Paperbacks from Hell
Films, TV movies, and mini-series mentioned (or related to books discussed) in Grady Hendrix's book Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction.
(This list is confined to titles germane to the main topic, i.e., horror novels released between the late '60s and early '90s.)
(This list is confined to titles germane to the main topic, i.e., horror novels released between the late '60s and early '90s.)
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- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsUta HagenDiana MuldaurChris UdvarnokyA series of gruesome accidents plague a small American farming community in the summer of 1935, encircling two identical twin brothers and their family.
- DirectorPeter SykesDon SharpStarsRichard WidmarkChristopher LeeHonor BlackmanAn American occult novelist battles to save the soul of a young girl from a group of Satanists, led by an excommunicated priest, who plan on using her as the representative of the Devil on Earth.The novel was first published in 1953, but it got a new Satan-friendly cover in the '70s, thanks to the success of Rosemary's Baby et. al.
- DirectorJeff WoolnoughStarsLara Flynn BoyleColin FergusonNoam JenkinsWalker Kennedy and his wife Col are a happy, voluntarily childless suburban couple. Then the thing they fear the most happens: part of their green surrounding is turned into a building site, for what turns out to be the widely acclaimed first house built by attractive, brilliant, obsessively devoted architect Kim (30), who has a short affair with Col. Kim is even enchanted by his own house, just like everyone else. However each subsequent couple that moves into the house soon turns nasty, never staying for long, ending in tears and/or blood. When Kim finally buys it with his wife, Col who believes he somehow curses all his buildings insists it's time to deal with him, permanently.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMickey RourkeRobert De NiroLisa BonetA private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsAlan AldaJacqueline BissetBarbara ParkinsAn old, dying satanist arranges to transfer his soul into the body of a young concert pianist.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsDana KimmellTracie SavageRichard BrookerJason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who have just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsJohn CassavetesJohn IrelandKerrie KeaneA small town's doctor takes matters into his own hands after a series of gruesome and bizarre rape crimes perplex the clueless authorities.
- StarsGeorge DiCenzoSteve RailsbackNancy WolfeThe investigation and trial of the horrific Tate-LaBianca mass murders orchestrated by the psychotic pseudo-hippie cult leader, Charles Manson.
- DirectorMelvin Van PeeblesStarsMelvin Van PeeblesHubert ScalesJohn DullaghanAfter saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.This and Shaft opened the door for Blaxploitation in horror fiction (e.g., The Black Exorcist) but none of them seem to have been made into movies.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCristina RainesAva GardnerChris SarandonA young woman moves into an apartment in a building which houses a sinister evil.
- DirectorEvan SpiliotopoulosStarsJeffrey Dean MorganCricket BrownWilliam SadlerA hearing-impaired girl is visited by the Virgin Mary and can suddenly hear, speak, and heal the sick. As people flock to witness her miracles, terrifying events unfold. Are they the work of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister?
- DirectorWilliam Peter BlattyStarsStacy KeachScott WilsonJason MillerAn ex-marine psychiatrist attempts to rehabilitate his patients by indulging their fantasies, and seeks to prove the existence of a loving God to one especially troubled inmate.
- DirectorWilliam Peter BlattyStarsGeorge C. ScottEd FlandersBrad DourifA police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsScott GlennIan McKellenAlberta WatsonNazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsAnnette BeningRobert Downey Jr.Katie SagonaA suburban housewife learns that she has a dreamworld connection to a serial murderer, and must stop him from killing again.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
- DirectorDon TaylorMike HodgesStarsWilliam HoldenLee GrantJonathan Scott-TaylorDamien the Antichrist, now about to turn thirteen years old, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan. Meanwhile dark forces begin to eliminate all those who suspect the child's true identity.
- DirectorGraham BakerStarsSam NeillRossano BrazziDon GordonThe now adult Antichrist plots to eliminate his future divine opponent while a cabal of monks plot to stop him.
- DirectorGabrielle BeaumontStarsMalcolm StoddardCyd HaymanAngela PleasenceWhen a strange woman has her baby at the Marlowe's house, then disappears, Kate Marlowe is forced to keep the baby, Bonnie. She loves the child, but when her own children are systematically killed, suspicion turns to Bonnie.
- DirectorNicolas GessnerStarsJodie FosterMartin SheenAlexis SmithA thirteen-year-old girl, who lives with her absentee father, befriends a disabled teenage amateur magician and invites him, gradually, into her tenuous struggle against a predatory local neighbor.
- StarsRichard ThomasTim ReidAnnette O'TooleIn 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsBill SkarsgårdJaeden MartellFinn WolfhardIn the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsJessica ChastainJames McAvoyBill HaderTwenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
- DirectorSteven Hilliard SternStarsTom HanksWendy CrewsonDavid WysockiBound together by a desire to play "Mazes and Monsters," Robbie and his three college classmates decide to move the board game into the local legendary cavern.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
- DirectorMartin RosenJohn HubleyStarsJohn HurtRichard BriersRalph RichardsonHoping to escape destruction by human developers and save their community, a colony of rabbits, led by Hazel and Fiver, seek out a safe place to set up a new warren.
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsSam GroomSara BotsfordScatman CrothersContaminated grain breeds overgrown, killer rats in this Golden Harvest production.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsDee WallaceDaniel Hugh KellyDanny PintauroCujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsJoe Don BakerHope Alexander-WillisRichard B. ShullThe residents of vacation spot Seal Island find themselves terrorized by a pack of dogs -- the remnants of discarded pets by visiting vacationers.
- DirectorJérôme BoivinStarsLise DelamareJean MercureJacques SpiesserA white bull terrier named Baxter is given to an elderly woman by her daughter. As time passes, the dog develops aggressive and murderous behavior in order to be adopted by another family.
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsMichael CaineKatharine RossRichard WidmarkA huge swarm of deadly African bees spreads terror over American cities by killing thousands of people.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsRichard HarrisCharlotte RamplingWill SampsonA hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJames OlsonArthur HillDavid WayneTop scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.
- DirectorJuan Piquer SimónStarsMichael GarfieldKim TerryPhilip MacHaleKiller slugs on the rampage in a rural community.
- DirectorWalon GreenStarsRuby CrystalJohn Ashley HamiltonEartha RobinsonDocuments the pain and joy plants experience and how they communicate it. Soundtrack by Stevie Wonder.This documentary (and the nonfiction book on which it's based) espoused such pseudoscience as the idea that plants scream in pain, which might be responsible for some of the "when plants attack" books of the late '70s/early '80s.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsKaren BlackOliver ReedBurgess MeredithA family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- StarsRebecca De MornaySteven WeberWil HorneffA recovering alcoholic must wrestle with demons within and without when he and his family move into a haunted hotel as caretakers.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.The Haunting of Hill House was published a bit before the target era (1959), but it was an obvious touchstone for more-than-haunted house books like Hell House and Burnt Offerings.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsRoddy McDowallGayle HunnicuttPamela FranklinA physicist, his wife and two mediums are hired to investigate the Belasco House, where 27 guests had inexplicably died in 1927, along with most of a team of paranormal investigators that was sent in the early 1950s.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsJames BrolinMargot KidderRod SteigerNewlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsJames OlsonBurt YoungRutanya AldaA dysfunctional family moves into a new house, which proves to be satanic, resulting in the demonic possession of their teenage son.
- DirectorSandor SternStarsPatty DukeJane WyattFredric LehneThe demonic forces in the Amityville house transfer to an ancient lamp, which finds its way to a remote California mansion where the evil manipulates a little girl by manifesting itself in the form of her dead father.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsKatharine RossPaula PrentissPeter MastersonJoanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsNicole KidmanBette MidlerMatthew BroderickThe secret to a Stepford wife lies behind the doors of the Men's Association.
- StarsBette DavisDavid AckroydRosanna ArquetteA young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.
- DirectorCraig R. BaxleyStarsPortia de RossiHal LindenDina MerrillNew York City newlyweds move into a low-rent apartment in a building for retirees. But when another young couple in their building disappears, the newlyweds begin to notice that their elderly neighbors are watching their every move.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsMichael DouglasRip TornGeneviève BujoldWhen a young female doctor notices an unnatural amount of comas occurring in her hospital she uncovers a horrible conspiracy.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKirk DouglasJohn CassavetesCarrie SnodgressA former CIA agent uses the talents of a young psychic to help retrieve his telekinetic son from a shadowy secret government agency.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussFrançois TruffautTeri GarrRoy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsAlbert FinneyDiane VenoraEdward James OlmosA New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsCatherine DeneuveDavid BowieSusan SarandonA love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
- DirectorPhilippe MoraStarsChristopher WalkenLindsay CrouseFrances SternhagenOn December 26th Whitley Strieber has a strange nightmare. In the following days, plagued by painful headaches, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Later, under hypnosis, he realizes that his dream was not a dream at all.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsChristopher WalkenBrooke AdamsTom SkerrittA man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
- DirectorSandor SternStarsDavid HewlettCynthia PrestonTerry O'QuinnIsolated by his strange parents, Leon finds solace in an imaginary friend, which happens to be an anatomy doll from his father's doctor office. Unfortunately, the doll begins to take over Leon's life, and his sister's life as well.
- DirectorJeffrey BloomStarsLouise FletcherVictoria TennantKristy SwansonChildren are hidden away under an attic by their conspiring mother and grandmother.
- DirectorDeborah ChowStarsHeather GrahamEllen BurstynKiernan ShipkaAfter the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.
- DirectorMike RohlStarsIndia EisleyWilliam MoseleyJames TupperLiving in her family's secluded mansion, Audrina is kept alone and out of sight and is haunted by nightmares of her older sister, First Audrina, who was left for dead in the woods after an attack. As she begins to question her past and her disturbing dreams, the grim truth is slowly revealed.
- DirectorPaul ShapiroStarsAnnalise BassoChris McNallyJulie BenzHigh-school girl Heaven is the eldest of Luke and Sarah's five children who live in the backwoods outside the small town of Winnerrow, West Virginia. She is the driven, academically-gifted one and soon learns why the community shuns their family, and then why Luke shuns her: Sarah is not her biological mother; a wealthy young girl, Leigh VanVoreen, ran away from home to marry Luke, then died in childbirth leaving baby Heaven, who greatly resembled her. Luke blames Heaven for his "Angel's" death. Beyond shunning her, Luke is largely an absent father and husband, often away looking for work, and most of what little he earns goes toward booze for himself. Heaven's siblings--teens Tom and Fanny and grade-schoolers Keith and Janey--are her life, and a new bright spot is new classmate Logan, newly-arrived from the big city; attracted to Heaven, he treats her with kindness and respect. Too soon tragedy overshadows the bright spot, Sarah walks out on the family, and Luke sells off his children. He sends her to live with his ex Kitty and her younger husband Cal, a writer she supports financially as he is unpublished. While she tries in vain to reunite her family, she learns the Casteels' other secrets. As she approaches womanhood, she will also discover that she is more her mother's daughter than just in looks.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsBrad PittTom CruiseAntonio BanderasA vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsAaliyahStuart TownsendMarguerite MoreauIn this loose sequel to Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), the vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.
- StarsDavid SoulJames MasonLance KerwinA novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsDavid JanssenBarbara RushBradford DillmanAfter several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsTony CurtisSusan StrasbergMichael AnsaraA psychic's girlfriend finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit.
- DirectorGregory WilsonStarsWilliam AthertonBlythe AuffarthBlanche BakerFollows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.Published in the 1981 anthology Dark Forces.
- DirectorMark PaviaStarsMiguel FerrerJulie EntwisleDan MonahanA reporter is on the trail of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.Published in the 1988 anthology Prime Evil.
- DirectorBrannon BragaStarsBritt RobertsonFreda Foh ShenNicholas CampbellA journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsVinnie JonesBradley CooperLeslie BibbA photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.Published in the 1990 anthology Splatterpunks.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Like The Haunting of Hill House, Psycho was published in 1959, but was a model for the serial killer books of the '80s/'90s.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsWilliam PetersenKim GreistJoan AllenFormer FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsAnthony HopkinsEdward NortonRalph FiennesA retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsDiane KeatonRichard GereTuesday WeldA dedicated schoolteacher spends her nights cruising bars, looking for abusive men with whom she can engage in progressively extreme sexual encounters.
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsAnthony PerkinsVera MilesMeg TillyAfter twenty-two years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude, but the specters of his crimes - and his mother - continue to haunt him.
- DirectorTimothy BondStarsMichael OntkeanBruce GrayNatalie RadfordA computer software designer becomes obsessed with his now-married high-school crush of 20 years before.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsDavid WarnerMichael IronsideKate VernonA man takes three co-workers hostage while working overtime on Thanksgiving weekend. He has no demands.
- DirectorStuart OrmeStarsStephanie BeachamMel SmithEmily HudsonWilloughby Chase is the grand but remote home of Sir Willoughby and Lady Green and their daughter Bonnie.
- DirectorJack BenderStarsScott BairstowAmy Jo JohnsonMario LopezA hated teacher is kidnapped by high school students as a prank. He's killed - but by whom?
- DirectorJim GillespieStarsJennifer Love HewittSarah Michelle GellarAnne HecheFour young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.
- DirectorJeff RenfroeStarsCatherine HicksAlexz JohnsonAndrew FrancisAfter the shocking untimely death of her husband, Shelley Stratton (Catherine Hicks) moves her daughter Alexis (Emily Hirst) and her adopted daughter Laurie (Alexz Johnson) to their remote summer house to give her family a fresh start. As Laurie begins to settle in and put her life back together, she gets the eerie feeling that she is constantly being watched. Her uneasiness grows when people start claiming to see her in places she has never been. The family's delicate state unravels when Laurie unearths her dark past, discovering a twin sister that she never knew she had. Laurie is forced to delve deeper into her twin's secrets, for it turns out her twin has been locked up for years. Laurie must now understand their strange connection in order to prevent her sister from taking over her life and harming her loved ones.
- DirectorLeigh JaniakStarsKiana MadeiraOlivia Scott WelchBenjamin Flores Jr.A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside.
- DirectorRob LettermanStarsJack BlackDylan MinnetteOdeya RushA teenager teams up with the daughter of young-adult horror author R.L. Stine after the writer's imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.
- DirectorMark SobelStarsJonathan BrandisTatyana AliPaul ScherrerAnn Price blames her best friend, Sharon McKay, for her brother Jerry's death. She decides to set Sharon up for her murder, but there's an unexpected surprise!
- DirectorCharles E. Sellier Jr.StarsLilyan ChauvinGilmer McCormickToni NeroLittle Billy witnesses his parents getting killed by Santa after being warned by his senile grandpa that Santa punishes those who are naughty. Now Billy is 18 and out of the orphanage, and he has just become Santa himself.
- DirectorVladimir VitkinStarsJamie HarroldMelissa MurphyShelita BirchettFrankie dances topless in a sleazy little strip joint and drinks; it's the only way to get through the night. But then a mysterious man comes into the club, a piercing siren screams, and Frankie's world crumbles. In the morning, she isn't Frankie anymore. She doesn't remember who she is. She knows for certain only one solid truth: that she is a man. As for her boyfriend Terry, he cannot understand what his beautiful girl is trying to tell him. Frankie and Terry journey together through their private hell and transcend to the other side.