Bücher von Troy Howarth

Paterson, New Jersey-March 1961. A joyous day of celebration turns into a waking nightmare when a young girl is brutally murdered. With the police making slow progress, the child's grief-stricken parents decide to launch their own investigation and uncover some ugly secrets about their family, friends, and neighbors. Among the many possible suspects, the most likely culprit proves to be the girl's own sister... but could an angelic-looking child be capable of such a ghastly crime?Originally titled Communion but also known by such monikers as Alice, Sweet Alice and Holy Terror, Alfred Sole's Catholic-themed horror-thriller has gone on to attract a well-deserved cult following. Though mostly ignored on its original, checkered theatrical release, the film is now revered among devotees of the offbeat. Architect-turned-filmmaker Alfred Sole brought a distinctive, artistic eye to bear on what could have been yet another routine potboiler. Working well outside the confines of Hollywood, he used his connections to secure atmospheric locations, while scouring the New York theater scene for the right actors to bring his quirky characters to life. The road to realizing his vision was not without complications, however. Here you will learn about his ill-fated foray into the then-profitable "porno chic" market by making his own "blue movie" in his home town; the fallout was immense and he found himself facing the possibility of jail time as well as absolute professional disgrace. Once the dust settled, he decided to try for something equally commercial but far more palatable for mainstream consumption. At a time when the likes of Tobe Hooper, George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and David Cronenberg were emerging as the great new auteurs of North American horror, Alfred Sole seemed poised to join their ranks; sadly, some bad breaks ensured that lightning would not strike twice. No matter what disappointments came in its wake, Sole's "respectable" mainstream debut scaled artistic heights that leave no doubts as to his singular talents. Troy Howarth, the award-nominated author of such books as The Haunted World of Mario Bava and Assault on the System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter, explores the genesis, production, and reception of one of the key horror films of the 1970s. In addition to a brand new, in-depth career-encompassing interview with co-writer/director Alfred Sole, Unholy Communion: Alice, Sweet Alice from Script to Screen also reproduces the complete original shooting screenplay. There's also ample analysis of the state of the genre during the counter-culture boom of the late 1960s and '70s and of the film itself, giving readers insight into what makes this such a special, stand-out piece of independent filmmaking.

In the late 1950s, Mario Bava helped to create and define the Italian horror film. His classic directorial works of the 1960s and 1970s, including Black Sunday, Kill, Baby … Kill! and Lisa and the Devil, remain among the most colorful and imaginative in the history of the genre. Bava’s films are rife with unforgettable images—Barbara Steele’s uncanny beauty being brutally violated in Black Sunday, Christopher Lee returning from the grave marked by his bloody demise in The Whip and the Body, the angelic-looking ghost child of Kill, Baby … Kill!, the brutal murder scenes of Blood and Black Lace and Twitch of the Death Nerve—but they are also thematically rich and inter-connected. For many critics, Bava was a gifted stylist but few have bothered to look beneath the surface to uncover the deeper significance of his work. The Haunted World of Mario Bava was first published in 2002. It has now been updated, revised and expanded by author Troy Howarth to give a better overview of Bava’s remarkable legacy as a director and “cinema magician.” This new edition contains new contributions from Bava’s son, director Lamberto Bava, and genre icon Barbara Steele. The book examines all of Bava’s directorial works in detail while also providing a portrait of the man himself—a man for whom publicity and self-promotion was always shied away from, even as he continued to work himself to the point of exhaustion as he improvised and pushed himself to deliver films which would go on to influence such major filmmakers as William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton and Joe Dante. Author Troy Howarth “discovered” Bava’s work as a child on late night TV and has worked hard to help bring more serious attention to his films. In addition to holding down a full-time job in the field of social work, he is also a contributor to We Belong Dead magazine and writes reviews for such websites as AV Maniacs and Eccentric Cinema.

Paterson, New Jersey-March 1961. A joyous day of celebration turns into a waking nightmare when a young girl is brutally murdered. With the police making slow progress, the child's grief-stricken parents decide to launch their own investigation and uncover some ugly secrets about their family, friends, and neighbors. Among the many possible suspects, the most likely culprit proves to be the girl's own sister... but could an angelic-looking child be capable of such a ghastly crime?Originally titled Communion but also known by such monikers as Alice, Sweet Alice and Holy Terror, Alfred Sole's Catholic-themed horror-thriller has gone on to attract a well-deserved cult following. Though mostly ignored on its original, checkered theatrical release, the film is now revered among devotees of the offbeat. Architect-turned-filmmaker Alfred Sole brought a distinctive, artistic eye to bear on what could have been yet another routine potboiler. Working well outside the confines of Hollywood, he used his connections to secure atmospheric locations, while scouring the New York theater scene for the right actors to bring his quirky characters to life. The road to realizing his vision was not without complications, however. Here you will learn about his ill-fated foray into the then-profitable "porno chic" market by making his own "blue movie" in his home town; the fallout was immense and he found himself facing the possibility of jail time as well as absolute professional disgrace. Once the dust settled, he decided to try for something equally commercial but far more palatable for mainstream consumption. At a time when the likes of Tobe Hooper, George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and David Cronenberg were emerging as the great new auteurs of North American horror, Alfred Sole seemed poised to join their ranks; sadly, some bad breaks ensured that lightning would not strike twice. No matter what disappointments came in its wake, Sole's "respectable" mainstream debut scaled artistic heights that leave no doubts as to his singular talents. Troy Howarth, the award-nominated author of such books as The Haunted World of Mario Bava and Assault on the System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter, explores the genesis, production, and reception of one of the key horror films of the 1970s. In addition to a brand new, in-depth career-encompassing interview with co-writer/director Alfred Sole, Unholy Communion: Alice, Sweet Alice from Script to Screen also reproduces the complete original shooting screenplay. There's also ample analysis of the state of the genre during the counter-culture boom of the late 1960s and '70s and of the film itself, giving readers insight into what makes this such a special, stand-out piece of independent filmmaking.

In the late 1800s, a scientist working for Thomas Alva Edison invented an easy-to-use motion picture camera. Soon, people all over the world were using similar cameras to shoot “actuality” films, or films of people engaged in everyday activities, as well as excerpts from live plays. Things changed in 1896, however, when a French stage magician named Georges Méliès struck upon the idea of using motion picture cameras to create fantastic and unbelievable images. A series of short films featuring a bevy of incredible monsters followed. Before long, filmmakers all over the world were doing much the same, but it wasn’t until the real-life horrors of World War I that movie producers saw the potential of cinema to truly provide escapist entertainment. D.W. Griffith in the United States made the first feature-length dramas, while Paul Wegener and Robert Weine in war-torn Germany applied the artistic movement known as Expressionism to film. Together, these and other filmmakers established the horror genre as we know it, influencing it for decades to come. TOME OF TERROR is a series of books detailing the history of the horror genre, from the mid-1890s to the present day. Never before has such a series been attempted … or been so comprehensive. This entry, HORROR FILMS OF THE SILENT ERA, covers more than 1,000 films, beginning with the earliest known horror film, Trilby Hypnotic Scene from 1895, and concluding with The Woman in White from 1929. In addition to well-known horror classics from the United States and Great Britain, authors Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth also analyze films from Germany, France, Japan and Mexico, among other nations. The series is lavishly illustrated with original stills, lobby cards, newspaper articles, and poster art.

For many horror film fans, the name Lucio Fulci conjures images of gore and depravity. Derided by critics as a hack and an imitator and lionized by others as the “Godfather of Gore,” Fulci remains a polarizing and controversial figure. However, many fans are unaware of the scope and breadth of his filmography. From his early days writing material for popular comics like Totò and Franco and Ciccio to directing films in such genres as the musical and the Spaghetti Western, Lucio Fulci was a filmmaker of great diversity. When he attained international notoriety with the release of his gory epic ZOMBIE, Fulci already had years of experience in the film industry; that film’s success established him as one of Italy’s premier masters of the macabre and he would continue to shock and delight fans until shrinking budgets and failing health began to compromise some of his later work. When he died in 1996, he was on the cusp of a major comeback, but in the years following his death the cult surrounding his legacy has continued to grow. Unfortunately, most studies of Fulci and his work have elected to focus only on a small part of his career. SPLINTERED VISIONS changes all of that by providing an in-depth exploration of Fulci’s filmography, beginning with his work as a screenwriter and extending through all of his films as a director. The popular horror films and thrillers are given ample coverage, but the lesser-known works are finally put into their proper context. Author Howarth provides a detailed portrait of a complex man using newly conducted interviews with actors such as Richard Johnson and Franco Nero, which allows the reader a sense of who the director was and how he worked. The end result is the most comprehensive overview of Fulci, the man and Fulci, the filmmaker that has been published in English—making SPLINTERED VISIONS a cause for celebration among serious Fulci fans. The book is also lavishly illustrated with a number of rare stills, posters and advertising materials.

With Universal's release of Dracula on Valentine's Day 1931, the horror film as we know it was born. The following decade saw first a horror boom and then a horror ban. And while fans of classic horror films are well-versed on the productions of major Hollywood studios, they may not be familiar with the numerous horror films produced elsewhere in the world, from North America to Asia. Ghostly cats avenging their mistresses' murders, clay monstrosities brought to life to defend the oppressed, old dark houses stalked by unseen killers: These are just a few of the terrors that will greet you as you enter TOME OF TERROR: HORROR FILMS OF THE 1930s. TOME OF TERROR is a series of books detailing the history of the horror genre, from the mid-1890s to the modern day. Never before has such a series been attempted … or been so comprehensive. The first entry, HORROR FILMS OF THE 1930s, covers more than 350 films, beginning with Alraune in 1930 and concluding with Die unheimlichen Wünsche in 1939. In addition to well-known horror classics from the United States and Great Britain, authors Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth also review films from Germany, France, Japan, and Mexico, among other nations. The series is lavishly illustrated with original stills, lobby cards and poster art.