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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Family Upstairs in Books
Oct 6, 2019
A compelling, creepy and riveting read from start to finish.
When Libby hits her 25th birthday, she inherits a house in Chelsea with a very dark past. Gradually, you begin to learn of that past with the use of different time periods and different character viewpoints. I admit that at first this took a while to get my head around but it does fall into place and works extremely well.
The story is gripping and dark; the characters are well developed, interesting and authentically flawed; the writing is easy to read and set at a good pace and the mystery elements are perfectly formed.
I would most definitely recommend this to people who love a good psychological thriller and want to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
When Libby hits her 25th birthday, she inherits a house in Chelsea with a very dark past. Gradually, you begin to learn of that past with the use of different time periods and different character viewpoints. I admit that at first this took a while to get my head around but it does fall into place and works extremely well.
The story is gripping and dark; the characters are well developed, interesting and authentically flawed; the writing is easy to read and set at a good pace and the mystery elements are perfectly formed.
I would most definitely recommend this to people who love a good psychological thriller and want to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Lodge (2019) in Movies
May 1, 2020 (Updated May 1, 2020)
Didn't see it in theaters (2 more)
Boring
Didnt get excited until half of the movie. Actually 2/3rds.
Winter Wonderland
The Lodge- is a good psychologocal thriller. The only downfall is that, its very very slow. Not until the half way point, things start to pick up, then the third act, things really start to pick up. But by then your already bored, falling alseep or cant wait till the movie ends. Its a slow burning movie, and for a 2 hour movie, when half of the movie is boring or when 2/3rds of is slow and the last half is good, well you probley be alseep or bored. Either way this movie is boring for 50%-70% of the movie. The rest is good. I love the psycholoical espect and the twist and turns are really good.
The plot: During a family retreat to a remote winter cabin over the holidays, the father is forced to abruptly depart for work, leaving his two children in the care of his new girlfriend, Grace. Isolated and alone, a blizzard traps them inside the lodge as terrifying events summon specters from Grace's dark past.
Its a really good psychological thriller with great twist and turns, just its boring for most of the movie.
The plot: During a family retreat to a remote winter cabin over the holidays, the father is forced to abruptly depart for work, leaving his two children in the care of his new girlfriend, Grace. Isolated and alone, a blizzard traps them inside the lodge as terrifying events summon specters from Grace's dark past.
Its a really good psychological thriller with great twist and turns, just its boring for most of the movie.
Merissa (11805 KP) rated Saving Grace in Books
Nov 3, 2020 (Updated Aug 14, 2023)
SAVING GRACE is a tense, fast-paced, psychological thriller that tells the story of a woman who has been under 'care' for forty years. The ultimate victim of gas-lighting and ulterior motives. It starts with her weaning herself off the tablets prescribed in the hope of reigniting her marriage. What happens next is straight out of the pages of a novel!
Separated into three parts, you get a clear and concise view of just where Grace is. To begin with, I wasn't sure if her husband WAS actually trying to kill her or if it was just an effect of the tablets. Soon I was caught up in a web of lies that had me enthralled.
This is a great thriller that shows just how hard it can be for men and women who have had a gas lighter in their lives! A drama to sink your teeth in with a strong and plentiful supporting cast.
A wonderful read and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 3, 2020
Separated into three parts, you get a clear and concise view of just where Grace is. To begin with, I wasn't sure if her husband WAS actually trying to kill her or if it was just an effect of the tablets. Soon I was caught up in a web of lies that had me enthralled.
This is a great thriller that shows just how hard it can be for men and women who have had a gas lighter in their lives! A drama to sink your teeth in with a strong and plentiful supporting cast.
A wonderful read and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 3, 2020
Ross (3282 KP) rated Get Out (2017) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
Like "Black Mirror" does "Cocoon"
This film sees Chris visiting his girlfriend's parents for the first time, on what turns out to be their annual get-together with friends and neighbours. Chris is somewhat taken aback by everyone's positive, curious reaction to his African-American heritage and becomes increasingly unnerved by the odd behaviour of the family's black servants.
I have to admit, I saw the twist coming from very early on but this didn't ruin the journey for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the creepy atmosphere building throughout the film and Chris' increasingly awkward interactions with his few fellow people of colour at the party.
This is not a normal horror film, except for the final half hour, instead it is an intense psychological thriller with the added social awkwardness around people's inherent racism and need to talk/not talk about it.
An excellent film with a brilliant cast.
I have to admit, I saw the twist coming from very early on but this didn't ruin the journey for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the creepy atmosphere building throughout the film and Chris' increasingly awkward interactions with his few fellow people of colour at the party.
This is not a normal horror film, except for the final half hour, instead it is an intense psychological thriller with the added social awkwardness around people's inherent racism and need to talk/not talk about it.
An excellent film with a brilliant cast.
MoMoBookDiary (20 KP) rated Perfect Liars: Perfect for fans of HBO’s hit TV series Big Little Lies in Books
Oct 1, 2018
I enjoyed Rebecca Reid’s compelling debut novel Perfect Liars.
Perfect Liars is a thoroughly satisfying character driven psychological thriller. It’s cleverly plotted and clear from the beginning, despite being paced on the slow side, that it is a compelling tale.
The characters are somewhat unlikeable in that they are typical stereotypical pretentious, entitled, self-centered women. The story is told using a dual timeline, past and present. Whilst they display a close friendship to the world it is deeply flawed.
There are certain parts of the storyline that I felt were a little too unbelievable and that is why this does not get a full five stars from me.
A fantastic debut by Rebecca Reid and I very much look forward to whatever she comes up with next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel at this time.
Perfect Liars is a thoroughly satisfying character driven psychological thriller. It’s cleverly plotted and clear from the beginning, despite being paced on the slow side, that it is a compelling tale.
The characters are somewhat unlikeable in that they are typical stereotypical pretentious, entitled, self-centered women. The story is told using a dual timeline, past and present. Whilst they display a close friendship to the world it is deeply flawed.
There are certain parts of the storyline that I felt were a little too unbelievable and that is why this does not get a full five stars from me.
A fantastic debut by Rebecca Reid and I very much look forward to whatever she comes up with next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel at this time.
I have enjoyed Mr Nicholl's books before and this was no exception.
Daisy is writing a letter to her unborn child whilst she sits in a jail cell awaiting her trial for murder. The book is written as a series of letters and provides Daisy's account of how she got to where she is but is she a reliable narrator?
I became very quickly engrossed in Daisy's story; it's full of tension and suspense with me desperately wanting to find out just what the heck happened. There are twists that had my mouth agape with the ending of the book causing me to gasp out loud. Written at a good pace, The Bride is a great psychological thriller that I would have no hesitation in recommending to readers of this genre.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Bride.
Daisy is writing a letter to her unborn child whilst she sits in a jail cell awaiting her trial for murder. The book is written as a series of letters and provides Daisy's account of how she got to where she is but is she a reliable narrator?
I became very quickly engrossed in Daisy's story; it's full of tension and suspense with me desperately wanting to find out just what the heck happened. There are twists that had my mouth agape with the ending of the book causing me to gasp out loud. Written at a good pace, The Bride is a great psychological thriller that I would have no hesitation in recommending to readers of this genre.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Bride.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated A Cure For Wellness (2017) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
What if you were told that you could be cured from any and every ailment, all while relaxing in the picturesque Swiss Alps. Would you go? A Cure For Wellness is a psychological thriller directed by Gore Verbinsky whom in the past brought us Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean. I’m not sure going with a psychological thriller was the best choice for him.
After a young power-hungry stockbroker receives an odd letter from the CEO during a major merger he becomes blackmailed into going and retrieving him. Pembroke (Harry Groener) has taken up permanent residence in a mysterious gothic styled rehabilitation center in a remote part of the Swiss Alps. Pembroke has no intentions of leaving the hospital so Lockhart has plenty of time to explore. As soon as he arrives though, he notices that there is something strange going on. Patients are eating decadent and costly meals and flying kites as if they were on vacation rather than in treatment. Little does he know, he will be at the center of it all after an accident turns him into a patient rather than a visitor.
I feel as though this was less of a thriller and more of a flop. I wasn’t able to connect to Lockhart and frankly at times his character was rather annoying. This made it difficult to sympathize with what might be happening to him. Lockhart reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio in Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Though Scorsese’s film was way more entertaining and thrilling than this. The film was extremely long (2.5 hours) and when you thought it was going to end another curve ball would be thrown. Though the film was less than entertaining, the actors portrayed their parts well. The scenery and landscapes along with the colors of the filters used did give the film that bit of eeriness the story needed. Some scenes were creepy and others involving animals were disturbing and could’ve been left out in my opinion. I left the theater scratching my head with the old “what the heck did I just watch” thought. This film was just not for me and seemed more like Verbinski bit off more than he could chew. The audience also seemed to be disappointed with it as well.
After a young power-hungry stockbroker receives an odd letter from the CEO during a major merger he becomes blackmailed into going and retrieving him. Pembroke (Harry Groener) has taken up permanent residence in a mysterious gothic styled rehabilitation center in a remote part of the Swiss Alps. Pembroke has no intentions of leaving the hospital so Lockhart has plenty of time to explore. As soon as he arrives though, he notices that there is something strange going on. Patients are eating decadent and costly meals and flying kites as if they were on vacation rather than in treatment. Little does he know, he will be at the center of it all after an accident turns him into a patient rather than a visitor.
I feel as though this was less of a thriller and more of a flop. I wasn’t able to connect to Lockhart and frankly at times his character was rather annoying. This made it difficult to sympathize with what might be happening to him. Lockhart reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio in Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Though Scorsese’s film was way more entertaining and thrilling than this. The film was extremely long (2.5 hours) and when you thought it was going to end another curve ball would be thrown. Though the film was less than entertaining, the actors portrayed their parts well. The scenery and landscapes along with the colors of the filters used did give the film that bit of eeriness the story needed. Some scenes were creepy and others involving animals were disturbing and could’ve been left out in my opinion. I left the theater scratching my head with the old “what the heck did I just watch” thought. This film was just not for me and seemed more like Verbinski bit off more than he could chew. The audience also seemed to be disappointed with it as well.
John Roope (4 KP) rated Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) in Movies
Feb 12, 2019
A mixed bag of a film, both engaging and tiresome
Dan Gilroys teams up again with jake Gyllenhaal but this time with far less success than 2014's nightcrawler. Velvet Buzzsaw follows a small group of the LA art world as the mysterious paintings of dease are released into the world. As seen in the trailer the paintings are able to move and even come out and grab you and here is where my issues with the film start.
In my opinion in horror it's best to have some kind of rules so you know what to be scared of. Even the slightest hint of ghosts or the supernatural will do at separating horror from something more psychological. Here it's unclear as to why these paintings have these properties as everything feels like the real world and for the first act the film it balances on this in between of something psychological and actual physically alive paintings. And for the most part these horror sections are terribly predictable as soon as we see a main character alone with one of the paintings it's pretty clear as to what's gonna happen.
Where the movie excels is in between these horror parts when we get more of Morf(played by gyllenhaal in scintillating form) trying to figure out what's going on while experiencing haunting visual and auditory hallucinations. This descent into paranoia and almost madness is far more engaging than the cheap thrills the film seems more eager to give us. More of these characters being entranced yet horrified by these pictures and subtle things going wrong would have made for a far creepier experience.
Overall what could have been a really interesting psychological thriller ended up being a slightly above par horror movie with good performances all round and a interesting premise and while the horror elements were my least favourite part they were very creative and any horror fan would be sure to get a kick out of it
In my opinion in horror it's best to have some kind of rules so you know what to be scared of. Even the slightest hint of ghosts or the supernatural will do at separating horror from something more psychological. Here it's unclear as to why these paintings have these properties as everything feels like the real world and for the first act the film it balances on this in between of something psychological and actual physically alive paintings. And for the most part these horror sections are terribly predictable as soon as we see a main character alone with one of the paintings it's pretty clear as to what's gonna happen.
Where the movie excels is in between these horror parts when we get more of Morf(played by gyllenhaal in scintillating form) trying to figure out what's going on while experiencing haunting visual and auditory hallucinations. This descent into paranoia and almost madness is far more engaging than the cheap thrills the film seems more eager to give us. More of these characters being entranced yet horrified by these pictures and subtle things going wrong would have made for a far creepier experience.
Overall what could have been a really interesting psychological thriller ended up being a slightly above par horror movie with good performances all round and a interesting premise and while the horror elements were my least favourite part they were very creative and any horror fan would be sure to get a kick out of it
Katie Guinn (34 KP) rated Behind Her Eyes in Books
Dec 7, 2018
I received an ARC of Sarah Pinborough’s new novel, Behind Her Eyes, from FlatIron Books to spread anticipation for the upcoming release. My thoughts on this book, in a nutshell? Absolute, addictive, insanity. Considering the only other Pinborough book I’ve read involved giant spiders that use humans as breeding vessels, triggering a horrific arachnid apocalypse, I didn’t really know what to expect from this one. It was billed as a psychological thriller, which is pretty generic these days; everything is a Gone Girl wannabe. But this thriller is seriously like no other thriller I’ve ever read, with twists that you wouldn’t see coming if you were Professor X.
The novel is told from multiple viewpoints, which has the danger of becoming confusing, but each character’s voice is so clear that it’s not hard to keep them straight. The plot at first doesn’t seem that interesting, you think it’s the standard love triangle, a married man attracted to his secretary, yawn. But there are clever twists from the very beginning and you’re constantly left questioning who you can trust, whose version of events to believe. In fact, it’s really hard to discuss this book at all without giving anything away.
Which makes it very difficult to explain the one thing I didn’t like. This is an entirely personal opinion, I’m definitely not trying to discourage you from reading this book, it was amazing. Having said that, ambiguity always makes me uncomfortable, especially in endings, which I prefer straight-forward, just, and (ideally) happy. But I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time watching rom-coms, and couldn’t sleep after any Mentalist episode involving Red John. So make of that what you will.
The novel is told from multiple viewpoints, which has the danger of becoming confusing, but each character’s voice is so clear that it’s not hard to keep them straight. The plot at first doesn’t seem that interesting, you think it’s the standard love triangle, a married man attracted to his secretary, yawn. But there are clever twists from the very beginning and you’re constantly left questioning who you can trust, whose version of events to believe. In fact, it’s really hard to discuss this book at all without giving anything away.
Which makes it very difficult to explain the one thing I didn’t like. This is an entirely personal opinion, I’m definitely not trying to discourage you from reading this book, it was amazing. Having said that, ambiguity always makes me uncomfortable, especially in endings, which I prefer straight-forward, just, and (ideally) happy. But I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time watching rom-coms, and couldn’t sleep after any Mentalist episode involving Red John. So make of that what you will.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Breakdown in Books
Jul 24, 2017
Stick with it, takes a while to like the protagonist
After reading the brilliant 'Behind Closed Doors', I was wondering how BA Paris would be able to excel expectations - and she has thankfully managed to avoid the usual psychological thriller pitfalls once again.
There was a massive red herring which provides a brilliant twist and opportunity for the ultimate revenge. Feeling claustrophobic throughout, due to the main character's apparent early onset dementia, it sets an unnerving tone from the outset. At this point I did worry it would end up with the same gaps in information such as in The Girl on the Train. However, Paris manages to steer clear of becoming another wannabe Gone Girl, and totally holds her own.
For about 75 per cent of the time, you will find the protagonist's almost neurotic personality quite annoying until the last quarter of the book where you will end up completely empathising with her. Another fantastic dark tale from BA Paris.
There was a massive red herring which provides a brilliant twist and opportunity for the ultimate revenge. Feeling claustrophobic throughout, due to the main character's apparent early onset dementia, it sets an unnerving tone from the outset. At this point I did worry it would end up with the same gaps in information such as in The Girl on the Train. However, Paris manages to steer clear of becoming another wannabe Gone Girl, and totally holds her own.
For about 75 per cent of the time, you will find the protagonist's almost neurotic personality quite annoying until the last quarter of the book where you will end up completely empathising with her. Another fantastic dark tale from BA Paris.