Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Jim Harper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

The "slasher" movie is the bloodiest incarnation of the modern horror film, tainted by criticisms of misogyny, yet remaining-on and off-a box-office draw for 30 years. Combining in-depth analysis with over 200 film reviews, Legacy of Blood is the most comprehensive examination of the slasher movie and its conventions to date, from Halloween and the notorious I Spit on Your Grave, to Scream-the redefining genre hit of the '90s-and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Seventies style gore is back! The only indepth study of the slasher movie phenomenon that is effective as both an academic study and an informal guide Covers 200 films (with cast & credit details) over a thirty year period, combining an extensive encyclopedia of movies with a detailed overview of the genre A strong link to the interest feminist press, courtesy of (i) the mysoginistic tag associated with the slasher movie and (ii) the concept of the ‘Final Girl’ — often the only survivor in the slasher movie

About the Author

Born in 1975, Jim Harper grew up in Birmingham, Portugal, Somerset and the Lake District. He studied Ancient History at St David's University College in Lampeter, Wales. He now works as a freelance writer and lives in Devon with his wife.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Critical Vision; illustrated edition edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1900486393
• ISBN-13: 978-1900486392
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,203,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's finally available...and worth it., September 18, 2004

By 

D. Spillers "cineman" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (Paperback)

This book is tailor made for slasher film fans.

Section I examines the history of the slasher, from it's roots to the emergence as a box-office staple, to the decline in the 80's, to the rebirth of the 90's.

Section II covers the conventions of the genre, the hero/heroine, the killer, location, and authority figures.

Section III are the reviews, which take up the most of the book.
There are the obvious (F13 series) and some obscure ones that I've never heard of (something called Fantom Kiler, that is how it is spelled). The reviews are from the point-of-view of a slasher film fan. This is a refreshing change from the critical, over-analyzing of previous works on slasher films (Vera Dika's Games of Terror) and Mr. Harper is fair in his conclusions. You may not agree with him, but you respect his opinion. [The author is British and there is much talk of the "banning" of films in the UK, very interesting].

Section IV lists the "banned" films in the UK, some stars "before they were famous", International slashers, and Seasonal slashers.

Mr. Harper does not include Giallos, as he believes it would double the size of the book and are worthy of their own study. Perhaps he will write that book someday.

Overall, if you are a fan of slasher films, you would do well to get this book. I highly recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Handy Guide for Horror Buffs, January 19, 2006

By 

Graboidz (Westminster, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (Paperback)

As a fan of slasher horror flicks, "Legacy of Blood" was a great find. Just so you know what time frame is covered in the book, the focus is on films from early 70's slashers like "Black Christmas" and "Halloween" up through "Jason X" and even mentions the making of "Freddy vs. Jason" even though that movie came out after this book's publication. "Legacy of Blood" is divided into several sections, giving the reader the origin and evolution of the slasher genre, and hits on several key elements found in these movies; the heroine, the killer, setting and authority figuers. The bulk of the book, and the real reason to pick this up, is the reviews section. Whether or not you agree with Harper's reviews of individual films is beside the point. (There are quite a few films he didn't like, that I think are great "The Prowler" for example) The fairly comprehensive listing of films reviewed in "Legacy of Blood" is great for collectors who may have forgotten about some of these films, and hits on quite a few movies that may have slipped under your radar. I have already ordered several of the movies found in "Legacy" from Amazon that I had forgotten about.
There were only a couple minor complaints I had about "Legacy". Harper has no problem filling his reviews with "spoilers". So if any of the movies you are interested in feature a "mystery" as to who the killer is, you may want to skip that review as Harper more often than not spells it out in his review. Also it seems that one of the criteria Harper focused on when judging these films was the amount of nudity present. To be honest I don't really care if Lisa "Wednesday Addams" Loring has an extensive nude scene in "Iced", I want to know if the flick is gory, suspenseful or scary. You find that Harper continues to focus on the amount of nudity per film and also repeatedly brings up the British "video nasties" list quite often. It's interesting to a degree, but does get repetitive. And while this is a pretty comprehensive list, there are quite a few omissions such as "Visiting Hours", "Boarding House", "Wizard of Gore", "Blood Feast" etc.
But these truly are minor complaints. I found the book easy to read, Harper actually treats these films with a good deal more respect than what is normally written, and his writing style is easy and fun to read. I can't wait to get ahold of some of these movie's I hadn't heard of before, and hopefully he will follow up "Legacy" with another book focusing on a different horror genre. Highly recommended for horror film buffs.

1 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars is it realy out yet, June 18, 2004

By 

PHYCO POOP (hellview) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (Paperback)

i am realy looking foeward to reading this book because i love slasher movies. i have been wateing for this to come out for a realy long time because before it sead it was comeing out on may 15th but it did not. so i was wondering is it realy out?