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Awix (3310 KP) rated Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft in Books
Mar 15, 2019 (Updated Mar 15, 2019)
Dang-near essential for anyone interested in the 20th century horror story, this volume does what it says on the front and collects the most significant fiction of H.P. Lovecraft's career. Lovecraft has a unique and idiosyncratic writing style (and that's putting it mildly) and he's not afraid to insert his deeply unpleasant racist views into his stories. However, no single figure has been more influential in the development of the fantasy-horror genre in the last century.
Lovecraft's best stories take the scientific discoveries of his time and use them to summon up an extraordinary sense of cosmic dread: the vastness of the universe and the primordial origins of the human race become the stuff of genuine nightmare. All the key stories are here - the famous Call of Cthulhu, of course, along with others that are still massively influential, such as The Colour Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness. Lovecraft wrote the book on a certain kind of horror, and this volume is pretty much it. Some of the stories are minor works, but the best ones here are epochal.
Lovecraft's best stories take the scientific discoveries of his time and use them to summon up an extraordinary sense of cosmic dread: the vastness of the universe and the primordial origins of the human race become the stuff of genuine nightmare. All the key stories are here - the famous Call of Cthulhu, of course, along with others that are still massively influential, such as The Colour Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness. Lovecraft wrote the book on a certain kind of horror, and this volume is pretty much it. Some of the stories are minor works, but the best ones here are epochal.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Black Wings of Cthulhu 6 in Books
Mar 2, 2020
Another mixed bag of Lovecraft-inspired fiction and poetry. As usual with this sort of thing, some of the stories are basically in-jokey games of Spot-the-Yithian, while others suffer from the authors trying too hard to bring their own agenda to the HPL milieu. Some reasonably good stuff apart from this, though, assuming you like pulpy horror-fantasy. Editor S.T. Joshi gets very precious, even perhaps a touch pretentious, about this stuff given how cheesy and broad-brush some of it is. The wheat-chaff ratio isn't brilliant but it passes the time.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Judy & Punch (2019) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020
Not many movies contain moments that leave me literally open-mouthed with astonishment, unsure whether to laugh out loud or moan with horror, but Judy & Punch (a comedy-drama-horror-fantasy) has one. The setting seems to be England in the very late middle-ages, where Punch, a sausage-loving puppeteer with a drinking problem, is making life hard for his capable wife Judy. Slowly but surely, the classic events of the familiar Punch and Judy story begin to happen (although they do struggle to insert the crocodile into the movie).
Lots going on here, most obviously a fable about male violence towards women (and how it is justified when it appears in entertainment). The movie isn't especially subtle about this, but it is inventive, well-staged, and played with energy. It does become rather uneven towards the end, but it is easily different enough from most other movies to be worth checking out. Probably not for the faint-hearted or squeamish though.
Lots going on here, most obviously a fable about male violence towards women (and how it is justified when it appears in entertainment). The movie isn't especially subtle about this, but it is inventive, well-staged, and played with energy. It does become rather uneven towards the end, but it is easily different enough from most other movies to be worth checking out. Probably not for the faint-hearted or squeamish though.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Perfect Creature (2006) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
Characters – Silus is the vampire from the brotherhood, he has a connection with his brother Edgar and will not let him take over once he becomes the blood thirty infected version of himself. Lilly is the nonsense cop that has suffered her own share of heartache with the viruses in the world, she doesn’t take any shit from anyone she believes to be guilty. Edgar is the brother of Silus that has become infected while trying to find the next cure for the human and Brotherhood medical problems which makes him the first member of the brotherhood to kill a human.
Performance – Dougray Scott is fine without being that impactful in the leading role and the same could be said for Saffron Burrows, the highlight of the film would be Leo Gregory as the Edgar the bloody thirsty crazy vampire.
Story – The story does feel like it could be another chapter of the Underworld saga, it has the vampires of the world living in peace with the humans but when one goes rogue it becomes personal. This isn’t the most original and strays too far into the middle of the fantasy world we are trying so desperately to head towards. We don’t find enough time to create the fantasy world that could become a franchise let alone a new story because in the end this could have just been a crime thriller.
Action/Fantasy/Horror – The action is fine, it mostly contains fights that try to offer an extra punch where needed but isn’t the most original, while the fantasy world doesn’t click for the story we are experiencing, the horror is tame too with it only being a couple of vampire like moments.
Settings – We have murky settings which is designed to show us the different in class between the two races.
Special Effects – The effects are all fine and at least the film doesn’t turn into a bad CGI moment film.
Scene of the Movie – The special gun that instant sleeps and enemy.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just doesn’t seem to feel fresh in any way.
Final Thoughts – Disappointing movie that doesn’t connect with the audience on the levels it could have because it wants to be a fantasy film but plays out only like a dark crime thriller.
Overall: Disappointing film.
Performance – Dougray Scott is fine without being that impactful in the leading role and the same could be said for Saffron Burrows, the highlight of the film would be Leo Gregory as the Edgar the bloody thirsty crazy vampire.
Story – The story does feel like it could be another chapter of the Underworld saga, it has the vampires of the world living in peace with the humans but when one goes rogue it becomes personal. This isn’t the most original and strays too far into the middle of the fantasy world we are trying so desperately to head towards. We don’t find enough time to create the fantasy world that could become a franchise let alone a new story because in the end this could have just been a crime thriller.
Action/Fantasy/Horror – The action is fine, it mostly contains fights that try to offer an extra punch where needed but isn’t the most original, while the fantasy world doesn’t click for the story we are experiencing, the horror is tame too with it only being a couple of vampire like moments.
Settings – We have murky settings which is designed to show us the different in class between the two races.
Special Effects – The effects are all fine and at least the film doesn’t turn into a bad CGI moment film.
Scene of the Movie – The special gun that instant sleeps and enemy.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just doesn’t seem to feel fresh in any way.
Final Thoughts – Disappointing movie that doesn’t connect with the audience on the levels it could have because it wants to be a fantasy film but plays out only like a dark crime thriller.
Overall: Disappointing film.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Tigers are Not Afraid (2017) in Movies
Oct 5, 2020 (Updated Oct 5, 2020)
I initially found this to be uncommonly touching but no sooner does it fall into the draining rhythm of the rest of these sad realism/fantasy metaphor films. Still cloying as can be but a reasonable amount of mostly unaffected emotional scenes do make it out of the wreckage with this one, and after all it's still vastly better than 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 and 𝘗𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 combined because it's visually divine without being cut down to scraps via obnoxious handheld gimmick (which this still has but it's much more restrained, sort of works here, and is actually visible for once) or an eyesore color palette that resembles somebody smearing mud all over the lens like either of those two. As is usual for the genre there isn't near enough depth or fantasy parts for this to be fully successful, but the child performers are all marvelous and the horror/fantasy that is here is quite masterful - the effects and art design are just awesome. If this was interested in being its own deal rather than ripping off practically every single trope you can find in these types of movies then we'd really be in business. But as it stands, it's still far above the pack in comparison to the rest of them - as if that's even a high bar to begin with.
Rachel (2 KP) rated Supernatural in TV
Nov 6, 2017 (Updated Nov 6, 2017)
The best of the fantasy horror shows on TV!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Better special effects than True Blood, this show is the new and better Buffy, that uses actual folklore in adding to the creativity of the Supernatural created universe, unlike its predecessor who relied on created folklore to fill in plot holes. The later seasons have their ups and downs in terms of new humor and repetitiveness, but it is well worth the journey!
An episode to highlight would be when Sam and Dean face off against Famine, one of the four horses of the apocalypse.
Grab a canister of Morton Salt, a piece of pie and a blanket to snuggle in and enjoy the inside jokes!
An episode to highlight would be when Sam and Dean face off against Famine, one of the four horses of the apocalypse.
Grab a canister of Morton Salt, a piece of pie and a blanket to snuggle in and enjoy the inside jokes!
I have always enjoyed Peter S. Beagle's short fiction books and these definitely are worth it. Even his attempt at the steampunk genre is pretty good. Some of these stories are a little on the dark side and slightly horror, however, you also get some action and adventure. It is a great way to visit some of his established worlds like The Last Unicorn and Inn Keeper's Song as well as find something new. Worlds that treat dragon's like guard dogs for drugs and the police that find them or a world that has humans communicating with aliens via a computer. It is a great travel from High Fantasy to futuristic Sci-Fi.
Merissa (11731 KP) rated Gatekeeper in Books
Dec 17, 2018
First off, I'm not sure what category this book is supposed to be. It is a Mystery/Fantasy but for me personally it was also borderline Horror. As an arachnophobe, it was incredibly hard for me to keep reading when the descriptions of the spiders were so good. Believe me when I say I had no idea that this book involved spiders or I would not have downloaded it in the first place.
Saying that, it would have been my loss. This book is incredibly well written, with twists and turns aplenty, love and betrayal, trust, honour - it's all here.
It has been compared to DUNES which may help you to decide if you want to read it.
Saying that, it would have been my loss. This book is incredibly well written, with twists and turns aplenty, love and betrayal, trust, honour - it's all here.
It has been compared to DUNES which may help you to decide if you want to read it.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Dreaming Darkness #1 in Books
Sep 22, 2021
The first in an annual collection of horror and dark-fantasy short stories for the Halloween season. All four stories in this volume have been previously published.
Volume One Contents
•The Girl in the Carnival Gown
Brilliant didn’t see that coming at all!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Last Stand
Oh I really liked this and I’m sure it would be fabulous as a full book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Nos Galan Gaeaf
Yay an early visit to cainsville I so miss it!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•A Haunted House of Her Own
Brilliant absolutely loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall I love this little collection would definitely like to see more!!
Volume One Contents
•The Girl in the Carnival Gown
Brilliant didn’t see that coming at all!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Last Stand
Oh I really liked this and I’m sure it would be fabulous as a full book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Nos Galan Gaeaf
Yay an early visit to cainsville I so miss it!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•A Haunted House of Her Own
Brilliant absolutely loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall I love this little collection would definitely like to see more!!
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Think Yourself Lucky in Books
May 22, 2019
Thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Co-workers, Emily, Helen, Bill, Andrea and David work in a travel agency. David is a grouch who complains about everything—his job, his girlfriend and his life. Meanwhile, an unnamed narrator is committing horrendous murders. When David discovers a blog using his fantasy blog name talking about the murders, he is concerned. The victims are people at which he was recently angry. Is someone stalking him or is he committing the murders in some sort of fugue state?
I have been reading Ramsey Campbell novels since the early 80’s but had never read this till now. While I enjoyed the novel I definitely don’t consider this one in the category of his best works.
This is definitely a doppelganger type horror but it just didn’t have the hard hitting horror I was expecting. This was just a lot of inane babble but unfortunately reflects the meanness of the human spirit that is so evident today.
Co-workers, Emily, Helen, Bill, Andrea and David work in a travel agency. David is a grouch who complains about everything—his job, his girlfriend and his life. Meanwhile, an unnamed narrator is committing horrendous murders. When David discovers a blog using his fantasy blog name talking about the murders, he is concerned. The victims are people at which he was recently angry. Is someone stalking him or is he committing the murders in some sort of fugue state?
I have been reading Ramsey Campbell novels since the early 80’s but had never read this till now. While I enjoyed the novel I definitely don’t consider this one in the category of his best works.
This is definitely a doppelganger type horror but it just didn’t have the hard hitting horror I was expecting. This was just a lot of inane babble but unfortunately reflects the meanness of the human spirit that is so evident today.