The New Flesh

From 'Hostel' to 'August Underground' ... 'The Orphanage' to 'Martyrs' ... 'I Saw The Devil' to 'Gutterballs' ... Whether it be the extreme terrors of the French New Wave, Spain's love for a good old-fashioned ghost story, or the influx of no-budget "found footage" pseudo-documentaries favoured by wannabe filmmakers the world over, psychotronic movie output in the 21st Century has been more prolific, and arguably more challenging, than ever before. Author Stuart Willis aims to examine the many trends and sub-genres that have contributed to horror cinema during the last fifteen years. The New Flesh - through the course of an ongoing series of tomes, collectively and over time - is designed to provide a definitive reference guide to the seemingly bottomless pit of movies striving to keep the flames burning in recent years. The New Flesh: Volume 1 covers a wide range of sub-genres, as well as highlighting a small number of those twisted non-horror features that fans owe it to themselves to check out. The globe is traversed, and the small-time directors toiling independently are given equal exposure to both old hands continuing to ply their trade - such as George A Romero and Dario Argento - and the studio-produced bigger affairs. From torture porn through European Gothics, treading through the murky waters of the remake phenomenon and even taking in a spot of animation here and there, three hundred films are covered. All reviews are new and exclusive to this book. Each review offers a brief synopsis, full critique of the film in question, and titbits of trivia - along with nods to the movies of old that provide their influence, examining the legacy of onscreen brutality that has been embraced by contemporary filmmakers while placing their own works in a modern cultural context. Stuart Willis has written extensively about horror films, modern and old, for SexGoreMutants website. He has also had reviews published in the likes of Deranged fanzine and Chas Balun's legendary Deep Red magazine.