Book review
Written by Steven Warren Hill
Telos Publishing paperback
www.telos.co.uk
Release date Out now

The lowdown on some of the most important early horror movies...

Horror movies have been popular since the birth of cinema itself. From Georges Méliès’s shorts Le Manoir du Diable and La Caverne Maudite in the late 1800s to the recent wave of fright flicks, it has always been one of Hollywood’s staple genres. Steven Warren Hill’s book looks at some of the most important films from the period in which the genre really took off, especially the German expressionist classics of the 1920s such as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Nosferatu, and the golden age of 1930s horror with the Universal monster movies.

The 40 titles covered here include the usual suspects (Todd Browning’s Dracula, James Whale’s Frankenstein films, Karl Freund’s The Mummy) and less celebrated titles like The Devil Bat, Mad Love and The Monster and the Girl. Along the way we observe recurring fashions of the genre: as well as vampires and werewolves, other popular trends of the period included shrinking people, mad scientists and, most bafflingly, killer apes.

Each entry comes with a synopsis, mini-biographies of the cast and crew, an assessment of the film and a further mini-assessment from what appear to be a few of Hill’s pals. Though obviously a fan of all the titles covered here, Hill isn’t afraid to criticise films that are often held up as beyond reproach, pointing out the genre's tendency to fall back on dull romantic leads and over-the-top comic relief.

Genre fans should enjoy this straightforward but comprehensive account of a period in which Lon Chaney and then Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were big box office draws. For film studies students it also provides a handy overview of the early years of the genre (with Part 2 covering 1941-1951). Like the best film books, it makes you want to rewatch the titles you’ve seen and seek out the ones you haven’t. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 7/10
Though it’s a little dryly written, this is a comprehensive and useful account of a key period of genre filmmaking.