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In a now-famous interview with François Truffaut in 1962, Alfred Hitchcock described his masterpiece Rear Window (1954) as "the purest expression of a cinematic idea." But what, precisely, did Hitchcock mean by pure cinema? Was pure cinema a function of mise en scène, or composition within the frame? Was it a function of montage, "of pieces of film assembled"? This notion of pure cinema has intrigued and perplexed critics, theorists, and filmmakers alike in the decades following this discussion....

A cornerstone of the resurgence in Spanish horror cinema, [REC] (2007) is a propulsive single-location ‘found-footage’ film in which a news reporter and her cameraman investigate an incident at a Barcelona apartment building. Beginning with a discussion of the aesthetic choices of co-directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, Jim Harper’s Devil’s Advocate assesses the various political and social themes present in [REC], in particular the range of human responses to crisis situations and the thre...

From Rosemary's Baby (1968) to The Witch (2015), horror films use religious entities to both inspire and combat fear and to call into question or affirm the moral order. Churches provide sanctuary, clergy cast out evil, religious icons become weapons, holy ground becomes battleground-but all of these may be turned from their original purpose. This collection of new essays explores fifty years of genre horror in which manifestations of the sacred or profane play a material role. The contributor...

On the 200th anniversary of the first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Transmedia Creatures: Frankenstein's Afterlives presents studies of Frankenstein by international scholars from converging disciplines such as humanities, musicology, film studies, television studies, English and digital humanities. These innovative contributions investigate the afterlives of a novel taught in a disparate array of courses - Frankenstein disturbs and transcends boundaries, be they political, ethical, th...

Deadly forces are about to be awakened …In the degenerate, unliked backwater of Dunwich, Wilbur Whately, a most unusual child, is born. Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy’s arrival simply precedes that of a true horror: one of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night, fearful for their lives, by day able only to trace the wreckage wrought by the gigantic, unseen monster. In this and other tales of the macabre, H....

Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (b. 1935) is best known for his critically and commercially successful films The French Connection and The Exorcist. Unlike other film school-educated filmmakers of the directors' era, Friedkin got his start as a mailroom clerk at a local TV station and worked his way up to becoming a full-blown Hollywood filmmaker by his thirties. His rapid rise behind the camera from television director to Oscar winner came with self-confidence and unorthodox met...

Although ostensibly presented as “light entertainment,” the work of writer-director-producer Joss Whedon takes much dark inspiration from the horror genre to create a unique aesthetic and perform a cultural critique. Featuring monsters, the undead, as well as drawing upon folklore and fairy tales, his many productions both celebrate and masterfully repurpose the traditions of horror for their own means. Woofter and Jowett’s collection looks at how Whedon revisits existing feminist tropes in the...

Since its release at the mid-point of the 1980s American horror boom, Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985) has endured as one of the most beloved cult horror films of that era. Greeted by enthusiastic early reviews, Re-Animator has maintained a spot at the periphery of the classic horror film canon. While Re-Animator has not entirely gone without critical attention, it has often been overshadowed in horror studies by more familiar titles from the period. Eddie Falvey's book, which represents the f...

Universal Studios created the first cinematic universe of monsters--Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and others became household names during the 1930s and 1940s. During the 1950s, more modern monsters were created for the Atomic Age, including one-eyed globs from outer space, mutants from the planet Metaluna, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the 100-foot high horror known as Tarantula. This over-the-top history is the definitive retrospective on Universal's horror and science fict...

The second of two official companion books for the Zack Snyder-directed Netflix films Rebel Moon taking an exclusive in-depth look at the heroes and villains, monsters and animals. From Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making. When a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, Kora (Sofia Bou...

This is a comprehensive overview of zombie movies in the first 11 years of the new millennium, the most dynamic and vital period yet in the history of the zombie genre. The compendium serves not only as a follow-up to its predecessor volume (The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia McFarland 2011 [2001]), which covered movies from 1932 up until the late 1990s, but also as a fresh exploration of what uniquely defines the genre in the 2000s. In-depth entries provide critical analysis of the zombie as creatur...

This illustrated book features the many versions of Godzilla and its monstrous foes, from the original 1954 movie to SHIN GODZILLA in 2016, and even the 2021 animation. With in-depth explanations accompanied by illustrations from renowned manga artist and monster designer Shinji Nishikawa, this 216-page book explores the powers and anatomy of over 100 kaiju, including Mechagodzilla, SHIN GODZILLA and Mothra! Nishikawa worked on the monster designs for many Godzilla movies from 1989 to 2004, and...

The official art book for the movie Thor: The Dark World, the 7th title reissue of the 24-book Marvel Studios: The Infinity Saga series published as a resized matching set. The 7th of the 24 Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga film titles being published as a complete set. Packed with exclusive content, this fully illustrated tome is a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of bringing a god and his worlds to life on the big screen. Follow the film’s complete artistic...