British Gothic Cinema

Forshaw provides a definitive, wide-ranging study of the British horror film produced by the Hammer studios and their rivals from the 1940s and 1950s up to the 21st century and the new popularity of the genre. Beginning with a lively discussion of the great literary antecedents, British Gothic Cinema discusses the flowering of the genre in the middle of the last century and the headline-grabbing critical and establishment revulsion over the unprecedented levels of violence and sexuality. It also explores the rude health of the field and its continuing influence throughout the world in film and television. With immense enthusiasm and scholarship, Forshaw celebrates the British cinema's long love affair with the Gothic and the macabre, both still key characteristics of modern film and television.

Barry Forshaw's books include Death in a Cold Climate, British Crime Film, The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, Italian Cinema, British Crime Writing: An Encyclopaedia and a biography of Stieg Larsson. He has written for a variety of newspapers, edits Crime Time, and is a talking head for the ITV author profiles and BBC TV documentaries.