Running to 528 large-format pages, Nightmare USA is a veritable
encyclopedia of grindhouse cinema - it's one of the most acclaimed genre
film books ever published, and after having Sold Out three times over
already, it's finally back in print!
From Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) to Eli Roth (Hostel), the young guns
of modern Hollywood just can't get enough of that exploitation film
high. That's because, between 1970 and 1985, American Exploitation
movies went berserk. With censorship relaxed, and the gate to excess
wide open, horror offered a vibrant alternative to the mainstream of
American cinema. Luridly titled wonders like The Headless Eyes, Scream
Bloody Murder and Hitch Hike to Hell were everywhere, from the drive-ins
of Texas to the grindhouses of New York. Massively popular around the
world, American exploitation movies added immensely to the richness of
the nation's cinema.
Built on five years of research, Nightmare USA explores the development
of America's subterranean horror film industry, spotlighting some of the
wildest films imaginable from an era unchecked by censorship or 'good
taste.' Ranging from cult favourites like I Drink Your Blood to stylish
mind-benders like Messiah of Evil and shockers like Don't Go in the
House, Nightmare USA goes where no other in-depth study has gone before,
revealing the fascinating true stories behind classics and obscurities
alike. Author Stephen Thrower has explored the attics and cellars of
American cinema, delved beneath the floorboards, peered between the
walls, searching for the strangest, most exotic cine-lifeforms...
Nightmare USA is the reader's guide to what lies beyond the mainstream
of American horror, dispelling the shadows to meet the men and women
behind fifteen years of screen terror: the Exploitation Independents!
This massive overview of the Horror genre's development through the
1970s and 1980s features:
In-depth EXCLUSIVE interviews with twenty-five grindhouse movie makers,
many of whom are discussing their work for the first time ever in print,
including David Durston (I Drink Your Blood), Robert Endelson (Fight for
Your Life), Frederick Friedel (Axe), Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains);
and Joseph Ellison (Don't Go in the House).
Over 175 individual films reviewed, with full cast and crew credits.
Vast quantities of previously unpublished stills, posters, press-books,
plus behind-the-scenes photographs from the filmmakers' own collections.
