The Hunger
by Alma Katsu
Turning the tragic Donner Party tale into a supernatural story should have been great, but The Hunger's uneven pacing, underdeveloped horror, and forgettable characters left me hungry for more (get it?).
horror
reviews
10 reviews (4 books, 6 movies) with an average rating of 3.3
Immaculate (2024)
with Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco
While I didn’t dislike the premise, Immaculate filled the first two-thirds with cheap, unoriginal jumpscares, and though I enjoyed the ending, not even Sweeney’s remarkable acting could save the film for me.
The Beauty
by Aliya Whiteley
A fungal fever-dream that explores gender, society, and transformation through the lens of merciless body horror, The Beauty is the first book in a while that deeply unsettled me.
The Scourge Between Stars
by Ness Brown
An interesting premise for a novella, undermined by the author's self-admitted rush job, overloaded with adverbs, tired horror tropes, and a main character who’s utterly terrible at waiting for an answer after asking questions.
The Invisible Man (2020)
with Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer
Though overly reliant on the 'make you pay close attention to the background so we can jumpscare you more easily' trope, the movie still manages to pull the occasional delight out of its invisible hat.
The Thing (1982)
with Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
The relentless paranoia, visceral body horror, and still-amazing-fourty-years-later practical effects add up to a fantastic movie that does not allow you even a minute to catch your breath.
Tender is the Flesh
by Agustina Bazterrica
Bazterrica introduces a small, tender rose of hope into her relentless, cannibalistic nightmare world, carefully tends to it, and then spends the last couple of pages ripping it out and flagellating you with it.
The Menu (2022)
with Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult
The utter pretentiousness of fine dining made it plausible for the characters to play into the plot for a while, but ultimately, I ran out of suspended disbelief before the movie's underwhelming ending.
His House (2020)
with Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba
Dirisu's and Mosaku's flawless performance elevate a "haunted house" horror movie by exploring the trauma of fleeing from war and the kafkaesque nightmare of being a refugee.
Slither (2006)
with Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker
An unapologetically disgusting body-horror movie with hilariously stoic deliveries by Nathan Fillion that reminds me of VHS horror classics, but sadly fails to provide any novel takes.