"What did I do? Made myself some money and made a few films. nothing really." - Tony Tenser, 1998 I think that most authors remember the moment that inspired them to write their first book. For me, it came when I read Denis Meikle's seminal study of Hammer, A History of Horrors, and was intrigued by the revelation that the leading purveyor of all things Gothic was almost taken over by Wardour Street rivals, Tigon Films. Off the top of my head, I could name maybe four Tigon films, and I was only vaguely aware of the name Tony Tenser, the man behind the deal. I was fascinated by the thought that for a moment in 1971, this seemingly obscure company almost became the new 'House of Horror.' If you were lucky enough to live in London in those pre-IMDB days, the best cure for idle curiosity was visiting the British Film Library. In the case of Tigon, their database added a mere 9 titles to my list -- most of which I had never heard of.

That's when I started digging. Over the next two years, I visited the BFI two or three times a month and gradually pulled together everything I could find about Tigon and Tony Tenser. The rise to prominence of folk horror as an influential area of horror film studies has added to Tenser's fame. Two of the three acknowledged classics of the genre came under Tigon's banner. The producer didn't invent the phenomenon, but it's a rare folk horror film that doesn't have a line of sight to either Witchfinder General or Blood on Satan's Claw. The former remains a 'Michael Reeves film,' as it should, but Tony did far more than settle the invoices. The same is true for the other high-profile films on his CV: Repulsion, The Sorcerers, Blood on Satan's Claw, and Hannie Caulder. all bearing Tenser's inimitable stamp.

Reissuing Beasts in the Cellar on the 20th anniversary of the original publication will raise Tony's profile and put his work into the wider context of the 1960s and early 1970s. In his review of the first edition (published in 'Crime Time'), Barry Forshaw said, "If you are at all interested in the darker corners of the British Film Industry, here is a helpful searchlight." When I started this journey, I was looking at a single man and a single film company. I deliberately cast my net wide, and by the time you finish this book, I hope you have a feel for what Wardour Street was like during, arguably, its most vibrant and creative period, and you will have a greater appreciation for the man who dominated its darkest corners.