Signum Books (Imprint of Flashpoint Media Ltd) English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015

Having ravenously consumed Rigby's book 'American Gothic', I'm now immersed in his companion volume,'English Gothic'. It's the most authoritative and comprehensive book on the subject of British horror cinema thatI've come across. Highly recommended!

If you have any interest in horror films, this is a must buy.Looking back to the early days pre 1900, right up to the present 2015. Rigby divides the book into 7 main chapters focusing each one in year segments, ie chapter 1 1897-1953 right up to chapter 7 2000-2015. The bulk of the book concentrates on what Rigby defines as the peak years for brit horror, the 60's and 70's. The book covers several hundred films, but gives a more detailed critique of the top 100 'major/landmark films' ,all between 1954-75. This is a fine, but it would have been a good idea to perhaps critique another 20 or so in this style up to the present day, maybe a top 20 or so of modern horror.Minor quibble aside, a really enjoyable read with many picts throughout. Particularly like Rigby's writing style, concise with many personal views, all interesting to read.

This book is for all horror movie fans.

Quite simply the most detailed and comprehensive history of British horror films imaginable. The scope is breathtaking, from the early days of silent cinema to this year's (2015) Woman in Black 2. Rigby weaves his insights into a narrative telling the story of horror cinema in these isles, focussing on key films (and not just the obvious ones) on the way. This edition has been updated to cover the mini renaissance of British horror cinema in the new millennium. This new section's interest is slightly marred by the mixed quality of the films released in this period, but their coverage ensures the definitiveness of the work. Two appendices are added, one capturing the marginal cases not covered in the main text and another explores TV's small screen chillers. An engrossing read for the connoisseur and a great overview for those wishing to delve deeper into our Gothic cinematic heritage.

Absorbing, thorough, an entertaining read - many call this book definitive on British Horror, and I'm not going to disagree.