Horror

[Netflix] Movie Review: A Dark Song

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Wikipedia:

A Dark Song is a 2016 Irish-British independent horror film, written and directed by Liam Gavin and starring Steve Oram and Catherine Walker. It was released to select theatres and digital streaming platforms on 28 April 2017. It is Gavin’s directorial debut.

This film is British, but I’m not sure I’d call it a horror film, it’s a supernatural film, since the entire plot is a woman convincing a witch to perform a ritual to summon a guardian angel. I would also call it a bit of drama as well given the reasons the woman wants to do the ritual in the first place.

It’s a slow moving movie, the ritual takes quite a few months to perform, and gets awkward, intimate, and exhausting. Eventually the woman has had it, and takes matters into her own hands…and then the movie gets a bit more interesting.

Get it on Amazon.

[Netflix] Review: A Good Marriage

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A Good Marriage is based on a short story of the same name from Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars (book review). Like 1922 (another Stephen King short story) it follows the book plot fairly closely. Some of the details are different, such as the box under the tool bench, Darcy’s fears for herself and her family (which are depicted as hallucinations rather than her thoughts, which makes sense in a movie format), and some of the clues that confirms her worst fears.

It does start a bit slow, but so does the short story, establishing Darcy and Bob’s ‘good marriage’. The average couple, still in love, and two grown kids doing well on their own. Its very difficult to talk about this movie without giving away the pertinent point that the plot revolves around. But I’m going to try to continue.

Skipping to the ending, as the middle of the movie is mostly Darcy coming to terms with the truth, and deciding what, if anything, she wants to do about it. So what does she decide? Darcy’s family is her world, if she tells the truth, her children will suffer, so there’s only one solution left. That solution is to eliminate the problem.

*Note: As of this writing A Good Marriage is no longer on Netflix, but can be found on the Roku Channel.

Get it on Amazon

[Netflix] Movie Review – Ghostship

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Yes, it’s true I like horror/thriller movies on the open waters. From JAWS to 47 Meters Down, I have liked them all. But now it’s time for something a little different. Ghostship.

An ocean liner mysteriously appears in waters off the coast and a salvage crew is hired to bring her in. Of course if everything went to plan the movie would be a little boring, so indeed it doesn’t go to plan.

Gabriel Byrne (aka D’Artagnan), Julianna Margulies, and Desmond Harrington (of DEXTER fame) star in this little known horror flick. Karl Urban (the new Spock of Star Trek) is also on deck as part of the salvage crew under Byrne and Margulies. Harrington was the one who found the liner and hired the salvage crew.

Trouble follows their every move, from blowing up their tugboat, stranding them on the ship, and what follows afterwards. Which if you didn’t know, is a plot twist! I love a good plot twist. I also have a secret love of horror movies, even if they aren’t critically acclaimed, which this one isn’t. But I still like it.

 

Get it on Amazon

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

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Full Dark, No StarsFull Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stephen King is firmly lodged in the section marked “Sarah’s All Time Favorite Authors”, but what lured me to this short story collection was the fact that two of the short stories have been made into Netflix Originals; 1922 and Good Marriage.

I will also admit to watching 1922 before reading 1922. And…the movie follows the book closely. Like, really closely. I can’t think of anything that wasn’t in the book that isn’t in the movie (did that make sense?).

The other short stories are easily just as good even if they weren’t made into Netflix Originals (thought they probably could be). I related to “Big Driver”, as I try my hand at writing every now and again and have cats myself. Fair Extension is an interesting read, and I’m slapping myself for missing Good Marriage while it was on Netflix. I think I would have enjoyed it too.

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Get it on Amazon

[Netflix] Movie Review – 1922

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I’ve made no secret of my love of Stephen King’s books, his movies have been hit or miss at the box offices but I still watch them and like them for what they are. As of writing this I have not read 1922 a short story in Full Dark, No Stars, a short story collection. With that out of the way, here’s what I thought of the Netflix adaptation.

The tagline reads “A simple yet proud farmer in the year 1922 conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to assist. But their actions have unintended consequences.” And with Stephen King, the consequences can mean ANYTHING.

But life goes on, even after murder, sons encounter growing pains, and fathers become desperate to salvage their lives. In true Stephen King fashion, the horrors of real life become something more, as everything spins out of control only to end, as most horror stories do, in sadness and tragedy.

I thought that this movie started out a bit slow, and it’s not one of those movies that continually builds to an exciting climax, but it does have a slow build to the end. I am more convinced that I need to get my hands on the book this film is based on though.

Great Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft

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Great Tales of HorrorGreat Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not new to the idea of the Cthullu mythos, the stories have been around since the 1930’s so it’s almost impossible not to know of them. If you don’t know about the stories, maybe you’ve seen The Reanimator or heard of it. In any case, you’ve probably heard of Lovecraft or the niche he created with his writings.

This is a collection of all his writings, which I was surprised to know that all he wrote were short stories. I thought he had this epic series around the Cthullu mythologies. Even so, his works aren’t all about Cthullu, and in fact the works only give him a passing mention to explain the goings on in the stories.

My favorite horror author is Stephen King, and these aren’t the “in your face” fears that he writes about. These are more of an all encompassing, world ending, deep fear; and I liked it. Lovecraft’s writing style is first person, and as this person is telling you his story, the fear creeps up little by little. The story starts out fairly normal, then you can tell something isn’t quite right, and by the end, you’re curled up in a fetal position hoping it will all blow over.

Lovecraft is a horror genre classic, the Cthullu mythology is enduring, and it’s just plain good storytelling.

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Just After Sunset by Stephen King

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Just After SunsetJust After Sunset by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stephen King is one of my most favorite authors and I love that he still writes short stories (and publishes them!). I’ve read another short story anthology by him and loved that one too. I can’t say that I’ve read anything from Mr. King that I didn’t like or love.

He explores several topics in this anthology, life after death, dreams, other dimensions, loss, and perilous situations. No two stories are completely alike and that gives this collection a nice flow. I’m glad the themes change from story to story.

He also includes a brief explanation of how the stories came to be, how he came to start writing short stories again, and the art of writing short stories. I love that too about Stephen King, he gives us a glimpse into the mind of a brilliant writer.

Horror stories aren’t for everyone, but if you’re a fan of the genre, you should be reading Stephen King.

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From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

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From a Buick 8From a Buick 8 by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been ages since I’ve read a Stephen King book, and I don’t know why that is because I count Stephen King as one of my favorite authors. I rectified that by reading this book. I’m not much of a car person, though I do know a few bits and pieces, but this book doesn’t really get into the mechanics of a car.

If you couldn’t tell, the title gives the plot away. It’s all about a car, a Buick 8-cylinder Roadmaster, though it’s not an ordinary car, not with Stephen King. It’s a guys book, because it’s a car, and it’s the ’70s. But, it’s still a very good read, and there are a couple of females that comment on it. But the main narrator is a guy.

They story of the Buick is told in flashbacks, how the policemen of Troop D found it, what happened over the years, and then what happened just now, and then a bit later. This book has a long timeline, almost a good 4o years worth.

It’s not scary like Cujo, where there is an actual “monster” to contend with, this is much more subtle. Even so, with most Stephen King books there is an element of “this could happen to you” and that is present here, but it takes a little more believing. If you like Stephen King, if you like cars, if you like a good horror story, see if you can find this one.

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Meet Me at the Library

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Another duo from my local library, 2 very different books – one by Agatha Christie, a classic mystery, another by Stephen King someone I’m surprised I haven’t read more of on this blog as he’s one of my favorite authors.

Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie

In the bestselling tradition of Black Coffee and The Unexpected Guest, a classic Christy mystery is finally available in novel form. Clarissa discovers a body in the drawing room and must hide it from her husband and the police while attempting to uncover the identity of the murderer.

From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

At first glance, Stephen King’s latest bears a familial resemblance to Christine , his 1983 saga of a haunted, homicidal Plymouth Fury. But From a Buick 8 is a marked departure from this earlier tale of adolescent angst and teenage tribal rituals. It is the work of an older, more reflective writer, one who knows that the most pressing questions often have no answers.

The story begins in western Pennsylvania in 1979, when a mysterious figure parks a vintage Buick Roadmaster at a local gas station, then disappears forever. The police discover that the Buick isn’t a car at all but rather a Buick-shaped enigma: self-healing; impregnable to dents, dirt, and scratches; composed of unidentifiable materials; and containing a completely nonfunctional engine. Confronted with a mystery of unprecedented proportions, the troopers of Barracks D claim the Buick for themselves and spend 20 years attempting to understand its nature, purpose, and provenance.

Over the years, the Buick is the site of a number of inexplicable occurrences, from occasional blinding “lightquakes” to more sinister happenings that suggest this alien object is a doorway to another dimension. King recounts the most dramatic of these with an intensity and attention to detail that evoke a primordial sense of terror, awe, and revulsion. Through it all, and despite the obsessive fascination of those around it, the Buick remains an impregnable mystery. And that, of course, is very much the point. The world, King tells us, rarely stops to explain itself. From a Buick 8 is one of King’s best, mostly tightly focused novels since The Green Mile . With great narrative economy, it encompasses 25 years in the interconnected lives of a diverse group of characters, and its unmistakable, deeply familiar voice is as haunting and engaging as ever. On the evidence at hand, it’s clear that King continues to command the hypnotic power that has made him one of the dominant figures in modern popular culture. Bill Sheehan

Keep reading little book worms!

Dollar Tree Book Reviews – Part One

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I’ve bought quite a few books from the Dollar Tree in my time here on this blog, and I think the time has come to do a collective review on some of them. So, without further ado here is a video of my talking about some books from the Dollar Tree!

 

The books I cover in this video are:

 

Keep reading little book worms!