Description

Book Synopsis

The horror genre harbors a number of films too bold or bizarre to succeed with mainstream audiences, but offering unique, startling and often groundbreaking qualities that have won them an enduring following. Beginning with Victor Sjostrom''s The Phantom Carriage in 1921, this book tracks the evolution and influence of underground cult horror over the ensuing decades, closing with William Winckler''s Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove in 2005. It discusses the features that define a cult film, trends and recurring symbols, and changing iconography within the genre through insightful analysis of 88 movies. Included are works by popular directors who got their start with cult horror films, including Oliver Stone, David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson.



Trade Review
Note to horror know-it-alls, do not, I repeat DO NOT make any genre-related bar bets with Bartlomiej Paszylk, because he will slay you. [Paszylk] quotes from seemingly every damn academic article, Interview and notable review related to the movies he covers, and imparts enough factoids about the flicks to make one suspect he's really just a glowing brain and a set of eyes floating in a jar, absorbing genre-related information all day.... That said, don't assume this is a stuffy academic tome. Rather, Paszylk has written knowledgeable yet approachable two-page essays on 88 movies, ranging from the silent era to the mid-2000s."—Rue Morgue

"Paszylk adopts a casual style of writing, yet his work is well researched and scholarly. This does not detract from the book, indeed, it makes it more accessible...wryly entertaining and observant...extremely intelligent but warmly embracing."—Hellnotes

"I found everything I wanted to know about my cult fave films in this comprehensive volume...brilliant."—The Tomb of Dark Delights

Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • PART I: THE ROOT OF ALL HORROR
  • The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen) (1921)
  • Between Two Worlds (Der Müde Tod) (1921
  • Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
  • The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
  • Faust (Faust—Eine Deutsche Volkssage) (1926)
  • Vampyr (Vampyr, Der Traum des Allan Grey) (1931)
  • The Old Dark House (1932)
  • Doctor X (1932)
  • Freaks (1932)
  • White Zombie (1932)
  • WereWolf of London (1935)
  • Mad Love (1935)
  • Mark of the Vampire (1935)
  • PART II: MONSTERS AND MADMEN
  • Dr. Cyclops (1940)
  • The Mad Monster (1942)
  • I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
  • The Body Snatcher (1945)
  • Dead of Night (1945)
  • The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
  • The Thing from Another World (1951)
  • House of Wax (1953)
  • Tarantula (1955)
  • The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
  • The Fly (1958)
  • I Bury the Living (1958)
  • Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
  • A Bucket of Blood (1959)
  • Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)
  • Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) (1959)
  • PART III: TO SCARE THE WORLD
  • Black Sunday (1960)
  • The Blancheville Monster (1963)
  • Blood Feast (1963)
  • At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma) (1964)
  • Kwaidan (Kaidan) (1964)
  • The Saragossa Manuscript (Rdkopis Znaleziony w Saragossie) (1965)
  • Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
  • The Reptile (1966)
  • The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
  • The Sorcerers (1967)
  • Viy (1967)
  • Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen) (1968)
  • The Cremator (SpalovaV Mrtvol) (1968)
  • Murder à la Mod (1968)
  • The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo) (1970)
  • Lizard in a Woman's Skin (Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Donna) (1971)
  • Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
  • Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
  • Raw Meat (1972)
  • Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
  • Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
  • Horror Express (1973)
  • Seizure (1974)
  • Frightmare (1974)
  • Black Christmas (1974)
  • The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
  • The Beast (La Bête) (1975)
  • Shivers (1975)
  • The House with Laughing Windows (La Casa dalle Finestre Che Ridono) (1976)
  • Eraserhead (1977)
  • Martin (1977)
  • I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
  • The Driller Killer (1979)
  • PART IV: THE NASTY EIGHTIES
  • Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
  • Hell of the Living Dead (Inferno dei Morti Viventi) (1980)
  • Possession (1981)
  • The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante) (1982)
  • Basket Case (1982)
  • Escape 2000 (1982)
  • Swamp Thing (1982)
  • Q—The Winged Serpent (1982)
  • Sleepaway Camp (1983)
  • The Toxic Avenger (1985)
  • Bad Taste (1987)
  • Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
  • Night of the Demons (1988)
  • Society (1989)
  • PART V: THE NEW WEIRDNESS
  • Begotten (1991)
  • Benny's Video (1992)
  • Schramm (1993)
  • Dark Waters (1994)
  • The Day of the Beast (El Día de la Bestia) (1995)
  • The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
  • No Such Thing (2001)
  • Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
  • The Stink of Flesh (2004)
  • Calvaire (2004)
  • Lunacy (Sílení) (2005)
  • William Winckler's Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove (2005)
  • Bibliography
  • Index

    The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films

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      A Paperback by Bartlomiej Paszylk

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        Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc
        Publication Date: 1/27/2020 12:07:00 AM
        ISBN13: 9781476681788, 978-1476681788
        ISBN10: 1476681783

        Description

        Book Synopsis

        The horror genre harbors a number of films too bold or bizarre to succeed with mainstream audiences, but offering unique, startling and often groundbreaking qualities that have won them an enduring following. Beginning with Victor Sjostrom''s The Phantom Carriage in 1921, this book tracks the evolution and influence of underground cult horror over the ensuing decades, closing with William Winckler''s Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove in 2005. It discusses the features that define a cult film, trends and recurring symbols, and changing iconography within the genre through insightful analysis of 88 movies. Included are works by popular directors who got their start with cult horror films, including Oliver Stone, David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson.



        Trade Review
        Note to horror know-it-alls, do not, I repeat DO NOT make any genre-related bar bets with Bartlomiej Paszylk, because he will slay you. [Paszylk] quotes from seemingly every damn academic article, Interview and notable review related to the movies he covers, and imparts enough factoids about the flicks to make one suspect he's really just a glowing brain and a set of eyes floating in a jar, absorbing genre-related information all day.... That said, don't assume this is a stuffy academic tome. Rather, Paszylk has written knowledgeable yet approachable two-page essays on 88 movies, ranging from the silent era to the mid-2000s."—Rue Morgue

        "Paszylk adopts a casual style of writing, yet his work is well researched and scholarly. This does not detract from the book, indeed, it makes it more accessible...wryly entertaining and observant...extremely intelligent but warmly embracing."—Hellnotes

        "I found everything I wanted to know about my cult fave films in this comprehensive volume...brilliant."—The Tomb of Dark Delights

        Table of Contents
        • Introduction
        • PART I: THE ROOT OF ALL HORROR
        • The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen) (1921)
        • Between Two Worlds (Der Müde Tod) (1921
        • Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
        • The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
        • Faust (Faust—Eine Deutsche Volkssage) (1926)
        • Vampyr (Vampyr, Der Traum des Allan Grey) (1931)
        • The Old Dark House (1932)
        • Doctor X (1932)
        • Freaks (1932)
        • White Zombie (1932)
        • WereWolf of London (1935)
        • Mad Love (1935)
        • Mark of the Vampire (1935)
        • PART II: MONSTERS AND MADMEN
        • Dr. Cyclops (1940)
        • The Mad Monster (1942)
        • I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
        • The Body Snatcher (1945)
        • Dead of Night (1945)
        • The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
        • The Thing from Another World (1951)
        • House of Wax (1953)
        • Tarantula (1955)
        • The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
        • The Fly (1958)
        • I Bury the Living (1958)
        • Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
        • A Bucket of Blood (1959)
        • Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)
        • Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) (1959)
        • PART III: TO SCARE THE WORLD
        • Black Sunday (1960)
        • The Blancheville Monster (1963)
        • Blood Feast (1963)
        • At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma) (1964)
        • Kwaidan (Kaidan) (1964)
        • The Saragossa Manuscript (Rdkopis Znaleziony w Saragossie) (1965)
        • Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
        • The Reptile (1966)
        • The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
        • The Sorcerers (1967)
        • Viy (1967)
        • Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen) (1968)
        • The Cremator (SpalovaV Mrtvol) (1968)
        • Murder à la Mod (1968)
        • The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo) (1970)
        • Lizard in a Woman's Skin (Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Donna) (1971)
        • Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
        • Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
        • Raw Meat (1972)
        • Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
        • Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
        • Horror Express (1973)
        • Seizure (1974)
        • Frightmare (1974)
        • Black Christmas (1974)
        • The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
        • The Beast (La Bête) (1975)
        • Shivers (1975)
        • The House with Laughing Windows (La Casa dalle Finestre Che Ridono) (1976)
        • Eraserhead (1977)
        • Martin (1977)
        • I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
        • The Driller Killer (1979)
        • PART IV: THE NASTY EIGHTIES
        • Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
        • Hell of the Living Dead (Inferno dei Morti Viventi) (1980)
        • Possession (1981)
        • The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante) (1982)
        • Basket Case (1982)
        • Escape 2000 (1982)
        • Swamp Thing (1982)
        • Q—The Winged Serpent (1982)
        • Sleepaway Camp (1983)
        • The Toxic Avenger (1985)
        • Bad Taste (1987)
        • Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
        • Night of the Demons (1988)
        • Society (1989)
        • PART V: THE NEW WEIRDNESS
        • Begotten (1991)
        • Benny's Video (1992)
        • Schramm (1993)
        • Dark Waters (1994)
        • The Day of the Beast (El Día de la Bestia) (1995)
        • The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
        • No Such Thing (2001)
        • Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
        • The Stink of Flesh (2004)
        • Calvaire (2004)
        • Lunacy (Sílení) (2005)
        • William Winckler's Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove (2005)
        • Bibliography
        • Index

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