The author of the acclaimed film histories English Gothic and American Gothic continues the series with an in-depth study of the lurid horror fantasies that emerged from the studios of Italy, Spain, France and Germany. From the Expressionist reveries of the Weimar Republic to the transgressive nightmares smuggled past the Franco regime, via surrealist Gallic fever-dreams and psychedelic shockers from Cinecitta', Jonathan Rigby applies his incisive scrutiny to more than 100 key films plus scores of others. Ranging from the early years of the 20th century to the video revolution of the 1980s, the result is another absorbing chronicle of one of cinema's most enduring but misunderstood genres.