Vampires, monsters, sadistic psychopaths, serial killers, vengeful ghosts, and Satan himself have been frightening and entertaining filmgoers for generations. This comprehensive, chronological film guide summarizes the 101 most important horror movies ever produced, from the 1922 silent classic Nosferatu to the low-budget, 1999 Sundance Film Festival hit, The Blair Witch Project. General editor Stephen Jay Schneider presents film summaries, reviews from a wide array of critics, cast and credit lists, and film production notes. The book's 200 illustrations include unforgettable still shots from the movies as well as iconic film posters. Horror film buffs who open this book will renew their chilling memories of Hitchcock thrillers like Psycho and The Birds, revisit Dr. Frankenstein's castle with Boris Karloff, haunt the sewers of Paris with Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera, and recall Anthony Hopkins' most chilling role in The Silence of the Lambs. 101 Horror Movies is international in scope, and covers films from Japan, Russia, Italy, Germany, France, and Australia. Fans of horror movies will want to see all 101 films before they die--and they'll also want to own this entertaining and informative book.
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
(back cover)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari • Häxan • Dracula • Freaks • Bride of Frankenstein • The Wolf Man • Les Diaboliques • The Hills Have Eyes • Eyes Without a
Face • Cat People • Psycho • Nosferatu • Peeping Tom • The Birds • Onibaba Vij • Rosemary's Baby • Night of the Living Dead • The Wicker Man • Don't Look Now • Hour of the Wolf • The Exorcist • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Jaws • Carrie • Suspira • The Omen • Dawn of the Dead • Halloween • Alien • The Shining • An American Werewolf in London • Poltergeist • A Nightmare on Elm Street • Friday the 13th • Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer • The Vanishing • The Last House on the Left • Jacob's Ladder • The Silence of the Lambs • Candyman • Man Bites Dog • Scream • Ju-on • Ringu • The Blair Witch Project • Odishon • Devil's Backbone • The Sixth Sense • The Others • 28 Days Later
(front flap)
From the classics of Georges Méliès and F.W. Murnau to the blood-fests of Tobe Hooper and the great David Cronenberg, 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die explores the enduring popularity of the horror flick. Fascinating and disturbing, these films expose our most primal fears: our nightmares, our terrors, our vulnerability and revulsion, our terror of the unknown, and our fear of sex, death, or loss of identity.
The menace of a monster or spirit in a spooky mansion or along a deserted highway thrills and excites even as it horrifies. Movie menace has come in many forms and has given rise to some of cinema's most iconic characters, from Boris Karloff's Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Leatherface, Carrie, Candyman, and Hannibal Lector. One thing unites them all--the power to entice and repulse simultaneously.
With insight from critics, film historians, and academics, 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die applies knowledge and passion to over a century of vampires, zombies, killer clowns, invasions from space, homicidal preachers, vacationing Satanists, tongue-slurping cannibals, murderous demon children, disturbed Vietnam vets, and sentient machines. After seeing these films, will you ever sleep with the light off again?
(back flap)
Steven Jay Schneider is a film critic, scholar, and producer with M.A. degrees in Philosophy and Cinema Studies from Harvard University and New York University respectively. He is editor of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and 101 Sci-Fi Movies You Must See Before You Die, both published by Barron's, as well as the author and editor of many other books on film.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari • Häxan • Dracula • Freaks • Bride of Frankenstein • The Wolf Man • Les Diaboliques • The Hills Have Eyes • Eyes Without a
Face • Cat People • Psycho • Nosferatu • Peeping Tom • The Birds • Onibaba Vij • Rosemary's Baby • Night of the Living Dead • The Wicker Man • Don't Look Now • Hour of the Wolf • The Exorcist • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Jaws • Carrie • Suspira • The Omen • Dawn of the Dead • Halloween • Alien • The Shining • An American Werewolf in London • Poltergeist • A Nightmare on Elm Street • Friday the 13th • Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer • The Vanishing • The Last House on the Left • Jacob's Ladder • The Silence of the Lambs • Candyman • Man Bites Dog • Scream • Ju-on • Ringu • The Blair Witch Project • Odishon • Devil's Backbone • The Sixth Sense • The Others • 28 Days Later
(front flap)
From the classics of Georges Méliès and F.W. Murnau to the blood-fests of Tobe Hooper and the great David Cronenberg, 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die explores the enduring popularity of the horror flick. Fascinating and disturbing, these films expose our most primal fears: our nightmares, our terrors, our vulnerability and revulsion, our terror of the unknown, and our fear of sex, death, or loss of identity.
The menace of a monster or spirit in a spooky mansion or along a deserted highway thrills and excites even as it horrifies. Movie menace has come in many forms and has given rise to some of cinema's most iconic characters, from Boris Karloff's Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Leatherface, Carrie, Candyman, and Hannibal Lector. One thing unites them all--the power to entice and repulse simultaneously.
With insight from critics, film historians, and academics, 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die applies knowledge and passion to over a century of vampires, zombies, killer clowns, invasions from space, homicidal preachers, vacationing Satanists, tongue-slurping cannibals, murderous demon children, disturbed Vietnam vets, and sentient machines. After seeing these films, will you ever sleep with the light off again?
(back flap)
Steven Jay Schneider is a film critic, scholar, and producer with M.A. degrees in Philosophy and Cinema Studies from Harvard University and New York University respectively. He is editor of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and 101 Sci-Fi Movies You Must See Before You Die, both published by Barron's, as well as the author and editor of many other books on film.
About the Author
Steven Jay Schneider is a film critic, scholar, and an author and editor of several books on films and filmmaking, including Barron's 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. He is currently in Hollywood, where he plans to produce movies of his own.
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More About the Author
Steven Jay Schneider is a film critic, scholar, and producer with M.A. degrees in Philosophy from Harvard University and in Cinema Studies from New York University. He is the author and editor of numerous books on world cinema, most notably in the horror genre. They include Eurohorror, The Cinema of Wes Craven: An Auteur on Elm Street, Designing Fear: An Aesthetics of Cinematic Horror, Killing in Style: Artistic Murder in the Movies, Understanding Film Genres, and Traditions in World Cinema. He is also a consultant for film, television, and home video/DVD production companies, a curator for world horror film programs, and a staff member in development for Paramount Pictures. Among his recent titles are 501 Movie Stars and 501 Movie Directors, both available in North America from Barron's. Two additional titles from Barron's are scheduled for publication in Spring 09. They are 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die and 101 Sci-Fi Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By James Kunz
Format:Paperback
I collect books that claim to contain the Best Movies of all Time, and Steven J. Schneider's series have a lot of good things going for them. They contain a lot of insight, beautiful color pictures, and a nice mixture of the expected choices vs. some more eclectic picks. However, there are a few things you should know about if you're going to buy this for yourself or a fellow horror fan:
Far more than the "101 SCI-FI Movies" entry into the series, the writing in this book often leans towards the academic. This is a necessary result of the genre, for horror lends itself to film theory far better than any other genre. And I don't mean things like noting how the virginal female tends to survive--that's basically surface level for this book--I mean theories of "otherness," the "male gaze," etc. A lot of the entries sound like theory textbooks that you'd read in film school. If the following doesn't appeal to you, don't buy the book:
'Roman Polanski's modern horror classic Rosemary's Baby is a most subtle and far-reaching commentary on woman's enforced submission to a male order.'
My major problem with the academic nature of the book isn't that I think such analysis is "wrong" or eggheaded (sometimes I think certain writers miss the mark, but that's natural) but in my opinion it negatively influences the selection process of the 101 movies. Instead of picking 101 really good horror films, it often feels the writers picked 101 movies they could write essays about. Deathdream, The Brood, Dressed to Kill are just a few films which aren't any good (much less classics) but can be easily read as allegories, comments on gender, etc. It's really stupid to criticize which movies were picked and which weren't (especially after I complimented the book earlier on its mixture) but I don't think audiences need to see Dressed to Kill before they die because of its take on gender identity. I'd rather they watched The Evil Dead because it's actually a good film, albeit less conducive to analysis.
This major quibble aside, I enjoyed reading 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die and will proudly enter it into my film-book collection. If you like academic analysis you may well like it too, but don't buy it for your pal who loves slasher films because he might well be disappointed when the authors start talking about "the penetrating male gaze" or the director "incriminating the audience."
Far more than the "101 SCI-FI Movies" entry into the series, the writing in this book often leans towards the academic. This is a necessary result of the genre, for horror lends itself to film theory far better than any other genre. And I don't mean things like noting how the virginal female tends to survive--that's basically surface level for this book--I mean theories of "otherness," the "male gaze," etc. A lot of the entries sound like theory textbooks that you'd read in film school. If the following doesn't appeal to you, don't buy the book:
'Roman Polanski's modern horror classic Rosemary's Baby is a most subtle and far-reaching commentary on woman's enforced submission to a male order.'
My major problem with the academic nature of the book isn't that I think such analysis is "wrong" or eggheaded (sometimes I think certain writers miss the mark, but that's natural) but in my opinion it negatively influences the selection process of the 101 movies. Instead of picking 101 really good horror films, it often feels the writers picked 101 movies they could write essays about. Deathdream, The Brood, Dressed to Kill are just a few films which aren't any good (much less classics) but can be easily read as allegories, comments on gender, etc. It's really stupid to criticize which movies were picked and which weren't (especially after I complimented the book earlier on its mixture) but I don't think audiences need to see Dressed to Kill before they die because of its take on gender identity. I'd rather they watched The Evil Dead because it's actually a good film, albeit less conducive to analysis.
This major quibble aside, I enjoyed reading 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die and will proudly enter it into my film-book collection. If you like academic analysis you may well like it too, but don't buy it for your pal who loves slasher films because he might well be disappointed when the authors start talking about "the penetrating male gaze" or the director "incriminating the audience."
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Josh
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book and a few similar ones and I am proud to say that I have read them all several times they are great recommendations including movies I never even heard of. A must own for horror movie fans looking for some recommendations.
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is not a large regular size book-which is good but suprised me when I bought at Borders today. My favorite part is for each movie that is discussed, it has the original art work for the movies poster-which is in color on nice paper.
The reviews and thoughts were insightful and interesting. I am a big horror fan and there were several plus movies I never heard of that I will now rent/buy in the near future.
A good buy for any horror fans collection.
The reviews and thoughts were insightful and interesting. I am a big horror fan and there were several plus movies I never heard of that I will now rent/buy in the near future.
A good buy for any horror fans collection.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful overview.
This is a well put together collection of good to great horror movies that also hold a signifigace in the genre. It covers horror films from very early on in film to modern times. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michael P. McParland
4.0 out of 5 stars
review of purchase.
Once again you guys have been prompt with delivery :-) much appreciated. The book itself is quite interesting and exactly what I'm into. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Amanda
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