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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 07/08/2008 : 4:42:33 PM
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Digging through some old boxes the other day, I dusted off my copy of "Classics of the Horror Film" by William K. Everson. Everson wrote his tome back in the early '70s when the genre was in transition. Grand Guignol was dead; overt, gorier, more manipulative horror was on the rise, as evident by the commercial and critical success of The Exorcist, which had been released in the months prior to the book's release.
I enjoyed leafing through Everson's book again, even though I find Everson to be somewhat a stick-in-the-mud given his cinematic tastes. Everson, for those who've never read him, is one of those film critics who feels compelled to lavish praise on just about every movie so long as it was made during Hollywood's so-called golden age. Thus, a creaky oldie like James Whale's The Old Dark House receives endless accolades while Robert Wise's far-superior The Haunting, released two decades later, is barely remarked upon, and then only condescendingly.
I also happened across another of my old books, and this one I truly cherish: "A Pictorial History of Horror Films" by Denis Gifford. Gifford's work was released around the same time as Everson's. Gifford's approach is less scholarly, more inclusive, and therefore less stuffy than that of his contemporary. As the title suggests, his book is rich with photographs, many of which prior to the Internet you would've been unable to find anywhere else. Gifford's text is also highly readable. A shame his books are all out of print now, but if you're lucky you might be able to find a local library that still carries it.
Any other reading suggestions? |
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Nlneff
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
84 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 5:44:44 PM
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Danse Macabre by Stephan King. More about Horror in General, but still a must read
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TVsGrady
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
671 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 6:36:38 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Nlneff
Danse Macabre by Stephan King. More about Horror in General, but still a must read
I second that.
***
"If you really want to irritate a flaming screaming skull, turn him toward something highly unpleasant, like, say, a Rob Schneider movie. He has no eyelids and no way to turn away. It's fun!"-Michael J. Nelson
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http://tvsgrady.livejournal.com |
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TimLehnerer
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 5:28:17 PM
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Danny Peary's three movies on cult movies, coincidentally called CULT MOVIES, CULT MOVIES 2 and CULT MOVIES 3. They're not specifically all about horror films, but there's plenty of of content there for horror fans.
David Skal's THE MONSTER SHOW for a cultural reading of horror films from the late 1930s to the early 1990s.
Roger Ebert's THE GREAT MOVIES books have plenty of entries on horror films as well. |
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Ken HPoJ
Supreme Potentate
USA
1530 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 5:58:56 PM
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Any of the generally excellent books put out by McFarland Press, although those tend to be on exact topics, either studios (Universal, Hammer, Poverty Row), subgenres (vampires, zombies, Mexican wrestler horror, etc.) or time periods. These tomes are often massive, and usually kind of pricy, so I suggest (naturally) getting them via your local library. If they don't carry them, they probably have a system to get them for you from another library. Go to mcfarlandpub.com to get a list of their many, many great genre film books.
If you *do* buy any--I have over a dozen McFarland's, and they're all worth the money--please consider clicking on one of my Amazon links at Jabootu.net if you purchase through them. First, though, check fetchbook.info to see where you can buy the cheapest copy. If it's not Amazon, don't worry about it.
Suggested titles? John Soister's excellent Of Gods and Monsters for the Universals of the '30s. Universal Horrors by Tom Weaver covers the '40s, as well. Two huge and quite detailed volumes are John Kenneth Muir's Horror Films of the 1970s, and his similar book for the 1980s. Horror 101 is well reviewed, at Amazon by customers at least. Rigby's American Gothic and English Gothic are well regarded. The best book on a single work is Hollywood Gothic by David Skal, which covers in fascinating detail Stoker's novel Dracula through its stage adaptations and then the filming of Nosferatu and Lugosi's Dracula.
Phil Hardy used to edit the Encyclopedia of Horror Films, but the nature of the beast is that those fall out of form very quickly.
PEGGY: I don't see how having a girl on the team would ruin it. Did a woman judge ruin the Supreme Court?
HANK: Yes, and that woman's name was Earl Warren.
--King of the Hill |
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niccolom
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Canada
118 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2008 : 7:29:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by TVsGrady
[quote]Originally posted by Nlneff
Danse Macabre by Stephan King. More about Horror in General, but still a must read
I second that.
Whole hardly agree. I only wish King would update the book since it's some what dated.
"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk."
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez, aka "Tuco," aka "the Rat," aka "Ugly," aka "il Cattivo" |
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