AFTER DRACULA
This book proposes that Dracula (1931) has been canonised to the detriment of other innovative and original 1930s horror films in Europe and America. These neglected films are independent and studio productions, literary adaptations, folktales and original screenplays, and include Werewolf of London, The Man Who Changed His Mind, Island of Lost Souls and Vampyr. This book brings these films to light, focussing on the interplay between Continental, British and transatlantic contexts, and on the intriguing, the obscure and the underrated.
"Alison Peirse defines the 1930’s as the glorifying decade of the horror film with its creativity and sense of imagination. A welcome look at the background for horror films from a period in time that would influence the genre for many years to come."
"She takes a new and innovative approach in After Dracula, based on new archival research, and observing and experiencing this particular set of films. Her findings link the often eclectic range of horror movies produced around this time."
- Cassone: The International Journal of Art and Books
"Her strength is in close reading, both of the filmic texts and of the immediate historic contexts of publicity and review. What she shows in a variety of fascinating ways is the hybridity of the horror film, its contaminating impurities."
- The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies
"She examines a cycle (The Ghoul, 1933; The Clairvoyant, 1934; The Man Who Changed His Mind, 1936) backed by Michael Balcon which gives the lie to the notion that the genre didn't exist in the British film industry in the era of the H certificate."
"A fascinating read and collection of inspired essays about 1930s horror movies beyond Dracula."
Included on Movie and Mania's Recommended Reading List