If you're a regular here at Fango, you're probably pretty clued up on the fact that horror is big business (just look at Sinners‘ recent demolishing of the box office), but you're definitely not as clued up as you will be once you read Clark Collis' new book, Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie.
Hitting shelves on September 2 via 1984 Publishing, Screaming and Conjuring is billed as a definitive 504-page hardcover that pulls back the curtain on the horror film industry, beginning with 1996’s genre-redefining Scream and covering just about every other horror hit:
From Get Out and M3GAN to The Substance and Sinners, the horror genre is currently experiencing a thrilling resurgence. The modern era of horror has delivered a string of classic terror tales, including The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, Final Destination, The Others, Pan’s Labyrinth, 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Saw, Hostel, Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Conjuring, which launched the horror genre’s first multi-billion dollar franchise. Screaming and Conjuring dives deep into the challenging and often chaotic production stories behind these films—and many more—offering readers an inside look at the creative turbulence and triumphs that brought these landmark movies to life.
Featuring exclusive anecdotes from some of horror’s most influential figures, including final girls Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and Neve Campbell (Scream), directors Eli Roth (Hostel) and Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell), and legendary special effects artist Greg Nicotero (The Mist, The Walking Dead), as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes accounts and untold stories, Screaming and Conjuring traces the blood-spattered evolution of horror’s modern renaissance.
Collis, whose work as an entertainment journalist includes bylines with Entertainment Weekly and Empire magazine, has this to say of his new book:
“For decades, horror was regarded as the film industry’s dirty secret, and now it’s one of the genres which is keeping Hollywood alive and cinemas open […] Screaming and Conjuring shows how a group of filmmakers turned horror into a box office juggernaut by creating some of the scariest movies ever unleashed onto the big screen.”
Eli Roth sings his praises, describing Screaming and Conjuring as:
An amazing account of one of the wildest, blood-soaked periods in modern cinema. A treasure chest of bloody good memories and stories from everyone who lived through it. A must-read for any horror fan who wants to know how the sausage is disemboweled.
Screaming and Conjuring will debut in a limited first-edition deluxe hardcover, featuring black foil-gilded page edges, textured cover spot varnish, and heavyweight paper stock. The cover illustration and design are by celebrated artist Gary Pullin, known for his official artwork for Stephen King, Jack White, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard, and us, FANGORIA!
Screaming and Conjuring comes out on Sept. 2 and is available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
