Celluloid Vampires: Life After Death in the Modern World

279 Pages·2007·1.37 MB·English

by  Stacey Abbott

Celluloid Vampires
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Celluloid Vampires
Life After Death in the Modern World
stacey abbott
University of Texas Press Austin
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Chapter 2, “The Cinematic Spectacle of Vampirism: Nosferatu in the Light of New
Technology,” originally appeared in Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear,
edited by Steffen Hantke. This material is reprinted with permission from the
University of Mississippi Press.
Copyright © 2007 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2007
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to
Permissions, University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819.
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
(cid:2)(cid:2) The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Abbott, Stacey.
Celluloid vampires : life after death in the modern world / Stacey Abbott.—
1st ed.
p. cm.
Filmography: p.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-292-71695-7 (cloth : alk. paper)—isbn 978-0-292-71696-4
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Vampire fi lms—History and criticism. I. Title.
pn1995.9.v3a23 2007
791.43(cid:3)675–dc22 2007005470
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For Simon, with love
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: A Little Less Ritual and a Little More Fun 1
PART ONE. Bram Stoker’s Dracula from Novel to Film 13
1. Dracula: A Wonder of the Modern World 15
2. The Cinematic Spectacle of Vampirism: Nosferatu
in the Light of New Technology 43
3. From Hollywood Gothic to Hammer Horror:
The Modern Evolution of Dracula 61
PART TWO. The Birth of the Modern American Vampire 73
4. The Seventies: The Vampire Decade 75
5. George Romero’s Martin: An American Vampire 89
6. Walking Corpses and Independent Filmmaking Techniques 107
7. Special Makeup Effects and Exploding Vampires 123
PART THREE. Reconfi guring the Urban Vampire 139
8. New York and the Vampire Flâneuse 141
9. Vampire Road Movies: From Modernity to Postmodernity 163
10. Los Angeles: Fangs, Gangs, and Vampireland 177
PART FOUR. Redefi ning Boundaries 195
11. Vampire Cyborgs 197
12. Vampires in a Borderless World 215
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viii Contents
Notes 221
Selected Bibliography 243
Filmography 255
Index 259
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Acknowledgments
This book is the product of many years research and writing and as such
there are a great many people to whom I owe a debt for their assistance,
contribution, and interest in my work, but also for occasionally bringing
me into the light of day and reminding me that there is more to life than
vampires. This book began as my PhD thesis and so my biggest debt is
to my supervisor Roger Luckhurst, who offered guidance, insight, and
always knew just the right thing to say to help me through the diffi culties
of PhD research. He continues to offer his support and guidance. Thank
you for being supervisor, mentor, and occasional therapist. I would also
like to thank Karen Myers, Markman Ellis, and Steve Neale, who offered
insightful comments, corrections, and encouragement to fi nd a publisher
while the book was in its PhD form. Thank you to Steffen Hantke for his
interest in my work upon hearing my fi rst conference paper on Nosferatu,
for expressing a desire to publish it as an article, and for all of his useful
editorial comments. I am particularly grateful to readers Professor Tony
Williams and Professor Joan Hawkins for their insightful observations
and for recommending the publication of this book.
In turning the thesis into a book, I would like to thank those at the
University of Texas Press for their support and assistance. In particular
I owe a debt to Wendy Moore for her belief in the project and to Laura
Griffi n for her superb work as an editor. At Roehampton University, I
would like to thank the School of Arts’ Research Committee for provid-
ing me with a sabbatical to complete the book and my colleagues in the
Film and Television department for their unending support and enthu-
siasm for my research. Thank you to Ken Lyndon at TV Roehampton,
Mike Allen at Birkbeck College, and Tom Cabot at the British Film In-
stitute for their help in producing the stills included here. I couldn’t have
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