The DVD Delirium books by @mondodigital.bsky.social were vital to my introduction to cult cinema. So many films, so many genres, so many DVDs...it was so exciting. Nathaniel Thompson helped lead the way through the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful of what was available on DVD.
The Dr. Phibes Companion by Justin Humphreys is an earnest love letter to the Phibes films that takes us beyond the dominant presence of star Vincent Price. It is as much a love letter to the singular and unique vision of director, Robert Fuest and art director, Brian Eatwell.
Slight cheat here but John Fisher's biography of Tony Hancock is one of the best celebrity biographies out there. It captures the complexity, the sadness, the frustration and the cruelty of Hancock as well as everything that made him a great performer.
Behind The Pink Curtain by @jaspersharp.bsky.social is a comprehensive look at Japanese sex cinema. Huge in its scope. Jasper Sharp provides so many details, analyses so many films, their creators and explores the greater political, historical and cultural context of these films.
Wayne Kinsey's many books on Hammer Films are vital and informative for anyone interested in exploring the minutiae of the studio, the films, the stars, the directors, the crew and their filming locations. Almost literally everything you might ever want to know.
The Cinema of George A. Romero - Knight of the Living Dead by Tony Williams was one of the first books to take horror seriously. Looking at the work of Romero in the context of EC Comics and Emile Zola, it is a book that still holds up.
Book of the Dead by Jamie Russell is the definitive history of zombie movies and zombies in the movies. Unafraid to dissect and explore the changing social, cultural and political contexts of these films. It takes us from the earliest zombies in films and all around the globe.
Herzog on Herzog by Paul Cronin is Herzog being full Herzog saying all those Herzogian things we love to hear even if we have heard them a million times already in a million other places. There can never be enough Herzog in the Universe.
How I Made A Hundred Movies in Hollywood & Never Lost a Dime by Roger Corman & Jim Jerome is a wild ride through the exploitation cinema hey day. Anecdotes aplenty from the father of cult cinema about his experiences on the front line against the boring conformity of the studios. RIP Roger
The Eyeball Compendium edited by Stephen Thrower is a collection of essays, reviews and interviews on sex, horror, art and exploitation cinema. This book was vital to developing my interests in the wider world of weird cinema and beyond vanilla cult films.
