Which series did you like more?

Crystal Lake #SeriesReview ‼️ I started watching this fresh off the heels of the Carrie series (which I considered a letdown.) I’m happy to say Crystal Lake will get a much better review. Linda Cardellini absolutely owns her role. She switches from being a prim and proper single mother of the 70’s to a deranged and hysterical murderer seamlessly. She makes you care about her character, and you’re always rooting for her despite some of the terrible things she does. When the series introduced Jason’s backstory I knew it was going to divide a lot of longtime F13 fans. In my opinion, the original run of movies didn’t have much of an origin story and while what this series accomplishes isn’t perfect, it establishes a lore that I not only find acceptable but enjoyable as well. That’s not bad for cleaning up the messy past that was the result of filmmakers flying by the seat of their pants throughout most of the filmography. What most F13 fans watch the movies for is the kills and boy do we get some good ones. Aside from a couple of goofy digitally enhanced kill scenes, the vast majority of blood spilled is well done and within the spirit of the franchise. I do wish the series cleaned up the ending of Grace and Lee’s story, but I suppose that’s because they want to make a second season. I’m not sure how that will pan out because there isn’t much space for things to occur between where we left off and the beginning of the first movie from a chronological standpoint… but if they do drop another season, I’ll watch it. Very solid 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Have you seen it yet? What did you think? All opinions welcome!

#NowWatching John Carpenter’s THE THING I can’t believe this is my fianceé’s first time watching this, but as a suspense and body horror enthusiast, I think she’ll love it. Is THE THING one of your favorite horror movies?

What’s a horror movie that you’d recommend to someone that’s just starting to explore the genre? I’d recommend this one ⬇️

#NowWatching Hokum directed by Damien McCarthy Have you seen it? What’d you think?

Support your local bookshop, especially if they have coffee.

#BookReview The No-End House by Jeremy Bates I’ll start by saying the premise was extremely exciting. To think of exploring an escape room/haunted house where each room gets darker, feasts on your fears, and grasps for your soul as you walk around in despair and torment seemed like an awesome concept. To beat the challenge of the room would be the ultimate brag for any horror fan. But unfortunately, this book just didn’t deliver in my opinion. I believe it could’ve been so much better, and that’s not from lack of creativity but lack of actually placing the characters in terrifying situations. Instead the circumstances felt silly. I will say that I enjoyed the characters, they had a decent chemistry and interesting backstories. They were not hard to root for. I believe the flashbacks provided were strategically placed and well executed. The ending lost me a bit as well. Not that it wasn’t interesting, but I just feel it felt a little far-fetched. You don’t expect a happy ending with a book like this, but it could’ve been executed a lot better and still sold the same level of “despair” it was advertising. 2.6 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NowReading Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill (2017) As the title mentions, this book is a collection including four stories: Snapshot, Loaded, Aloft, and Rain. I’ve already read Snapshot and thought it was pretty neat, and starting on Loaded now. Have you read it? What was your favorite story?

BOOK REVIEW: (no spoilers) One thing is for certain about Stephen King short story collections, you’ll never know what comes next. As expected, there’s a variety of themes, scares, emotions, and quality in this collection, but I more or less found the listen enjoyable. He’s a master storyteller and that title isn’t without reason, even if a story may not be “for you.” My favorites from the collection would be The Moving Finger, as it almost has a Lovecraftian quality to it, and Home Delivery, since it’s not often that King explores a zombie infestation, but he does it very well. Sneakers is basic yet gritty ghost tale that occurs almost entirely in a men’s restroom. And Chattery Teeth is a great story to read when you feel like you’re tired of everything going wrong in your world (it’s always nice to get some unexpected help.) My Pretty Pony is an odd yet chilling tale of mortality and the Sherlock Holmes story is quite the fun romp, even if it feels misplaced in this collection overall. Solid 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ Here’s the story list: Chattery Teeth My Pretty Pony Sneakers Dedication The Doctor’s Case The Moving Finger The End of this Whole Mess Home Delivery Have you read it? What did you think? Let me know! #BookReview #Horror #HorrorReview

Movie Review: Spoiler Free Return to SIlent Hill Directed by Christophe Gans You follow James Sunderland, a painter who fell in love with a woman from Silent Hill when the town didn’t look so… ashy. This movie is based on the video game, “Silent Hill 2” (2001), and it’s the latest example of how video game movies sometimes don’t translate well to the big screen. Without the puzzles, exploration, and genuine scares you experience through self-guided gameplay, you’re left with a fairly shallow, yet flashy, hodgepodge of ideas. The film functions in this manner: James walks around, gets a headache, remembers something, sees a grotesque monster, and then is basically plopped somewhere else with no real recollection of how he got there. The stakes never felt real. While I can appreciate the trauma-focused psychological horror the movie is going for, it doesn’t quite hit the mark because I realized about halfway through that I just don’t care about any of the characters. I didn’t care what happened to them because none of their emotions, actions, or traumas actually felt real. That being said, the atmosphere was done well and this is a pretty visually compelling time-waster over its 1h 46min runtime. I don’t quite hate it, but I wouldn’t say it was all that entertaining either. 2 out of 5 ⭐️ Have you seen it? What did you think? Let me know! #Horror #SilentHill