Serving as a detailed portrait of one of the most important, bustling and absurd industries cinema has ever known, this work consists of colorful essays and nine career-spanning interviews with Italian genre directors of the 1970s, such as Luigi Cozzi, Francesco Barilli, Lamberto Bava and more. The directors reflect on their careers, successes, failures and experiences directing films in the Italian westerns, sci-fi and horror genres. Following the anecdotes, gossip, controversies and first-hand accounts of the industry, the featured essays employ critical and historical analysis to fully unveil the fresco of Italian genre cinema, as well as its impact on the evolution of cinema across the world.