Nigel Kneale and Horror: Medium, Time, Culture and Genre

Nigel Kneale’s writing career spanned the second half of the twentieth century, arguably contributing to the shape of British television drama, as well as having lingering influence in science fiction and horror. This collection focuses on Kneale’s horror writing, particularly in film and television. Taking a number of different academic perspectives, the chapters approach questions of medium, adaptation, genre, and style, emphasising the role that time plays in Kneale’s horror, and how he connected to wider cultural concerns. The work covered includes more famous productions, such as the Quatermass serials, The Woman in Black and Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as some that have received less attention, including the social horror of Kneale’s film adaptations of Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer, ‘lost’ productions such as ‘The Chopper’ and Bam! Pow! Zap!, and unproduced work such as The Big, Big Giggle. Drawing on archival sources, including Kneale’s own archives, alongside the productions themselves, the collection portrays Kneale as a writer deeply concerned with society and social change, with the potential and responsibility of the media, and not as a horror writer, but a writer deeply concerned with the horrific.