absolute best person to write a book on this cult classic and the franchise it spawned...If you call yourself a Sleepaway Camp fan, you can’t live without this." — Rue MorgueTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Pre-Production2. Casting3. Production4. A Campy Environment5. Murder, Mayhem, Two Eds, and a Bill6. Revelations from the Big Climax7. Post-Production8. Frankie Vinci Interview9. Distribution/Release10. Cast and Crew Reactions11. Critics’ Reviews12. So Bad It’s Good, or Misunderstood?13. VHS Release and Cablecast14. Sleepaway Camp II and III15. The Website16. The First Big Break17. Searching for Felissa Rose18. Coming Soon: Sleepaway Camp on DVD19. Felissa’s Apartment and Interview20. Last-Minute DVD Arrangements and Commentary21. The Comeback Trail: The Sleepaway Camp Reunion22. Alamo Drafthouse / 200123. Flashback Weekend / 200224. Red Cross Box Set25. Return to Sleepaway Camp26. Sleepaway Camp Reunion 2 / 200927. Judy28. Later Releases29. Desiree Gould (Aunt Martha) / 1945-202130. A Critical Reevaluation31. Return to (the Actual) Camp Arawak / 202232. Gender and HomoeroticismFinal ThoughtsAcknowledgmentsImage CreditsAbout the Author
£13.29
Hamilcar Publications The Devil Inside: Fifty Terrifying Years of the
Book Synopsis“At a time when critics are expected to be publicists, and anything famous is ‘classic’ or ‘iconic,’ Carlos Acevedo has managed to hold the line. The Devil Inside is a sharp, hard-nosed aesthetic and cultural investigation into what everybody was throwing up about fifty years ago. It succeeds as criticism, history, and social analysis.”—Charles Taylor, film critic at Esquire, and author of Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-In Near You: The Shadow Cinema of the American ’70sIn 1973, The Exorcist left moviegoers gripping their rosary beads, vomiting in their popcorn buckets, and fainting in the sticky aisles. Cynically marketed as a cursed production based on a “true story,” The Exorcist quickly became one of the most controversial films ever released. With its groundbreaking special effects, relentless pace, and terrifying finale, the film revolutionized the horror genre and paved the way for future blockbusters.In The Devil Inside, Carlos Acevedo goes beyond the myths to examine the national uproar The Exorcist caused, as well as the dark, real-world effects it had on a jittery audience. Until now, books about The Exorcist have largely perpetuated its legends while overlooking its cultural background. The Devil Inside places the film in its cinematic and social context—as a product of the New Hollywood, when maverick directors hijacked the film industry, and as part of the supernatural trends of the times, when the occult permeated music, books, and movies. From the original possession case that inspired the novel to the troubled production to the conflicts on the set to the uptick in demands for actual exorcisms, The Devil Inside sheds new light on a shocking phenomenon that has remained a pop-culture touchstone for fifty years. Trade Review"Doggedly researched and smartly presented. A highly readable book."—Don Stradley, Film Matters"Absolutely fascinating! Carlos Acevedo takes us step by step from the 'true life' inspiration to the novel to the movie to the global feeding frenzy. He cuts through myths and embellishments, shares terrific backstage stories and bios, and offers his own first-rate film criticism. This rich work of cultural history is both highly informative and wildly entertaining."—Christopher Bram, author of Gods and Monsters“Carlos Acevedo's prose is thrilling—this isn’t a stuffy academic breakdown. I’ve loved his writing on boxing, and his film writing is equally insightful, dynamic, and addictive. The Devil Inside is required reading for fans of Friedkin and of the film and for anyone who loves great writing on cinema.”—William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out, City of Margins, and Gravesend “Acevedo brings a Mencken-at-the-Scopes-trial level of tenacity to the task of forcibly separating legend from truth when it comes to The Exorcist. [His] strategy is multipronged, combining social history and cultural analysis with the hero’s journey, behind-the-scenes lore, and showbiz gossip. He aims to dispel the hype and arrive at the material facts and the artistry that propelled them. He writes with great clarity and knowledge. . . The Devil Inside leaves almost nothing out when it comes to the film’s conception, its production, its critical legacy, and its ongoing controversies.”—City Journal“For far too long The Exorcist has been in the domain of hacks and hagiographies. In The Devil Inside, Carlos Acevedo offers a truly critical probe into one of the most unusual cinematic releases in history. Unsparing, fair, and eloquent, Acevedo leaves no stone unturned as he sloughs off decades of PR bunk and challenges the (it turns out) numerous myths promulgated by Messrs. Friedkin and Blatty. Scrupulous and panoramic, The Devil Inside delves into the original possession case that inspired the film, recounts its infamous production, and analyzes its extraordinary impact on an unsuspecting America. Acevedo shows once again, as he has long shown in his masterful boxing writing, that he is a peerless prose stylist and synthesizer of ideas.”—Sean Nam, contributor to Cineaste , and author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, Fixed Fights, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia BoxingTable of ContentsPart I - Prelude The Real Exorcism William Peter Blatty The Novel The Rise of the Occult Part II - Overture Novel into Film William Friedkin Horror Films & The New Hollywood Making of The Exorcist Phenomenon Critical and Audience Response Part III - Coda Analysis of The Exorcist Aftermath Sequels and Re-releases Cultural Touchstone
£15.29
Simon & Schuster The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema
Book SynopsisA definitive and surprising exploration of the history of Black horror films, after the rising success of Get Out, Candyman, and Lovecraft Country from creators behind the acclaimed documentary, Horror Noire.The Black Guy Dies First explores the Black journey in modern horror cinema, from the fodder epitomized by Spider Baby to the Oscar-winning cinematic heights of Get Out and beyond. This eye-opening book delves into the themes, tropes, and traits that have come to characterize Black roles in horror since 1968, a year in which race made national headlines in iconic moments from the enactment of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in April. This timely book is a must-read for cinema and horror fans alike.
£9.49
Taschen GmbH The Star Wars Archives. 1999–2005
Book SynopsisFrom the moment Star Wars burst onto the screen in 1977, audiences have been in equal parts fascinated and appalled by the half-man/half-machine hybrid Darth Vader. In 1999, creator George Lucas began the story of how Anakin Skywalker grew up to train as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, found love with the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, before turning to the dark side of his nature and becoming more machine than man. After driving the development of nascent digital technology, George Lucas perceived how he could create new creatures and new worlds on a grander scale than ever before. He created the first digital blockbuster, and met fierce resistance when he pushed for widespread digital cameras, sets, characters, and projection – all of which are now used throughout the industry. He essentially popularized the modern way of making movies. Made with the full cooperation of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, this second volume covers the making of the prequel trilogy — Episode I The Phantom Menace, Episode II Attack of the Clones, and Episode III Revenge of the Sith — and features exclusive interviews with Lucas and his collaborators. The book is profusely illustrated with script pages, production documents, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, stills, and posters.Trade Review“The best work on the greatest saga in the world... For the Star Wars fan, this book is a revelation.” * Welt am Sonntag *“The Star Wars Archives pulls off the impossible: a fresh look at one of the most picked-off franchises ever.” * Chicago Tribune *“A book from another galaxy. A must for every fan!” * stern *“A celebration of remarkable design.” * The Chicago Tribune *“If you can pick one up, you should.” * wired.co.uk *“Something like Star Wars is at least 10 times as much work as any other movie because of the breadth of ideas that have to be put into creating an entire world at all levels—from cultural to physical, it’s very difficult.” * George Lucas *„This book is without a doubt not only the best Star Wars product since the first Archives book from 2018 but also the best book about the prequels ever… it gets my highest recommendation.“ * starwarsinterviews.com *
£211.95
Transcript Verlag Fear of Aging: Old Age in Horror Fiction and Film
Book SynopsisIn the genre of horror, elderly people are often used as a trope to evoke both a fear of death and a fear of aging. Old age is therefore equated with bodily, mental, or social decline. The contributors of this book investigate what exactly we are afraid of when we posit old age as a source of horror. The aim is to harness the thrills and pleasures of horror to think about how quality of life can be improved in old age and how elderly people can be better integrated in our ever fearful and suspicious societies.
£34.39
ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon Preparing for the Global Blackout: A Disaster
Book SynopsisDead phones, chaos in hospitals, looming nuclear meltdowns: For years, experts all over the world have been warning of a widespread power blackout-and the devastating consequences for society as a whole. However, just as before the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians and the public are hardly aware of the far-reaching risks: A blackout would catch us almost completely unprepared.As for other (supposedly improbable) disruptive events, disaster movies and sci-fi series have long shown what would happen if modern society were to lose its lifeblood. Denis Newiak looks into those filmic fictions for answers to pressing questions: How can we prepare ourselves for the dramatic consequences of such a crisis? And can the collapse of modernity still be stopped?
£16.20
Amsterdam University Press Screening the Gothic in Australia and New
Book SynopsisThe persistent popularity of the detective narrative, new obsessions with psychological and supernatural disturbances, as well as the resurgence of older narratives of mystery or the Gothic all constitute a vast proportion of contemporary film and television productions. New ways of watching film and television have also seen a reinvigoration of this ‘most domestic of media’. But what does this ‘domesticity’ of genre and media look like ‘Down Under’ in the twenty.first century? This collection traces representations of the Gothic on both the small and large screens in Australia and New Zealand in the twenty.first century. It attends to the development and mutation of the Gothic in these post. or neo.colonial contexts, concentrating on the generic innovations of this temporal and geographical focus.Table of ContentsIntroduction Please Check the Signal: Screening the Gothic in the Upside Down (Jessica Gildersleeve and Kate Cantrell) Part I: Gothic Places Chapter 1 Unsettled Waters: The Postcolonial Gothic of Tidelands (Emma Doolan) Chapter 2 ‘When I Died, I Saw the Whole World’: Uncanny Space and the Maori ‘Gothic’ in the Aftermath Narratives of Waru and Maui’s Hook (Emily Holland) Chapter 3 The Kettering Incident: From Tasmanian Gothic to Antarctic Gothic (Billy Stevenson) Chapter 4 ‘Going Home is One Thing This Lot of Blockheads Can’t Do’: Unhomely Renovations on The Block (Ella Jeffery) Part II: Gothic Genres Chapter 5 Glocalizing the Gothic in Twenty-First-Century Australian Horror (Jessica Balanzategui) Chapter 6 Terra Somnambulism: Sleepwalking, Nightdreams, and Nocturnal Wanderings in the Televisual Australian Gothic (Kate Cantrell) Chapter 7 Gothic Explorations of Landscapes, Spaces, and Bodies in Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake and Top of the Lake: China Girl (Liz Shek-Noble) Chapter 8 At the End of the World: Animals, Extinction, and Death in Australian Twenty-First-Century Ecogothic Cinema (Patrick West and Luke C. Jackson) Part III: Gothic Monsters Chapter 9 Dead, and Into the World: Localness, Culture, and Domesticity in New Zealand’s What We Do in the Shadows (Lorna Piatti-Farnell) Chapter 10 Mapping Settler Gothic: Noir and the Shameful Histories of the Pakeha Middle Class in The Bad Seed (Jennifer Lawn) Chapter 11 Monstrous Victims: Women, Trauma, and Gothic Violence in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook and The Nightingale (Jessica Gildersleeve, Amanda Howell, and Nike Sulway) Chapter 12 From ‘Fixer’ to ‘Freak’: Disabling the Ambitious (Mad)Woman in Wentworth>/cite> (Corrine E. Hinton)
£101.65
Amsterdam University Press Re-Imagining the Victim in Post-1970s Horror
Book SynopsisDespite its necessary centrality within the genre, the concept of the victim has not received much direct attention within the field of horror studies. Arguably, their presence is so ubiquitous as to become invisible—the threat of horror implies the need for a victim, whose function never alters, often becoming a blank slate for audiences to project their desires and fears onto. This volume seeks to make explicit the concept of the victim within horror media and to examine their position in more detail, demonstrating that the necessity of their appearance within the genre does not equate to a simplicity of definition. The chapters within this volume cover a number of topics and approaches, examining sources from literature, film, TV, and games (both analogue and digital) to show the pervasiveness of horror’s victims, as well as the variety of their guises.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Theorizing the Victim – Marko Lukic Opening the Gate: Reconfiguring the Child Victim in Stranger Things – Lindsey Scott Black Death: Black Victims in 1980s Teen Slashers – Todd K. Platts Beyond Binaries: The Position of the Transgender Victim in Horror Narratives – Irena Jurkovic Through the Looking-Glass: The Gothic Victim in Jordan Peele's Us – Ljubica Matek Postmortem Victimhood: Necrovalue in Phantasm and Dead and Buried – Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns The Sad Killer – Perpetuating Spaces, Trauma and Violence Within the Slasher Genre – Marko Lukic “If this is the last thing you see... that means I died”: A Taxonomy of Camera-Operating Victims in Found Footage Horror Films – Peter Turner Victimhood and Rhetorical Dialectics within Clive Barker’s Faustian Fiction – Gavin F. Hurley Pain Index, Plain Suffering and Blood Measure: A Victimology of Driving Safety Films, 1955-1975 – Michael Stock Biolithic Horror: Stone Victim/Victimisers in Resident Evil Village – Merlyn Seller The Potential Victim: Horror Roleplaying Games and the Cruelty of Things – Ian Downes Bibliography Filmography
£101.65
Holland House Entertainment Oh Mother! What Have You Done?: The Making of
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£32.79
Insight Editions The Lord of the Rings: One Ring Stationery Set
Book Synopsis
£36.86
