31 Days of Halloween - Day 10

The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones

Lazy Fascist Press. 2012


Lindsey, a final girl who has survived a massacre at the hands of a killer in a Michael Jackson mask returns to high school in time for homecoming, and fills out the now empty slots of her murdered entourage with the school's misfits. One of those misfits, Izzy, recognizes that this is the formula for a "sequel" and that she and the rest of Lindsey's new clique, were chosen as fodder so that Lindsey can end up as final girl once again.

It would be simple, and inaccurate, to say that Jones embraces all of the tropes of the slasher film and spins them on their heels in order to throw the reader for a loop. That is an important component here.  Jones is aware that the reader probably knows all of those tropes too, dropping in references both obvious (characters named Jamie Curtis and Crystal Blake) and slyly descriptive shorthand to horror fans (the killer does a "Hodder" when looking at a victim), including cameos by horror actors as supporting characters, but what makes this book sing is Jones' narrative style.

The story is told as if someone were describing to you a movie that they were watching, dropping the usual descriptive prose with quick snapshot descriptions of visual and aural edits; establishing shots, quick pans, compositions in which an empty space behind a character looms suspiciously in frame, jettisoning a lot of unnecessary description in order to cut the story down to its meat and potatoes. For all of that, the relationships here feel more real than in one of the movies it emulates, and scenes of loss are more cutting for that. I'm not a real fan of the slasher subgenre, but found this book to be a very entertaining read.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 9

Wicked Witches edited by Scott. T. Goudsward, David Price and Daniel G. Keohane.

NEHW Press. 2016.


As a longtime resident of New England, I've always known that this corner of the USA was darker, more atmospheric and haunted than any other region. This probably accounts for why so many horror writers can be found here. Wicked Witches is a themed anthology of the New England Horror Writers.

The writers included range in styles, experience and skill levels, so the stories range as well. There are a number of very entertaining stories here, a couple chillingly effective ones, and no real duds. Kudos also for the variety of tales told here given the thematic nature of the anthology. Even so, it's probably best to space them out a bit rather than trying to read this straight through, something that can be said for most anthologies. Even just dipping randomly into this volume will give you something that will help make the season complete.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 8

The Flock by James Robert Smith

Five Star. 2006

In a vast savannah habitat in central Florida, that is part of a now closed military base, three groups compete for ownership of this untouched, remote land; a Walt Disney-esque media company looking to expand their idealistic suburban community named Salutations (much like Celebration), a retired Marines colonel who wants to use it to train right-wing militia groups in preparation to step in and overthrow a left leaning government, and a billionaire ecologist/cryptozoologist who wants to keep it as is.

When dogs go missing from the outskirts of Salutations, Ron Riggs, a Fish and Wildlife officer, is brought in to investigate.  What he finds is romance, intrigue, red herrings, murder, betrayal and 10 foot tall prehistoric birds with strength, speed, razor sharp beaks and some other surprises.

This is an adventure novel which isn't so much of a throwback to nature's revenge novels popular in the 1970s, though it is patterned on them. The characters come in familiar clothes; the scheming, selfish corporate leader, the crazed ex-military man, the environmentalist, the heroic everyman, the tough girl, the meddling reporter, etc. As the book progresses and the characters you think are definite bird fodder, turn out to be other than, and the climax appears and ways other than what you expected, you realize that there are other red herrings than the ones being served to the characters in the book.

This was a fun, fast paced read, and Smith pulls off the unenviable task of having to convey to the reader the inner workings of an alien species. A sequel is in the works, and I'm looking forward to reading that one, too.

21 Days of Halloween - Day 7

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello

St. Martin's Griffin. 1990.

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was a grisly film that no one, aside from Hitchcock, himself, wanted to see made. This economical thriller would take the box office by storm, redefine Hitchcock's career becoming the film he would never surpass and later a classic.

Rebello's book charts the making of this pivotal film from the events that inspired Robert Bloch's novel from which the film was adapted, through studio politics, preproduction, filming, release and its aftermath. told with precision and insight and with the valuable input of the surviving members of the cast and crew, this is a remarkable behind the scenes look at an essential piece of cinema.









 

31 Days of Halloween - Day 6

Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon

Ballantine Books. 1961.

Theodore Sturgeon is best known for his science fiction stories, but crossed genres often. Here, using the same epistolary technique that Bram Stoker used for Dracula, he updates the vampire story to the modern era in a subtle story that chooses disturbing psychology rather than supernatural origins to explain the root of his vampire's cravings. Now, much of what appears here, including similar profiling as used with serial killers, will appear old hat, but in 1961, it must have been fascinating. Sturgeon is a master storyteller though, so this quick read still remains entertaining, if not blood curdling.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 5

Rawblood by Catriona Ward

Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 2015.


Young Iris Vallarca, the last of her line, is kept isolated by her father at their ancestral mansion, Rawblood. The reason he keeps her there and away from other people is that the house seems to be the only place where their unique disease, Horror autotoxicus can be kept in check. This same disease, she is told, took her mother and has caused early deaths for every other member of their family. As Iris grows up, her suspicions that this unique disease might not even be real, seem to be confirmed, but the alternate explanation for what's causing the deaths at Rawblood is far more sinister.

This is at once a classic gothic tale rich with secrets and atmosphere and a compelling, dark character study. It pushes the characters and the reader towards more and more disturbing revelations until it's punch in the gut climax. This was really outstanding.




The book has been retitled as The Girl from Rawblood for American release.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 4

Morbid Curiosities by Paul Gambino

Laurence King Publishing. 2016.


If you have an affinity for the bizarre and macabre, this book is a must. This is an examination of the collections of seventeen individuals who have filled their living spaces with all manner of memento mori; skeletons, anatomical models, photographs of the diseased, misshapen, and dead, gas masks, serial killer memorabilia, preserved specimens, medical tools, and taxidermied specimens, both normal, monstrous, and anthropomorphized. The photos are glorious, the collections astonishing, and the stories of the people behind them just as interesting as what they collect.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 3

Euro Gothic by Jonathan Rigby

Signum Books. 2016.


If there's one area of horror cinema that I know the least about, it's the films that came out of continental Europe. Too many movies had very similar titles (or multiple titles) with quality varying widely and extremely. The best known directors had very inconsistent quality within their own output. Films weren't as easy to come by either. The whole regional genre output seemed like an impenetrable maze.

Now, with Rigby's new book, I have a map. Focusing on the countries of Germany, Italy, Spain, and France from the dawn of cinema through the mid 1980s, this is a comprehensive examination of key (and some utterly disposable films) from this region of the globe. Like me, you'll probably want to keep a list of movies to find while reading this.

If you've read Rigby's other two regional studies, American Gothic and English Gothic, as well as his Studies in Terror, you'll know that his research and observations are outstanding, and that these are essential books for fans of the horror film. If you haven't read any of them, then acquire them as soon as you can. You'll thank me.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 2

Nightmares - A New Decade of Modern Horror Edited by Ellen Datlow
Tachyon. 2016.

When you see Ellen Datlow's name attached to an anthology, you know you are looking at a quality collection of stories. Nightmares is no exception. Organized by year of publication, Nightmares contains what Datlow considers the cream of the crop in horror fiction published between 2005-2015 (there is also a companion volume, Darkness, which covers the years 1985-2015). Authors include Laird Barron, Caitlin R. Kieran, Stephen Graham Jones, John Langan, Gene Wolfe, Gemma Files, Garth Nix, and other notables. There are twenty-four stories in all. Like any anthology, there will be stories that strike a chord with you, and others that don't do as much. There were no outright misses for me in this anthology, but several that made this one of the outstanding collections in recent years for me.  Among my favorites involve a mysterious phenomenon that cuts off a house from its neighborhood, an apocalyptic being kept sequestered in a safe house, and a book thief and an atlas of Hell. Your own favorites will probably differ, but feel free to post them in the comments section below.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 1

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All  by Laird Barron

Night Shade Books. 2013.


Nine stories by Laird Barron is a great way to begin this season of darkness, and here you get two fistfuls of unsettling cosmic dread mixed with crime and the every day. What I like about these stories is that in most of them, Barron takes his time getting to the weird stuff, but even while he's setting up characters going about their every day jobs and concerns before they encounter that which will change them forever, that malevolence is there in ambient form. While the stories all stand alone, you'll discover common elements like a sinister black hole in the air looking back at you that makes it seem that it is the same darkness that is moving through this world highlighting examples of its dirty work for us to witness. That the stories themselves don't conclude with neatly wrapped up endings enhances that feeling that the bad stuff keeps rolling on.  I highly recommend any of Barron's work.

Also, kudos, to Norman Partridge for his entertain introduction.

Welcome to My 12th Annual Halloween Countdown

Welcome to my 2017 Halloween Countdown. This is my twelfth annual Halloween Countdown.

Like last year I'll be devoting this to some of my favorite genre related books I've read this year;
anthologies, single author short story collections, novels, macabre non-fiction, biographies and graphic novels are all represented. Like last year, I've decided to only include books I enjoyed and to showcase authors that don't get the same amount of love and attention as the genre heavyweights.

Because I really like to go into a book knowing as little about it as possible, the reviews are pretty general and as unspoilery as I could make them. Some of the books work incredibly well if you have no idea what they are about before starting them.

Most of the books I chose are also pretty easy to get your hands on, and I've even provided a handy link on each post so that you can order the book from Amazon. Please use this link. If you make a purchase from Amazon by visiting through those links (even if it's not the item in question) Amazon will throw some revenue my way. It's hardly a noteworthy amount, but can cover the cost of a book or two that I purchase later on.

I recommend doing this on any site that provides a link to something that the creator of that blog has steered your way. Think of it as a tip jar for being directed to quality entertainment.

Also, be sure to visit my companion blog, The Grim Gallery for all things monstrous 365 days a year.

I'm not alone in running an annual Countdown to Halloween. After you are done here, please visit Countdown to Halloween where you will find links to hundreds of blogs hosting their own countdown this year. If you want to be part of that group, information on how to do so can be found at that link as well.

There's nothing better on an Autumn night when the temperature is down, and perhaps there is wind, and even better, rain, than to curl up with a good drink and a spooky book to usher in the season. Hopefully, this countdown will make it easier for you to choose what to read next.

Enjoy!

Coming Soon...

October 1, 2017. Midnight. Here.

Milestone Update

I'm a little behind here, but for those of you who have been asking me about Milestone Media and when it will be returning, here's an update (of sorts) from San Diego Comic Con 2017. Read it here.

"Thirty Years Later" Now Open

"The Predator" is the 3-D cut paper piece I made for the "30 Years Later" show, celebrating the films of 1987, which is now on exhibit at Gallery 1988(West) through August 12, 2017. Visit in person, if you can.

Coming July 21st

Mad Scientist #32

Issue #32 of Martin Arlt's excellent magazine, Mad Scientist is now available. It's a mere $8.00, including shipping, and can be ordered here, where you can also view the contents of this issue. I created a cut paper portrait of Boris Karloff in The Black Cat which can be found within this issue.

Star Wars - The 40th Anniversary

The movie now known as Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, turns forty years old today. Back when I saw it in 1977, it was just Star Wars. It feels like we were just celebrating it's 30th Anniversary, something I actually did with a month long examination of the film which you can scroll back through by visiting my posts from May, 2007.

The Grim Gallery Turns Six

My companion blog, The Grim Gallery, turns six years old today. If you have any interest in monsters, be sure to check it out.

Derry, Maine - 1957

For the Stephen King show, now on exhibit at Gallery 1988 (West), I told myself I wasn't going to do anything related to It. My decision had nothing to do with my feelings for the book (it's one of my favorite King novels), but because I figured Pennywise would be getting a lot of exposure in the show. However, when this idea occurred to me I had to do it.

The tower in the background, which features prominently in the novel, is based on the Thomas Hill Standpipe in Bangor, ME, which is the actual bit of architecture that King used for the Drrry standpipe in the book. In fact, if you visit the actual site, you'll find that the entire location is pretty exact to how it's described. I took liberties with the setting though.

The boy in the piece is actually based on a photograph of Stephen King as a boy and seemed like the perfect trusting, innocent little boy unaware of the horrors of the world (or those he'd later create).

I did try to give Pennywise the silver clown suit he wears in the book, but it just didn't look right. I ended up going with dark blue because the blue connected to the boy's clothes, only much darker, giving them a relationship. I don't think I need to go into any of the other symbolism in the image. It isn't subtle. I'm actually really happy with how this one turned out.

I Am the Doorway

The Stephen King show opens at Gallery 1988 (West) tomorrow night. I have two pieces in the show, including "I Am The Doorway" shown above.

My piece is 3-D cut paper and obviously based on the initial paperback cover of Night Shift with art by Don Brautigam (shown below with it's die cut outer cover).

Brautigam (1946-2008) created the covers for the paperback versions of some of King's earliest books, including The Stand, Firestarter, The Dead Zone, Different Seasons, and Cujo (as well as numerous other books and well known record album covers as can be seen here.) Even before I'd ever read a Stephen King book I was drawn to the covers. As far as I'm concerned none of the covers of subsequent editions has come close to recreating that sense of the uncanny that Brautigam's covers brought to King's works.


The covers for Night Shift and The Stand resonated with me the most, and I'd initially planned to recreate both of them, but time and life had other intentions.