The Living and the Undead : Slaying Vampires, Exterminating Zombies

With a legacy stretching back into legend and folklore, the vampire in all its guises haunts the film and fiction of the twentieth century and remains the most enduring of all the monstrous threats that roam the landscapes of horror. In __The Living and the Undead,__ Gregory A. Waller shows why this creature continues to fascinate us and why every generation reshapes the story of the violent confrontation between the living and the undead to fit new times. Examining a broad range of novels, stories, plays, films, and made-for-television movies, Waller focuses upon a series of interrelated texts: Bram Stoker's __Dracula__ (1897); several film adaptations of Stoker's novel; F. W. Murnau's __Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror__ (1922); Richard Matheson's __I Am Legend__ (1954); Stephen King's __'Salem's Lot__ (1975); Werner Herzog's __Nosferatu the Vampyre__ (1979); and George Romero's __Night of the Living Dead__ (1968) and __Dawn of the Dead__ (1979). All of these works, Waller argues, speak to our understanding and fear of evil and chaos, of desire and egotism, of slavish dependence and masterful control. This paperback edition of __The Living and the Undead__ features a new preface in which Waller positions his analysis in relation to the explosion of vampire and zombie films, fiction, and criticism in the past twenty-five years. Introduction. Stories Of The Living And The Undead -- The Mortal Community And The King-vampire. Into The Twentieth Century -- Dracula Retold. Dracula : The Vampire Play (1927), Dracula (1931), And Dracula (1979) ; Horror Of Dracula, Hammer's Dracula Films, El Conde Dracula ; Dracula (1973) And Count Dracula (1977) -- The Sacrifice Of The Pure-hearted Seer. Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror And Nosferatu The Vampyre -- Legions Of The Undead. The Invasion Of America ; Land Of The Living Dead -- Conclusion. Resolution, Violence, Survival -- Appendix. Précis Of Dracula : The Vampire Play. Gregory A. Waller. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In this book, Gregory A. Waller shows why the vampire continues to fascinate us in film and fiction. Waller focuses upon a series of interrelated novels, stories, plays, films, and made-for-television movies: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897); several film adaptations of Stoker's novel; F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922); Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979); and George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1979). All of these works, Waller argues, speak to our understanding and fear of evil and chaos, of desire and egotism, of slavish dependence Gregory Waller shows why the vampires continues to fascinate us in film and fiction. He focuses upon a series of interrelated novels, stories, plays, films, and made-for-television movies