euro gothic

Classics of Continental Horror Cinema

Jonathan Rigby Signum Books 2016 Hb, 344pp, illus, £24.99, ISBN 9780957648159

Jonathan Rigby is the author of the acclaimed film histories English Gothic and American Gothic. Euro Gothic continues the series with a study of horror fantasies ranging from Weimar Germany’s Expressionist reveries to the transgressive nightmares smuggled past Franco’s regime via surrealist Gallic fever-dreams and psychedelic shockers from Cinecittà. Rigby’s insight will be familiar to readers of his earlier works and viewers of the series Horror Europa (2012, BBC4) he and Mark Gatiss created.

The end result is another absorbing chronicle of one of cinema’s most enduring but misunderstood genres, ranging here from the silent films of the early 20th century to the video revolution of the Eighties. Many readers will be less familiar with the 100+ films here than with those in Rigby’s previous texts, making it arguably less intriguing and a more difficult read, but the excellent design – and Rigby’s infectious enthusiasm – make it enjoyable.