Final Women

Note: I meant to post this review last winter when I initially read the book, but overlooked doing so due to being otherwise occupied with moving at the time. This one's a good read for any time of year, but if you want to get the most out of it, I recommend saving it for a dark winter's night like I did. D. Alexander Ward's Beneath Ash and Bone is incredible. I'd heard good things about it, but didn't imagine how much I would end up loving it. Set shortly before the American Civil War, Beneath Ash and Bon e centers on Virginia sheriff Sam Lock, when he's called up to the palatial estate of Evermore to organize a search for a missing child. The boy is soon found, dead and bloody, beneath the snow. As he prepares to ride out the snow storm at Evermore, Lock endeavors to determine who wanted the boy dead. There are dark secrets to be uncovered in this mansion in the mountains, and the twists and turns the story takes as the mystery is gradually revealed are at tu...

Mike Thorn's Darkest Hours is a diverse collection of stories, that, at its best reminds me of Graham Masterton, less in style, more in terms of subject matter and gore. Some of the stories (for instance collection opener, "Hair") were a little stomach churning for my taste, but Thorn is a talented writer even when going for the gross-out. Animal lovers like myself might want to skip "Fear and Grace" and "Satanic Panic" (although the latter has a standout ending). I also found the cruelty to the creature, although it really wasn't by strict definition an animal, in "A New Kind of Drug" hard to take. Many of the stories in this collection concern the topics of academia (with academics being alternately portrayed as buffoonish or somewhat sinister) and drinking/drunkenness; the two are most amusingly combined in the clever "Speaking of Ghosts." "Long Man," concerning the titular creature that haunts children's mirro...

I'd put off seeing  Absurd , Joe D'Amato's loose sequel to  Anthropophagous  (which I've never seen), for a while, as it seemed like it was going to be a bit too brutal to be my cup of tea. However, after reading an old  Kindertrauma post  where Unkle Lancifer recommended it, I decided it sounded interesting. So I gave it a go. I'm glad I did. It was, in fact, very violent and very gruesome (I'm glad I hadn't eaten before watching it), but it was also tense and suspenseful. Happily, in contrast with a lot of horror movies of the period, it featured two very strong female leads - doctor Emily (Annie Belle) and invalid Katia (Katya Berger). Also, the closing shot on this one is amazing; I'm honestly surprised it's not more iconic. I hesitate to recommend  Absurd  to everyone, but if you're a slasher fan with a strong stomach, I think you'll enjoy this one as much as I did.

I finally got around to seeing   The Pact . It took me long enough. Considering my love for ghosts and haunted houses, plus the rave reviews it’s gotten, I should have gotten to it sooner, but better late than never. This quiet little horror film is one of the most underrated movies to have come out in the past 20 years, and I’d like recommend that everyone who hasn’t given it a watch yet do so as soon as possible.   The Pact concerns two sisters returning to their mother’s house in the wake of her death. It’s immediately clear that the women bear little love for their deceased mother. It seems she was horrifically abusive in her lifetime, and the sisters still bear the scars. Oldest sister Nichole (Agnes Bruckner) returns to their mother’s house first. Annie (the wonderful Caity Lotz, Sarah Lance from the Arrowverse - she also starred in the underrated horror comedy show,   Death Valley ), however, initially refuses to return, but is forced to when Nichole goes missing....