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NIGHTMARE USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents
Running to 528 large-format pages, Nightmare USA is a veritable encyclopedia of grindhouse cinema - it's one of the most acclaimed genre film books ever published, and after having Sold Out three times over already, it's finally back in print!
From Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) to Eli Roth (Hostel), the young guns of modern Hollywood just can't get enough of that exploitation film high. That's because, between 1970 and 1985, American Exploitation movies went berserk. With censorship relaxed, and the gate to excess wide open, horror offered a vibrant alternative to the mainstream of American cinema. Luridly titled wonders like The Headless Eyes, Scream Bloody Murder and Hitch Hike to Hell were everywhere, from the drive-ins of Texas to the grindhouses of New York. Massively popular around the world, American exploitation movies added immensely to the richness of the nation's cinema.
Built on five years of research, Nightmare USA explores the development of America's subterranean horror film industry, spotlighting some of the wildest films imaginable from an era unchecked by censorship or 'good taste.' Ranging from cult favourites like I Drink Your Blood to stylish mind-benders like Messiah of Evil and shockers like Don't Go in the House, Nightmare USA goes where no other in-depth study has gone before, revealing the fascinating true stories behind classics and obscurities alike. Author Stephen Thrower has explored the attics and cellars of American cinema, delved beneath the floorboards, peered between the walls, searching for the strangest, most exotic cine-lifeforms... Nightmare USA is the reader's guide to what lies beyond the mainstream of American horror, dispelling the shadows to meet the men and women behind fifteen years of screen the Exploitation Independents!
This massive overview of the Horror genre's development through the 1970s and 1980s
In-depth EXCLUSIVE interviews with twenty-five grindhouse movie makers, many of whom are discussing their work for the first time ever in print, including David Durston (I Drink Your Blood), Robert Endelson (Fight for Your Life), Frederick Friedel (Axe), Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains); and Joseph Ellison (Don't Go in the House).
Over 175 individual films reviewed, with full cast and crew credits.
Vast quantities of previously unpublished stills, posters, press-books, plus behind-the-scenes photographs from the filmmakers' own collections.
From Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) to Eli Roth (Hostel), the young guns of modern Hollywood just can't get enough of that exploitation film high. That's because, between 1970 and 1985, American Exploitation movies went berserk. With censorship relaxed, and the gate to excess wide open, horror offered a vibrant alternative to the mainstream of American cinema. Luridly titled wonders like The Headless Eyes, Scream Bloody Murder and Hitch Hike to Hell were everywhere, from the drive-ins of Texas to the grindhouses of New York. Massively popular around the world, American exploitation movies added immensely to the richness of the nation's cinema.
Built on five years of research, Nightmare USA explores the development of America's subterranean horror film industry, spotlighting some of the wildest films imaginable from an era unchecked by censorship or 'good taste.' Ranging from cult favourites like I Drink Your Blood to stylish mind-benders like Messiah of Evil and shockers like Don't Go in the House, Nightmare USA goes where no other in-depth study has gone before, revealing the fascinating true stories behind classics and obscurities alike. Author Stephen Thrower has explored the attics and cellars of American cinema, delved beneath the floorboards, peered between the walls, searching for the strangest, most exotic cine-lifeforms... Nightmare USA is the reader's guide to what lies beyond the mainstream of American horror, dispelling the shadows to meet the men and women behind fifteen years of screen the Exploitation Independents!
This massive overview of the Horror genre's development through the 1970s and 1980s
In-depth EXCLUSIVE interviews with twenty-five grindhouse movie makers, many of whom are discussing their work for the first time ever in print, including David Durston (I Drink Your Blood), Robert Endelson (Fight for Your Life), Frederick Friedel (Axe), Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains); and Joseph Ellison (Don't Go in the House).
Over 175 individual films reviewed, with full cast and crew credits.
Vast quantities of previously unpublished stills, posters, press-books, plus behind-the-scenes photographs from the filmmakers' own collections.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published July 24, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 24, 2017
Probably the best book on US made cult and exploitation movies. Great reference material.
May 3, 2020
Exhaustive, creative, critical and incredibly readable.
If you give this less than five stars, this book was never for you.
If you give this less than five stars, this book was never for you.
January 2, 2021
Brilliant, unwieldy, obsessive and epic. A tome which will bring so much joy to any horror movie fan.
February 4, 2021
An exhaustive survey of the exploitation horror movie scene of the seventies and early eighties. As stated in the author’s preface, this book does not cover those movies that became mainstream hits, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Last House on the Left, nor does it look at the horror movies produced by Roger Corman or Samuel Arkoff during this time since the author considers them basically B Hollywood movies. This book thus focuses on the Z- grade movies like Don’t Go in the House , Schoolgirls in Chains, Death Bed: The Bed that Eats, etc. The first section of the book is a history and overview of the major themes of the genre, and the book ends with a review section, but the meat of the book is the director interviews. Even if you're not really interested in horror movies, this book has interest for the general reader because of these interviews. They give you a fascinating glimpse into the actual process of making a movie, the joy and the (more-often-than-not) pain. The directors speak with an endearing candor and their personalities really come through in the interviews. As far as writing style goes, Thrower writes with a academic tone with a slice of gonzoism, i.e. he occasionally uses 'fuck' in his writing, talks about doing drugs, and there are some crude masturbation jokes that may make some readers squirm. As a critic, he's honest, he doesn't try and convince us that say, Frozen Scream is a lost masterpiece, instead he tell us why he finds the movie alluring which is respectable. Overall, excellent book and a must read for film fans.
December 11, 2022
This took me a looong time to finish. Over 3 years. It’s not a bad book—the writing is wonderful and I wish I could write about films like Thrower does. there are also many interesting anecdotes from cast and crew of the films discussed and I feel I got a good overview of the filmmaking and distribution process of low budget horror films in the 70s and 80s. But I don’t think I really enjoyed reading the book and part of it was having to read it on a PC instead of a print or kindle format but I also never felt urged to go back to it other than to just get it read already.
September 29, 2024
Been reading this off and on over the last year and a half or so — easy five stars for me simply because no other book like it exists and Thrower went out of his way to interview filmmakers that otherwise would’ve been completely anonymous and forgotten about. The chapters on classics like Messiah of Evil and not-so-classics like Don’t Go in the Woods were very fun.
Thrower DRAGS, though. A lot of this is extraordinary long-winded and unnecessary, and I skimmed many chapters and a lot of the review section or else I never would’ve gotten through it. Needs an editor bad.
Thrower DRAGS, though. A lot of this is extraordinary long-winded and unnecessary, and I skimmed many chapters and a lot of the review section or else I never would’ve gotten through it. Needs an editor bad.
March 10, 2019
the interviews are invaluable, and the lengths to which thrower went to cover some of these films is admirable. the depth of the material is crazy, although the interview section is a little scattershot and the mondo style of reviewing has a few tasteless jokes which don't really land well. that said, as a reference book, nightmare usa is invaluable.
September 22, 2019
An exhaustive, encyclopedia, overview of that most disreputable of all subjects, the independent, regional, exploitation film.
Also, one of the best film books I’ve ever read. Proud to have this in my personal library.
Also, one of the best film books I’ve ever read. Proud to have this in my personal library.
September 23, 2020
Monstrous book, if you want to go REALLY DEEP into a smallish selection of the title movies. There are two sections of posters/stills, and a decent portion of movie reviews to finish things off.
April 19, 2021
Extremely helpful guide to my favorite decade in horror that’s provided me LIMITLESS OPTIONS TO WATCH! Eternally grateful for the extremely thorough work of Stephen Trower
December 1, 2021
A must for anyone into this sort of thing. The behind the scenes stories were great. Some of the films were better advertising campaigns than actual films, but the making of and business end of the industry is pretty fascinating from a 2021 perspective. That window of 1970 to about 1983 was really a time period for independent genre film that will never be recaptured.
July 16, 2024
I love horror films and eagerly wanted to get through this book, as I lap up anything horror that’s off the beaten track. This is a thoroughly researched book and clearly a labour of love by author Stephen Thrower. He knows his stuff. Interviews shined further light on the various films discussed and there’s lots of great photos of behind the scenes and promotional materials. It took two weeks to read from cover to cover as this is a beast of a book to get through. Some of it was a slog to get through as it read like some sort of academic paper at times and the author was a bit ‘showy’ at times. If it hadn’t read as being some sort of university lecture, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more but I can’t complain as it did its job in highlighting some films I’d never heard of and making me want to hunt them down for a viewing.
May 6, 2008
An incredible collection of essays about exploitation movies in the US (roughly covering a period from 1970 through the early 80s). The author has a knack for presenting an interesting look at how low-budget, exploitation films are made and why they have worth as reflections of both their creators and of America's culture.
Highly recommended for any film buff.
Highly recommended for any film buff.
September 22, 2013
This book is fucking incredible! It is a mammoth of an undertaking to read but an exhaustive amount of information on American indie horror and exploitation films. A total must-read for any film buff. Stephen Thrower is genius! Anxiously awaiting that sequel that has been promised. Where is that Stephen?
February 2, 2015
One of the best history, critique, and reference books on the subject of Exploitation Cinema, focused on those produced in the United States. Packed full of information on the production companies, prominent directors and actors, as well as the films themselves. A wonderful book that is reasonable in price and quite well researched. I absolutely adore it.
October 15, 2016
This absolutely massive book is certainly the most devotedly in-depth exploration of American exploitation cinema, and is worth owning for anyone interested in the genre if only for its garish and appropriately lurid visual material.
November 6, 2008
Simply the book about Independent American Horror, 1970-1985, which just happens to be my favorite period in the genre. A massive, dense brick of a book and worth every cent.
May 2, 2012
Comprehensive is an understatement.
May 23, 2016
Head-spinningly good. This is not my favorite genre, by a mile. It doesn't matter. This is intelligent, articulate film writing of the kind I thought died out long ago.
October 6, 2016
This thing is like The Bible for exploitation filmmaking. Very well researched, huge and full of awesome pictures. A must for any grindhouse buff.
January 12, 2016
The soul and essence of films without mercy or boundaries,
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews