Horns Book vs Movie for Ravenous Monster

As a very big fan of Joe Hill’s sophomore novel Horns, I was awaiting Alexandre Aja’s film adaptation with much anticipation. Piranha and Haute Tension are great movies, showing a diversity of ability.  Even his weaker efforts such asMirrors and The Hills Have Eyes remake are never dull, and his direction is always exciting and unique.

Horns follows Ignatius (Ig) Perrish after he wakes up hung over after desecrating the memorial placed where his ex-girlfriend, Merrin, was raped and murdered one year ago. He was never tried for her death, but nearly everyone in town believes Ig’s guilty of the crime.  The physical discomfort of his hangover is compounded by the horns now emerging from his forehead.  Ig soon makes a startling discovery, no one truly notices the horns, yet they now feel compelled to burden Ig with their most horrible thoughts when they see him...Click over to Ravenous Monster for the full piece.

The Vagrants Novella Review at Ravenous Monster

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Brian Mooreland’s new novella The Vagrants.  With a page count of a shade over 100, Mooreland somehow manages to both create depth to his characters as well as create an entirely new world that could support an entire franchise if he wished it to.

The novella begins with Daniel Finely an ambitious college graduate with a journalism degree.  He is in the midst of spending six months living with the homeless population in Massachusetts, and begins feeling disconnected from his old life as the days pile onto each other.  He feels himself and his outlook on life changing.  The camp Daniel had been living is then begins to become overrun by a small cult.  This cult and its charismatic leader begin to recruit the occupants of the area into their ranks.  Daniel feels the appeal but escapes their recruitment.  Two years later when his book is being released the cult finds him, and try once again tries to bring him into their ranks...Full Review at Ravenous Monster.

Alien: Out of the Shadows Book Review

Ellen Ripely is back in Tim Lebbon’s Alien Out of the Shadows the first book in a brand new Alien trilogy from Titan Books.  Adding to an established and fan loved/obsessed universe it tricky, the novel has to be successful on multiple levels in order to please the passionate members of its audience.  The same ones the franchise was acquired for in the first place.  As a member of that demographic as well as a fan of Lebbon I’ll be breaking it down step by step. 

First off the Ellen Ripley of Out of the Shadows is the Ellen Ripley we all know.  This book takes place between the first and second movies and envisions Ripley’s escape pod taking a detour before the second film begins.  Tim Lebbon writes Ripley incredibly well.  He clearly understands all the elements of the complex character that Sigourney Weaver brought to life in the first three Alien films...Click either image for the full review at Ravenous Monster.

The Crow: Curare Graphic Novel Review at Ravenous Monster

Almost a full year since publishing The Crow: Skinning the Wolves, author James O’Barr returns to the franchise with a new tale entitled Curare.  If you didn’t think it was possible to surpass the high standard set with Skinning the Wolves, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with his new tale of anguish and pain...CLICK EITHER IMAGE FOR THE FULL REVIEW 

The Crow Skinning the Wolves Graphic Novel Review

The Crow Skinning the Wolves is a return to the franchise by long time absent creator James O’ Barr who has moved his current incarnation from gritty urban landscapes to a Nazi Concentration camp.  Even as a longtime fan of O’Barr, I was skeptical.  Can you pull off what is essentially a supernatural revenge fantasy in the midst of one of History’s greatest tragedies?  The answer is short is yes, by handling your supernatural elements with an emotional maturity...CLICK EITHER IMAGE FOR THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT RAVENOUS MONSTER  

Ash and the Army of Darkness #1 from Simon Frost at 'Still Watching Cartoons in my Batman Boxers'

Steve Niles reboots Dynamite's long running license of Army of Darkness with art by Dennis Calero, in an intriguing Book that won me over in the end.  Initially I wasn't entirely digging the art style by Dennis Calero when I began the issue, but in 32 short pages he had definitely won me over.  He easily captures the appearance of the cast actors, with the perfect amount of detail.  Steve Niles' story picks up with the end of Army of Darkness (theatrical version) so the first few pages read like an adaptation of the film.  I was very unimpressed, but then instead of cutting away to Directed by Sam Raimi we get to see how badly Ash fucked up by not reading the words correctly.  It's a fun exercise and the panels are expertly designed, leading to a few cool surprises.  While not the greatest issue ever, this fan was won over and must apologize for doubting this book's potential.  This book's been laying around for months as I had the buyers remorse after purchasing it, feeling like a dumb fan boy.  

Seduction of the Innocent by Max Allan Collins

Overview;
It's 1954, and a rabble-rousing social critic has declared war on comic books - especially the scary, gory, bloody sort published by the bad boys of the industry, EF Comics. But on the way to a Senate hearing on whether these depraved publications should be banned, the would-be censor meets a violent end of his own - leaving his opponents in hot water.  

Can Jack Starr, private eye to the funny-book industry, and his beautiful boss Maggie unravel the secret of Dr. Frederick's gruesome demise?  Or will the crackdown come, falling like an executioner's axe...?

Review;

Hard Case Crime's latest book showcases Max Allan Collins, most well known  for The Road to Perdition writing an old school pulp styled detective novel that also doubles as historical fiction.  Comic Historians will recognize the title of this work is also the title of a book about the dangers of comics from the 50's that resulted in the Comics Codes Authority.  

Collins uses this set up and changes the names of the players (EC Comics becomes EF Comics, Batman becomes Crime Fighter, etc)  which is odd for a reader well aware of all these players and takes some getting used to.  The writing itself is strong and the mystery unravels perfectly.  Jack Starr is a solid detective, and the supporting players are unique and easy to keep track of.  Comic styled art by Terry Beatty appears with Chapter breaks adding to the undeniably cool feel of this book.  

Overview;

As a noir, pulp and comic fan this was a fun fast paced read.  While switching the names of characters and comic publishers annoyed me at first once I got past it I found a great deal to enjoy in this book.  

Brian Moreland’s The Devil’s Woods

Brian Moreland’s The Devil’s Woods follows a widower—Kyle Elkheart and his expedition to find his estranged father and discover who the man truly was.  With his brother, sister, and their respective significant others, Kyle returns to the Native American reservation and neighboring town where they grew up to find his father’s expedition, who has been attacked by a creature teased in the book’s prologue...Click either image for the full review.

Wayne C Rogers Reviews Don't Stand So Close by Eric Red

Don’t Stand So Close by Eric Red

Short, Scary Tales Publications

Trade Paperback, 2012, $14.95, 277pp

Review by Wayne C. Rogers

Have you ever had a crush on your junior high school teacher, or a high school teacher, or even a professor in college?  This question is directed as much to the ladies as to the men.  I know I did when growing up.  My first crush goes as far back as the sixth grade when I had a total crush on the teacher in the next room.  I couldn’t get my mind off of her.  I even used to ride my little bicycle past her house on occasion.  Today, that would be called stalking.   

Well, Don’t Stand So Close by Eric Red raises it up a notch and increases the stakes as this dark novel delves into obsession, perverted sex, and murder in the first degree. 

The story centers on seventeen-year-old Matt Poe, who has just moved from California to a small town in Iowa, and it’s not near Field of Dreams, either.  Matt’s mother is a teacher, and this is where her new job has taken her.  I come from a southern town where everybody knows you and your business.  I therefore understood the culture shock Matt goes through at being the new kid on the block in a small mid-western community.  Since Matt is a good-looking California teenager, it isn’t long before he makes friends with Rusty and Grace.  Rusty is a strange kid, who stays by himself, but is smart with a high IQ.  Grace is also smart, a cheerleader, the girlfriend of the football captain, and the daughter of the local sheriff.  Matt, however, only eyes for his teacher, Linda Hayden.  Naturally, she’s older, great looking, sexual in every sense of the word, and seems to have an eye for the new kid in school. 

It isn’t long before Ms. Hayden offers to tutor Matt after school, and it isn’t long before one thing leads to another and the two are doing the hanky-panky.  In fact, Matt quickly becomes obsessed with the teacher and the hot sex they have.  Things, however, aren’t what they seem.  Within a short span of time, other kids start dying in ways which seem like an accident but isn’t.  Matt soon grows leery of Ms. Hayden, especially when he finds himself developing feelings for Grace in an unexpected way.  The teacher is certainly steadfast in what she wants.  She refuses to let Matt go.  You see Ms. Hayden has plans for Matt…plans that will destroy his life in ways he could never dream or suspect.  Ms. Hayden is a sexual predator of the worse kind and Matt isn’t her first victim.  What started out as a fantasy fulfilled quickly turns into a nightmare that simply won’t go away.

As the old saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for.  You might get it.” 

Eric Red, the author, is generally known for his screenplay writing and directing.  He wrote the great cult films The Hitcher (1986) and Near Dark (1987) and Blue Steel (1989), plus the revised version of The Hitcher (2007) with two other screenwriters.  Though he’s also written a number of short stories in the suspense genre, Don’t Stand So Close is his first novel.  My only question is what took him so long to finally write a book? 

Mr. Red is clearly a very talented author who sees descriptive imagery with the eyes of a screenwriter and director.  He captures everything perfectly in his novel from the personalities of the characters, the hunger a student has for his teacher, the atmosphere of small-town life, and the edge-of-your-seat suspense that keeps you wondering what will happen next.  I not only hope Don’t Stand So Close won’t be Eric Red’s only novel, but that it will be turned into a feature film in the near future.  Though this actress is older than I imagined Linda Hayden to be, I kept seeing her face in the role of the teacher—Lena Olin.  She would be the perfect Linda Hayden.

All in all, Don’t Stand So Close was a pleasant surprise I greatly enjoyed.  This novel does for high school students what the movie, Fatal Attraction, did for married men back during the late eighties.  Keep the fantasy in your mind and your zipper pulled up no matter how strong the allure. 

That’s how you stay sane and alive.   

    

 Wayne C. Rogers is a Las Vegas casino employee who has been writing professionally (with the intent to sell) for twenty-five years. It's only been within the past three years that Mr. Rogers (no, not the famous TV host of programs for children) made the decision to work towards being a full-time writer of horror, suspense, psychological, and erotic horror fiction.

He has written several novellas (three of which are posted on Amazon's Kindle), dozens of short stories (some of which are also on Amazon), an erotic/horror novel--The House of Blood--for the wild crowd that lives on the kinky side of reality, and five completed screenplays based on his stories The Encounter, The Tunnels, A Step in the Shadows, Trick or Treat, and The Garbage Disposal (the last three are short screenplays). He is currently at work on a sixth screenplay, The Code of Honor, as well as a seventh, Dolan. During the year of 2012, Mr. Rogers sold over twenty short stories with some of them appearing in the paperback anthologies: I'll Never Go Away, Grindhouse and Peep Show, Volume 2.

Being somewhat of a couch potato at his old age of sixty-two, Mr. Rogers enjoys the pastime of writing, reading (he has over a few hundred books stored in boxes a few feet from his writing table), great movies from any time period, and well-made television programs such as Justified, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Game of Thrones, Justified, and American Horror Story. Finally, Mr. Rogers is rather unusual in that he doesn't own a house or a car, A friend just recently bought him a cellphone, but he hasn't turned it on as of yet. He spends his free time at the computer writing his stories, and usually doesn't leave his apartment till it's time to head to work. Thank God for ham & cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup!!!

Pumpkin Man John Everson

Overview;

After her father's gruesome murder, Jenn needed a place to get away from it all with some friends, to take her mind off her sorrow. The empty seaside cottage she inherited seemed perfect. Jenn didn't know that the cottage held arcane secrets, mysteries long hidden and best left alone. She didn't realize until it was too late that the old books and Ouija board she found there really do hold great power. And it was only after her friend's headless body was discovered that she knew the legend of the local bogeyman was no mere legend at all. An evil has been unleashed, a terrifying figure previously only spoken of in whispers. But now the whispers will become screams. Beware...The Pumpkin Man.

Review;

John Everson’s Pumpkin man is the perfect read for the October season.  Everson succeeds in creating an amazing supernatural horror story, and is so good he even gets some genuine chills out of a Ouija board. 

The plot revolves mainly around Jenn the inheriting an old house that once belonged to her aunt, and investigating her family’s history of witchcraft in a small coastal town in California.  Her aunt’s house is so perfectly realized it becomes its own character, adding a haunted house element to a supernatural slasher. 

A horror staple, Everson creates some very imaginative sequences with pumpkins and jack o’ lanterns making it a perfect October read.  The main cast of Jenn and her friends while not incredibly deep are easy to like, and thus aren’t set up merely as fodder for the well concealed slasher.

At the end of the book, when the mystery is fully revealed, I felt a tad cheated.  Not that it didn’t make sense; but that the reader wasn’t given enough information to put it all together before the final reveal.    There were also a few times when people began to have sex against all sense and reason, but they were also cut away scenes so I am unsure exactly what purpose they were meant to serve. 

These minor gripes aside, Pumpkin Man is a solid horror read.  Everson is clearly a fan of the horror genre and he gives fans what they want, without ever being condescending or uninspired. 

In the End;

John Everson’s Pumpkin Man is a perfect October read for horror fans, with all the elements that could make a perfect Halloween movie.  

Night at the Demontorium by Naima Haviland

Naima Haviland’s Night at the Demontorium is a collection of short stories that harken back to the style of The Twilight Zoneand Tales from the Darkside.  While all the stories are unquestionably horror tales, they aspire to be more than just that with very original and clever flourishes throughout. ...

Click either image to jump to Ravenous Monster for the Full Review 

Ghosts in the Attic by Mark Allan Gunnells

Mark Allan Gunnells’ Ghost in the Attic is a new collection of short stories released from Bad Moon Books and Evil Jester Press.  I would categorize the collection as more darkly supernatural as opposed to straight up horror as a whole, though at no point did I feel Gunnells was writing with kid gloves and worried about going too far.   

The most impressive element from the stories in Ghosts in the Attic as whole was the successful combination of eerie atmospheres and genuinely deep emotional characters.  Gunnells writes with a sincerity, that almost feels old fashioned in our world of meta humor and ironic winking. 

If you like old school style supernatural horror without restraint in the content I would strongly recommend Ghosts in the Attic.   

Seductions by Ray Garton

Overview;

The lover of your dreams has come...and that lover is not alone. They are everything we desire...and we are their prey. They feed on our passions...gorge themselves on our lust...and they know exactly what we want...what we crave.

Only a few people know they exist, and even those who know aren’t sure what they are, why they have come...or how to stop them. They blend in by taking the forms we love most, and they make of death an unimaginable ecstasy. You may know one of them. You may love one of them. But you will not survive one of them.

Review;

Ray Garton’s debut novel Seductions is a clever little book, taking one of the most difficult monsters to use incubi/sucubi and creating a very cunning, briskly-paced supernatural mystery around multiple parties investigating missing persons cases where massive amounts of blood and nothing else was found at the site of disappearance. 

One of Seductions strengths is a lack of clear fodder characters, the cast of the novel is small, but that allows for more character building and personal arcs. 

Garton’s novel starts small and builds toward an incredible climax.  He slowly ratchets up the tension page by page, as the reader discovers with the characters what exactly is happening.

In the End;

Seductions by Ray Garton is a solid paperback page turner.  While it doesn’t re-invent the genre, it is a satisfying read, with bloody kills, clever reveals and well-drawn characters.  

Fatale Book Three: West of Hell Graphic Novel Review

I'm a big fan of Brubaker and Phillips noir horror hybrid series Fatale. Click either image to see how the third graphic novel collection stands up to the rest of their work.

Messenger Edward Lee

Overview;

A demon takes over a post office, leaving unsuspecting victims with a surprise when they open their packages.

A little bit of Hell has just come to earth.

Would you like to become someone else? Well, someone else is about to become you. He will share your heart and your mind, he will seep into your body, he will feel all your ecstacy...

And then he will take you on a slaughterfest.

Occult rites. Ritualistic murder.

You have become possessed.
But not by a ghost.
Not by a demon.
It's something much worse.

Just as God has a messenger, so does the devil, and that messenger is here, now, in your town. He has a message to send...

The Messenger.

A diabolical novel of ultimate erotic horror...

Review;

Edward Lee’s Messenger combines the classic gory excesses that Lee is known for, a small town murder mystery and the investigation of cult activity.  Overall this is a solid horror novel.  The mystery elements are well developed, leading logically from one clue to the next.  The cast populating the small town  of Danelleton, Florida is overall well drawn, but the few characters that are not are the novel’s major weakness. 

While Lee never gets as much credit as he should for character development, this novel has far too many fodder characters who are introduced and slaughtered within a single chapter.  While the intent seems to be the ratcheting of tension for our main players, knowing what they are being threatened with, Lee shows his monsters too much and they lose some of their bite. (Think Freddy in his first flick to the campy figure he became.)  These chapters seem like filler, and I feel this would have been a much stronger work at a shorter length.  The narrative centers around widow Jane Ryan, as she works through the evil around her, and Lee even manages to create a nice romantic subplot for her, she was strong enough to carry the book without fodder victims. 

The supernatural and mystery elements were well conceived and introduced.  The book’s climax was solid and fulfilling as well, with a nice series of well-earned reveals.

In the End;

Messenger has all the elements I like in my horror fiction; A cult, a supernatural entity, brutal splatter, a strong well drawn lead, and Lee’s signature bravado.  However the fodder chapters/characters really killed the momentum.  This is a strong novel,  that feels like it could have been more.  

The Crow: Curare #1 Review

The Crow: Curare #1
Written by James O’Barr
Illustrated by Antoine Dodé
Colored by Antoine Dodé
Lettered by Shawn Lee
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2013

After Skinning The Wolves ended James O’Barr’s long absence from the franchise he is back with a new Crow tale entitled Curare.  And the high standard he set with Skinning of the Wolves is easily met in this tale of anguish and pain.

The narrative centers around Detective Salk, a retired police detective whose inability to solve a sexual assault and murder of a small child haunts him, making him unable to live his life in anyway.  This book is just eerie, the artwork by Antoine Dodé is surreal, pulling the reader into the mind of a haunted man.  The coloring is amazing, and defies nearly every comic book trope. 

The story is brutal and jarring, without ever being overly graphic.  This is by far one of the creepiest comics I have ever read.  The illustrations by Antoine Dodé are not very explicit in the harrowing violence, yet he conveys such malice and violence this will be a hard book to stomach for most people. 

James O’ Barr is brilliant in crafting this tale of the rape and murder of a child, without ever delving into exploitive territory.  The anguish that Salk feels is front and center, a man destroyed because he cares.  Fans of the original will find much to like here, but should be forewarned there is no physical spirit of vengeance taking out bad guys in this book.  Yet the tone and feel is still deeply entrenched in the original. 

This a must read for fans of dark comics.  

Castaways by Brian Keene

Overview;

They came to the deserted island to compete on a popular reality television show. Each one hoped to be the last to leave. Now they're just hoping to stay alive, because the island isn't deserted after all. 

Contestants are disappearing, but they aren't being eliminated by the game. They're being taken by the monstrous, half-human creatures that live deep in the jungle. The men will be slaughtered. The women will be kept alive as captives. Night is falling, the creatures are coming, and rescue is so far away . . . 

Review;

Brian Keene’s Castaways is more shallow in character development and plot intricacies than his other books.  It is also shorter coming in at a tad under 300 pages.  That being said this is a fun rapidly paced little yarn, that is never dull.  The show Castaways is a clear Survivor rip off (and Keene admits to enjoying the show) yet he still manages to draw a few interesting plot twists from this incredibly straightforward premise.

 

The character roster is pretty large for a work this small and as such some of the characters are little more than horror clichés and die way too quickly for the reader to establish any attachment to them.   Those who survive longer however are well developed and I was rooting for them to live and escape the island by the end.  A few of these characters began as stock characters that Keene managed to squeeze real life into. 

The creatures that come for the cast of Castaways are well realized and fit into the mold set forward by Urban Gothic, Offseason and are directly inspired by the Beast House series by Richard Laymon.  They are effective, but not revolutionary in any way. 

Overview;

If you want a fast well-constructed creature feature Castaways by Brian Keene is the book for.  While not as challenging as some of his other works, he never insults the reader and tells a story that genre fans will appreciate from the first page to the last.  

A Comic adaptation of Castaways is Available in Brian Keene's Fear, while out of print is easy to find.

X Files Season 10 Issue #1

X Files season 10 is a new ongoing comic series meant to pick up after season 9, while ignoring but never in conflict with the X Files I Want to believe movie.  Chris Carter shares a writing credit with Joe Harris and Michael Walsh provides the art, but after nearly a decade since the show went off the air is there anything still left?

Yes there is still story to be told and issue #1 establishes where Mulder, Scully and  Skinner are now very effectively.  A new threat that is literally lurking in the shadows is introduced that drags Mulder and Scully back into their work with the X Files after leaving the FBI.  The simple art by Walsh works well, it has more of an old pulp edge than typical comic book fare that works well within the world of the X Files.  The story and writing are intriguing, and sets up this new plotline well, however issue #2 will be the true determiner of this series.  If the cool set ups yield some pay off this 5 issue arc will have me hooked.  If not it will probably be a decent but ultimately forgettable series like the the tops comics from the 90’s.  

Horror for the Summer Season

While we usually think of horror emerging from the Shadows, it can take you on a beautiful day with the sun shining bright.  With Summer officially upon us I wanted to make sure the horror aficionado had some seasonally appropriate scares. 

Books;

Castaways by Brian Keene and Slither by Edward Lee offer great summer settings with plenty of beach action. 

Movies;

Everybody knows and celebrates Jaws,

but what about Alexandre Aja’s incredibly fun Piranha from 2010? 

Game;

Dead Island, choose your survivor in a sandbox style game that takes place at a tropical hotel resort over run by the undead. 

John Carpenter’s Asylum issue #1 Review

John Carpenter’s Asylum written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Leonardo Manco

The plot follows LT. Daniel Beckett, an Iraqi war veteran turned priest and suspect in a failed exorcism that resulted in a child’s death; teaming with Detective Jack Duran to hunt down the possessed who are committing ritual murders. 

It sounds cool doesn’t it, but it’s not.  While the artwork by Leonardo Manco is a gorgeous mix of comic sensibilities and painting it doesn’t mask the story’s poor pacing thinly drawn characters, bland dialogue, or uninspired plot progression.  Jack Duran is a thinly drawn tough cop cliché and Beckett is boring from his introduction in a morning after sequence with a woman who he leaves without talking to, even as she tries to engage him, and walks to a church and is revealed to be a priest.  This sequence sums up the book nicely, failed attempts to shock the audience and nothing else.  Much of this revolves around nude women, who are often so for NO apparent reason. (Really she takes her shirt off to make a phone call?) 

With the beautiful artwork and involvement from John Carpenter this book is a serious let down.