Deep within the remote hills of the New Mexico desert, a group of townspeople thought wiped out by the United States government when it began above-ground atomic testing has returned to the now-irradiated land they still claim as their home. Within the eye of this nuclear storm good people will go bad, battle lines will be drawn, and a new family of mutated monstrosities must protect their own at all costs in a mind-boggling orgy of blood and vengeance. The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning tells for the first time the epic origin story behind Wes Craven's classic tale of mutant carnage, leading into and bridging the gap between the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes and its sequel, The Hills Have Eyes 2. Written by acclaimed storytellers Jimmy Palmiotti (Painkiller Jane) and Justin Gray (Countdown) with shocking art by John Higgins (Judge Dredd, War Stories), this is mutant mayhem as you've never seen it before.

26 Deluxe Lettered Hardcover

Filmmaker Wes Craven has consistently and imaginatively scared movie audiences since the early 1970s. His films encompass a variety of styles, elements and themes, from the nihilistic existentialism of The Last House on the Left to the successful A Nightmare on Elm Street (which sent horror in a bold new direction), to the hallucinatory dreamscapes of The Serpent and the Rainbow. And in the nineties, Craven returned with the Scream films, which were simultaneously funny, clever and scary films that overturned the horror cliches of the eighties. The present work provides a history of Craven's film career since 1972, examining all the themes and techniques the filmmaker explored. For each film, a synopsis, cast and credits, historical context, and critical commentary are provided. Also covered in detail are Craven's forays into television, including movies such as Stranger in the House and work on such series as The New Twilight Zone.

Sitting on pins and needles, anxiously waiting to see what will happen next, horror audiences crave the fear and exhilaration generated by a terrifying story; their anticipation is palpable. But they also breathe a sigh of relief when the action is over, when they are able to close their books or leave the movie theater. Whether serious, kitschy, frightening, or ridiculous, horror not only arouses the senses but also raises profound questions about fear, safety, justice, and suffering. From literature and urban legends to film and television, horror's ability to thrill has made it an integral part of modern entertainment. Thomas Fahy and twelve other scholars reveal the underlying themes of the genre in The Philosophy of Horror. Examining the evolving role of horror, the contributing authors investigate works such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), horror films of the 1930s, Stephen King's novels, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining (1980), and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Also examined are works that have largely been ignored in philosophical circles, including Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1965), Patrick Süskind's Perfume (1985), and James Purdy's Narrow Rooms (2005). The analysis also extends to contemporary forms of popular horror and "torture-horror" films of the last decade, including Saw (2004), Hostel (2005), The Devil's Rejects (2005), and The Hills Have Eyes (2006), as well as the ongoing popularity of horror on the small screen. The Philosophy of Horror celebrates the strange, compelling, and disturbing elements of horror, drawing on interpretive approaches such as feminist, postcolonial, Marxist, and psychoanalytic criticism. The book invites readers to consider horror's various manifestations and transformations since the late 1700s, probing its social, cultural, and political functions in today's media-hungry society.

VOLUME 2: "Movies and Methods," Volume II, captures the developments that have given history and genre studies imaginative new models and indicates how feminist, structuralist, and psychoanalytic approaches to film have achieved fresh, valuable insights. In his thoughtful introduction, Nichols provides a context for the paradoxes that confront film studies today. He shows how shared methods and approaches continue to stimulate much of the best writing about film, points to common problems most critics and theorists have tried to resolve, and describes the internal contraditions that have restricted the usefulness of post-structuralism. Mini-introductions place each essay in a larger context and suggest its linkages with other essays in the volume. A great variety of approaches and methods characterize film writing today, and the final part conveys their diversity--from statistical style analysis to phenomenology and from gay criticisms to neoformalism. This concluding part also shows how the rigorous use of a broad range of approaches has helped remove post-structuralist criticism from its position of dominance through most of the seventies and early eighties. -- Publisher description.

Reviews of The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s: "recommended"--Booklist; "exhaustive...useful"--ARBA; "a solid reference work"--Video Watchdog; "bursting with information, opinion and trivia...impeccably researched"--Film Review; "interesting and informative"--Rue Morgue; "detailed credits...entertaining"--Classic Images. Author Scott Aaron Stine is back again, this time with an exhaustive study of splatter films of the 1980s. Following a brief overview of the genre, the main part of the book is a filmography. Each entry includes extensive technical information; cast and production credits; release date; running time; alternate and foreign release titles; comments on the availability of the film on videocassette and DVD; a plot synopsis; commentary from the author; and reviews. Extensive cross-referencing is also included. Heavily illustrated.

This is an exhaustive study of the major directors of horror films in the six decade period. For each director there is a complete filmography including television work, a career summary, critical assessment, and behind-the-scenes production information. Fifty directors are covered in depth, but there is an additional section on the hopeless, the obscure, the promising, and the up-and-coming.