Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror: A Memoir

by Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs (Introduction)

In this engaging candid memoir, horror legend Stuart Gordon gives a vivid account of his remarkable journey, from a student manning the barricades during the civil unrest of the 1960s, via an infamous stint as an experimental theater maverick, to ultimately becoming an iconic figure in cult cinema.

While he’d started his professional career as a theater director, Gordon’s first love was cinema, and in 1985 he shocked the world with his wickedly witty debut feature Re-Animator. The film established an unofficial Gordon repertory company, including the actors Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, producer Brian Yuzna, and writer Dennis Paoli. It also established Gordon as the pre-eminent cinematic interpreter of legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft, a writer many had previously regarded as largely unfilmable.

Gordon went on to undertake a succession of horror, science fiction, and thriller productions that saw him working across the globe, from Italy (Castle Freak), Hungary (Daughter of Darkness) and Australia (Fortress), to Ireland (Space Truckers) and Spain (Dagon). In these pages, Gordon recalls a wealth of anecdotes, revealing what it was like to direct acclaimed actors such as Anthony Perkins, Dennis Hopper, Oliver Reed, Edward J. Olmos, Lance Henriksen and William H. Macy. Gordon also spills the beans on working with Roy Disney and Jeffrey Katzenberg on the family comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids at Disney Studios.

Stuart Gordon’s memoir is authentically funny, disarmingly honest, and unexpectedly touching—a compelling glimpse into the life of a director happiest in Hollywood’s hinterlands, pushing the limits of what the mainstream would accept. It’s the story of a bona fide original, an uncompromising artist with the common touch, and of a loving family man who delighted in disturbing us all with his restless, brilliant imagination.

Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror is Stuart Gordon’s final completed work, presented here unexpurgated, and fully endorsed and approved by the Gordon family trust.

360 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2023

About the author

Stuart Gordon is the pen name for Richard Alexander Steuart Gordon. He also published as Alex Stuart and Alex R. Stuart.

Reviews

[Ron Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm cynical. I don't like memoirs. They're mostly BS. I enjoyed this to the point where I actually got teary eyed at the end. It was like saying goodbye to a favorite uncle.

[Samael Kovacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

My god what a novel this was, I fail to put into words how insightful of a read this was. I’m a big fan of Stuart Gordon’s films but I’ve only seen about half of them so there was a lot I just didn’t know.

Reading the last page of this, reading the final words of this legendary director, man I don’t get sad fast but man it got so real, this wasn’t just a sneak peek in someone’s life. I feel like this was close to everything that could be told.

There isn’t much to be said here other than the fact that this was a wonderful experience that I cannot put into words.

Even if you’ve only seen Re-Animator please give this a read.

[Pavelus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stuart Gordon je zodpovědný za moderní, brutalitou i přístupem k erotice velmi provokativní adaptace Lovecrafta a mimo ně se mu podařilo zrežírovat i pár dalších osobitých béčkových hororů. Jeho memoáry se věnují z velké části jeho mládí a práce v divadle a jednotlivým filmům se věnuje o něco méně stránek, škoda. Hororové historiky potěší vzpomínky na souboje s cenzurou nebo svérázné zákulisní dění ohledně filmových společností Empire Pictures a Full Moon kolem Charlese Banda, ale pokud sledujete dokumenty u DVD nebo BluRay vydání filmů, informace v knize vás nijak nepřekvapí.

[Nick Zinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuart Gordon’s autobiography was a pleasant surprise. The first half deals with his college and after theatre time, which was more interesting since I came to the book for his horror films. He does a fantastic job giving just enough details for each production and the highlights of his life, but it doesn’t go long so the chapters fly by. In Chicago he worked with plenty of actors (Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz) and writers (David Mamet) that would go on to bigger fame. The second half is what I bought the book for with behind-the-scenes details and explanations of why he made the movies he did and a few which he backed out of. A great read that I would recommend for horror or theatre fans.

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, a must-read for anyone interested in independent theater or film.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really cool to read Stuart's journey through theater and into the movies that made him famous.