The Biology of Science Fiction Cinema, 2d ed.

Science fiction cinema has dramatically affected the perception of science by the general population. If science fiction and actual science sometimes seem at odds, they importantly share the elements of curiosity, creativity and imagination–and there are many examples of yesterday’s science fiction becoming today’s science.
This book explores the imaginative elements of biology seen in 20th century science fiction films. Written by a professional scientist and science fiction lover, this second edition includes recent updates of biomedical science and science fiction cinema. It covers different categories of biology, biochemistry (or molecular biology), and medicine, each subcategorized into chapters such as cell biology, hematology, and dermatology. Within each chapter are several film examples explaining the biological sciences principles involved, what is right and what is wrong with the science, and what changes could be made for the science of the film to become a reality.

Mark C. Glassy is a professor at the University of California, San Diego; Moores Cancer Center, Translational Neuro-Oncology Laboratory and a member of the advisory board for the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine.

Mark C. Glassy
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 351
Bibliographic Info: 51 photos, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9233-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5149-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface to the Second Edition 1

Introduction 3

Scientific Principles: An Overview 9

1. Cell Biology 25

The Man Who Lived Again (1936)  25

The Man with Nine Lives (1940)  27

Donovan’s Brain (1953)  29

Indestructible Man (1956)  30

Giant from the Unknown (1957)  33

The Blob (1958)  34

The Blob (1988)  37

Caltiki the Immortal Monster (1959)  39

The Flesh Eaters (1964)  42

Atom Age Vampire (1963)  44

Frozen Alive (1964)  46

The Creeping Flesh (1972)  48

Deep Red (1994)  51

Zombie 6: Monster Hunter (1995)  53

2. Molecular Biology 57

The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)  57

The Fly (1958)  60

The Fly (1986)  64

Humanoids from the Deep (1980)  66

The Thing (1982)  68

Watchers II (1990)  71

Carnosaur (1993)  73

Jurassic Park (1993)  77

Moonchild (1994)  82

Proteus (1995)  86

Species (1995)  88

The Relic (1996)  94

3. Pharmacology 100

White Zombie (1932)  102

The Undying Monster (1942)  103

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)  105

Zombie (1980)  107

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1987)  108

I Come in Peace (1997)  110

4. Endocrinology 112

Island of Lost Souls (1933)  113

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)  115

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)  118

The Ape (1940)  120

The Ape Man (1943)  121

Bride of the Gorilla (1951)  123

The Wasp Woman (1959)  125

The Leech Woman (1959)  128

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)  131

Food of the Gods (1976)  133

Project Vampire (1992)  135

5. Surgery 138

The Monster and the Girl (1940)  140

The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)  142

Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958)  146

The Head (1959)  148

Terror Is a Man (1959)  151

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)  152

Astro-Zombies (1967)  154

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973)  155

6. Hematology 158

The Return of Dr. X (1939)  158

Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)  159

House of Dracula (1945)  161

Not of This Earth (1957)  165

Not of This Earth (1995)  169

Queen of Blood (1966)   172

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)  172

Blade (1998)  174

7. Microbiology / Immunology 179

Man Made Monster (1941)  179

The Brain Eaters (1958)  183

The Angry Red Planet (1959)  185

Dark Breed (1996)  190

8. Virology 192

Last Man on Earth (1964)  192

Horror of the Blood Monsters (1972)  196

Outbreak (1995)  197

9. Biochemistry 202

The Devil Bat (1940)  203

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)  206

X—The Man with the ­­­X-Ray Eyes (1963)  210

The Horror of Party Beach (1964)  212

10. Entomology 215

Them! (1954)  216

Beginning of the End (1957)  219

The Deadly Mantis (1957)  221

The Deadly Bees (1966)  221

Skeeter (1993)  222

Mosquito (1994)  223

Mimic (1997)  226

Tarantula (1955)  228

Ticks (1993)   230

11. Shrinkology 233

The ­Devil-Doll (1936)  234

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)  236

Fantastic Voyage (1966)  241

12. Culfology 245

The Killer Shrews (1959)  245

The Crawling Hand (1963)  247

Island of Terror (1966)  249

Sssssss (1973)  253

13. Life Cycles 257

Alien (1979)  257

Aliens (1986)  257

14. Reanimated Brides 262

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)  263

The Bride of the ­­­Re-Animator (1989)  265

15. Dermatology 270

Doctor X (1932)  271

The Face of Marble (1946)   274

The Monolith Monsters (1957)  276

The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957)  278

Darkman (1990)  279

16. Plantimals 282

The Day of the Triffids (1963)  282

The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966)  284

The Revenge of Dr. X (1967)  285

The Freakmaker (1974)  287

17. Planet of Primates 289

Planet of the Apes (1968)  296

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1969)  298

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)  299

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)  300

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)  300

Appendix A: The Notebooks of Frankenstein 305

Appendix B: Accuracy of Laboratory Sets 315

Index 337

Reviews from the 1st edition

• “Fascinating”—Classic Images
• “Marvelous…fun…fresh, lively, iresistibly informative…a real gem”—Filmfax
• “Fun, appealing and intelligently done”—School Library Journal
• “Detailed…required reading”—C&RL News
• “Remarkable”—Cult Movies
• “Unique and unprecedented…anyone interested in the ‘science’ behind horror films and mad doctor machinations would do well to sample [this] book”—Monsters From the Vault
• “Full of real science…the author shows his indisputable knowledge of the field…painstakingly detailed…deserves respect”—SFRA Review