Filmmaker John Landis, director of the classic An American Werewolf in London and a slew of other great films, is a connoisseur of monster movies. In fact, he has just written a history book on the subject, titled Monsters In The Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares, with chapters on vampires, werewolves, space monsters, and, yes, zombies, complemented by interviews with the likes of Christopher Lee, David Crogenberg, John Carpenter, Rick Baker, and other heroes of the genre. Wired asked Landis to comment on an image gallery of his favorite beasts of the big screen. Above is the cyclops from “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” (1958), the movie that Landis says “is the reason I’m a filmmaker.” From Wired:
In his new book Monsters in the Movies, out Monday, Landis explores a century of cinematic creatures, from the currently hot vampires and zombies to apes, genetic mutants, mad scientists, psychos and scary children. Scanning through the book, it’s hard not to be taken by the evolution of how Hollywood monsters are created, from rudimentary make-up tricks to really slick technical feats.“Technology in movies is always changing,” Landis told Wired.com. “In terms of CG, it’s an amazing technology and like all new technologies, completely overused immediately.”
Monsters In The Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares (Amazon)
“John Landis Explores Evolution of Monsters in the Movies” (Wired)