Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser

First published in 2005, this is the 20th Anniversary re-issue of Beasts in the Cellar, the definitive study of Britain’s Greatest Exploitation Film Producer.

Tony Tenser has earned an unrivalled position as the godfather of low-budget British films. Amongst his many movies are the notorious ’nudie’ Naked - As Nature Intended and Roman Polanski’s ground-breaking Repulsion. Most notably it was Tony Tenser whose entrepreneurial wit and creative spark fanned the flames of the entire Folk Horror genre with his seminal classics Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Tenser made movies in every genre, working with household names such as Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Raquel Welch and Norman Wisdom, and his early career highlights include using strippers to picket central London cinemas and converting a Soho basement into Britain’s most successful private cinema club. By the time he started producing films such as The Black Torment and The Pleasure Girls, Tenser’s name was a byword for colourful titles, controversial themes and outrageous publicity stunts. He would enjoy mainstream success with the likes of Cul-de-Sac and Hannie Caulder but his company, Tigon, is not only synonymous with the Folk Horror genre, but also with a great many other spectacular horror hits including The Sorcerers, Curse of the Crimson Altar, Frightmare and The Creeping Flesh.

By drawing on exclusive interviews, original production files and private correspondence, John Hamilton pieces together the stories behind the movies that made Tenser the most admired and successful exploitation producer in British cinema. From battles with the censor to studio in-fighting, and from tantrums on set to post-production interference, the cut and thrust of British filmmaking on a budget is revived in glorious detail.

Featuring:

- Detailed analysis of all of Tenser’s films complete with the inside story behind the making of the movies, full production details, contemporary reviews and box-office statistics.
- Rare and unpublished photographs, many from Tenser’s private collection
- A foreword and extensive interview with Tony Tenser, as well as contributions from many of the film-makers and stars of his movies.
- An exhaustively researched filmography covering all of the films produced or distributed by Tenser as well as a wealth of detail on unfilmed projects.