Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

 

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - 287 pages

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film” that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.

This was a bizarre book for sure, from how the kids made the movie, to how it evolved, to how it's being remade.  There were some interesting moments for sure.  For me this book ebbed and flowed; some parts I couldn't tear myself away from, while others were ho-hum.  And the synopsis is spot on-the ending is a bit of a mind bender!  Overall I'd say this book was good; it was different which I like but not sure I'd read again.

The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay

 ⭐⭐✩✩✩

The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay - 352 pages

Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The fifteen pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.

In "The Dead Thing," a middle-schooler struggles to deal with the aftermath of her parents' substance addictions and split. One day, her little brother claims he found a shoebox with "the dead thing" inside. He won't show it to her and he won't let the box out of his sight. In "The Last Conversation," a person wakes in a sterile, white room and begins to receive instructions via intercom from a woman named Anne. When they are finally allowed to leave the room to complete a task, what they find is as shocking as it is heartbreaking.

The title novella, "The Beast You Are," is a mini epic in which the destinies and secrets of a village, a dog, and a cat are intertwined with a giant monster that returns to wreak havoc every thirty years.

I am not sure if I read so much horror that I'm a bit more immune to the scares in horror books or if these stories were truly just underwhelming.  I was not impressed with this book at all; in fact, I skimmed through some stories just to get through it.  What I read was a proof copy, and ARC so I know it's not ready to publish but the run-on sentences were running rampant.  The endings of most of the stories were lack-luster at best.  If I had to pick a favorite story I guess it would be "The Last Conversation" because I liked the whole idea of it and it actually had a decent ending.