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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
<b>Anna Dressed in Blood</b> is a good book but I wasn't blown away by it. I was interested in it because the synopsis reminded me of Supernatural (the television series), aside from the obvious differences, so along with the awesome cover art I was all for the book. It's unfortunate that I didn't enjoy it more. The characterizations are fine, just detailed enough to give an impression of who they are and why they act as they do, I just didn't feel much of a connection to any of them. The plot worked until the focus shifted away from Anna about two-thirds through, which is a shame, and some of the dialogue was a little iffy and forced, especially in the beginning. I can't quite say why else the book didn't totally work for me, other than there were a few moments that felt off somehow, but either I was really into the story or I wasn't. Sorry I can't be more specific. Although the author writes some mean scenes that have the perfect creepy atmosphere, so those stand out as a big pro. Now I see that this might be the start of yet another YA paranormal series, though it's perfectly fine as a standalone and as I'm not all that interested in reading more with these characters, I think I'll pass if there are any sequels. With all that said, take this review with a grain of salt, I think others, and definitely teens, would like this book more than I did.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Night's Edge in Books
Feb 15, 2019
I just finished Maggie Shayne's short story, Her Best Enemy, and enjoyed it a lot. Yes, the plot is rushed and I didn't believe they could love each other that soon at the end, but it was a really fun story! I would have liked it better if Ms. Shayne had left them just starting out in their promising relationship and not dropping the L-bomb at the end - it felt too forced and cheesy. But as I said before, it was very fun, and an easy and fast read too! :)
4/5 stars
Someone Else's Shadow was another very good story. I really liked Maddie, and while the love angle was again very fast, but at the end I appreciated that the author addresses how fast they fell in love. As with the first story, the ghost angle was creepy and made the whole atmosphere of the story come alive. The chemistry between Maddie and Phil was palpable and it did make me feel like they could in fact fall in love that fast. A great short story!
4.5/5 stars
Dancers in the Dark was another good tale in this anthology. Rue was a likable protagonist who had a horrible past, and while Sean could have been brought to life (ha!) more, he was still a good hero for her. The plot was well-done and I never got annoyed at Rue for feeling sorry for herself or anything, which can happen in stories similar to this. All-in-all it was a fascinating tale.
4/5 stars
4/5 stars
Someone Else's Shadow was another very good story. I really liked Maddie, and while the love angle was again very fast, but at the end I appreciated that the author addresses how fast they fell in love. As with the first story, the ghost angle was creepy and made the whole atmosphere of the story come alive. The chemistry between Maddie and Phil was palpable and it did make me feel like they could in fact fall in love that fast. A great short story!
4.5/5 stars
Dancers in the Dark was another good tale in this anthology. Rue was a likable protagonist who had a horrible past, and while Sean could have been brought to life (ha!) more, he was still a good hero for her. The plot was well-done and I never got annoyed at Rue for feeling sorry for herself or anything, which can happen in stories similar to this. All-in-all it was a fascinating tale.
4/5 stars
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Leaving Neverland (2019) in Movies
Mar 8, 2019
Haunting
I’ll start by saying that I’ve never really been an MJ fan. Yes I like some of his music, but that’s about it and I have always wondered whether there wasn’t something a bit off about him. Similar to the likes of Jimmy Saville - MJ definitely had a weird creepy air about him. This documentary for me only helped reinforce what I’d already suspected, and it’s a harrowing thing to watch. These are stark, no holds barred accounts of abuse that these two men suffered as children to the point where nothing is held back. These accounts are very explicit, and for me this just made them seem more real and accurate. And the fact that it also digs into how this affected all of their family members too makes it even more haunting - it doesn’t just focus on the men as individuals but their relatives too. This definitely isn’t a documentary for the faint hearted although I did think that the 4 hour run time is a little too long.
Yes this is a one sided documentary, but for me it doesn’t make it any less believable. And strangely what I found most disturbing about this is the reaction of the MJ super fans to Wade. How these people can say such horrific things about another human being, just because they don’t like what’s being said about their idol, is truly disgusting. What saddens me though is that these people will have the same reaction to this documentary.
Yes this is a one sided documentary, but for me it doesn’t make it any less believable. And strangely what I found most disturbing about this is the reaction of the MJ super fans to Wade. How these people can say such horrific things about another human being, just because they don’t like what’s being said about their idol, is truly disgusting. What saddens me though is that these people will have the same reaction to this documentary.
XX is actually an anthology of 4 short films, all of which were directed by women.
Overall, the film is superbly directed and the acting is top notch too (the ever wonderful Melanie Lynskey delivers an outstanding performance in particular), but a couple of little niggles slightly lower my overall score.
First film, ‘The Box,’ is the best of them all - creepy and mysterious throughout, with all the elements needed for a thorough horror experience.
Next up is ‘The Birthday Party’ in which, as previously stated, Melanie Lynskey gives an amazing performance. I wouldn’t class this as a horror, more of a very dark comedy, but it’s still a superb piece of work.
‘Don’t Fall’ is where things begin to wane a little - it’s still a really good piece of work, just a little too short to make much of an impact.
Finally, ‘Her Only Living Son’ just doesn’t quite match the quality of the first three films. The storyline is good, but does get a bit confusing, and the acting is great too, but something just doesn’t sit right and I felt disappointed with this one.
Between each short film are sections which make up another little tale, but I found these a bit pointless and just seemed to pad out the overall running time.
All in all, XX is definitely worth a watch, it’s certainly had a lot of thought and effort go into the making of it, and I’d like to see more work by the very talented directors involved here.
Overall, the film is superbly directed and the acting is top notch too (the ever wonderful Melanie Lynskey delivers an outstanding performance in particular), but a couple of little niggles slightly lower my overall score.
First film, ‘The Box,’ is the best of them all - creepy and mysterious throughout, with all the elements needed for a thorough horror experience.
Next up is ‘The Birthday Party’ in which, as previously stated, Melanie Lynskey gives an amazing performance. I wouldn’t class this as a horror, more of a very dark comedy, but it’s still a superb piece of work.
‘Don’t Fall’ is where things begin to wane a little - it’s still a really good piece of work, just a little too short to make much of an impact.
Finally, ‘Her Only Living Son’ just doesn’t quite match the quality of the first three films. The storyline is good, but does get a bit confusing, and the acting is great too, but something just doesn’t sit right and I felt disappointed with this one.
Between each short film are sections which make up another little tale, but I found these a bit pointless and just seemed to pad out the overall running time.
All in all, XX is definitely worth a watch, it’s certainly had a lot of thought and effort go into the making of it, and I’d like to see more work by the very talented directors involved here.
BTPBookclub (18 KP) rated Spare Room in Books
May 11, 2019
Where do I begin? … Bare with me here. Spare Room is a rollercoaster of a read, it totally messed with my mind! This book actually blew me away… Wow.
Everyone has their secrets in this story… But the truth will shock you. Not everything is as it seems… I did not expect anything that got thrown at me during this read. Chilling, dark and creepy.
Main Character Lisa is facing her own personal issues throughout, but I actually felt scared, sorry and fightened for her. Half way through this book is a major PLOT TWIST that actually had me holding my breathe and screaming WHAT! WOAH! EXPLAIN!!!
Ex boyfriend Alex is the perfect gentleman throughout, he’s friendly, caring and I just loved his character. Jack and Martha, now this had me changing my mind about their characters all the way through. Are they a nasty, evil couple? Or just a normal happy couple who Lisa has misjudged wrongly.
With all that went on in this book I devoured it in two days. This is the first book I have read by Dreda Say Mitchell and it wont be my last, very impressed. With an explosive, in your face ending like that you can cue me having a lie down and book hangover after this…
I think it’s only fair to award a five star rating and a place in my top twenty reads of 2019 ALREADY. I know. Shocking. Highly recommend. You will not regret reading this one.
Everyone has their secrets in this story… But the truth will shock you. Not everything is as it seems… I did not expect anything that got thrown at me during this read. Chilling, dark and creepy.
Main Character Lisa is facing her own personal issues throughout, but I actually felt scared, sorry and fightened for her. Half way through this book is a major PLOT TWIST that actually had me holding my breathe and screaming WHAT! WOAH! EXPLAIN!!!
Ex boyfriend Alex is the perfect gentleman throughout, he’s friendly, caring and I just loved his character. Jack and Martha, now this had me changing my mind about their characters all the way through. Are they a nasty, evil couple? Or just a normal happy couple who Lisa has misjudged wrongly.
With all that went on in this book I devoured it in two days. This is the first book I have read by Dreda Say Mitchell and it wont be my last, very impressed. With an explosive, in your face ending like that you can cue me having a lie down and book hangover after this…
I think it’s only fair to award a five star rating and a place in my top twenty reads of 2019 ALREADY. I know. Shocking. Highly recommend. You will not regret reading this one.
Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Dark Net in Books
Jun 5, 2019
The Dark Net by Benjamin Percy is a complex story in which the horror is the realisation that it could happen to all of us, and we’d be unable to stop it!
There’s a large cast of characters at the beginning, which I have to admit you could easily lose track of, and it’s not everyone’s preferred writing style, but you just know there’s a reason these people are mentioned straight up and that they are all going to meet somewhere along the storyline to make sense of it all. As I read this it was like I had a movie playing out in my mind. We see shots of a dodgy run server group in one scene. Next we meet Hannah with a high-tech prosthetic that restores her sight, but can’t understand why she can now see shadows surrounding certain people. Then there’s Lala a technophobic journalist, (Hannah’s auntie ), Mike the gun hoarder who sees things that can’t possibly be there, Derek a genius hacker and, to top it all, a virus spreading through the net that had a very old-school, Shaun Hutson, evil, demonic force feel to it. Who can stop this evil presence from getting out of control and fight back?
Dark, creepy, urban-techno horror with an old-school, supernatural feel that I particularly enjoyed. What would we all do if the devil got inside our homes, schools, offices through our computers? Who’d save us? Not our anti-virus protection, that’s for sure!
There’s a large cast of characters at the beginning, which I have to admit you could easily lose track of, and it’s not everyone’s preferred writing style, but you just know there’s a reason these people are mentioned straight up and that they are all going to meet somewhere along the storyline to make sense of it all. As I read this it was like I had a movie playing out in my mind. We see shots of a dodgy run server group in one scene. Next we meet Hannah with a high-tech prosthetic that restores her sight, but can’t understand why she can now see shadows surrounding certain people. Then there’s Lala a technophobic journalist, (Hannah’s auntie ), Mike the gun hoarder who sees things that can’t possibly be there, Derek a genius hacker and, to top it all, a virus spreading through the net that had a very old-school, Shaun Hutson, evil, demonic force feel to it. Who can stop this evil presence from getting out of control and fight back?
Dark, creepy, urban-techno horror with an old-school, supernatural feel that I particularly enjoyed. What would we all do if the devil got inside our homes, schools, offices through our computers? Who’d save us? Not our anti-virus protection, that’s for sure!
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Girl Who Saved Christmas in Books
Jun 14, 2018
The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig is a very charming story that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. It is the story of Amelia Wishart, who is the first child ever to receive a gift from Father Christmas. She never loses hope throughout the misery she encounters in her very young life and however much she would like to stop believing in magic and goodness, she never fully does. Her hope made that first visit possible, and, just a couple of years later, her hope might just save Christmas itself.
The story takes place in two locations that couldn't be more different: Elfhelm, where it is clean and only ever gets as cold as you want it to be, and in 1841 London, where it is dirty, cold and unfriendly place to orphans.
The characters in the story are quite fun. Amelia and Father Christmas both have strong personalities with a firm determination to get things done. Mr. Creeper is just as his name predicts, he is creepy and not a nice man at all. The guest appearances of a ruling head of state and a famous author are perfect. One passage was hilarious and it took me several minutes to sop laughing before I could continue reading. I was amused.
I recommend this book for read-a-loud's to children and for middle grade readers.
I received this book from NetGalley via Random House Children's Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
The story takes place in two locations that couldn't be more different: Elfhelm, where it is clean and only ever gets as cold as you want it to be, and in 1841 London, where it is dirty, cold and unfriendly place to orphans.
The characters in the story are quite fun. Amelia and Father Christmas both have strong personalities with a firm determination to get things done. Mr. Creeper is just as his name predicts, he is creepy and not a nice man at all. The guest appearances of a ruling head of state and a famous author are perfect. One passage was hilarious and it took me several minutes to sop laughing before I could continue reading. I was amused.
I recommend this book for read-a-loud's to children and for middle grade readers.
I received this book from NetGalley via Random House Children's Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated The Last Showing (2014) in Movies
Jul 22, 2018
Robert Englund (3 more)
Interesting premise
Self-referential, Feels like a homage to Wes craven
Creepy moments
Manipulative, suspenseful and an iconic horror actor!
Why are there only 2 people going to the cinema? I understand it's midnight but surely there would be more. A cinema wouldn't stay open just for 2 people right?
Not believable but I understand this is a low budget movie with a small cast. I went into this with low expectations and I have to say it was better than I expected.
It has now cemented the fear of going to the cinema of a night time so the movie did a good job with that.
Robert Englumd is incredible as this manipulative psychotic creep. He is sinister yet he brings so much depth to the role that you feel some kind of understanding as to why he's doing this. The other male lead was not that likeable. He was outsmarted time and time again and the female lead had little screen time sadly.
Premise is simple about a guy sick of the current cheesy horror movies about now, gets fired so decides to makes his own horror movie. I would really call this a horror though, more a suspenseful thriller. It was interesting to see the story play out through so much manipulation and planning by the sinister Stuart.
Full of suspense throughout but could have had more, it kind of lose me towards the end but I must say the ending was very satisfying.
Not believable but I understand this is a low budget movie with a small cast. I went into this with low expectations and I have to say it was better than I expected.
It has now cemented the fear of going to the cinema of a night time so the movie did a good job with that.
Robert Englumd is incredible as this manipulative psychotic creep. He is sinister yet he brings so much depth to the role that you feel some kind of understanding as to why he's doing this. The other male lead was not that likeable. He was outsmarted time and time again and the female lead had little screen time sadly.
Premise is simple about a guy sick of the current cheesy horror movies about now, gets fired so decides to makes his own horror movie. I would really call this a horror though, more a suspenseful thriller. It was interesting to see the story play out through so much manipulation and planning by the sinister Stuart.
Full of suspense throughout but could have had more, it kind of lose me towards the end but I must say the ending was very satisfying.
Lesley (60 KP) rated Lying in Wait in Books
Aug 11, 2018
Twisty, fun read!
Oh boy. Strap yourself in for this one.
I kept seeing this book everywhere, and couldn't WAIT to read it. So when it landed on a Kindle sale for $3.99, I snapped it right up. The first night I started reading it, it kept me up until around 2 AM. I couldn't stop.
I don't like to write book reviews that include any sort of synopsis. Not only because I personally prefer to go in blind, or semi-blind, but it's easy enough to glance at the description on the Goodreads, Amazon, or whatever page and I feel it to be quite redundant. So I will just say that, like most books I read, this is a murder story that doesn't really go the way you think it will. It's not a MYSTERY, because the opening detail reveals what happened and who did it. The interesting part of this story is how things spiral out of control from there, and how many peoples lives this very huge mistake shapes and changes.
I finished the book this morning and I feel...weird. Disturbed. Dirty. What a great book. There is some serious creepy Oedipal vibes happening between Lydia and her son, Laurence. I got kind of a V.C. Andrews sense from the writing style. I am haunted - the subject matter could have been spun very badly. It could have been trite, or oversexed, or cliche. Instead, Liz Nugent has struck a perfect macabre balance and woven a tale that will make you feel unsettled, fascinated, and shaken.
I kept seeing this book everywhere, and couldn't WAIT to read it. So when it landed on a Kindle sale for $3.99, I snapped it right up. The first night I started reading it, it kept me up until around 2 AM. I couldn't stop.
I don't like to write book reviews that include any sort of synopsis. Not only because I personally prefer to go in blind, or semi-blind, but it's easy enough to glance at the description on the Goodreads, Amazon, or whatever page and I feel it to be quite redundant. So I will just say that, like most books I read, this is a murder story that doesn't really go the way you think it will. It's not a MYSTERY, because the opening detail reveals what happened and who did it. The interesting part of this story is how things spiral out of control from there, and how many peoples lives this very huge mistake shapes and changes.
I finished the book this morning and I feel...weird. Disturbed. Dirty. What a great book. There is some serious creepy Oedipal vibes happening between Lydia and her son, Laurence. I got kind of a V.C. Andrews sense from the writing style. I am haunted - the subject matter could have been spun very badly. It could have been trite, or oversexed, or cliche. Instead, Liz Nugent has struck a perfect macabre balance and woven a tale that will make you feel unsettled, fascinated, and shaken.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Scream (1996) in Movies
Nov 1, 2018
A truly classic slasher
While I know that most will say that the classic slasher films are the likes of Halloween, Friday the 13th etc and I’d agree in that they really helped move the genre along, for me Scream is the true classic. Not only is it beyond witty, it’s full of humour and plays wonderfully on the entire horror movie genre.
I love this film because of how it pokes so much fun at your stereotypical slasher films, not least because Sidney isn’t your average damsel in distress and is a very strong protagonist. All of the characters in fact are well developed, likeable and well acted, but I have to admit, my favourites would either have to be Randy or Stu as they’re both highly entertaining. The references to other horror films bring an entirely different spin and completely modernises the slasher genre. This is such a slick, fun and surprisingly unpredictable film that keeps you guessing right to the end. It’s fairly gory and the large amount of humour doesn’t detract from the fact that this is still a horror film. It may not be massively scary, but it’s still very creepy and delivers some classic horror lines alongside an iconic villain in Ghostface. There’s not many films that could get away with killing off their most famous star in the opening scene, and I think anyone watching this for the first time now would still be shocked at this.
Without a doubt, my all time favourite horror film.
I love this film because of how it pokes so much fun at your stereotypical slasher films, not least because Sidney isn’t your average damsel in distress and is a very strong protagonist. All of the characters in fact are well developed, likeable and well acted, but I have to admit, my favourites would either have to be Randy or Stu as they’re both highly entertaining. The references to other horror films bring an entirely different spin and completely modernises the slasher genre. This is such a slick, fun and surprisingly unpredictable film that keeps you guessing right to the end. It’s fairly gory and the large amount of humour doesn’t detract from the fact that this is still a horror film. It may not be massively scary, but it’s still very creepy and delivers some classic horror lines alongside an iconic villain in Ghostface. There’s not many films that could get away with killing off their most famous star in the opening scene, and I think anyone watching this for the first time now would still be shocked at this.
Without a doubt, my all time favourite horror film.