Hammer Films' Psychological Thrillers, 1950-1972 - by David Huckvale (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Hammer Film's is justly famous for Gothic horror but the company also excelled in the psychological thriller.
- About the Author: David Huckvale has worked as a researcher, writer and presenter for BBC Radio and as a lecturer for various universities in England.
- 204 Pages
- Performing Arts, Film
Description
About the Book
"This book takes a chronological, film-by-film approach to all of Hammer's thrillers. Each chapter takes a particular theme around which to approach the films in question, exploring their literary ancestry, their reflection of British society and their relation to a wide range of other references, architectural metaphor, sexuality, religion, and even Nazi atrocities"--Book Synopsis
Hammer Film's is justly famous for Gothic horror but the company also excelled in the psychological thriller. Influenced by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Alfred Hitchcock, Hammer created its own approach to this genre in some of the company's very best films.
This book takes a chronological, film-by-film approach to all of Hammer's thrillers. Well-known classics such as Seth Holt's The Nanny (1965) and Taste of Fear (1961) are discussed, together with less well known but equally brilliant films such as The Full Treatment (dir. Val Guest, 1960) and Michael Carreras' Maniac (1963). The films' literary ancestry, reflection of British society and relation to psychological theories of Freud and Jung, architectural metaphor, sexuality, religion, and even Nazi atrocities are all fully explored.
Review Quotes
"The book is well-written and does an excellent job of not only analyzing the movies as self-contained artifacts but also how they relate to one another...highly recommended"-ARBA; "from start to finish, the author delivers smart, insightful readings"-Bookgasm; "just when you thought that every aspect of Hammer Film's prolific output had been covered, along comes this fine book.... [Huckvale's] writing is first class and he explores his subject matter in great detail"-Destructive Music; "a highly useful contribution to the film buff's bookshelf"-Crime Time; "An eye-opener"-SFCrowsnest.
About the Author
David Huckvale has worked as a researcher, writer and presenter for BBC Radio and as a lecturer for various universities in England. He lives in rural Bedfordshire.
