The Book of Horror

The Book of Horror PDF

Author: Matt Glasby

Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA

Published: 2020-09-22

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 0711251797

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

“Glasby anatomizes horror’s scare tactics with keen, lucid clarity across 34 carefully selected main films—classic and pleasingly obscure. 4 Stars.” —Total Film? Horror movies have never been more critically or commercially successful, but there’s only one metric that matters: are they scary? The Book of Horror focuses on the most frightening films of the post-war era—from Psycho (1960) to It Chapter Two (2019)—examining exactly how they scare us across a series of key categories. Each chapter explores a seminal horror film in depth, charting its scariest moments with infographics and identifying the related works you need to see. Including references to more than one hundred classic and contemporary horror films from around the globe, and striking illustrations from Barney Bodoano, this is a rich and compelling guide to the scariest films ever made. “This is the definitive guide to what properly messes us up.” —SFX Magazine The films: Psycho (1960), The Innocents (1961), The Haunting (1963), Don’t Look Now (1973), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), Suspiria (1977), Halloween (1978), The Shining (1980), The Entity (1982), Angst (1983), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990), Ring (1998), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Others (2001), The Eye (2002), Ju-On: The Grudge (2002), Shutter (2004), The Descent (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), The Orphanage (2007), [Rec] (2007), The Strangers (2008), Lake Mungo (2008), Martyrs (2008), The Innkeepers (2011), Banshee Chapter (2013), Oculus (2013), The Babadook (2014), It Follows (2015), Terrified (2017), Hereditary (2018), It Chapter Two (2019)

Anatomy of the Slasher Film

Anatomy of the Slasher Film PDF

Author: Sotiris Petridis

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-05-14

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1476674310

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The term "slasher film" was common parlance by the mid-1980s but the horror subgenre it describes was at least a decade old by then--formerly referred to as "stalker," "psycho" or "slice-'em-up." Examining 74 movies--from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) to Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)--the author identifies the characteristic elements of the subgenre while tracing changes in narrative patterns over the decades. The slasher canon is divided into three eras: the classical (1974-1993), the self-referential (1994-2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000-2013).

Mazes of the Serpent

Mazes of the Serpent PDF

Author: Roger B. Salomon

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2018-07-05

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1501718479

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In a compact, readable, and accessible book, Roger B. Salomon explores the nature of horror in literature and in life. Rather than minimizing horror by narrowly associating it with psychological drives, persecution, or extremism, he approaches horror through the medium of narrative as a significant and enduring physical and metaphysical reality. Salomon focuses on fictions of horror, including eighteenth-century Gothic and nineteenth-century ghost stories. He does not, however, isolate literary examples from more general human issues, including religious belief. Mazes of the Serpent takes up examples of horror from historical and personal narratives—including battle memoirs and Holocaust testimonies—as Salomon identifies certain common themes and qualities that cross the boundary between fiction and actual human experience.

White Zombie

White Zombie PDF

Author: Gary D. Rhodes

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-09-03

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1476604916

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The 1932 horror film White Zombie starring Bela Lugosi has received controversial attention from film reviewers and scholars—but it is unarguably a cult classic worthy of study. This book analyzes the film text from nearly every possible viewpoint, using both academic and popular film theories. Also supplied is an extensive intellectual history of the predecessor works to White Zombie, as well as information on the significance it carried for subsequent books and films, its theatrical release around the country, its modern cultural influence, and the attempts to restore the film to its original state. Other noteworthy features of this work include an in-depth biography of White Zombie director Victor Halperin, the first complete study of his life and career, and 244 images and photographs.

Dreadful Pleasures

Dreadful Pleasures PDF

Author: James B. Twitchell

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Dreadful Pleasures offers a lively look at those stories that make our hair stand on end--their persistence in our culture, their manifestations in art, and our need for the frissons they provide. James Twitchell traces our fascination with horror from the cave paintings at Lascaux to the "slasher" movies today. Twitchell finds that three particular stories have had a special resonance in our culture: the bloodsucker (Dracula), the deformed creature (Frankenstein), and the transformation monster (The Wolfman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Why have these stories persisted to the point of becoming mythic and to the exclusion of others? Whatever happened to the Phantom of the Opera or the Hunchback of Notre Dame or the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Using a psychoanalytic approach, Twitchell argues that the stories we seek out and preserve are th ones that carry certain information as well as horror. These myths, he contends, warn their adolescent audiences of the dangers of careless sexual behavior: they seem to say--subliminally--that sex itself is not horrible, but sex with certain people is. Whether discussing the engravings of William Hogarth or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Twitchell is consistently insightful, provocative, and entertaining. Film buffs and scholars literary critics and devotees of the Gothic novel will all welcome this study. About the Author: James B. Twitchell is Professor of English at the University of Florida, Gainesville. His previous books include GThe Living Dead: The Vampire in Romantic Literature and Romantic Horizons: Aspects of the Sublime in English Poetry and Painting.

Anatomy of a Haunting

Anatomy of a Haunting PDF

Author: Lee Strong

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Published: 2013-03-08

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 0738736031

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Imagine that you’ve inherited a house of spirits. Now imagine that the house wants you dead. For Jon and Carlie Summers, the nightmare begins when they move into an inherited home in rural Iowa. Leaving behind their busy lives in Chicago, Jon and Carlie are dragged into a horrifying spiral of violent dreams, illnesses, and possessions. Uncovering a vast evil hidden for decades in crates of buried journals, Jon and Carlie are forced to relive the sinister history of the house and its legacy of abuse, denial, and obsession. Anatomy of a Haunting is a terrifying true story about one house and its inhabitants who have been pushed to the brink of insanity and death. Through interviews and exhaustive research into the 150-year-old McPherson house, author Lee Strong delves into the history of the haunting and paints a nightmarish picture of one couple’s descent into supernatural madness. Praise: "Light a white candle before reading this book—and after you've finished. Anatomy of a Haunting is truly terrifying." —Annie Wilder, author of House of Spirits and Whispers and Trucker Ghost Stories

A Walk Through Hell: the Complete Series

A Walk Through Hell: the Complete Series PDF

Author: Garth Ennis

Publisher: Aftershock Comics

Published: 2020-07-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781949028423

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"Special Agents Shaw and McGregor handle the routine cases nowadays, which is just the way Shaw likes it. She's pushing 40, a borderline burnout, the ghastly memories of her last investigation still clinging like shadows. McGregor is younger, more dedicated, hanging onto some measure of idealism whatever the world might throw at him. Shaw and McGregor conduct the most crucial interrogation of their FBI careers amongst a tale of unimaginable, unequaled depravity that may provide the clues the two agents need to make sense of their grim surroundings" --

Nightmare Fuel

Nightmare Fuel PDF

Author: Nina Nesseth

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Published: 2022-07-26

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1250765226

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Nightmare Fuel by Nina Nesseth is a pop-science look at fear, how and why horror films get under our skin, and why we keep coming back for more. Do you like scary movies? Have you ever wondered why? Nina Nesseth knows what scares you. She also knows why. In Nightmare Fuel, Nesseth explores the strange and often unexpected science of fear through the lenses of psychology and physiology. How do horror films get under our skin? What about them keeps us up at night, even days later? And why do we keep coming back for more? Horror films promise an experience: fear. From monsters that hide in plain sight to tension-building scores, every aspect of a horror film is crafted to make your skin crawl. But how exactly do filmmakers pull this off? The truth is, there’s more to it than just loud noises and creepy images. With the affection of a true horror fan and the critical analysis of a scientist, Nesseth explains how audiences engage horror with both their brains and bodies, and teases apart the elements that make horror films tick. Nightmare Fuel covers everything from jump scares to creature features, serial killers to the undead, and the fears that stick around to those that fade over time. With in-depth discussions and spotlight features of some of horror’s most popular films—from classics like The Exorcist to modern hits like Hereditary—and interviews with directors, film editors, composers, and horror academics, Nightmare Fuel is a deep dive into the science of fear, a celebration of the genre, and a survival guide for going to bed after the credits roll. “An invaluable resource, a history of the horror genre, a love letter to the scary movie—it belongs on any horror reader’s bookshelf.” —Lisa Kröger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Monster, She Wrote At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Writing the Horror Movie

Writing the Horror Movie PDF

Author: Marc Blake

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2013-07-18

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1441195068

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Tales of horror have always been with us, from Biblical times to the Gothic novel to successful modern day authors and screenwriters. Though the genre is often maligned, it is huge in popularity and its resilience is undeniable. Marc Blake and Sara Bailey offer a detailed analysis of the horror genre, including its subgenres, tropes and the specific requirements of the horror screenplay. Tracing the development of the horror film from its beginnings in German Expressionism, the authors engage in a readable style that will appeal to anyone with a genuine interest in the form and the mechanics of the genre. This book examines the success of Universal Studio's franchises of the '30s to the Serial Killer, the Slasher film, Asian Horror, the Supernatural, Horror Vérité and current developments in the field, including 3D and remakes. It also includes step-by-step writing exercises, annotated extracts from horror screenplays and interviews with seasoned writers/directors/ producers discussing budget restrictions, screenplay form and formulas and how screenplays work during shooting.