The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi
In recent decades, the Spanish 'fantastic' has been at the forefront of genre filmmaking. Films such as The Day of the Beast, the Rec trilogy, The Orphanage and Timecrimes have received widespread attention and popularity, arguably rescuing Spanish cinema from its semi-invisibility during the creativity-crushing Franco years. By turns daring, evocative, outrageous, and intense, this new cinema has given voice to a generation, both beholden to and yet breaking away from their historical and cultural roots. Beginning in the 1990s, films from directors such as Alex de la Iglesia, Alejandro Amenabar, and Jaume Balaguero reinvigorated Spanish cinema in the horror, science fiction and fantasy veins as their work proliferated and took centre stage at international festivals such as Sitges, Fantasia International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. Through an examination of key films and filmmakers, Shelagh Rowan-Legg here investigates the rise of this unique new wave of genre films from Spain, and how they have recycled, reshaped and renewed the stunning visual tropes, wild narratives and imaginative other worlds inherent to an increasingly influential cinematic field.Its emergence is part of a new trend of postnational cinema, led by the fantastic, which approaches the national boundaries of cinema with an exciting sense of fluidity.
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The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi
In recent decades, the Spanish 'fantastic' has been at the forefront of genre filmmaking. Films such as The Day of the Beast, the Rec trilogy, The Orphanage and Timecrimes have received widespread attention and popularity, arguably rescuing Spanish cinema from its semi-invisibility during the creativity-crushing Franco years. By turns daring, evocative, outrageous, and intense, this new cinema has given voice to a generation, both beholden to and yet breaking away from their historical and cultural roots. Beginning in the 1990s, films from directors such as Alex de la Iglesia, Alejandro Amenabar, and Jaume Balaguero reinvigorated Spanish cinema in the horror, science fiction and fantasy veins as their work proliferated and took centre stage at international festivals such as Sitges, Fantasia International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. Through an examination of key films and filmmakers, Shelagh Rowan-Legg here investigates the rise of this unique new wave of genre films from Spain, and how they have recycled, reshaped and renewed the stunning visual tropes, wild narratives and imaginative other worlds inherent to an increasingly influential cinematic field.Its emergence is part of a new trend of postnational cinema, led by the fantastic, which approaches the national boundaries of cinema with an exciting sense of fluidity.
42.95 In Stock
The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi

The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi

The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi

The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi

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Overview

In recent decades, the Spanish 'fantastic' has been at the forefront of genre filmmaking. Films such as The Day of the Beast, the Rec trilogy, The Orphanage and Timecrimes have received widespread attention and popularity, arguably rescuing Spanish cinema from its semi-invisibility during the creativity-crushing Franco years. By turns daring, evocative, outrageous, and intense, this new cinema has given voice to a generation, both beholden to and yet breaking away from their historical and cultural roots. Beginning in the 1990s, films from directors such as Alex de la Iglesia, Alejandro Amenabar, and Jaume Balaguero reinvigorated Spanish cinema in the horror, science fiction and fantasy veins as their work proliferated and took centre stage at international festivals such as Sitges, Fantasia International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. Through an examination of key films and filmmakers, Shelagh Rowan-Legg here investigates the rise of this unique new wave of genre films from Spain, and how they have recycled, reshaped and renewed the stunning visual tropes, wild narratives and imaginative other worlds inherent to an increasingly influential cinematic field.Its emergence is part of a new trend of postnational cinema, led by the fantastic, which approaches the national boundaries of cinema with an exciting sense of fluidity.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350242425
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 03/25/2021
Series: World Cinema
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Shelagh Rowan-Legg is a writer, filmmaker, and script consultant. She is the Executive Director of The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, a programmer for FrightFest, and a contributing editor for ScreenAnarchy. Her award-winning short films have screened at festivals around the world. She has a PhD in Spanish fantastic film from King's College London.

Table of Contents

Introduction Bastard Sons: Contemporary Spanish Fantastic Film

Chapter 1 Álex de la Iglesia: The Father of a Generation
Mutant Action and The Day of the Beast

Chapter 2 Heroes and Villains
The Birthday and The Backwoods

Chapter 3 Alejandro Amenábar: The Drop-Out Auteur
Open Your Eyes and The Others

Chapter 4 The Haunting of Houses
The Abandoned and The Orphanage

Chapter 5 Jaume Balagueró: The Horror Aficionado
The Nameless and Darkness

Chapter 6 The Spanish Fantastic Woman
Sexykiller and Hierro

Chapter 7 Guillermo del Toro: The Outside Man
The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth

Chapter 8 Franchising the Spanish Fantastic
The [REC] Films

Chapter 9 Nacho Vigalondo, The Illegitimate Inheritor
Timescrimes and Extraterrestrial

Conclusion The End of an Era?
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