Cat O’Nine Tails Herald
Pressbooks (Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy)
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) Pressbook
"Women's Lib Controversy Stunt — The character of Vulnavia…is an ideal example of female servitude as she plays background music to Dr. Phibes nasty machinations; pops grapes in his mouth and provides gorgeous feminine comfort in complete silence to the master criminal. Have pretty girls picket your theatre with signs stating "Dr. Phibes is a chauvinist male monster…""
–from the Exploitation section of the Dr. Phibes Rises Again pressbook.
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The Exorcist (1973) Pressbook
This is one of the finer examples of what a pressbook can be: a large format packed with lots of promotion for the movie. I'm missing a few admat pages, which I'll add in eventually.
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The Invisible Ray (1936)
Realart Pressbook
The is the re-release, Realart Pressbook for The Invisible Ray. I left out one page of ad mats.
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Gremlins (1984) Pressbook
Gremlins is a good example of how cute monsters can tie into merchandising the “horror” experience. This British pressbook for the movie is chock full of product tie-ins. The merchandising page (click image to enlarge) mentions items including soft drink concentrates, backpacks, tote bags, t-shirts, jigsaw puzzles, stickers, toys, and more. Who could resist a little Gizmo doll in his little car? Of course, true horror fans prefer Stripe.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Pressbook
Real life serial killer Ed Gein’s penchant for fashioning masks out of human skin provided the inspiration for Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which remains one of the most disturbing horror movies made. No matter how you slice it.
See more movie pressbooks From Zombos’ Closet.
Son of Dracula (1943) Pressbook
Another sumptuous pressbook (campaign manual) from Universal Studios, Son of Dracula (1943). While I will agree that Lon Chaney’s physique is the least beneficial asset to his portrayal of Count Alucard, the movie’s atmosphere and effectively applied special effects create a uniquely intimate Gothic-noir.
Comic reader version: Download Son of Dracula Pressbook
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The Invisible Man Returns (1940) Pressbook
Universal Studios certainly knew how to do pressbooks (campaign manuals) for their horror movies. They were large, filled with many pages of publicity information, and presented with style. The showmanship pages have some clever ideas to promote the movie. I’ve left out a few of the poster and ad mat pages. (This color copy of the original pressbook is courtesy of Professor Kinema.)
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The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Herald
Movie Heralds were way cool extras to the movie-going experience before all the media- hyping via Facebook, Twitter, and (name-your-own-preference-here) took over. A sample “newspaper” would usually come with the pressbook and the theater would then purchase them in bulk, to hand out to patrons as free advertising to promote the movie.
Here’s the one for The Legend of Hell House.
Return of Count Yorga (1971) Pressbook
Here’s the pressbook for The Return of Count Yorga, a solid contemporary vampire story that adds 1970s grittiness.
See more movie pressbooks From Zombos’ Closet.
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