This book looks amazing!
The prolific Jon Towlson is a regular contributor to Starburst Magazine, and has also written for the BFI, Pop Matters, Scream, The Dark Side, Diabolique, The Quietus, Paracinema, Exquisite Terror, Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, Shadowland Magazine, Bright Lights Film Journal, Offscreen, Cine Excess and Digital Film-Maker Magazine.
He has also written several books on film, including THE TURN TO GRUESOMENESS IN AMERICAN HORROR FILMS, 1931-1935, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (CONSTELLATIONS) and SUBVERSIVE HORROR CINEMA; COUNTERCULTURAL MESSAGES OF FILMS FROM FRANKENSTEIN TO THE PRESENT.
His new book is 40 CULT MOVIES: FROM ALICE, SWEET ALICE TO ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU and Jon was kind enough to step into the Reaper’s crypt for a short talk about the book.
Do you recall your first experience with any of the movies covered in your book? What sort of impression did they leave?
Movies like Alice, Sweet Alice (AKA Communion), The Redeemer: Son of Satan (AKA Class Reunion Massacre) and Audrey Rose, I first read about in the horror mags I used to collect as a kid. But we never had a movie house in the town I grew up in and this was in the days before the internet – before VCRs even – so it was years until I got to see them. And the films sort of loomed large in my mind until I finally got to watch them when they came out on home video. I just got into them in a big way. Then, later I would see cult movies at the Scala in London, and that’s probably where I first saw a lot of the movies in the book.
How did you get started writing about cult movies and what made you want to write this book?
For the past ten years I’ve been writing articles for magazines like Starburst, The Dark Side and Scream and Blu-ray/DVD booklets for Arrow and other companies. At the time, I thought the films I wrote about were a pretty disparate bunch ranging from science fiction and horror to entries in World Cinema, but I then came to realise that they all keyed into my childhood love of cult movies! I just seem to have been drawn to cult movies from an early age – the more weird and wonderful the better – and I figured a lot of movie fans are drawn to them too, and would like to read about them.
What do you hope audiences will take away from reading the book?
I hope it will introduce readers to some films they may not have seen yet, and hopefully they’ll want to seek out some of the older movies and watch them again after they’ve read the book. I’ve tried to say something new, something a little different to what’s usually said, maybe shed new light or offer new insights on the movies.
Do you have any personal favourites from the films featured?
I have a real soft spot for The Redeemer: Son of Satan. It’s one that doesn’t get enough love. Part high school slasher, part Omen-rip off, it’s bonkers! I urge readers to seek it out if they haven’t seen it.
What’s the best horror movie you’ve seen recently?
Suitable Flesh has definite cult movie potential. And Abruptio is very weird in a cult-y kind of way.
What’s up next for you?
If people want it, I could be persuaded to do ’40 MORE Cult Movies’!
Thanks so much to Jon for taking the time to answer my questions, and I love that he mentioned two films screened as part of Grimmfest 2023 as the best horror movies he’s seen recently!
Now’s your chance to win a copy of the book, all you have to do is answer this –
Name the (8) movies on the cover of Jon’s book (artwork by the legendary Graham Humphreys!)
Send your answers to sean@grimmfest.com with the subject “40 CULT” and a winner will be chosen at random!
Competition closes Wednesday 1st November at 5pm.
Good luck!