Alan Jones is a film critic, broadcaster and reporter on the Horror

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

genre who has travelled the world to report on movies in production. His first assignment was the original ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' in 1977, after which he became London correspondent for ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...

'' magazine (1977–2002) and reviewed for British magazine '' Starburst'' from 1980 until 2008. A film critic for ''Film Review'' and ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'', he has made contributions to the ''Radio Times Guide to Films'', the ''Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction'' and

Halliwell's Film Guide Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fil ...

. He has also served as film critic for BBC News 24, ''Front Row'' on BBC Radio 4, and on Sky News programme Sunrise. He has worked for many of the long-established cinema magazines – ''Empire'', ''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

'' and ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...

'', an article in which – ''The

Splat Pack The Splat Pack is a group of independent filmmakers who, since 2002, have directed, written and produced horror films which are notable for their low budgets and extreme violence. History The term was coined by Alan Jones of ''Total Film''. The ...

'' – is credited for the first use of a term that is now part of film industry jargon.

Punk connections

Jones' punk-era reminiscences about close friend

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

formed the basis of director

Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...

's screenplay ''

Sid and Nancy ''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of t ...

.'' He has spoken about the friendship in several TV and radio documentaries. Jones worked for designer

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

in her shop ''SEX'', and was the DJ for the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

, for whom he starred as a music executive in the film ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm Mc ...

.''

TV work

Jones' TV work has included Film Four documentaries about Italian horror directors

Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...

and

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

and Channel Four's ''The Top 100 British Box Office Hits''. On the BBC, he was involved in the ''I Love the '70s'' BBC documentary series, talking about disco music and his arrest for wearing punk tee shirts. In addition to these contributions to British TV, he has made television appearances in countries as diverse as Argentina, Colombia, Italy, Spain, Finland and Russia.

Festivals and film juries

As a co-presenter of London's Shock Around The Clock festival, and the NFT's 'Fantasm', he conducted ''The Guardian'' lectures with directors

Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director. He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer. He started his career with British films such as Jack Cardiff's '' Sons and ...

and

and hosted Q&A sessions with, amongst others, director

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...

and the cast of ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

''. He presented 'Brit-Invaders' at the

Science + Fiction Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

Festival in Trieste and filmed interviews with

Neil Marshall Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and ''The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film ''Doomsday'' (200 ...

(''The Descent'', ''Doomsday'') and

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

( ''Jason and the Argonauts'', ''

One Million Years BC ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy film ''One Million B.C.''. The film st ...

''). Jones is an active member of the London Critic's Circle, whose annual film awards are recognised worldwide. He has also served on festival juries at Sitges (Spain), Fantasporto (Portugal), Paris, Rome, Science+Fiction (Trieste), Motel X (Lisbon), Lund (Sweden), Strasbourg and Avoriaz (France).

FrightFest

After stints co-presenting the legendary Shock Around The Clock festival in London, and Fantasm at the National Film Theatre, Jones is now a leading figure and co-curator of

London FrightFest Film Festival FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event ...

. In 2022 Jones became the Artistic Director of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, the world's oldest sci-fi event, in Italy.

Film appearances

Jones has acted in several movies, including '' Terror'', ''

'' and ''The Errand''. He features prominently in the documentary ''Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape'' and its sequel by director

Jake West Jake West (born 1972) is a British film director, known mostly for his horror films and for a series of documentaries looking at film censorship and interviewing well-known directors, actors and industry figures. Biography West's first feature f ...

and has appeared in numerous rock videos, including those for

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

DVD commentaries

Jones' DVD commentaries include those for

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...

's ''

Santa Sangre ''Santa Sangre'' ( en, Holy Blood, italic=yes) is a 1989 avant-garde surreal horror film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and written by Jodorowsky along with Claudio Argento and Roberto Leoni. It stars Axel Jodorowsky, Adán Jodorowsky, Teo ...

'',

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...

's '' Valhalla Rising'', '' Bronson'' and ''

Fear X ''Fear X'' is a 2003 psychological thriller film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The first film to be produced from one of Hubert Selby Jr.'s original screenplays, its eventual box-office failure would force Refn's film company '' Jang Go Star ...

'',

Tom Shankland Thomas Otto Shankland (born 7 May 1968) is an English film and television director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the horror films ''WΔZ'' (2007) and '' The Children'' (2008), and television series such as ''The Fades'' (2011), '' Ri ...

's '' WAZ'',

Andrew Birkin Andrew Timothy Birkin (born 9 December 1945) is an English screenwriter and director. He was born the only son of Lieutenant-Commander David Birkin and his wife, actress Judy Campbell. One of his sisters is the actress and singer Jane Birkin. ...

's '' Cement Garden'',

Tony Maylam Tony Maylam (born 1943) is a BAFTA-nominated English filmmaker, known for directing documentaries such as '' White Rock'', the 1979 thriller '' The Riddle of the Sands'', and horror films such as ''The Burning'' and '' Split Second.'' Life ...

's '' The Burning'', Paul China's ''Crawl'', Lucio Fulci's '' Zombie Flesh Eaters'' and Dario Argento's ''

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' () is a 1970 giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film has been credited with popularizing giallo, an Italian genre of thriller developed in the 1960s. It is the first in what ...

'', ''

The Card Player ''The Card Player'' (Italian: ''Il cartaio'') is a 2004 giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham and is Argento's second giallo feature of the decade (following '' Sleepless''). The film features ...

'', ''

The Stendhal Syndrome ''The Stendhal Syndrome'' ''(Ital. La Sindrome di Stendhal)'' is a 1996 Italian Giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento and starring his daughter Asia Argento, with Thomas Kretschmann and Marco Leonardi. It was the first Italian film t ...

'', ''

Tenebrae Tenebrae (—Latin for "darkness") is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total ...

'' and '' Suspiria''. His moderated commentary with Oscar-winning actress

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

for

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the er ...

' ''

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

'' is considered a milestone in the art form. He has also contributed to the DVD extras for the Arrow ''Mario Bava Collection'' and the Blu-ray releases of ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical psychological drama film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh, and starring Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in their feature film debu ...

'', ''

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

'' and the ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...

'' collection.

Current projects

Jones worked with director

on the book 'The Act of Seeing', a volume of vintage posters charting the history of 42nd Street exploitation.

Bibliography

Books (as author)

*''Profondo Argento'', Jones, Alan, FAB Press, London 2004 *''Dario Argento: the Man, the Myths, the Magic'', Jones, Alan, FAB Press, London 2012 (revised version of ''Profondo Argento'') *''Saturday Night Forever: The Story of Disco'', Jones, Alan and Kantonen, Jussi, Mainstream, Edinburgh 2005 *''The Rough Guide to Horror Movies,'', Jones, Alan, Rough Guides, London 2005 *''Tomb Raider: The Official Companion'', Jones, Alan, Carlton, London, 2001 *''The FrightFest Fearbook.'' Jones, Alan, Revolver Books, London 2006 *''The FrightFest Guide to Exploitation Movies'' FAB Press 2016 *''The FrightFest Guide to Grindhouse Movies'' FAB Presentation 2021 *''Alan Jones: The Complete Starburst Reviews 1978-2008'' FAB Press 2023 *''Discomania'' FAB Press 2024

Books (as contributor)

*''The BFI Companion to Horror'' (contributor) *''Shock Xpress Volume 1 & 2'' (contributor) *''Brian De Palma Interviews'' (contributor) *''Femmes Fatales'' (contributor) *''Zombie'' (contributor) *''Eyeball'' (contributor) * ''Shadows in Eden'' (contributor)

Books (mentioned in)

*''Vivienne Westwood: A Biography'' Mulvagh, Jane, Harper Collins, London, 1998 *''England's Dreaming'' Savage, Jon, Faber, London, 1991 *''I Was A Teenage Sex Pistol'' Matlock, Glen, Omnibus, London, 1990k *''Sid Vicious'' Parker, Alan, Orion, London, 2007 *''Not Abba: The Real Story of the 1970s'' Haslam, David, Fourth Estate, London, 2005 *''Vacant'' Stevenson, Nils, Thames & Hudson, London, 1999 *''Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story'' Omnibus Press 2019

TV and radio contributions

Final 24 ''Final 24'' is a Canadian documentary series which airs on the Discovery Channel, Global Television Network, and OWN. Released in Canada in 2006, the series chronicles the last 24 hours of the lives of famous celebrities of the late 20th ce ...

(the Last 24 Hours of...Sid Vicious) ''(Canadian TV documentary)'' * ''My Way: The Sid Vicious Story'' (Radio 6) *

Who Killed Nancy? ''Who Killed Nancy?'' is a British documentary film directed by Alan G. Parker. The film was produced by Ben Timlett and Christine Alderson. It had its US theatrical opening at the Cinema Village in New York City on 30 July 2010. The film exami ...

(film) * ''Van Damme – The Muscles From Brussels'' Channel 5) * '' Hitchcock'' (Sci-Fi Channel) * ''The Day Britain Turned Disco'' *''When Disco Ruled the World'' * Punk Britannia BBC 4, June 2012

References

External links

FrightFest website

Rotten Tomatoes website (contributions to) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Alan British film critics Sex Pistols Living people Year of birth missing (living people)