A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010– )

Mark Gatiss examines the history of the horror film, from classic Hollywood monsters to Hammer's glory days and beyond.

Stars:

Mark Gatiss, John Carpenter, Michael Roberts

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mark Gatiss	...	Himself - Presenter (3 episodes, 2010)
John Carpenter	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2010)
Michael Roberts	...	Compere (2 episodes, 2010)
Barbara Steele	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2010)
David Warner	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2010)

Storyline

Mark Gatiss examines the history of the horror film, from classic Hollywood monsters to Hammer's glory days and beyond.

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Plot Keywords:

reenactment

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

A History of Horror

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Bristol Factual

Technical Specs

Runtime:

177 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 18 October 2010 (2010)

User Reviews

Engaging documentary from a true fan

You can't fault Mark Gatiss's enthusiasm for the horror genre and that's something that shines through in this three-part documentary tracing the genre from the Universal Classics of the 1930s to '70s grit like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and beyond. Gatiss makes it clear from the outset that this is a personal history - note it's "a" history, not "the" - so it's a question of sitting back and letting the man talk to us about why he loves the films he does.

As something of a horror obsessive, I've already seen most of the films featured here, but even so my attention never wavered for a second. There's a good selection of discussion on what makes the films so effective, copious use of clips as well as interviews with key luminaries (Corman, Carpenter, etc.). The main topics covered are the Universal horrors, the Val Lewton flicks, Hammer and other British horror and then finally '70s classics such as The Exorcist and Halloween.

A wonderful package which, sadly, doesn't look like it will ever be coming out on DVD - Gatiss has explained that it would cost too much to license all of the film clips for such a release.