Shocks To The System - Subversive Horror Films

Monday, 25 June 2018

THE REDEEMER SPEAKS! An interview with T.G. Finkbinder.

Before Freddy, before Jason and Pennywise the Clown, there was The Redeemer, a double-thumbed shape-shifting prankster as handy with a blowtorch as he was waith a shotgun and a scimitar. To mark the 40th anniversary of THE REDEEMER: SON OF SATAN (aka CLASS REUNION MASSACRE), I tracked down the Redeemer himself - actor T.G. Finkbinder - for a little class reunion of our own.

Read the interview HERE

Watch out for my 40th anniversary retrospective of THE REDEEMER: SON OF SATAN - coming soon!

Friday, 8 June 2018

DR. TERROR in the new issue of SCREAM!

In the new issue of SCREAM MAGAZINE I look back at classic Amicus anthology DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS. In shops June 13th!

Thursday, 26 April 2018

THE UNKNOWN at Hyde Park Picture House, May 20th.

I am introducing Tod Browning's silent classic THE UNKNOWN at Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds, on May 20th, as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.

Info and tickets HERE.

Saturday, 21 April 2018

I'm introducing FRANKENSTEIN & THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN at the DERBY QUAD

As part of their Universal Monsters season, and tying in with my one-day course on Universal Horror, on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd June, I'm introducing a double-bill of the James Whale classics FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN at the Derby Quad.

For more information and to book tickets go HERE.

To see the full line-up of the Universal Monsters season go HERE.

For more details of my Universal Horrors course go HERE.

Wednesday, 18 April 2018

My retrospective of FREAKS in SCREAM magazine!

Issue #48 of SCREAM includes my retrospective of Tod Browning's classic FREAKS. Out now at W.H. Smiths and other retailers. Or you can buy a copy HERE.

CANDYMAN now on Kindle!

My book on Candyman is now out on Kindle!

You can preview it HERE

Monday, 9 April 2018

UNIVERSAL HORROR one-day course!

Come along to the Derby Quad cinema on Saturday 2nd June and join my one-day course in Universal Horror!
Full details here.

My book on CANDYMAN is now in stock!

Now in stock at AMAZON.COM

Tuesday, 3 April 2018

10 Great Spaghetti Westerns

Italian exploitation cinema has traditionally drawn on American genres, and never more popularly than in the spaghetti western...

Read my BFI list of 10 great spaghetti westerns.

Friday, 16 February 2018

50 Years of Planet of the Apes

The astonishing ending of Planet of the Apes (1968) with Charlton Heston screaming in despair as the camera lingers on the shattered remains of the Statue of Liberty is unremitting in its bleakness. And even watching it 50 years later, we can hardly rest easy.

Go here to read my tribute to Planet of the Apes on the BFI website.

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Reviews

REVIEWS OF GLOBAL HORROR CINEMA TODAY

"A thoroughly researched international overview of the horror genre. Each chapter chronicals the history of horror in a different country, examines contemporary productions, and explores two recent films for a deeper look at common national themes... fascinating introduction for readers looking to learn more about horror films outside of the United States."

REVIEWS OF CANDYMAN

"Serious critical consideration is given to the landmark 1992 film exploring its socio-political themes and its position as an urban myth inspired film." - Irish Film Institute

"One of the most impressive books the [Devil's Advocates] series has produced...Towlson makes a compelling case for Candyman as a film that explores the oppression of both black men and white women in American society...His history of Candyman's production is filled with insights on its casting, filming and even its soundtrack...An entertaining, engaging and rigorous account of a fascinating and multifaceted film. Just as his Close Encounters of the Third Kind is at the apex of the Constellations series, Towlson has produced one of the finest volumes that Devil's Advocates has to offer."- BRITISH UNIVERSITIES FILM AND VIDEO COUNCIL

"Jon Towlson's illuminating monograph on the 1992 film positions it as a key genre text in a period of stagnation and the unstable political climate of post-Rodney King America...Towlson busts enduring myths and offers insight...compels us to consider things that we may not have spotted even on repeat viewings...highly accessible and thoughtful examination of a stand-out studio horror film." - FRIGHTFEST

"There is a great deal of information to unpack and evaluate from Candyman, one of the few films of its era to subvert the genre, and to ask more important socio-political questions about race, gender and class than most of its contemporaries. Towlson manages to handle this in a most assured fashion. His book is insightful, thoroughly researched and written in a readable and yet academic style." - FOLK HORROR REVIVAL

REVIEWS OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND

"A solid overview of the various critical considerations of CE3K, and why the film remains - and will likely continue to remain - a canonical Hollywood sf blockbuster." - SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES

"Towlson unpacks a wealth of material... with intuitions that are as consistent as his methodical research." - EXTRAPOLATION SCIENCE FICTION JOURNAL

REVIEWS OF THE TURN TO GRUESOMENESS IN AMERICAN HORROR FILMS:

"This may well be the book on 'classic horror' to beat this year." - Tim Lucas, VIDEO WATCHDOG

"Towlson's book is ridiculously informative, and yet still a well-paced, entertaining read...This is not only one of the best horror history books I've read this year, but stands as one of the best on the golden age ever written." - Gavin Schmitt, THE FRAMING BUSINESS.

"The book details the many battles, and concessions made with censors, to get the films completed and into theaters... it's a rewarding read because it brings us to the table of the filmmakers, what they wanted to create, how far they wanted to go and were able to go." - Doug Gibson, PLAN 9 CRUNCH.

"Insightful, scarily well researched and utterly fascinating." - James Gracey, author of Dario Argento (Kamera Books, 2010).

"Towlson contends that the horror films of the 30s are actually an "embryonic form" of the revered American horror films of the 1970s.... and that they are much more subversive and much more gruesome than we remember. " - Joseph Maddrey, MOVIES MADE ME

"Vital research and analysis of classic American horror film" - Donato Totaro, Offscreen.

REVIEWS OF SUBVERSIVE HORROR CINEMA:

"Brain candy for the critical horror fan...strikes a perfect balance between rigorous and readable." - RUE MORGUE

"Never less than enjoyable and provocative...an impressive, well written and incisive look at genre theory. It is certain to make you look at some movies afresh... For genre fans looking for some challenging and substantial criticism to get their teeth into, it is highly recommended." - STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING

"A fascinating and thought-provoking book, not only from a film history viewpoint, but as a work of social record too... such analysis is not often covered in today's media. If you are looking for an intelligent, well written and insightful read, Subversive Horror Cinema is highly recommended." - STARBURST

"This thoroughly detailed and enjoyably written book is an important addition to the continually expanding list of studies devoted to genre film theory." - EXQUISITE TERROR

"Towlson’s terror trip through history yields plenty of fascinating examples..learn and enjoy." - BOOKGASM

"The research is thorough. The organization is brilliantly methodical. The writing is precise, almost surgical. If you’re a serious horror fan, you need to read this book." - MOVIES MADE ME (JOSEPH MADDREY)

"Opens your eyes to films you thought you knew".
- POPMATTERS.COM

"Spectacular...This highly entertaining collection of essays is informative and engaging and is easily recommended to anyone with a serious interest in how a frequently-dismissed genre often challenges traditional values and offers insight into aspects of the human condition that are occasionally set aside or pushed down for personal gain."
-HORRORTALK.COM

"An ambitious work examining horror film from when the genre was officially born with Universal Studios' monster pictures to present-day cult classics."
- DEAD RECKONINGS

"Precise, elegant, easy to read, and free of pretentious and Umstandlichkeiten theoriebesessenem jargon that so characterizes some academic writing."
- ZEITSCHRIFT FUR FANTASTIKFORSCHUNG

"Evidences a good deal of serious research"
- VIDEO WATCHDOG

"Brings insight and social analysis to films rare and familiar."
- RONDO HATTON CLASSIC HORROR AWARDS (nominated for BEST BOOK OF 2014)

Subversive Horror Cinema (McFarland, 2014)

This is the companion blog to my book, Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from Frankenstein to the Present, published in Spring 2014 by McFarland & Co.

The horror cycle flourishes in times of national trauma such as the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Vietnam era and post 9/11; Subversive Horror Cinema argues that a succession of film-makers, from James Whale and Tod Browning onwards, have used the horror genre – and the shock value it affords - to challenge dominant ideologies during these times.

Subversive Horror Cinema traces a line of thematic development in the films themselves - and in the shared concerns of producers and directors as varied as George Romero, Pete Walker, Michael Reeves, Herman Cohen, Wes Craven and Brian Yuzna - leading to the current cycle of apocalyptic horror films reflecting post 9/11 anxieties and the recent economic recession.

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