From the team behind The Art of Horror and edited by writer/editor Stephen Jones, comes this vividly colourful companion book which takes a visual journey through the entire history of the horror film, from the early 1900s to today’s latest scare fests, celebrating one of the most crucial promotional elements: the movie poster.
Beginning with a foreword from director/screenwriter John Landis, who elaborates on why ‘the image of the poster must not just inform, but also entice’, each chapter charts the evolution of horror movies through the posters that were designed with the sole purpose to grab the film-goers attention and get those all-important ‘bums on seats’.
From The Sinister Silents to The 2000s Maniacs, these chapters are written by a host of esteemed guest contributors, including Sir Christopher Grayling, Jonathan Rigby, Kim Newman, Anne Billson and Ramsey Campbell, and are packed with over 600 images including posters, lobby cards, ads, promotional items, tie-in books (my favourite) and magazines; plus original artwork, including Graham Humphreys, who was responsible for Arrow’s iconic Vincent Price covers, as well as our 2015 Legacy poster and the Black Cat: Vincent Price Ale label (above); and US artist Jeff Carlson, who did this atmospheric private commission below.
Gorgeously designed over 256 pages, this must-have tome celebrates not only the actors and filmmakers, but also the amazing artists who were responsible for ‘scaring the pants off successive generations of movie-goers’. Amongst those featured are Basil Gogos (who drew all of the best Vincent Price portraits for Famous Monsters of Filmland, including the one from Madhouse, below), Marcario Gomez Quibus, Reynold Brown, Robert Tanenbaum and Renato Casaro.
While Vincent Price features heavily (Jonathan Rigby’s column on the Merchant of Menace really put a smile on my face), there’s so much more for classic horror movie fans to enjoy… and there’s also quite a few surprises, especially the inclusion of posters from Far East countries like Taiwan and Thailand (which so deserve greater appreciation).
And once you have swooned over the artwork through the decades, it will leave you with one lasting thought – that no amount of clever photo-shopping (the mainstay of movie posters today) will ever replace the vibrant truth of pencil and paint.
Available from Applause Books and Amazon UK
And speaking of Graham Humphreys, just take a look at this wonderful original early piece from the artist, which he has donated to the Vincent Price Legacy UK. Thanks Graham. We love it!
