Bøger udgivet af Chris Thorndycroft

Evil cults! Demonic possession! Black magic! The 1970s were gripped by an obsession with the devil and all his works. This book explores 100 devilish movies that blazed across the screens of the drive-ins and grindhouses of the decade.They were a product of their time. The counterculture of the 1960s had soured with the brutal actions of the Manson Family sparking fears of cults and hippie mysticism. Christian fundamentalism was on the rise and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was just around the corner. But, for the 1970s, the devil stalked the screens as a figure to be feared, invoked, exorcised and worshiped. He possessed young girls, demanded blood sacrifice and caused nuns to cast off their habits and indulge their most blasphemous and erotic desires.From the heavy hitters like The Exorcist and The Omen to the drive-in favorites like Race with the Devil and The Brotherhood of Satan to foreign entries like Suspiria and The Wicker Man, this book takes a deep dive into the demonic movies that thrilled and terrified audiences of the 1970s.

Bristol, 1713. When Philip Rake, pickpocket, smuggler and scoundrel is arrested and thrown in jail, he assumes he has a short walk to the gallows. But his father, a wealthy merchant who has remained a figure of mystery throughout his life, throws him a lifeline; become an indentured man on an expedition to the East Indies led by his friend, Woodes Rogers. Woodes Rogers is looking for Libertatia - the fabled pirate kingdom of the legendary buccaneer Henry Avery - and the hoard of treasure rumoured to be hidden there. But Philip wants his freedom and when he learns that there are men onboard who once sailed with Henry Avery and plan to take the treasure for themselves, he jumps ship and embarks upon a career of piracy. Philip's story takes him from the backstreets of Bristol to the sun-baked hills of Madagascar and on to the jungled islands of the Caribbean in a thrilling tale of adventure in which he rubs shoulders with some of the most notorious pirates of the age including Blackbeard, Charles Vane, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

It's 1968. Hendrix, hallucinogens and hate!The secret military project 'Evening Shade' was designed to give soldiers in Vietnam heightened reflexes and a deadly bloodlust but when contamination from a crash site sweeps California on winds of death, members of the public turn into mindless, rage-filled psychos. Peace marches devolve into devastating riots. Police brutality skyrockets. Los Angeles dies as sane people flee.In a deserted, sun-scorched land of death, only the hard and the tough survive. Fleeing the city, teen runaway Alice Hannigan heads north and enters an acid-drenched fever dream of sex and violence. In a commune in the desert, hippies, bikers and Black Panthers live side by side. But hate is something they have inherited from the old world and as the bodies start to pile up, Alice begins to wonder if they are really so different from 'the Changed' who now haunt the ruins of L.A.An action-packed post apocalyptic thriller inspired by biker movies, hippiesploitation and zombie movies of the 1960s.

The year is 1957. Rockets, hot rods and rock 'n' roll!When the meteorite landed on the outskirts of Ralston, California, it made the headlines and was forgotten in a week. But Claire Weldon, a scientist working for the United States rocket program, is convinced that the mysterious space rock was carrying something dangerous which has now slipped into the town's water supply. With an alien influence exerting its control over the town's populace, it falls to Claire's children - Judy and Tommy - to deal with the fallout.And the kids at Ralston High have no idea what's coming. Judy is a straight A student but longs for acceptance in a hipper crowd. Her little brother Tommy is a greaser and is attracted to a local hot rod gang. But how far is too far when trying to fit in? And what if the decision is made for you by something that wants everybody in its club ...?An action-packed sci-fi thriller inspired by alien invasion and juvenile delinquent B movies of the 1950s.

The year is 1942 and something deadly lurks in the shadows of the City of Angels.When private detective Rosa Bridger took the case of tracking down a drug-addled starlet for her fiancé's movie mogul father she figured it would be a simple missing person's case. But she's about to stumble over the trail of something much more sinister than the hoodlums and hop pushers she is used to dealing with.A military research project has spawned a terrifying virus that turns people into monstrous creatures who kill all in their path. When this virus infects a portion of Los Angeles, it's only a matter of time before the whole city is turned into a bloodbath. Rosa wants answers but there are some who will stop at nothing to cover up the military's mistake and others still who want to use the virus for their own ends.An action-packed mystery-horror novel inspired by Film Noir and monster movies of the 1940s.