Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Homecoming in Books

May 30, 2019  
The Homecoming
The Homecoming
Andrew Pyper | 2019 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
8
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dark family thriller - not for the faint hearted
There’s not a lot I want to say about this book plot wise, going into it blind is a real thrill, but the opening hook is:

Following the death of their father siblings Aaron, Franny and Bridge, along with their mother are brought to the Belfountain estate for the reading of his will. It turns out he had a lot more money than they thought but also an odd sense of humour. To get there share of the inheritance they have to stay at Belfountain with no contact with the outside world for 30 days. Sounds crazy but who wouldn’t when there are millions up for grab?

What follows is the ever increasing occurrence of creepy stuff and the realisation that none of them know who their father really was. It’s a very dark suspense tale once it gets going, with some strong horror elements.

By the end I felt I’d just read a great Black Mirror episode, so recommended for fans of that.
  
Shannon Hammer loves her life and her job of working on the many Victorians in Lighthouse Cove. She’s agreed to go on a blind date with Jerry Saxton, but he turns out to be a complete jerk. To Shannon’s horror, she finds his dead body in one of her houses a couple of days later. With the police looking at her as the prime suspect, she has to build a case against someone else. There are no shortage of suspects, but who did it?

More than a mystery with clues and red herrings, this book is a series of mysterious events, with Shannon reacting to the latest. There are some interesting twists, but the lack of true investigation bothered me. Still, the book does come to a logical climax. I loved these characters. Shannon has a strong group of friends and family, and I really liked them.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-high-end-finish-by-kate.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated La Flor (2018) in Movies

Nov 2, 2019  
La Flor  (2018)
La Flor (2018)
2018 | Drama, Horror, International, Musical, Thriller
How can one rating do justice to film-making on this scale? The simple numbers involved are staggering: the film lasts thirteen and a half hours, took nine years to make, is composed of six different episodes comprising many more sub-narratives. It's usually shown over three or four days, for obvious reasons. Even the closing credits last for over forty minutes (yes, I stayed: my thought process was basically 'Well, I've come this far..).

There's at least one horror movie in the mix, along with a musical melodrama, a sprawling existential spy thriller, and a metafictional self-parody. Characters include archaeologists, witches, Casanova and Margaret Thatcher. Just about the only thing holding it together is the presence of the same four actresses, who play significant roles in almost every episode. It begins very generic, but becomes increasingly strange and avant garde as it progresses. One would say it has become completely unravelled by the end, but it's not as if it was ever very ravelled. Parts of it are indisputably brilliant and highly accomplished, others are kind of indifferent; some of it is actively irritating. In the end it is a gargantuan, self-indulgent oddity. Some of it is definitely worth watching, but the whole thirteen hours...? I'm not sure. Maybe wait until it comes on TV.