Published Work

Books




The Company of Wolves 

Publisher: Auteur
Publication Date: August 2017
Format: Paperback/eBook
Language: English
Extent: 128 pages
ISBN: 9781911325314 (Paperback)
eISBN: 9781911325321 (ePub)

Co-written by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan and British novelist Angela Carter, and based on several short stories from Carter's collection The Bloody Chamber, The Company of Wolves (1984) is a provocative reinvention of the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Unravelling as a feverish metaphor for the blossoming of a young girl's sexuality and her subsequent loss of innocence, the film entwines symbolism and metaphor with striking visuals and grisly effects.

Released in the early 1980s, a time which produced several classic werewolf films (including An American Werewolf in London and The Howling), The Company of Wolves sets itself apart from the pack with its overtly literary roots, feminist stance, and art-house leanings. The film's narrative takes the form of a puzzle box, unfolding as dreams within dreams, and stories within stories, which lead further into the dark woods of the protagonist's psyche, as she finds herself on the cusp of womanhood. This Devil's Advocate explores all these aspects, as well as placing the film in the context of the careers of its creators and its position as an example of the "Female Gothic."

"A meticulously researched, beautifully written and fascinating book... Few film books can claim to be as definitive." Starburst 

"Lucid, detailed and meticulous [...] effectively crosses the divide between academia and fandom." Warped Perspective

"Absorbing, superbly researched." FrightFest

"A thoughtful monograph that is detailed and accessible." Film International



Dario Argento

Publisher: Oldcastle Books
Publication Date: March 2010
Format: Paperback/eBook
Language: English
Extent: 224 pages
ISBN: 9781842433188 (Paperback)
eISBN: 9781842433973 (ePub)

The stylistic and bloody excesses of the films of Dario Argento are instantly recognisable. Vivid, baroque and nightmarish, his films lock violent deaths in a twisted embrace with an almost sexual beauty. Narrative and logic are often lost in a constant bombardment of atmosphere, technical mastery and provocative imagery. It's a body of work which deals explicitly with death and violence, all the while revelling in perversely alluring stylistics and shot through with an unflinching intensity.

Setting the tone with earlier gialli films such as The Animal Trilogy and Deep Red, Argento has steadily pushed the boundaries; through his elaborately gothic fairytales Suspiria and Inferno, right up to his more recent contributions to TV's Masters of Horror compendium and the conclusion of his Three Mothers trilogy, Mother of Tears: The Third Mother. Along the way, his prowling camera work, pounding scores and stylistic bloodshed have only gained in intensity and opulence.

This Kamera Book examines his entire output. Hailed as one of horror cinemas most significant pioneers and the twentieth century's major masters of the macabre, Argento continues to create inimitable and feverishly violent films with a level of artistry rarely seen in horror films. His high profile and mastery of the genre is confirmed with his role as producer on celebrated classics such as George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Lamberto Bava's Demons. His work has influenced the likes of Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter and Martin Scorsese, to name but a few.

"Meticulously detailed but vividly written piece of work." Horrorview

"Dismembers the director's body of work like one of his knife-wielding maniacs... A decent introduction." Total Film

"Concise, well-written and researched... worthwhile offering that will no doubt please diehard Argentophiles, as well as those just discovering his savagely beautiful work." Rue Morgue

"An invaluable guide for die-hard fans and recent converts." FrightFest eMagazine

Anthologies



Carnacki: The Lost Cases

Editor: Sam Gafford
Publisher: Ulthar Press
Publication Date: June 2016
Format: Paperback/eBook
Language: English
Extent: 174 pages
ISBN: 9780692743690 (Paperback)

Thomas Carnacki is a fictional occult detective (inspired by Sherlock Holmes) who appears in a series of short stories by William Hope Hodgson, an early 20th century author of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and Weird fiction. 

Even Carnacki, the great ‘Ghost-Finder’ himself, has cases that he will not speak about. In these 12 tales, we learn the details of those ‘Lost Cases’ that Carnacki talked about only in hushed whispers. Learn the truth behind “The Steeple Monster Case”, the horror of “The Grunting Man”, the creeping terror of “The Grey Dog” and so much more. When you have learned the truth behind these cases, you may find yourself haunted as well!

The Lost Cases is an anthology that takes the mysterious cases mentioned by Carnacki and expands them into their own stories. My story, 'A Hideous Communion', is based on a line from 'The Horse of the Invisible', in which Carnacki remembers a particularly terrifying case in which ‘the hand of the child kept materialising within the pentacle, and patting the floor. As you will remember, that was a hideous business.’

                                                                              

Giallo: Crimen, sexualidad y estilo en el cine de género italiano (Giallo: Crime, Sexuality and Style in Italian Genre Cinema)

Editors: Natalio Pagés, Álvaro Bretal, Carlos Pagés
Publisher: Rutemberg
Publication Date: December 2019
Format: Paperback/eBook
Language: Spanish
Extent: 368 pages
ISBN: 9789874701510

Giallo is a film subgenre that originated in Italy in the early 1960s. Although the main body of films comprising it developed during that decade and the next, its influence remains strong in many contemporary productions. Originally influenced by Italian pulp literature—published since 1923 by Mondadori as inexpensive, yellow-covered novels (hence giallo: yellow in Italian)—giallo incorporated traditions of horror, mystery, and crime fiction, forging new aesthetic directions for cinema through a primarily stylistic approach, heavily influenced by the cultural trends of the time: the sexual revolution, youth culture, exploitation films, the fashion phenomenon, psychedelia, pop art, and op art.

With the publication of this book, the Rutemberg Collective aims to contribute to the understanding, dissemination, and analysis of giallo, a genre of great cinematic prestige and cult following, which currently has limited bibliography in Spanish. Through various sections, it explores the giallo's origins, influences, prominent directors, cinematic techniques, historical evolution and impact on American genre cinema. The work seeks to highlight the unique nature of giallo as a cultural art form deeply rooted in its social and political context. 

My contributions include an essay on the reflexivity and self-referentialism of Dario Argento's Tenebrae (1982) and a previously unpublished interview with the director himself. 

Print and online publications



Over the years I have contributed to various online and print publications, including Alternative Ulster, BBC NI, BFI, Culture Northern Ireland, Diabolique, Exquisite Terror, Eye for Film, Fang of Joy, Fangoria, Film Ireland, Folklore Thursday, Little White Lies, Paracinema, The Quietus, Sargasso: The Journal of William Hope Hodgson Studies and We Belong Dead, to name a few. 

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