Praise for Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 

“Lanza's prose is clear and dynamic… deserves a place in the horror academic canon…”
–The Austin Chronicle

“This is a smartly written, well-structured survey worth the attention of both horror film fans and sociologists”
–Publisher’s Weekly

"...It is nice to finally have a definitive text about the sociopolitical influences upon the film and the implications suggested by the film.
After all, no film is made in a vacuum...This approach makes the book a must read for scholars and fans alike and
sets itself apart from other books about this classic film." —Cinemaliterate

“This smart and well-researched analysis of a cult classic is recommended for horror fans.”
–Library Journal

Praise for Gravity: Tilted Perspectives on Rocketships, Rollercoasters, Earthquakes, and Angel Food

In these essays, Lanza (Elevator Music) draws clever analogies between Superman and Liberace (who liked to fly on stage), interprets the evolution of kitchen design as a battle against falling objects, and points out that while Norman Schwarzkopf was masterminding air attacks on Baghdad and Kuwait, his distant relative Anton Schwarzkopf, a "thrill ride" designer, was orchestrating a roller-coaster revival." -- Entertainment Weekly

"In this tasty souffle of a book, full of buoyant, anti-gravity prose, Joseph Lanza treats us to a light yet far from insubstantial look at the weightiest subject of all. It is a giddy guided tour of pop culture as seen through the "tilted perspective" of the rollercoaster fanatic... Lanza's brilliance lies in the fact that he makes each precarious did into the valleys of rollercoaster arcana serve as a prelude to ascending exhilarating peaks where the entire cultural landscape opens up, allowing you to glimpse -- if only for a moment -- the interconnectedness of all things . . . If you want to give your imagination a ride and your spirits a lift, drop everything and pick up a copy of Gravity"--Los Angeles Times Book Review

Praise for Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films

"Lanza has managed to disguise his masterful research as a near-neo novel with gothic and surreal overtones. I applaud the man, having done the same with my own biographies on composers."--Ken Russel, director of Altered States, for the London Times

"Everything you ever wanted to know—and more—about the wild child of Cinema Britannia." --Financial Times

Praise for Gravity: Tilted Perspectives on Rocketships, Rollercoasters, Earthquakes, and Angel Food

In these essays, Lanza (Elevator Music) draws clever analogies between Superman and Liberace (who liked to fly on stage), interprets the evolution of kitchen design as a battle against falling objects, and points out that while Norman Schwarzkopf was masterminding air attacks on Baghdad and Kuwait, his distant relative Anton Schwarzkopf, a "thrill ride" designer, was orchestrating a roller-coaster revival." -- Entertainment Weekly

"In this tasty souffle of a book, full of buoyant, anti-gravity prose, Joseph Lanza treats us to a light yet far from insubstantial look at the weightiest subject of all. It is a giddy guided tour of pop culture as seen through the "tilted perspective" of the rollercoaster fanatic... Lanza's brilliance lies in the fact that he makes each precarious did into the valleys of rollercoaster arcana serve as a prelude to ascending exhilarating peaks where the entire cultural landscape opens up, allowing you to glimpse -- if only for a moment -- the interconnectedness of all things . . . If you want to give your imagination a ride and your spirits a lift, drop everything and pick up a copy of Gravity"--Los Angeles Times Book Review

Paise for Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films

"Lanza has managed to disguise his masterful research as a near-neo novel with gothic and surreal overtones. I applaud the man, having done the same with my own biographies on composers."--Ken Russel, director of Altered States, for the London Times

"Everything you ever wanted to know—and more—about the wild child of Cinema Britannia." --Financial Times