New Horror 2023 – Day 21

“I’ll give you just the essentials, and you can make of it what you please.”

“The Woman’s Ghost Story” by Algernon Blackwood (1907)

The spirit as an inextinguishable longing.

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“God as daddy the deranged.”

“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison, John Byrne, Eric Shanower, James Sinclair, Chris Chalenor (1994-1995)

The title would have hit so much harder if there’d been a different choice at the end there.

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“The only thing I have not provided is your anesthetic.”

Saw X dir. Kevin Greutert (2023)

I was so tuned out of these movies that I did not realize they were releasing at a pace of one per year for six years, with sporadic releases thereafter. This one brought the squelch that I’m not especially keen to see, but it also kind of softpedaled in the end. Damned if I do, damned if they don’t.

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 2023 – Day 19

“Always someone loving some thing more than that thing
loves them.”

“The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury (1951)

Okay, now I get it when someone says their only love is the sea.

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“It reaches in, plucking the shadow of the axe hanging in the window…”

“Shadow of Death” by William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein, Graham Ingels (1953)

That’s the stuff. Some asshole comes along and gets murdered for his transgression. It’s maybe worrisome how much I enjoy that aspect of the EC Comics stories… but that’s fiction for ya.

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“When in doubt, skewer it out.”

Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls dir. Andrew Bowser (2023)

I really enjoyed this! It takes the skit character comedy of something like Ernest Scared Stupid, throws in some real good VFX and puppets, and adds the gravitas of greats like Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs to give the cast some oomf, but everyone they got was perfect in their roles.

New Horror 2023 – Day 18

“The blood left a silvery trail in the moonlight.”

“The Village Spectre” by Gianna G. Maniego (2002)

We needed a shot of folk horror this month. I’m not sure how common it is these days but those ghost stories about a local person done wrong just don’t seem to come up as much, at least not in places I frequent. That’s what experiencing most stories from the library and movies will get ya.

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“They used to eat guys’ private parts.”

“Man’s World” by Keith Giffen, Mary Sangiovanni, Bilquis Evely, Mat Lopes, Taylor Esposito (2017)

I was really intrigued by this book, an anthology of horror stories based on DC superhero characters. This one doesn’t explain much, in particular why this character does what she does when she’s possessed, but it’s still a great twist on the fact that superpowered people with benevolent intentions can still do some fucked up stuff. (Oh, I just remembered The Boys and Brightburn.)

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“Doubt her and there’ll be no pain when she’s gone.”

Embrace of the Vampire dir. Anne Goursaud (1995)

I forgot that Alyssa Milano had this stint of erotic-ish movies and TV episodes (she had a similar role but with aliens instead of vampires in an episode of The Outer Limits). It’s a fairly bare bones story meant to prop up some steamy scenes between Milano and various other cast members, and I can’t say I’d recommend it unless you’re just a fan of 90s-era extra softcore sex scenes.

New Horror 2023 – Day 17

“I was sick — sick unto death with that long agony.”

“The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe (1850)

Poe is great at just stepping you through someone’s thoughts as they experience some horrifying stuff. And this one’s plot is scant because it really is just meant to force you to sit there with this man’s pain.

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“What I want is death, not eternity.”

“Frankenstein y el Hombre Lobo” ed. Tibor Reves (1946)

I haven’t watched any Frankenstein and Wolf Man crossover movies, but this one appears to be a direct adaptation of the first movie that combines the characters. But it’s also rote and so invested in being faithful that it can’t be as good.

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“You mean that this little pebble has been out there hot roddin’ around the universe?”

The Blob dir. Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. (1958)

It’s a neat monster, though certainly looks like the contents of a can of cranberry sauce. And of course the theme here is how adults don’t believe teens when they try and tell them that there’s some fucked up shit going on. I can see where a lot of alien horror dealing in amorphous threats and digestion/melting would have come from this. Now I look forward to catching that eighties version that gets a lot more gnarly with the visual effects.

New Horror 2023 – Day 16

“There was something in me that was—was simply gibbering with delight.”

“Shambleau” by C.L. Moore (1933)

Thrills indeed. This guy was down to get familiar, but it turns out that’s not such a great idea. Lots of great detail in describing their liaison, too.

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“Really, no one can get enough.”

“Dental Plan” by Joy San (2019)

Whoa, that’s a creepy story. I like when you’re not quite sure what the thing is, but it sure is a thing.

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“Like all of you, she dreamed that one day a lover would come and claim her.”

A Night to Dismember (The Lost Version) dir. Doris Wishman (1979)

I didn’t realize it until I sat down to try and watch this, but there’s a released version of this movie from the eighties which ended up on VHS and is one of those so bad ya gotta see it sorta movies, evidently caused by numerous production woes and years of editing. The original 1979 version was lost to time until it was rediscovered on a VHS tape and uploaded to YouTube in 2018 as you see it here. I watched the first few minutes of the original release and it’s such a different movie that they need to be categorized separately. This lost version is… fine. Low budget and jumpy editing, but it feels like a much more coherent slasher movie than what I was seeing in the original release.

New Horror 2023 – Day 15

“The family curse that condemned them to be eternal renters.”

“Señor Ligotti” by Bernardo Esquinca (2020)

Real estate horror is some prime and extremely relevant storytelling (also see Dream Home). This one hits in a certain way that ya gotta have the experience to understand.

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“Ahhh! Why did you tell me that?”

“The Fisherman” by Franco, Tressina Bowling, Wes Abbott, Sara Richard (2022)

Oh man, this is fun but too short! I need a part 2.

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“You can buy these, but it’s on your head.”

Piggy dir. Carlota Pereda (2022)

I loved this. It’s unsettling and choices are made that leave you questioning just where the story’s going to go, and it’s always nice to find something that twists and turns that way. Beyond that, it just lands for anyone who was glad to get the fuck away from childhood horrors.

New Horror 2023 – Day 14

“Under my fingers, an unambiguous growth.”

“Menopause” by Flore Hazoumé & trans. James D. Jenkins (1994)

A subject I should learn more about and yet have no idea how to ask. As always, a bit of fiction helps expand things in a limited but critical way.

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“The crowd is hushed in a moment of pre-climactic reflection…”

“Hag of the Blood Basket!” by Al Hewetson & Sean Todd (1971)

This is… just torture? Just torture to torture. There’s no comeuppance for a character who’s done wrong nor a twist reveal about the character’s secret dark past. It’s just a torture maze at an amusement park.

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“Every murderer is someone’s old friend.”

A Haunting in Venice dir. Kenneth Branagh (2023)

The supernatural bent makes it appropriate to the season, so it fits. But like the other recent Poirot movies, it’s a big heap of comfort watching. Perhaps that’s just all detective fiction. You know some horrible things will happen to someone(s), but the detective will get the culprit(s) in the end.

New Horror 2023 – Day 13

“How much blood it costs to reach the end.”

“Mater Tenebrarum” by Pilar Pedraza & trans. James D. Jenkins (2000)

That’s what we’re here to read. The darkness is palpable.

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“It was the Chicago in me that kept me from jumping out in front of the nearest moving car.”

“Essence of Life” by Gail Simone, Tula Lotay, Jared K. Fletcher (2013)

This anthology seems to rely on having some knowledge about these characters from the main series, so it does feel like there’s some vital information missing. But it still hits the high notes.

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“This the guy that’s been leaving the wet stuff?”

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter dir. Joseph Zito (1984)

Kind of a snooze since it’s the same formula for most of the movie. It eventually comes around to something kinda new in their attempt to pacify Jason, but it’s still borrowing from an earlier movie to get there.

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“You and your friends are dead.”

Friday the 13th dev. Atlus (1989)

On the one hand, I jumped in my seat the first time Jason appeared, even knowing that happens from past experience. It is certainly a spooky vibe. But the route that leads to the finale is particular and not well-explained, so it takes real tenacity and many playthroughs to get there.

New Horror 2023 – Day 12

“People who live indoors always remind me of something peeled and skinless.”

“The Man Who Went Too Far” by E.F. Benson (1912)

This is going to be the funniest title I come across this month. An alternative title is: “The Man Who Was Extra.”

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“You’re my favorite girl, but you’re still a rotten detective!”

“The Living Ghost” by Frank Belknap Long & Fred Guardineer (1948)

I had a note next to this story asking “superhero who’s a zombie???” because they reference this character appearing again in later issues, but it seems to straight up be a comic series following a villain who is a spawn of satan. Though he’s not an especially clever spawn.

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“I was hungry for you for as long as I could have you.”

The Velvet Vampire dir. Stephanie Rothman (1971)

Mostly an excuse to watch Celeste Yarnall vamp it up with other attractive actors, but that final sequence is great. And I like what the director has to say.