Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents [Paperback]

Stephen Thrower's "Nightmare USA" covers USA's golden era of exploitation cinema anthropology: 1970 - 1985. This 500+ page tome, replete with hundreds of ad-mats, posters, video covers and stills (including two colour sections) is nothing short of a triumph of journalistic endeavour, perseverance and research. An absolute delight to either just peruse quickly or anchor down in one of the many revelatory interviews with long-forgotten/"I thought you were dead!" protagonists. A sizeable number of these (in some cases astro-obscure) films have never been reviewed or celebrated before.

Also included is a 100+ page review section, kick-starting with "The Alchemist", through "Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio" (cited as one of the rarest videos in the world - undoubtedly!) and finishing up with Matt Cimber's "The Witch who came from the Sea".

Solid gold from start to finish, and without question one of the film books of the year (with Part 2 on the way). You won't be disappointed.

A stupendously detailed beast of a tome, Stephen Thrower's `Nightmare USA' is an utterly indispensable read, especially for any lover of the gory glory that emanates, radioactive glow-fashion, from the American cinematic underground of the 70s and early 80s. In this weighty volume, Thrower first creates and explains the context of the era, exploring precisely why America from 1970-1985 proved to be such a fertile climate for low-budget exploitation films. He goes on to chronicle the various trends and themes that pervaded the genre, before getting to the guts of the book - around 300 pages covering 23 different directors and their work, sometimes an in-depth look at a single worthy film, other times an examination of their whole oeuvre. These fascinating chapters are followed by over a hundred pages of reviews, which, if you're anything like me, may end up as a virtual shopping list for the lover of nasty obscurities.

So what makes this such a superb piece of work? Well, there's the scale and scope of it. A proposed second volume is apparently on the way, which indicates just how much fascinating, previously untouched information Thrower has unearthed. In fact, Thrower himself admits that even he was taken unawares by just how much material he was capable of mining from his beloved topic. And what material! Even in regard to films that have never crossed your path (and I defy even the most illuminated of underground cognoscenti to read this and not encounter a film previously unheard of), Thrower's enthusiastic, savvy, delightfully opinionated writing will spark fascination and possibly obsession for the films he lovingly looks over. In fact, Thrower's writing and approach to the exploitation underground in general is characterised by both intelligence and jaw-dropping dedication. 5 years in the making, the amount of painstaking research the man has undertaken has to be seen to be believed. Lengthy interviews abound, and from an aesthetic point of view, the book is filled to the brim with wonderful, lurid images both from the films themselves and associated advertising material such as posters and lobby-cards. Not simply a feast for the mind, this book is very importantly a feast for the eye too.

What is particularly refreshing about `Nightmare USA' is seeing films like these discussed with a level of insight and analysis which they deserve. Thrower is keen not simply to wallow in the sometimes morbid worlds he discusses, but to present his own insight into what he feels the films are trying to say, or are saying without trying to! But his analysis, while intellectual and often highly psychological, is not the stuff of dry academia - Thrower feels too much personal connection to the films he discusses for that, allowing him to strike a neat balance between passion and erudition.

Some personal highlights include chapters on `The Child', `Death Bed', `Messiah of Evil' and `The Strangeness' (complete with its perverse looking monster, now gracing a Code Red DVD near you!) For me, however, one the most interesting sections concerns Robert Endelson's ultra-controversial study of prejudice, `Fight For Your Life', a film which, at the time of writing I haven't seen, and I'm still not sure if I want to, but to which Thrower devotes a fascinating chapter, exploring the film's notoriety in a measured manner.

Further reading? Well, the Thrower-edited Eyeball Compendium is well worth a look, a fine compilation of articles from Thrower's influential magazine. Then there's `Beyond Terror' for Thrower's enraptured take on the Italian master, Lucio Fulci. But overall, `Nightmare USA' is a godsend to anyone willing to get grimy on a trip to the uncharted depths of American cinema - trust me, once you're in, you won't want to emerge, and if you do, you'll never be the same!

A laminated eye-grabbing cover (blood & tears wipe right off); lavish illustrations of high detail black and white and a substantial amount of solid colour plates, surrounding dense text. Something that sounds too good to be true?

Appeals to those who consider themselves 'jaded' or even just 'decadent' as far as horror is concerned..it is simply astounding that so many images and so much research into these obscure areas of exploitation could be conveyed so readily and so readable. Thoroughly accessible in design.

Unlike so many reference-styled large format books of similar ilk, this requires consistent reading, far beyond the infamous 'its on the shelf for skimming now' sensation that can occur with lesser works. Its perhaps obvious that it was designed to be almost 'definitive', in an era when that word has lost its weight with over use.

One flaw, if a flaw it be, is that i was constantly wanting more colour in my gaudy bloody fleshy images. Yet it must be understood, this would have made the price tag prohibitive with so much colour printing involved. As it is, the book is solidly wrought, polished and feels, most importantly, complete of itself. If you are decadent and jaded or simply want to be impressed by a more obsessive fan than should be able to write so well, then this is essential for the sturdier of ones bookshelves..or slid under ones bed to surprise errant paramours!