Golden Horrors

From the grindhouse oddities to major studio releases, this work details 46 horror films released during the genre’s golden era. Each entry includes cast and credits, a plot synopsis, in-depth critical analysis, contemporary reviews, time of release, brief biographies of the principal cast and crew, and a production history. Apart from the 46 main entries, 71 additional “borderline horrors” are examined and critiqued in an appendix.

From the silent-film era to the blockbusters of today, Horror Unmasked is a fun-filled, highly illustrated dive into the past influences and present popularity of the horror film genre. The horror film’s pop-culture importance is undeniable, from its early influences to today’s most significant and exciting developments in the genre. Since 1990, the production of horror films has risen exponentially worldwide, and in 2021, horror films earned an estimated $580 million in ticket sales, not to mention how the genre has expanded into books, fashion, music, and other media throughout the world. Horror has long been the most popular film genre, and more horror movies have been made than any other kind. We need them. We need to be scared, to test ourselves, laugh inappropriately, scream, and flinch. We need to get through them and come out, blinking, still in one piece. This comprehensive guide features: A thorough discussion on monster movies and B-movies (The Thing; It Came from Outer Space; The Blob) The destruction of the American censorship system (Blood Feast; The Night of the Living Dead; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) International horror, zombies, horror comedies, and horror in the new millennium (Matango; Suspiria; Ghostbusters) A dissection of the critical reception of modern horror (Neon Demon; Pan’s Labyrinth; Funny Games) Stunning movie posters and film stills, plus fan-made tributes to some of the most lauded horror franchises in the world (Aliens; the Evil Dead; The Hills Have Eyes; Scream) A perfect reference and informational book for horror fans and those interested in its cultural influence worldwide, Horror Unmasked provides a general introduction to the genre, serves as a guidebook to its film highlights, and celebrates its practitioners, trends, and stories.

Karl Freund is the most important film pioneer you've never heard of. From the silent film era to the rise of the American sitcom, Freund was there at every turn. Countless camera techniques can be traced back to his "unchained camera." His lighting setup for filming I Love Lucy live remains standard to this day. He was the man behind the lens for many influential and award-winning films, from Metropolis to The Good Earth to Key Largo. This biography is the first book-length look at one of the world's greatest cameramen. It details the events of his early life, his entrance into the world of film, his work in both Germany and America, and his legacy, while also putting his life and films into the historical context of the 20th century. The author gives particular attention to Freund's role in the early horror films Der Golem, Dracula, Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mummy, and Mad Love.

In the Silent Era, film reissues were a battle between rival studios—every Mary Pickford new release in 1914 was met with a Pickford re-release. For 50 years after the Silent Era, reissues were a battle between the studios, who considered old movies “found money,” and cinema owners, who often saw audiences reject former box office hits. In the mid–1960s, the return of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)—the second biggest reissue of all time—altered industry perceptions, and James Bond double features pushed the revival market to new heights. In the digital age, reissues have continued to confound the critics. This is the untold hundred-year story of how old movies saved new Hollywood. Covering the booms and busts of a recycling business that became its own industry, the author describes how the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart and Alfred Hitchcock won over new generations of audiences, and explores the lasting appeal of films like Napoléon (1927), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Rocky Horror Show (1975) and Blade Runner (1982).

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2023 The Myth of Harm engages and analyses controversies generated by horror that examines some of the most high-profile media debates around the issue of whether or not horror texts corrupt children. The horror genre has endured a long and controversial success within popular culture. Fraught with accusations pertaining to its alleged ability to harm and corrupt young people and indeed society as a whole, the genre is constantly under pressure to suppress that which has made it so popular to begin with - its ability to frighten and generate discussion about society's darker side. Recognising the circularity of patterns in each generational manifestation of horror censorship, The Myth of Harm draws upon cases such as the Slenderman stabbing and the James Bulger murder amongst many others in order to explore the manner in which horror has been repeatedly cast as a harmful influence upon children at the expense of scrutinising other more complex social issues. Focusing on five major controversies beginning in the 1930's Golden Age of Horror Cinema and ending on a more contemporary note with Cyber-Gothic horror – this book identifies and considers the various myths and false hoods surrounding the genre of horror and question the very motivation behind the proliferation and dissemination of these myths as scapegoats for political and social issues, platforms for “moral entrepreneurs” and tools of hyperbolae for the news industry.

GOLDEN WONDER inter alia is about love and its "sweet misery". Love is like heaven, but sure can hurt like hell. Love as Victor Hugo said, "The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of single being even to God", where, in Bill Wilson's words, "to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the God". Francis Bacon says that it is impossible to love and to be wise. Love is also variously defined as being stupid together. This volume of love poetry is about that stupidity.Love is called as crazy. It grows beyond human senses, perceptions and consciousness. It knows no human laws. Maslow's Needs Hierarchy has no use for it. Neither basic needs nor the highest need of self-actualization can ever stand up to the magical height of the love. The beauty of love lies in the entire sum of existence revolving around the magic of being needed by one person. Love is when hurting her will hurt you more. It is not that you can't live without her; it is just that you don't even want to try. "Golden Wonder" is about this madness.The treasure of love is unique and unparalleled. Felix Adler elegantly describes the nature of love when he says, "that each include the other, each is enriched by the other". Hans Margolius gives expression to the same thought when he says that one man by himself is nothing, two people who belong together make a world.Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. It is in this reference that great Kahlil Gibran says that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. "Golden Wonder" is simply a probe to the depth, and comes out with the conclusion in the words of Pearl Baileg that the sweetest joy, the wildest woe is love. Love reminds you that nothing else matter. Love is a light that shines from heart to heart and feels what the other is feeling even if they are far away. All these live and lovely layers of love are deeply probed in the Hundred and Thirty Eight poems of this anthology.Love in these love poems of is modeled after Priya Chaitra Tapasvini--the paragon of sublime conscience and conscious moral rectitude, most charming and most wonderful creation of pure beauty, devotion, love and sacrifice ever born in this world; most perfect and prettiest in all worlds. This volume of poetry is lovingly dedicated to that exquisite wonder God has ever created."Golden Wonder" is an extension forming the second volume of the collection of love poems, "Simply Yours", and covers all the love poems composed since the publication of the latter in 2009.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871.