Undead in the West

In Undead in the West: Vampires, Zombies, Mummies, and Ghosts on the Cinematic Frontier, Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper have assembled a collection of essays that explore the many tropes and themes through which undead Westerns make the genre's inner plagues and demons visible, and lay siege to a frontier tied to myths of strength, ingenuity, freedom, and independence. The volume is divided into three sections: ';Reanimating Classic Western Tropes' examines traditional Western characters, symbolism, and plot devices and how they are given new life in undead Westerns; ';The Moral Order Under Siege' explores the ways in which the undead confront classic values and morality tales embodied in Western films; and ';And Hell Followed with Him' looks at justice, retribution, and retaliation at the hands of undead angels and avenger.The subjects explored here run the gamut from such B films as Curse of the Undead and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula to A-list features like From Dusk ';til Dawn and Jonah Hex, as well as animated films (Rango) and television programs (The Walking Dead and Supernatural). Other films discussed include Sam Raimi's Bubba Ho-Tep, John Carpenter's Vampires, George Romero's Land of the Dead, and Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West. Featuring several illustrations and a filmography, Undead in the West will appeal to film scholars, especially those interested in hybrid genres, as well as fans of the Western and the supernatural in cinema.