Horror films in the context of "Kim Newman"

The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as David Bordwell suggested they were films that favor spectacle to storytelling, others such as Geoff King stated they allow the scenes of spectacle to be attuned to storytelling. Action films are often hybrid with other genres, mixing into various forms such as comedies, science fiction films, and horror films.

While the term "action film" or "action adventure film" has been used as early as the 1910s, the contemporary definition usually refers to a film that came with the arrival of New Hollywood and the rise of anti-heroes appearing in American films of the late 1960s and 1970s drawing from war films, crime films and Westerns. These genres were followed by what is referred to as the "classical period" in the 1980s. This was followed by the post-classical era where American action films were influenced by Hong Kong action cinema and the growing using of computer generated imagery in film. Following the September 11 attacks, a return to the early forms of the genre appeared in the wake of Kill Bill and The Expendables films.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (Hungarian: [ˈblɒʃkoː ˈbeːlɒ ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈdɛʒøː]; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi (/ləˈɡoʊsi/ lə-GOH-see; Hungarian: [ˈluɡoʃi]), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (1931), Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.

Lugosi began acting on the Hungarian stage in 1902, appearing in more than 170 productions. Beginning in 1917, he performed in Hungarian silent films. During World War I, he served as an infantry officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1914 to 1916. After the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919, Lugosi was forced to emigrate to Germany due to his Socialist party activities. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany, before arriving in New Orleans as a seaman on a merchant ship, then making his way north to New York City and Ellis Island.

Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning nearly five decades. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award along with nominations for an Academy Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He has been described as a "maverick" and an "iconoclast," notable for his versatility and independence, often directing eclectic and controversial films. He is considered an "auteur" whose films have always expressed his personal vision. Kaufman's works have included genres such as realism, horror, fantasy, erotica, western, and crime.

Kaufman earned his breakthrough for the film The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) which earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is noted for directing such films as The Wanderers (1979), Rising Sun (1993), the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Henry & June (1990), and Quills (2000). He gained prominence for The Right Stuff (1983), which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. He is also known for directing the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special nomination.

Klaus Kinski (German: [klaʊs ˈkɪnski] ; born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988. He is best known for starring in five films directed by Werner Herzog from 1972 to 1987 (Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Nosferatu the Vampyre; Woyzeck; Fitzcarraldo; and Cobra Verde), who would later chronicle their tumultuous relationship in the documentary My Best Fiend.

Kinski's roles spanned multiple genres, languages, and nationalities, including Spaghetti Westerns, horror films, war films, dramas, and Edgar Wallace krimi films. His infamy was elevated by a number of eccentric creative endeavors, including a one-man show based on the life of Jesus Christ, a biopic of violinist Niccolò Paganini directed by and starring himself, and over twenty spoken word albums.

Synthwave (also called retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with the soundtracks of action, science fiction, and horror films of the 1970s and 1980s. Other influences are drawn from the decade's art and video games. Synthwave musicians often espouse nostalgia for 1980s culture and attempt to capture the era's atmosphere and celebrate it.

The genre developed in the mid-to late 2000s through French house producers, as well as younger artists who were inspired by the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Other reference points included composers John Carpenter, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis (especially his score for the 1982 film Blade Runner), and Tangerine Dream. Synthwave reached wider popularity after being featured in the soundtracks of the 2011 film Drive (which included some of the genre's best-known songs), the 2012 video game Hotline Miami as well as its 2015 sequel, the 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok, and the Netflix series Stranger Things.