Neon Nightmares - L.A. Thrillers of the 1980s

Between 1980 and 1989, Los Angeles was the world's most popular location for thriller movies, providing the perfect setting for gritty neo-noirs, buddy cop actioners, cautionary tales, vigilante flicks and apocalyptic science fiction. During this ten-year period, over two hundred L.A. Thrillers were produced and released, including Hollywood blockbusters like Die Hard and The Terminator, crime dramas like To Live and Die in L.A. and 52 Pick-Up and exploitation epics like Vice Squad and Savage Streets.  

 

Brad Sykes' Neon Nightmares: L.A. Thrillers of the 1980s is the first comprehensive study of the City of Angels' most outrageous cinematic decade. Hundreds of films, from studio megahits to cult obscurities, receive in-depth reviews. The book also examines the L.A. Thriller's origins and development while focusing on key production companies, actors and filmmakers. Written with insight gleaned over twenty-five years living and working in Hollywood and filled with rare stills, Neon Nightmares sheds new light on some of the most popular and controversial movies ever made.

 

 

 

BRAD SYKES BIO

 

Brad Sykes is the award-winning screenwriter and director of more than 20 feature films, including Plaguers, Goth and Camp Blood. He is the author of Terror in the Desert: Dark Cinema of the American Southwest and has penned articles for Fangoria, Midnight, Route and Indie Slate. Sykes lives with his wife/producing partner Josephina in Los Angeles, California, where they own and operate Nightfall Pictures.