New Horror 2023 – Day 20

“My clothes have but to fall and you will see before you a succession of mysteries.”

“The Lady of the House of Love” by Angela Carter (1979)

This can only be described as deliciously decadent decay. Carter does a magnificent job of just painting the most awful, crusty, gothic place you can imagine.

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“Can’t tell if the embers are dying or my eyes are.”

“Smoke and Cedar” by Abby Howard & Alina Pete (2016)

I was loving this but it ends so suddenly. Sometimes you want to leave them wanting more, but not starving for narrative.

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“You’re the bitch that brought our misfortune!”

Exposed to Danger dir. Yang Chia-yun (Karen Yang) (1982)

This one’s kind of a slow build-up, and not much mystery, but the tension does eventually hit along with a neat twist. The final confrontation is a great sequence.

New Horror 2022 – Day 3

“The Portrait of Sal Pullman” by Lonnie Nadler & Abby Howard (2019)
“You fools, do you not see what this truly is?"

Abby Howard is the ruler of the kingdom of creepy illustrated faces. Er, maybe the architect. The wizard behind the curtain? Oh, the god, the god.

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"The Black Stone Statue” by Mary Elizabeth Counselman (1937)
“And those were the last words he ever uttered.”

Finding scary things deep in the jungle is what it’s all about in adventure stories, but the turn in this one (which is presented right up front) is neat. It’s more of that morality tale we would get from stuff like The Twilight Zone later on.

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“O Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” by M.R. James & Abby Howard (2019)
“If you see any more spooks or beasties, please do let me know."

I often fantasize about illustrating text stories if I had the skill, just to visualize what’s in the brain. It’s cool to see Howard taking that on with one of these old timey and appropriately spooky stories.

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers dir. Don Siegel (1956)
"She’s not my mother! Don’t tell her where I am!”

The 30s movies are rough but things start to feel more my pace here in the 50s. I reckon it’s from having watched sitcoms like I Love Lucy and plenty of noir classics so the pacing and style is more familiar. As for the movie, it’s clear why it terrified audiences then and the concept continues to persist. Communism, corporations, conservatives, all a way to address the fear of an insidious enemy.

New Fiction 2022 – January

“2 B R 0 2 B” by Kurt Vonnegut (1962)

This is the first Vonnegut I’ve read in full. Is it satire? It’s certainly dark. I will continue.

“From the Deposition of the Vaginal Teeth” by Elizabeth H. Turner (2022)

They speak for themselves.

Avatar: Book One by S.D. Perry (2003)

This really should have been grouped with its latter half… but as an opening statement, it’s a bold one. I’ve been looking forward to this longer work from Perry since reading some of her short entries in the Deep Space Nine anthologies. Rather than settle into the peaceful promise of the end of the series, it shakes things up with some fairly shocking moments.

Avatar: Book Two by S.D. Perry (2003)

And I just gotta say, the Avatar duology is phenomenal. I love the focus on Kira as commander of the station and that Bajoran faith and religion continue to play a vital role. As a post-war trauma narrative, it’s also fascinating to see them deal with their feelings in the aftermath.

“Lot’s Wife” by Anna Akhmatova (1973)

I’ve started reading the bible and allow me the heresy of saying that–much like The Simpsons–other stories becomes that much better when I understand the references. I’ve known about Lot’s wife for a while but now I really understand the outrage. God didn’t have to go that hard.

“The Door in the Kitchen” by Abby Howard (2019)

My love of creepy horror comics continues unabated.

Displacement by Kiku Hughes (2020)

Written in the time when Trump was dominating the public consciousness against our will, this is a nuanced examination of experiences we don’t read about in history books. “Never again” feels like something we aspire to and never achieve, so I hope we continue to get books like these to remind us.

“Slide in the Woods” dev. Jonny’s Games (2021)

Listen, do you want creepy things? Because that’s what happens when you put a slide in the woods.

Florence dev. Mountains (2018)

I loved everything about it. Light on gameplay, heavy on the feels.

“The Snowman” dir. Dianne Jackson (1982)

I can’t believe this isn’t as big a deal outside the UK as it should be. It’s an amazing animated film.

“Baker Bobb” dir. Billy Burger (2018)

Cute little short from a local group.

“Magnetic Rose” dir. Kōji Morimoto (1995)

Goddamn, that nineties anime hits hard.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie dir. Shinichirō Watanabe (2001)

If you’re going to make a movie from a beloved series, this is the way to do it.

The Tragedy of Macbeth dir. Joel Coen (2021)

German expressionism gets me every time.

The 355 dir. Simon Kinberg (2022)

I want more of these. More women-led action is the way to go.

The King’s Man dir. Matthew Vaughn (2021)

What a bizarre movie. Tonally, it’s trying to be a period war drama but also a ridiculous action comedy.

Scream dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olphin & Tyler Gillett (2022)

I guess it’s neat, but I hadn’t seen the fourth before I watched this. Then I did and this was missing a crucial character…

Scream 4 dir. Wes Craven (2011)

Bring back Kirby.

Belle dir. Mamoru Hosoda (2021)

This was a great movie, it seems like it’s going to be one thing but then takes a turn. And the animation is :chefkiss:.

Licorice Pizza dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2021)

Nothing has ever inspired me to run for the joy of it like Licorice Pizza does. I had a real strong aversion to it based on the trailer… you know, more nostalgic dude filmmakers who grew up in the valley in the sixties and seventies. But I liked its meandering. I like a good meandering plot. The cast were great of course. Also so white as are all these nostalgic era movies. I think that’s strong points against it. It makes me wanna go rewatch The Wood or Dope.

What If…? – “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” (2021)

I intended to watch the series, but after the first episode I really just want more of Captain Carter.

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

Yep it’s a classic. I’ll have to rewatch this sometime soon. The early aughts was an embarrassment of space western riches.

Cowboy Bebop (2021)

This isn’t the anime and I think their attempt to be like the anime hurt the series. I enjoyed it as its own work, and really wished they’d gotten a second season to smooth out the rough edges. The casting in particular is great.