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Product Description
Product Description
Horror is one of the most popular and influential genres in cinema, a perennial favorite that just won't stay dead. It is traditionally the province of adventurous, low-budget filmmakers, and the irreverence this encourages is part of its appeal, with taboo-busting swipes at everything from organized religion to the sanctity of family. It's no wonder, then, that it has had a rough ride from the establishment. But the genre's inventiveness and imaginative flair mean that the films listed in this volume will continue to shock and delight viewers for decades to come. A genre as enduring and wide-ranging as horror is full of neglected gems, and the increased availability of genre material from countries as far afield as Japan and Brazil has meant that experimenting with unseen films has become something of a minefield. That's where this book comes in: here a team of seasoned, top horror experts lead the way through a century of fear with authority, humor and encyclopedic knowledge. Packed with photographs of the most terrifying scenes in cinema history, this unique, definitive, comprehensive guide traces the story of horror, decade-by-decade, and provides a witty and informative critique of over 300 films from all over the world, plus many TV series and literature that informed them, offering a superb introduction for beginners as well as something new for the die-hard horror fan.
About the Author
James Marriott has written about horror films in a full-length study for Virgin Books, Horror Films, which was selected by leading UK broadsheet The Times as one of their film books of 2004, a series of essays for Creation Books and articles for magazines and websites including cult periodical Headpress ('Essential reading' - Fortean Times). Kim Newman is a novelist, critic and broadcaster. His fiction includes The Night Mayor, Anno Dracula, Life's Lottery, Back in the USSA (with Eugene Byrne) and The Man From the Diogenes Club under his own name and The Vampire Genevieve and Orgy of the Blood Parasites as Jack Yeovil. His non-fiction books include Nightmare Movies, Ghastly Beyond Belief (with Neil Gaiman), Horror. 100 Best Books (with Stephen Jones), The BFI Companion to Horror, Millennium Movies and BFI Classics studies of Cat People and Doctor Who.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fine if rather general reference guide to horror cinema, though it should be pointed out that this is an updated paperback version of Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear by the same authors. Rather confusingly the books look completely different, but most of the content of the two versions is the same. This paperback re-issue has been brought up to date to make up the "333 films" of the new title. This version is also more compact and lacks colour illustrations.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Broad-Ranging Survey of the Genre
24 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback
Picked this one up on the strength of Kim Newman's name. He's got major cred in the genre and is a prolific reviewer with a regular column in at least one magazine, offering up judgments on all manner of rarities, whether they be foreign releases, low-budget straight-to-DVD titles, or obscure old exploitation flicks. In this volume, he and his co-author and several contributors undertake a survey of notable horror films, encompassing the entire span of cinematic history up through 2009 and drawing upon the output of numerous countries, most notably the U.S., England, France, Italy, and Japan.
The book is broken into sections by decade, and each section has a preface that discusses the history of the horror movie field for that time period, tracing major developments in underlying sociopolitical concerns that inform various sub-genres, the career trajectories of notable directors, actors, and writers, and changing audience tastes and new technologies. There are also assorted sidebars that address various types of horror antagonists: vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, animals-run-amok, et cetera.
The core of the book, of course, is the 333 capsule reviews. Unlike most volumes of this type, the authors eschew detailed cast and crew listings, trusting that interested parties will look up such information on the web. Each entry consists of an exceptionally compressed plot synopsis of a paragraph or so, and then three to five paragraphs of commentary on how the movie fits into the oeuvre of the principals involved and how it reflects on contemporary issues or the ongoing evolution of the horror field. Visual styles, notable scenes, and the role of the soundtrack are also often discussed. There is a good selection of black and white photos scattered throughout the chapters, and an index of titles at the end. Overall, the movies are addressed in a short-and-sweet fashion; unlike other books of this type, there aren't any digressions into interviews with notable figures or histories of the behind-the-scenes dramas involved in the productions. The authors are not generally fans of the slasher genre, so there are comparatively few such films listed, whilst Italian titles (including several from the giallo genre) are plentifully represented, as seems typical of critical surveys coming out of the U.K.
I've seen 59 out of the 333 movies included here, which makes me want to brush up a bit and track down some of those '60s and '70s flicks I've been meaning to get around to. At the very least, this book will give me some tips on what to look for.
The book is broken into sections by decade, and each section has a preface that discusses the history of the horror movie field for that time period, tracing major developments in underlying sociopolitical concerns that inform various sub-genres, the career trajectories of notable directors, actors, and writers, and changing audience tastes and new technologies. There are also assorted sidebars that address various types of horror antagonists: vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, animals-run-amok, et cetera.
The core of the book, of course, is the 333 capsule reviews. Unlike most volumes of this type, the authors eschew detailed cast and crew listings, trusting that interested parties will look up such information on the web. Each entry consists of an exceptionally compressed plot synopsis of a paragraph or so, and then three to five paragraphs of commentary on how the movie fits into the oeuvre of the principals involved and how it reflects on contemporary issues or the ongoing evolution of the horror field. Visual styles, notable scenes, and the role of the soundtrack are also often discussed. There is a good selection of black and white photos scattered throughout the chapters, and an index of titles at the end. Overall, the movies are addressed in a short-and-sweet fashion; unlike other books of this type, there aren't any digressions into interviews with notable figures or histories of the behind-the-scenes dramas involved in the productions. The authors are not generally fans of the slasher genre, so there are comparatively few such films listed, whilst Italian titles (including several from the giallo genre) are plentifully represented, as seems typical of critical surveys coming out of the U.K.
I've seen 59 out of the 333 movies included here, which makes me want to brush up a bit and track down some of those '60s and '70s flicks I've been meaning to get around to. At the very least, this book will give me some tips on what to look for.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Perfect for gorehounds and film freaks!
2 Mar 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I consider myself a fan of grindhouse films and horror, especially of the Satanic Panic variety, and have to say this book is a phoenomenal resource, rich in detail and information. In fact, I'm using it right now as a sort of to-see list. One thing I especially like about it is the fact that it finds good things to say about even the silliest films mentioned ("Driller Killer" being an example). Only one problem (and I think other reviewers have mentioned this) is the fact that it spoils endings. I don't mind this too much and still can enjoy the films regardless, but some people might find it sort of a let-down. All in all, though, a wonderful addition to any horror fan's collection and will fit well on the shelf next to Zombie Holocaust: How the Living Dead Devoured Pop Culture, which I also highly recommend.
Studied Review
22 Dec 2011
Format:Paperback
While it is only my opinion, the book is well-done in its range but not in its depth. Moreover, while all people may do so, James Marriott and Kim Newman bring so much of their narrow, personal, and at times, calculated views into their analysis of the films. They come close to trying to "prove a negative" in reading into subtexts and meanings as such - and all the while missing many other elements.
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