Title: Demonic Author: Jeff Strand Genre: Horror Number of Pages: 248 Rating: B- Recommended?: Yes Demonic, the first book I’ve read by the prolific Jeff Strand, is a silly but entertaining diversion with enough carnage to satisfy the unapologetically gore-obsessed horror fan. The protagonist, Corey, is a sarcastic, laid-back guy who works in an office and is friends with his married co-worker, Quinn. He has feelings for Quinn and becomes protective of her when he finds out she’s being abused by her husband Vic. But things are going to get a LOT more complicated. Quinn confides in Corey th ..read more

Title: My Best Friend’s Exorcism Author: Grady Hendrix Genre: Horror Number of Pages: 330 Rating: B+ Recommended?: Yes WARNING: THIS BOOK REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS The only other book I’ve read by Grady Hendrix is Horrorstor and it feels like I’ve been meaning to read this one forever! My Best Friend’s Exorcism (which was recently made into a poorly reviewed movie) tells the story of BFFs Abby and Gretchen, who are inseparable despite the rocky start to their friendship. Even though Gretchen is from a weird religious family she becomes fairly popular in high school, and her and Abby han ..read more

A dark comedy/horror hybrid about a man’s phobia escalating out of control. I wrote it today but was sitting on the idea for several years. Trigger warning for violence. First of all, what happened wasn’t my fault. At all. Just ask my lawyer, who told the courts I was ‘not guilty by reason of insanity.’ It has a kind of ring to it, don’t you think? I didn’t ask for any of this to happen. I’m the victim, honestly.  Not many people know this (I keep it on the D.L.) but I hate clowns with a passion. It makes me sick to look at them, even on TV. If I even see a goddamn picture of a clown ..read more

Title: Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil Director: Eli Craig Actor(s): Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine Genre: Horror/Comedy Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes Rating: A Recommended?: Yes Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is one of my favorite horror-comedies of all time and is a movie I’ve seen multiple, multiple times. It’s great if you just want to laugh and want a pick-me-up after a crappy day or need a palate cleanser after watching something dark and depressing. It takes a simple premise that could have made it a one-joke movie but the dialogue and the characters make it something really special. Amiable hillbill ..read more

Title: Monsters Author: Emerald Fennell Genre: Horror Number of Pages: 340 Rating: A+ Recommended?: Yes TW: Child Sexual Abuse, Incest, Animal Cruelty, Domestic Abuse I loved this book! I bought it partially because someone online compared it to The Wasp Factory, which is one of my favorites. I don’t think Monsters is as messed up as The Wasp Factory, but it holds its own as a strange and deliciously morbid experience. The main character, a very twisted little girl who remains unnamed throughout, is twelve when the story starts and has lost her parents in a tragic accident- but ‘don’t worr ..read more

Title: The House Director(s): Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Paloma Baeza, Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels Actor(s): Matthew Goode, Jarvis Cocker, Helena Bonham Carter Genre: Adult Animation/Horror Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes Rating: A Recommended?: Yes   Dark and insanely creative, The House is a must-watch for people who like exploring animation beyond Disney and Pixar (even though Disney and Pixar are amazing, don’t get me wrong.) The movie is made up of three offbeat, subversive, and creepy stories that are tonally very different- and with different styles of stop-motion animation- but are ..read more

Title: I Love My Dad Director: James Morosini Actor(s): Patton Oswalt, James Morosini Genre: Comedy/Drama Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes Rating: D Recommended?: No WARNING: THIS MOVIE REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS Ugh, ugh, ugh. I like Patton Oswalt but this movie is bad, guys. It’s so incredibly creepy and tone-deaf, and this is coming from someone who loves dark comedies. It tries to convince us that the main character is sympathetic and doing the wrong thing for the right reasons or whatever. Just no. Patton Oswalt plays Chuck, a train-wreck divorced dad who decides to catfish his mentally ..read more

Title: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed Author: Helene Tursten Genre: Mystery/Short Stories Number of Pages: 272 Rating: D- Recommended?: No Warning: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk! Ugh. I was so mad when I finished this book, I wanted to throw it at the wall. Way to ruin a perfectly good first book; the author didn’t seem to have any sort of understanding what made An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good a solid, entertaining read. Maud is a serial killer. She’s also almost ninety years old, and she’s brilliant at playing the part of a helpless old lady in order to avoi ..read more

Title: Diary Author: Chuck Palahniuk Genre: Psychological Fiction Number of Pages: 262 Rating: B Recommended?: Yes I’ve heard that Chuck Palahniuk’s most recent books suck, but I’m trying to acquaint myself with some of his earlier books. And this book was crazy. It took so many insane twists and turns that I was never quite sure what was going on, even by it’s somewhat ambiguous ending. Misty Wilmot is an artist who hasn’t painted in years. She’s unhappily married to Peter, a man from a rich family who all live on an affluent island that’s decidedly unfriendly to outsiders. When Peter, a ..read more

Title: Black Friday Director: Casey Tebo Actor(s): Devon Sawa, Bruce Campbell Genre: Horror/Comedy Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes Rating: D+ Recommended?: No I’m not a huge fan of the Evil Dead movies so I have a pretty neutral opinion about Bruce Campbell, but the premise of minimum-wage corporate employees fighting zombies amid the chaos of Black Friday sounded like it would be really funny. The things people do on Black Friday is scary in its own right, so it seemed like there was an opportunity for some great satire. Unfortunately, this movie failed on almost every conceivable level. The a ..read more