The Hammer Story


Marcus Hearn - 2005
    The now-legendary British company went on to make such classics as Dracula (and its many sequels), making international stars out of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, changing the face of horror cinema, and inspiring a generation of Hollywood filmmakers, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.Now, for the first time, Hammer have given their active backing to an authorised history of the company, and have provided unlimited access to their archives.The Hammer Story provides a film-by-film dissection, dripping with rare promotional material and previously unpublished photographs.

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho


Stephen Rebello - 1990
    Rebello takes us behind the scenes for every step in the creation of this cinematic masterpiece-from the story's original inspiration to the controversy surrounding the creation of the famous shower scene. Drawing on new in-depth interviews as well as Hitchcock's private files, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is an eye-opening portrait of the artist at work.

The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror


David J. Skal - 1993
    Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood's classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, The Monster Show is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's obsession with the macabre.

Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide


John Stanley - 1997
    From features, made-for-televsion, and straight-to-video, here are all the films you love and hate; the films you forgot about and never knew existed. Horror and science fiction fans will find films that matter and films that splatter in one critical and humorous guide.Featuring * Thousands of capsulized reviews * A five-star rating system * Hundreds of obscure and rare titles * Video distribution informaton (including mail order) *Cross-references to secondary titles, sequels and tricky retitlings * And more.

Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits


Mark A. Vieira - 1993
    The book traces his immense impact on the portrayal of the leading stars year by year, from his arrival in California in 1925 until his departure in 1943. During that time he photographed all of the greatest personalities, at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and Columbia as well as independently. The prints come from the Chapman Collection, one of the most extensive archives of original Hurrell photographs in the world, and they include a number of rarities and surprises. Although some photos by Hurrell are familiar and frequently reproduced, most of the images in this book will come as a revelation, since they have not been published in over half a century. The genesis of the pictures is examined in a remarkable text by Mark A. Vieira, himself a highly regarded portrait photographer, who came to know Hurrell well during the photographer's later years. Vieira explains in detail Hurrell's technical feats of lighting and retouching. And drawing on firsthand accounts, he vividly re-creates the lively interplay between the photographer and his subjects at the shooting sessions in which these portraits were taken.

Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema


Jamie Russell - 2005
    Covering hundreds of movies from America, Europe and Asia, this history chronicles the zombie's on-screen evolution from Caribbean bogeyman to flesh-eating corpse.

Wes Craven: The Man and his Nightmares


John Wooley - 2011
    His masterful examination of the nightmarish nexus of dreams and reality helped spark a career that has spanned close to forty years. Then, with their mix of horror, sex, and humor, Craven's Scream movies helped revitalize the slasher film genre. An absorbing portrait of cult film director Wes Craven's life and career in film Draws on the author's new interviews with Craven, including little-known details about the director's life and work Insights into the making of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and the Scream films—the #1 horror franchise of all time Fascinating stories about the director's work with a range of producers, screenwriters, and actors, including Robert Englund Publication timing ties in with the release of Scream 4  If you've ever had nightmares about Freddy Krueger or psychopaths wearing Halloween scream masks, or if want to know more about the director behind the new Scream 4, this is one book you simply have to read.

Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever


Joe Kane - 2010
    George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead raised the bar for onscreen violence. Moviegoers were bludgeoned with horrific scenes of zombies blood-feasting on human body parts. Nothing was taboo. A six-year-old child nibbling on her daddy's arm! Plunging a garden tool into her mother's heart! More blood spewed onscreen than ever before! And yet, people returned for more--in hordes. The zombie movie phenomenon had officially been spawned. This is the true story of the flesh-eating classic that started it all.Special Features Dozens of photos too shocking to be seen until now Stomach-churning details behind the groundbreaking FX Compelling, revealing interviews with cast and crew The legacy of Night of the Living Dead for today's horror directors

Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide


Leonard Maltin - 2005
    Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide includes more than 7,000 capsule reviews of classic movies, including: The Birth of a Nation (1915), Gone With the Wind (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), High Noon (1952), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). In addition, this unique volume also offers a star and director index, a full listing of classic movies on DVD, and Leonard Maltin’s unique Top Ten lists. The result is an authoritative, dynamic guide to the classics no film aficionado should be without.

The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies: An A–Z Guide to More Than 60 Years of Blood and Guts


Peter Normanton - 2012
    From classic Hollywood masterpieces like M (1931) to the recent “torture porn” craze with flicks like the Saw franchise, this collection gives a master’s overview of the genre.

The Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead


Christian Sellers - 2010
    For the first time in 25 years, the cast and crew of all five films in this franchise reveal the stories behind the movies, offering their own opinions and details about life on the sets of some of the most fraught productions in cinema history. Supported by dozens of cast and crew members, The Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead features hundreds of previously unreleased behind-the-scenes photographs and exclusive artwork. This eye-catching, comprehensive book is the ultimate celebration of The Return of the Living Dead franchise and all those who contributed to its creation.

How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia


James Monaco - 1977
    Now, James Monaco offers a revised and rewritten third edition incorporating every major aspect of this dynamic medium right up to the present.Looking at film from many vantage points, How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia explores the medium as both art and craft, sensibility and science, tradition and technology. After examining film's close relation to such other narrative media as the novel, painting, photography, television, and even music, Monaco discusses those elements necessary to understand how films convey meaning and, more importantly, how we can best discern all that a film is attempting to communicate.In a key departure from the book's previous editions, the new and still-evolving digital context of film is now emphasized throughout How to Read a Film. A new chapter on multimedia brings media criticism into the twenty-first century with a thorough discussion of topics like virtual reality, cyberspace, and the proximity of both to film. Monaco has likewise doubled the size and scope of his Film and Media: A Chronology appendix. The book also features a new introduction, an expanded bibliography, and hundreds of illustrative black-and-white film stills and diagrams. It is a must for all film students, media buffs, and movie fans.

On Kubrick


James Naremore - 2007
    This book argues that in several respects Kubrick was one of the cinema's last modernists.

The Satanic Screen


Nikolas Schreck - 2001
    "The Satanic Screen" documents all of Satan's cinematic incarnations, covering not only the horror genre but also a whole range of sub-genres including hardcore porn, mondo and underground film. Heavily illustrated with rare still photographs, posters and arcana, the book also investigates the perennial symbiotic interplay between Satanic cinema and leading occultists (for example, Aleister Crowley), making it essential reading for anyone interested in the Black Arts and their continuing representation in populist culture.Nikolas Schreck is the editor of "The Manson File" (1988), and director of the film "Charles Manson Superstar" (1989). He is a world-respected authority on occultism and true crime.

Making Friday the 13th


David Grove - 2004
    Cunningham, Robert Englund, Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer and Tom Savini- iconography, including Jason, the hockey mask, and a body count in the hundreds