Beware The Shadows

Horror movies. I love em, you love em. They’re like ice cream–everybody loves em. But man, there aren’t enough good, and I stress good here, Lovecraftian movies. There’s a wealth of articles on the net attempting to explain why that is, and none of them get very far. If you want to be charitable to the old gentleman of Providence, you might say his stories are too complex, too detailed, too intellectual. Or it might be that he didn’t care a lick about characters, couldn’t write a female character to save his life, and didn’t spend too terribly much time with plot. Thus, movies based on Lovecraft’s stories tend to be more in the vein of “based on” than “a faithful retelling of.” Still, if you look hard enough, there are some gems out there. Here, I present a few.

Movies Based on Lovecraft Stories

Re-Animator

No list would be complete without this cult-classic. Directed by Stuart Gordon and staring Jeffrey Combs, Re-Animator takes the almost throw away work of Lovecraft that S. T.  Joshi claims is his worst and turns it into a masterpiece (In defense of the story, although we can knock “Herbert West: Reanimator”, it did give us Miskatonic University and perhaps the first example of reanimated corpses as zombies).  Not surprisingly, Stuart Gordon will appear several times on this list. Also note: if you want to read contemporary horror based on Lovecraft’s work, check out Pete Rawlik’s Reanimators series.

Dagon

Stuart Gordon also directed this ambitious, if not altogether successful, adaptation of the Lovecraft Story…”The Shadow Over Innsmith”. You thought I’d say “Dagon”, didn’t you? I know, confusing.

But fear not, Dagon may be the most true to the story, full-length Lovecraftian film ever made. And it introduces us to Ezra Godden, who played the lead role in our next selection.

Dreams in the Witch House

Briefly–far too briefly for my tastes–Showtime had a series called Masters of Horror. And it lived up to its name, featuring horror shorts by some of the most famous names in the genre. And one of those names was Stuart Gordon. So wouldn’t you know, he used his opportunity to bring another Lovecraftian story to the screen–“The Dreams in the Witch House.” Ezra Godden stars as Walter Gilman, the student of theoretical mathematics who finds more in his rented apartment than he expected. All in all, this is an excellent telling of one of my favorite Lovecraft stories.

The Unnamable 2: The Statement of Randolph Carter

I’ll go out on a limb and say you’ve heard of the first three movies on this list. I’ll go on another limb and say you’ve never heard of this one. And that’s too bad, because this is one of my favorites. Including performances by David Warner (!) and John Rhys-Davies (!!), this is the sequel to the forgettable The Unnamable, a pretty typical monster flick that does little to put the source material to good use. Not so, here. This B-movie is a love letter to Lovecraft, and if you can get your hands on it, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Bonus: A Movie Inspired by Lovecraft

In the Mouth of Madness

I love this movie, and the plot is straight Lovecraft, even if he didn’t write it. Sam Neill is on the trail of a recluse horror novelist whose writing has quite the affect on his readers. As in, it drives them insane. Jürgen Prochnow and Charlton Heston make an appearance, as does a very young Hayden Christensen. This movie also boasts one of the best catch phrases you’ll ever find: do you read Sutter Cane?

So this was supposed to be a review of Most Likely to Die. And it’s going to be one, of sorts. Well, really I’m just going to complain about it and then recommend you spend your time watching something else. Spoiler alert.

Anyway, into the breach.

Basically, a bunch of friends are getting together the night before their 10 year high school reunion. In high school, they were the popular kids who bullied everyone else, including in a year book prank where they labeled one particularly unpopular kid the “most likely to die.” That’s a pretty stupid prank if you ask me–most likely to die, really? Not to get philosophical here, but all men die. Anywho–but it ruins the one kid’s life and they all feel just real terrible about it.

I think you can see where this is going.

One by one they die, no one has cell phone coverage, someone  cut the fuel lines on their cars, and for some reason they can’t just walk down the road or, I don’t know, stick together for five seconds.

Pretty standard slasher material, all things told. There are some decent kills, and the murderer wears a high school graduation outfit with a mortarboard that would make Odd Job proud. But everything else about the movie–acting, dialogue, score, camera work, plot–is mediocre, even with an actor named Ryan Doom starring. Jake Busey also make an appearance, though it is not his finest work. Oh, and Perez Hilton. He’s actually pretty good.

Frankly the most interesting thing about this movie is a strange bit of serendipity. There’s a book out recently also called Most Likely to  Die. The movie and the book, as far as I can tell, have nothing in common except for the titles. Well and the plot. Consider, if you will, the synopses.

Book:

A 20-year reunion has been scheduled for St. Elizabeth’s. For some alumni, very special invitations have been sent: their smiling senior pictures slashed by an angry red line…

Three women have been marked for death. Tonight, as the music plays, and the doors of St. Elizabeth are sealed, a killer will finish what was started long ago, and the sins of the past will be paid for in blood…

Movie:

A group of former classmates gather for a pre-party at one of their homes the night before their 10-year high school reunion, and one by one, they are brutally slain in a manner befitting each’s senior yearbook superlative [editors note: This is an interesting conceit. They do not follow through on it.

The movie synopsis neglects to mention that our heroes also have a slash through their yearbook pictures and that they are also paying for the sins of the past.

I admit I didn’t spend too much time trying to figure out if these are connected. Strange coincidence though, right?

The takeaway: Most Likely to Die is not a terrible way to waste an hour and a half of your life. It’s not boring; it’s just not that interesting either. Instead, if you are looking for a horror movie this Halloween, aim a little higher and see A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. Check out my review here.

2.5 Stars

The page turner. Anyone who’s ever put pen to paper wants to write one. Jeremy Bates has a formula for pulling it off. His settings are exquisite–the scariest places on earth. With the atmosphere and the history they provide, Bates is off to the races. He give us a strong lead character, a crew of people to care about–and to provide fodder for the killer in their midst. It’s formulaic, it’s predictable, and it’s awesome.

I’ve read two of Bates’ books: The Catacombs and Suicide Forest.

The Catacombs:

Paris, France, is known as the City of Lights, a metropolis renowned for romance and beauty. Beneath the bustling streets and cafés, however, exists The Catacombs, a labyrinth of crumbling tunnels home to six million dead. When a video camera containing mysterious footage is discovered deep within their depths, a group of friends venture into the tunnels to investigate. What starts out as a lighthearted adventure, however, takes a turn for the worse when they reach their destination—and stumble upon the evil lurking there.

And Suicide Forest:

Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan…and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods. When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning—and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.

You might notice–those are pretty similar. And if you read the books, you’ll find they are pretty similar, too. But honestly? It doesn’t matter. When it comes to page-turning thrillers, it’s hard to find better. So check them out and let me know what you think. I bet you’ll be more than satisfied.

Catacombs: 4 Stars

Suicide Forest: 3.5 Stars

For our first Free Music Friday of this Halloween, we start with one I’ve featured before–Dixie Drug Store (JuJu Mix) by Grant Lee Buffalo. It’s basically impossible to find this version of the song. I got it from a demo CD released in Europe that I picked up off eBay. Ah, the glory of modern life. Now you can enjoy it, too. As a bonus, I’ve also included Heathens, from the Suicide Squad soundtrack. It has a definite Halloween vibe to it as well, I think.

I’ll get to the point–this movie is awesome, and you should immediately stop reading this and go watch it. The movie is best with a virgin experience, so don’t let me ruin it for you. Now, for the review.

I enjoy modern horror as much as the next guy, but a lot of times these days, the filmmakers take themselves so seriously that they ruin it. I’m all for art, but every now and then, I don’t want the whole thing to just be a metaphor. I want a freaking monster, an actual bad guy. I don’t want it to all be in the main character’s head. I want it to be real. On this point, The Witch delivers.

And why does it deliver? Because yes Virginia, there’s an actual devil worshiping, baby-killing, goat-milk-turned-to-blooding witch in this movie.

Short synopsis: Puritan family is too puritan for the Puritans, and leaves the safety and security of the colony for the wilds. At first, everything is awesome, everything is cool, yadda yadda yadda. But then, the baby disappears, the corn goes bad, and the goats start squirting blood. As things go from bad to very bad, suspicion begins to fall on the eldest daughter of the family. After all, she’s starting to, ahem, develop, so of course, the devil has his eye on her.

This movie is freaking gorgeous. And the music. Not since Susperia has a movie so effectively used sound to capture the imagination and keep you on edge. And the ending. I loved it. Just loved it.

Now, if you leave the friendly confines of this page, you’re going to find people hating on this movie. It became the cool thing to do not to like it. But that’s OK. It takes all kinds to make the  world go round, even those with bad taste. My advice? Ignore them and go see this movie. You won’t regret it. Or maybe…you will.

5 Stars

One last thing. If I could change anything about this movie, it would be this: I wouldn’t show the witches at all until the very end. I’d let you think this is one of those meta-modern BS anti-religious screeds where there are no witches blah blah blah and then BOOM, witches.

You know what I love? Old (relatively speaking) Syfy movies. You may not remember this, but back a few years ago, Syfy would do all day movie marathons on Saturdays, culminating in their movie of the week. So, for instance, you’d have snake/gator day, with a prime-time showing of something like Gatoroid vs. Mega Python or similar absurdities. The best of these movies knew how cheesy they were, and that gave them the freedom to just go for it. And in the end, you’d have a not half bad film. (This was pre-Asylum days, when people still cared about such things.) Movies like Rock Monster? Love it.

Seriously, it’s the best.

Now, if only The Hollow had followed that formula.

The Hollow is a movie about three sisters who like to scream a lot and are going to live with their aunt on one of those crazy, mist-covered islands you can only reach by ferry. See, their parents were killed in a car wreck. Oh and the youngest one has mental problems because she watched them get burned alive.

Laugh a minute.

Problem is, they picked a real damn bad time to visit this island, because it’s Halloween Eve, and on All Hallows Eve Eve a hundreds years ago the townspeople decided to burn some witches at the stake.

In 1915. In Canada. Cause why not, eh?

Anywho, the burning witches called down a curse that every hundred years, an avenging spirit will return to kill everyone on the island. This particular beastie is a burning wickerman looking thing that has a penchant for coming up the drain pipe. Can the sisters survive to the end? And the even bigger question, do we want them to?

Though it’s almost worth it for the scene where one of the locals repeatedly begs the sisters to be quiet so they won’t alert the monster to their presence, and yet they just keep on screaming.

Almost.

As much as I enjoyed those Syfy movies with heart, there’s not much worse than the Syfy movies without it. Unfortunately, The Hollow would fall well within that latter category. You could do a lot better this Halloween season. But it would be hard to do much worse.

2 Stars

The Invitation is one strange movie. Part of me wants to say that you should stop reading now and go watch it if you think you want to see it. I went in with no knowledge, whatsoever, of the plot, and I think that added to the general sense of unease that dogged me throughout the running time. But if you aren’t a purest, read on.

The Invitation begins with Will and Kira, our presumptive heroes, on their way to a party. They don’t exactly seem happy about it, and the mood is appropriately subdued. You get the feeling what kind of movie this is going to be when they hit a coyote. It doesn’t die, so, as an act of mercy, Will beats it to death with a tire iron…

Yeah…

Anywho, on to the party, where Will and Kira join a number of old friends they haven’t seen in a while. When they get there, we learn that the host, Eden, is the ex-wife of Will. We also eventually learn that Eden and Will had a child, who died tragically at this very property. We also learn that it’s been two years since anyone has seen Eden or her new man, David. And there are a couple randoms who no one seems to know, both of which act weird. Really weird. Add to that the cinematography that makes me think of what it must be like to go through life high, and the whole set-up is extremely unsettling.

It’s that feeling of unease that carries this movie. Frankly, almost nothing happens for the first hour. But everything is so weird, so strange, so fantastic that you are drawn inexorably into the movie. Which makes the reveal somewhat disappointing. I’m not going to say it’s bad, it’s just a little predictable for a movie that has kept you guessing all along. But maybe that’s just a side-effect of such an extremely powerful setup.

You should watch this movie, particularly this month. It is the perfect film for a chilly October night.

4 Stars

Jonathan Janz is a name with which I was wholly unfamiliar until recently. Apparently, I’m just about the only one. Janz’s novels are well and often reviewed, with people from Brian Keene to Jack Ketchum praising his creativity and bold style.

And yet somehow, I totally missed him. But no more, friends! I’m on the Janz train after reading a book of his I could barely put down–Children of the Dark. Cue the synopsis!

Will Burgess is used to hard knocks. Abandoned by his father, son of a drug-addicted mother, and charged with raising his six-year-old sister, Will has far more to worry about than most high school freshmen. To make matters worse, Mia Samuels, the girl of Will’s dreams, is dating his worst enemy, the most sadistic upperclassman at Shadeland High. Will’s troubles, however, are just beginning.

Because one of the nation’s most notorious criminals—the Moonlight Killer—has escaped from prison and is headed straight toward Will’s hometown. And something else is lurking in Savage Hollow, the forest surrounding Will’s rundown house. Something ancient and infinitely evil. When the worst storm of the decade descends on Shadeland, Will and his friends must confront unfathomable horrors. Everyone Will loves—his mother, his little sister, Mia, and his friends—will be threatened.

And very few of them will escape with their lives.

Let’s be honest: characterization is often a weakness in horror writing. Plot and a good hook tend to be the focus, but the characters tend to fall by the wayside. Cardboard cutouts are common, and with most of the characters with little more to do than wait to die, there’s little reason to give them much of a background.

But that’s not Janz’s approach. You know every character in the book in the first five pages, and by the next ten, you care about them, too. And you forget they are supposed to be young teenagers (a good thing, as I generally do not like stories about kids). Even the romance works.

And that’s a good thing, because I feel as though the plot itself is just so-so. It’s not bad, mind you, and the book is a page turner, but more so because I really wanted to find out what would happen to these people. There are some inconsistencies. For instance, SPOILER ALERT, some of the characters are able to read minds. But at key moments, it’s suddenly as if they can’t, with the good guys managing surprise attacks that should never work.

But as flaws go, that’s not exactly a big one. This October, Children of the Dark is exactly the kind of book to set that Halloween mood.

4 Stars

You don’t need the excuse, but use October as one anyway and check out these great works of horror.

1. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny–The definitive horror novel for the month of October, the criminally underrated A Night in the Lonesome October tells the story of Jack and his loyal dog snuff as they seek to prevent the return of the Great Old Ones on Halloween Night. In the process, they have to deal with Vampires, Frankenstein, Werewolves, Witches and the like. The book is written in 31 chapters, one for every day of the month. Oh, and did I mention it’s all told from the perspective of the dog? Truly one of my top ten favorite books of any genre, this is a book you need to read.

2. The High Moor Series by Graeme Reynolds — There are numerous reasons to love this series of books, but let’s start with the literary ones. High Moor takes the tired, metrosexualized werewolf genre and injects desperately needed excitement, violence, horror, and heart. High Moor is a page-turner of the highest quality, and when you finish it you will immediately buy High Moor 2: Moonstruck, and then you will wish High Moor 3 was already available. And it is, if you’re a horror writer like me and got an Advanced Review Copy. But I digress. There’s another reason to love High Moor. Graeme Reynolds is an example for unpublished authors all over. He believed in High Moor so he embarked on the treacherous world of self-publication, and he did it the right way, paying for an editor and a professional cover design. I’m just waiting on the movie. Read my review here.

3. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson — You can’t have Halloween without a haunted house, and there is no greater story about a haunted house than Shirley Jackson’s classic story of isolation, alienation, and good old fashioned ghosts. Just check out this first line–“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

4. The Mourning House by Ronald Malfi — Another story of a haunted house, The Mourning House is the shortest entry on this list. It is also one of the best. In life, there are times when one comes upon a work of art that is so stunning, so brilliant, and so fantastic that the mind struggles to accept that it is real. So is Ronald Malfi’s Mourning House. For years, I have searched for a piece of storytelling, a novel, a short-story, a movie, a television show, that could chill me. That could reach down in my soul and twist it. That could make me shudder and break out in goosebumps. Something I could savor every moment of and enjoy at some deep, transcendent level. It’s a rare thing, a piece of fiction like that. But “Mourning House” accomplished it. I loved this story. I loved every word, every syllable. I found myself reading it line-by-line, both afraid and excited to scroll down and see what was next.

And so, we start again. Today, the best month of the year begins anew. And on this site, it will once again be a month of ghosts and goblins, reviews and reminisces, tricks and treats. So join in, my friends, as we count down the days to the greatest of them all–Halloween!

I will lead you into the dark.

Just look at this lineup: Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Laird Barron and David Liss. And a frame story by yours truly. What more are you waiting for? The Limbus Saga continues, and you need to jump on the crazy train. Read Limbus, Inc. Vol. 3 today!

The Limbus saga continues with five more stories of horror, science fiction, and fantasy from some of the industry’s brightest stars – Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Laird Barron and David Liss.

Thomas Malone thought he’d seen it all during his twenty years in the Birmingham homicide division, until they found the body suspended above the opening of the Carver Mine, stripped of its skin, blood dripping into the chasm below. At the bottom of that shaft, two clues—a typed manuscript and a business card, blank but for a name and two words.

Malone couldn’t know that those two enigmatic items would lead him on a manhunt around the world, on the trail of a murderer and an organization of myth and legend. But he shouldn’t have been surprised. The business card said it all.

Limbus, Inc.

We employ.

In the past week, I’ve finished two interesting works of art that were worth the time to review. One I liked better than the other. Let’s start with the other.

Revival by Stephen King

It’s been a while since I read anything by King, but I’d heard that Revival was Lovecraftian in tone and content, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Let me start by saying that I’ve never read anything by King that I would classify as “bad.” Sometimes the story  misses or the idea falls flat, but King is never boring, his characters are always interesting, and he does not fail to keep your attention. But I have to say, Revival was trying at times. And once again, not because it was bad. I was just…off. The horror is a slow burn. A very slow burn. You might even say that the horror doesn’t really get going until 90 percent of the book is itself dead and gone. The book is Lovecraftian, but only in an attenuated way. You won’t notice if you don’t know who Lovecraft is, and you might not notice even if you do. In the end, Revival is a fine book, but it’s just that–fine. Don’t expect a real page turner, and don’t expect it to keep you up at night.

3.5 Stars

Movie Review: Old Boy (2003)

Now this, on the other hand, is a masterpiece of storytelling and misdirection. And it’s kinda like a book, since it’s in Korean and you have to read it anyway. Old Boy tells the story of a man, kidnapped and held hostage for the better part of two decades. He doesn’t know who kidnapped him–he never sees his captors–or why he is being held. And when he is suddenly released into the world, he doesn’t know why that happened either. The rest of the movie is about him figuring it out.

Old Boy grabs hold from frame one and never lets go. Every action director in America should be forced to watch it, if for no other reason than to learn how to film a fight scene. No herky jerky camera here, just awesomeness.

Old Boy is excessively violent and contains some…uh hmm…mature content, but I would recommend it unreservedly. It’s quite the trip, and you won’t forget it.

5 Stars

Featuring the work of Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Laird Barron and David Liss. This is the best Limbus anthology yet. Click here, and buy it today.

Who can turn that down, right? Recently, I had a Kindle book giveaway of That Which Should Not Be and He Who Walks in Shadow over on the Lovecraft eZine and I’ve got a couple left to give away. Click below, and good luck.

That Which Should Not Be

He Who Walks in Shadow

We Are Still Here is one of those movies that shows up on “Best Horror Movies on Netflix You Haven’t Seen” lists all the time. Tonight I got around to checking it out. All told, it’s a serviceable, if somewhat formulaic (at least till the end, where it reminds you that the same folks responsible for The House of the Devil made it), ghost story with enough fears and chills to keep you interested.

Annie and Paul have moved to the remote countryside after their son’s tragic death in a car accident. But it doesn’t take long before Annie begins to feel an otherworldly presence that she believes might be the undead spirit of her son. When two friends and their children visit to see if they can give comfort/figure out what’s going on, things get hairy.

The great thing about this movie is that it hits the ground running and doesn’t let up. The already short running time of less than 1:30 flies by. The story has enough twists to differentiate it from the standard haunted house fare, but don’t expect anything earth shattering. Which is not to say the movie isn’t creepy. It is, at times very much so. If it has a downfall, it’s that it shows the big bad a little too soon and a little too much. Favorite part? Probably the seance. The move is off and running at that point, and it’s a wild ride.

Well worth your time on a lazy Saturday night.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 based on the last thirty minutes, which separates it from the pack (and provides a delightful amount of gore).