The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films

An Historical Survey

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by Bartlomiej Paszylk

Type

Studies

Subject

Genre > Horror

Keywords

horror, sociology

Publishing date

2020

Publisher

McFarland & Co

1st publishing

2009

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 248 pages
7 x 10 inches (18 x 25.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4766-8178-8

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Book Presentation:
The horror genre harbors a number of films too bold or bizarre to succeed with mainstream audiences, but offering unique, startling and often groundbreaking qualities that have won them an enduring following. Beginning with Victor Sjostrom's The Phantom Carriage in 1921, this book tracks the evolution and influence of underground cult horror over the ensuing decades, closing with William Winckler's Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove in 2005. It discusses the features that define a cult film, trends and recurring symbols, and changing iconography within the genre through insightful analysis of 88 movies. Included are works by popular directors who got their start with cult horror films, including Oliver Stone, David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson.

About the Author:
Bartlomiej Paszylk is the author of the Polish-language horror film history Leksykon filmowego horroru. His articles, reviews and interviews have been published in popular magazines and websites in both Poland and the United States. He is the editor of the magazine Czachopismo.

Press Reviews:
"Note to horror know-it-alls; do not, I repeat DO NOT make any genre-related bar bets with Bartlomiej Paszylk, because he will slay you. [Paszylk] quotes from seemingly every damn academic article, Interview and notable review related to the movies he covers, and imparts enough factoids about the flicks to make one suspect he’s really just a glowing brain and a set of eyes floating in a jar, absorbing genre-related information all day...That said, don’t assume this is a stuffy academic tome. Rather, Paszylk has written knowledgeable yet approachable two-page essays on 88 movies, ranging from the silent era to the mid-2000s"―Rue Morgue; "Paszylk adopts a casual style of writing, yet his work is well researched and scholarly. This does not detract from the book; indeed, it makes it more accessible...wryly entertaining and observant...extremely intelligent but warmly embracing"―Hellnotes; "I found everything I wanted to know about my cult fave films in this comprehensive volume...brilliant"―The Tomb of Dark Delights.

See the publisher website: McFarland & Co