Horror Cinema: The Best Scary Movies of All Time

Summary

Revised and expanded, the ultimate guide to horror cinema

Get ready to quake in fear with this revised and expanded edition of our history of horror cinema. This chilling volume packs 640 pages full with the finest slashers, ghosts, zombies, cannibals, and more, curating the very creepiest screen creations from the flickering spooks of the 1920s to the special-effect terrors of the 21st century.

Across 10 illustrated chapters, the compendium gets under the skin of some of horror’s favorite figures and themes, whether the sci-fi dystopia, the haunted house, the female killer, or the werewolf. Each classic device is explored in aesthetic and historical terms, probing horror’s manipulation of archetypal human fears as much as socially and culturally specific anxieties.

A subsequent Top 50 movies section brings readers up close and trembling with 50 horror showpieces, from black-and-white classics like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Godzilla to Rosemary’s Baby, The Wickerman, The Shining, The Blair Witch Project, and much, much more. Throughout, the book’s featured images, among them many unique visuals from the David Del Valle archive, include movie posters, set designs, film stills, and on-set shots.

About the Author

Steven Jay Schneider received his MA in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, University of London, and is a PhD candidate in Cinema Studies at New York University. He is the author or editor of numerous books on film.

Paul Duncan is a film historian who has edited 50 film books for TASCHEN, including The James Bond Archives, The Charlie Chaplin Archives, and The Godfather Family Album.

Jonathan Penner has written for movies, television, magazines, and blogs, and has worked extensively as an actor, screenwriter, and producer. His film credits include the cult classic The Last Supper, the Hamlet-inspired Let the Devil Wear Black and the short film for which he was Oscar-nominated, Down on the Waterfront.

Jürgen Müller has worked as an art critic, a curator, a visiting professor at various universities, and has published extensively on cinema and art history. Currently he holds the chair for art history at the University of Dresden. Müller is the series editor for TASCHEN's Movies by Decade titles.

Product Details

• Series: Bibliotheca Universalis
• Hardcover 640 pages
• Publisher: TASCHEN