Spanish Fantastic

Shelagh Rowan-Legg is a writer, filmmaker, and script consultant. She is the Executive Director of The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, a programmer for FrightFest, and a contributing editor for ScreenAnarchy. Her award-winning short films have screened at festivals around the world. She has a PhD in Spanish fantastic film from King’s College London.

'The Spanish Fantastic brings a highly informed critical perspective to key works from one of the most exciting production cycles in recent Spanish cinema. From Guillermo del Toro and Alex de la Iglesia, to lesser known genre specialists Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza, the author's range is unsurpassed and her approach expertly informed.' - Andy Willis, University of Salford, UK, 'Shelagh Rowan-Legg's innovative monograph eschews the normal auteurist and nationalist approaches to Spanish cinema to offer a series of excellent close readings of genre films, many of them little known.' - Paul Julian Smith, City University of New York (CUNY), 'Accessibly written, and drawing on extensive knowledge and research, Shelagh Rowan-Legg's book blends cultural, historical and industrial perspectives into an engaging account that argues for the originality of this genre. Her authoritative analysis puts the new "Spanish fantastic" firmly on the map of postnational world cinemas.' - Belen Vidal, King's College London, 'If you want to know why contemporary Spanish fantastic films have been commercially and critically successful across the world, this is the book to read. Rowan-Legg's first-hand knowledge and expertise establish a fruitful dialogue with autochthonous and international fantasy traditions and how these traditions circulate locally and globally. Sexy killers and mutants, zombies and ghosts, puzzle plots and dystopian worlds - it's all here in this engaging and valuable book.' - Antonio Lazaro-Reboll, University of Kent

• IntroductionBastard Sons: Contemporary Spanish Fantastic FilmChapter 1Álex de la Iglesia: The Father of a GenerationMutant Action and The Day of the BeastChapter 2Heroes and VillainsThe Birthday and The BackwoodsChapter 3Alejandro Amenábar: The Drop-Out AuteurOpen Your Eyes and The OthersChapter 4The Haunting of HousesThe Abandoned and The OrphanageChapter 5Jaume Balagueró: The Horror AficionadoThe Nameless and DarknessChapter 6The Spanish Fantastic WomanSexykiller and HierroChapter 7Guillermo del Toro: The Outside ManThe Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s LabyrinthChapter 8Franchising the Spanish FantasticThe [REC] FilmsChapter 9Nacho Vigalondo, The Illegitimate InheritorTimescrimes and ExtraterrestrialConclusionThe End of an Era?