The Spark of Modernism
Twenty Speculative Stories and Writings That Defined an Era, 1886–1939
Edited by William Gillard, James Reitter and Robert Stauffer
Summary: N/A
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9109-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4946-7
Imprint: McFarland
Order from Most Sites… $39.95
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Darkening the Italian Screen II
Interviews with Genre and Exploitation Directors Who Debuted in the 1970s
Eugenio Ercolani
Summary: Serving as a detailed portrait of one of the most important, bustling, and absurd industries cinemas has ever known, this work consists of colorful essays and nine career-spanning interviews with Italian genre directors of the 1970s, such as Luigi Cozzi, Francesco Barilli, Lamberto Bava and more. The directors reflect on their careers, successes, failures, and experiences directing films in the Italian westerns, sci-fi and horror genres. Following the anecdotes, gossip, controversies and first-hand accounts of the industry, the featured essays employ critical and historical analysis to fully unveil the fresco of Italian genre cinema, as well as its impact on the evolution of cinema across the world.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 234
Bibliographic Info: ca. 35 photos, glossary, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9036-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4926-9
Imprint: McFarland
Order from Most Sites…$39.95
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https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/darkening-the-italian-screen-ii-eugenio-ercolani/1142330256
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Timelines of Terror
The Fractured Continuities of Horror Film Sequels
Josh Spiegel
Summary: How did Friday the 13th begin as a movie about a grieving mother killing camp counselors and spawn a movie in which a nanobot enhanced, hockey masked man destroys a space station? Similarly, how did A Nightmare on Elm Street evolve from a film by Wes Craven about Freddy Krueger into a film about Wes Craven making a Freddy Krueger movie? Film series are destined to change with time, but horror film series are often unrecognizable after multiple sequels and reboots.
This work examines horror films and their sequels to determine the glue that holds individual franchises together, which films matter to a series’ continuity, which should be considered as canon, and what goes into the process of continuing—or, in some cases, abandoning—the overarching storyline. Series covered include Friday the 13th, Halloween, Child’s Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Leprechaun, and Scream.
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 156
Bibliographic Info: ca. 55 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9165-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4923-8
Imprint: McFarland
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/timelines-of-terror/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/timelines-of-terror-josh-spiegel/1142795091
***** ***** *****
Conrad Veidt, Demon of the Silver Screen: His Life and Works in Context
by Sabine Schwientek
Thoughts on Book: “Splendid… Here, in the English translation of Dämon der Leinwand, Dr. Schwientek guides those many legions of Veidt’s fans and followers not fließend Deutsch (fluent in German) through the actor’s tragically brief life, his fascinating career, and the development of the cinema into a fascinating art form.”—John T. Soister, author of Conrad Veidt on Screen
“Conrad Veidt studies benefit tremendously from Sabine Schwientek’s wonderful book on the film actor whose work included everything from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) to Casablanca (1943). Highly recommended.”—Gary D. Rhodes, Ph.D., author of The Birth of the American Horror Film
“I first liked Conrad Veidt the actor. When I was growing up, most of his English-language films were shown regularly on TV…But when I learned of his humanitarian efforts before and during WWII, I became a fan of Conrad Veidt the man. Conrad Veidt deserves to be remembered for both reasons, his great acting and his great humanitarian activism, and Sabine’s book captures both the actor and the man wonderfully.”—Barbara Peterson, president, Conrad Veidt Society
“Conrad Veidt was one of the great actors of the German screen and a courageous man as well so it’s shocking so little has been written about him. Sabine Schwientek here does much to correct this injustice with a very detailed biography of Veidt and a close examination of his work in film and on stage. Though his German period gets a heavy emphasis, his time in England and later the United States is also covered thoroughly. Fans of horror are apt to emphasize Veidt’s appearance in Caligari while lovers of vintage film remember him mainly for his Nazi major in Casablanca but Schwientek outlines in her book how much more there was to his extraordinary career.”—Henry Nicolella, author of Frank Wisbar, the Director of Ferryman Maria, from Germany to America and Back
“A comprehensive account of a giant of German cinema in the 1920s and 30s who resisted the rise of Nazism and in 1935 was forced into exile in Britain and the United States where he continued to struggle against racism, antisemitism, and homophobia. … Conrad Veidt’s sympathy for the marginalized homosexual and his pioneering resistance to the rising tide of antisemitism in Jew Süß, a sympathetic portrayal of a Jewish victim of persecution, provide Schwientek with an opportunity to describe and define the social and political currents that shaped Veidt’s career. In our day, a time of global environmental, social, and political crisis, a German voice of resistance to Nazi racism and authoritarianism is extremely relevant. Speaking uncomfortable truth to your own people on behalf of the marginalized, despised, and persecuted is the essence of a true nobility that resides not in blood but in courage and compassion.”—Charles McCollester, past president of the Pennsylvania Labor History Society and the Battle of Homestead Foundation
Publisher: McFarland (April 11, 2023)
Language: English
Paperback: 277 pages
ISBN-10: 1476690812
ISBN-13: 978-1476690810
$49.95
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https://www.amazon.com/Conrad-Veidt-Demon-Silver-Screen/dp/1476690812
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Journeys into Terror
Essays from the Cinematic Intersection of Travel and Horror
Edited by Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper
Summary: Since ancient times, explorers and adventurers have captured popular imagination with their frightening narratives of travels gone wrong. Usually, these stories heavily feature the exotic or unknown, and can transform any journey into a nightmare. Stories of such horrific happenings have a long and rich history that stretches from folktales to contemporary media narratives. This work presents eighteen essays that explore the ways in which these texts reflect and shape our fear and fascination surrounding travel, posing new questions about the “geographies of evil” and how our notions of “terrible places” and their inhabitants change over time. The volume’s five thematic sections offer new insights into how power, privilege, uncanny landscapes, misbegotten quests, hellish commutes, and deadly vacations can turn our travels into terror.
$49.95
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 209
Bibliographic Info: ca. 15 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8435-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4910-8
Imprint: McFarland
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/journeys-into-terror/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/journeys-into-terror-cynthia-j-miller/1142330240
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Dimensions of the Fantastic
A Theory of the Unknown from Stoker’s Dracula to Little Marvin’s Them
Daniel Ferreras Savoye
Summary: N/A
$55.00
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8930-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4889-7
Imprint: McFarland
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/dimensions-of-the-fantastic/
***** ***** *****
Not of the Living Dead
The Non-Zombie Films of George A. Romero
By: Noah Simon Jampol, Cain Miller, Leah Richards, and John R. Ziegler
$49.95
Summary: A killer monkey. Suburban witchcraft. Motorcycle jousting. A cockroach invasion. Despite this enticing list of other subjects, George A. Romero is best known for the genre-defining 1968 film Night of the Living Dead and subsequent zombie films. The non-zombie films in his decades-long career have gotten varied degrees of critical examination but they remain underexamined compared to the Dead flicks. This book focuses on Romero’s “other” work, highlighting lesser-known films such as There’s Always Vanilla (1971) and Bruiser (2000), as well as more popular films such as Martin (1977) and The Crazies (1973). It examines how his body of work participates in social critique by delving into issues such as capitalism’s pitfalls and excesses, domestic and racial power imbalances, and our patriarchal culture’s expectations of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality.
March 14, 2023
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: 12 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8568-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4835-4
Imprint: McFarland
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https://www.amazon.com/Not-Living-Dead-Non-Zombie-George/dp/1476685681/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-of-the-living-dead-noah-simon-jampol/1142597775
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Terror Down Under
A History of Horror Film in Australia, 1897–1973
By: Daniel Best
Summary: In 1948, the Australian government banned the production, importation, and exhibition of horror films in a move to appease religious communities and entertainment watchdogs. Drawing upon previously unseen government documents, private letters and contemporary newspaper accounts, this book is the first to extensively cover the history of censorship and the early production of horror movies in Australia. Beginning its examination in the late 19th century, the book documents the earliest horror films like Georges Méliès’ The Haunted Castle (1896), and how Australians enjoyed such films before the ban.
The book then explains how certain imports, like 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon, were able to circumvent the ban while others were not. It also reveals how Australian television, though similarly impacted by government censorship, was occasionally able to broadcast films technically banned from cinematic release. The work concludes with a look at the first Australian horror films produced after the ban was formally lifted in 1969, like Terry Bourke’s Night of Fear (1973).
May 14, 2023
$39.95
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 204
Bibliographic Info: ca. 20 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8841-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4831-6
Imprint: McFarland
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/terror-down-under/
https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Down-Under-Australia-1897-1973/dp/1476688419
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Attack of the New B Movies
Essays on SYFY Original Films
Edited by Justin Wigard and Mitch Ploskonka
Summary: Since its inception in 1992, the Sci-Fi Channel (later rebranded as Syfy) has aired more than 500 network-produced or commissioned films. Campy and prolific, the network churned out one low-budget film after another, finally finding its zenith in the 2013 release of Sharknado. With unpretentious charm and a hearty helping of commodified nostalgia, the Sharknado franchise briefly ruled the cultural consciousness and temporarily transformed Syfy’s original films from cult fringe to appointment television. Naturally, the network followed up with a steady stream of sequels and spin-offs, including Lavalantula and its sequel, 2 Lava 2 Lantula!
This collection of essays is the first to devote critical attention to Syfy’s original film canon, both pre- and post-Sharknado. In addition to unpacking the cultural, historical, and critical underpinnings of the monsters at the heart of Syfy’s classic creature features, the contributors offer a variety of approaches to understanding and interrogating these films within the broader contexts of ecocriticism, monster theory, post-9/11 criticism and neocolonialism. Providing a further entry point for future scholarship, an appendix details a thorough filmography of Syfy’s original films from 1992 to 2020.
March 14, 2023
$45.00
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 120
Bibliographic Info: ca. 5 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8323-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4810-1
Imprint: McFarland
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https://www.amazon.com/Attack-New-Movies-Essays-Original/dp/1476683239
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/attack-of-the-new-b-movies-justin-wigard/1141246340
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The Incredibly Strange Features of Ray Dennis Steckler
By: Christopher Wayne Curry
$39.95
Summary: American filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler may forever be remembered for his cult classic The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? but his career path is even more fascinating than his strange signature film. Between 1962 and 1986, Steckler wrote, directed, edited, and occasionally acted in nine more underground feature films. After his live oddities roadshows helped propel the director to even greater cult infamy, Steckler turned his camera towards the adult film world. Between 1970 and 1984, Steckler directed no fewer than three dozen of these explicit genre pieces.
This book covers Steckler’s nearly 50 movies, including several lost, incomplete, or experimental films. Each entry includes a full list of cast and crew credits, along with a plot synopsis, plenty of images and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Transcriptions of the author’s interviews with Steckler’s ex-wife Carolyn Brandt, his daughter Laura H. Steckler, actor Ron Jason and stuntman and actor Gary Kent are included along with an homage chapter and an overview of the director’s collectable memorabilia.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 110 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8936-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4768-5
Imprint: McFarland
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https://www.amazon.com/Incredibly-Strange-Features-Dennis-Steckler/dp/1476689369
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Faith and the Zombie
Critical Essays on the End of the World and Beyond
Edited by Simon Bacon. Series Editor Kyle William Bishop
Summary: Themes of faith and religion have been threaded through popular representations of the zombie so often that they now seem inextricably linked. Whether as mindless servants to a Vodou Bokor or as evidence of the impending apocalypse, the ravenous undead have long captured something of society’s relationships with spirituality, religion, and belief. By the start of the 21st century, religious beliefs are as varied as the many manifestations of the zombie itself, and both themes intersect with various ideological, environmental, and even post-human concerns.
This book surveys the various modern religious associations in zombie media. Some characters believe that the undead are part of God’s plan, others theorize that the environment might be saving itself or that zombies might be predicting life and hybridity beyond human existence. Timely and important, this work is a meditation on how faith might not just be a forerunner to the apocalypse, but the catalyst to new kinds of life beyond it.
$49.95
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 120
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8053-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4764-7
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Contributions to Zombie Studies
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/faith-and-the-zombie-simon-bacon/1140956878
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