Paul Tremblay has quickly established himself as one of the best horror novelists of our time. His first novel, A Headful of Ghosts, is one of my all time favorites. A book that will scare the hell out of you, then rip your heart out at the end. The twist ending thing, well, that has become a bit of a Paul Tremblay staple. He also likes to take the standard horror tropes and turn them sideways, or even on their head, making old tales seem brand new.
Now, his latest, is called Horror Movie and it takes a new and refreshing look at the idea of cursed movies. I can tell you, it's one that will keep you turning pages until the ending, which once again, hammers you in the face once you get to the final page.
The Plot of Horror Movie
So, it's hard for me to tell you what the plot is without giving too much away. This novel is best read knowing very little about the plot. I don't want to reveal anything, so I'll just borrow from the book blurb itself.
Horror Movie is about a legendary horror film created by a bunch of young kids in 1993. Notorious for being very disturbing, and well known for a horrible tragedy occurring on set, it has become the movie every horror fan wants to either see, or see remade. The only survivor of that original cast is the actor who played the Thin Kid and we follow him today as he talks to directors and producers who all have their own ideas about how they want to remake Horror Movie.
At the same time, we look back. Through flashbacks, we come to understand how the movie was filmed, and how things went horribly wrong. How only three clips of the original movie ended up on YouTube, and how a legend about a cursed film was born.
So, today, the Thin Kid is back to play the role that made him famous, but we soon learn that the horrible things that happened in 1993, are not quite dead, not quite gone, and very much real in the modern day. With devastating consequences.
A Page-Turning Tale of Dread and Horror
Horror Movie takes a little bit of time to get going, but what Tremblay does (what he has always done) is create three dimensional characters that you latch on to. These are people who are interesting, strange, but also compelling. I wanted to know what they were up to, what happened, and why did it happen.
Tremblay leaves enough cliffhangers and breadcrumbs for the horribleness that is waiting at the end. Then, like he always does, he takes a very sharp turn and pulls that rug out from under you at the same time. The ending of this one left me open-mouthed and going back to re-read what I had just read.
If you can hold on for the twists and turns, you'll have a thrilling roller coaster ride while reading this one. It is not loaded with gore, and there are no jump scare moments, but there is a constantly building sense of dread and the ratchet of suspense keeps turning and turning and turning until the conclusion.
Get into Paul Tremblay Now
Is Horror Movie the best novel in which to jump into his writing? Maybe not. I would still recommend you start with A Headful of Ghosts, which will give you a great idea of his style and what you're in for. If you saw the movie A Knock at the Cabin, I recommend reading the novel The Cabin at the End of the World upon which it was based. I also really loved his take on the zombie tropes with Survivor Song.
Horror Movie should maybe your second or third venture into Tremblay's fiction. I love his work, personally, and am a bit of a diehard fan. I am more than willing to let him take me by my imagination and lead me down the dark hallways his own imagination travels.
Horror Movie is a page turner. A lesson in building dread and suspense and then another gut-punch of an ending. I highly recommend it.
For all of my works of horror and suspense, visit my Amazon store. I have all my books, novels, short stories and audiobooks available there at a price you'll love.
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