Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura! It's a #HalloweenMiracle!

This weekend, get your marathon on with the full series of

MOVIE -

PHANTASM
Writer and Director: Don Coscarelli
Reviews by E.C. McMullen Jr.
If you've never seen any of the PHANTASM* movies, then shame on you! Go out and see PHANTASM, PHANTASM II, PHANTASM III, and well, okay, go and see PHANTASM IV. PHANTASM was and still is Writer/Director Don Coscarelli's masterpiece. While Coscarelli has never been the best writer, what he lacked in storywriting ability, he more than made up for in vision. I mean PHANTASM! WOW!

The movie starts with a graveyard sex scene (yeah I know, Cool start for any movie!). However, once the sex is over the Lady In Lavender (Kathy Lester) stabs her lover Tommy (Bill Cone) and then turns into an evilly leering weirdo known as The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). This Succubus idea is well thought out, since the succubus of legend is really a male demon that transforms itself into a female before attacking his/her victims.

Now it is up to our three remaining heroes to discover just what the hell is going on at Morningside Cemetery and Mortuary; Especially that ultra clean and sinister mortuary. Our heroes are Jodie (Bill Thornbury), his brother Mike (A. Michael Baldwin), and my favorite character of the series Reggie (Reggie Bannister). These three must uncover the secret of The Tall Man and a pretty cool secret it is.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/PHANTASM.

BOOK -

DIVINATIONS OF THE DEEP
by Matt Cardin
Review by Durant Haire
Matt Cardin's DIVINATIONS OF THE DEEP garnered praise from the likes of Thomas Ligotti and John Pelan. Ash-Tree Press chose it as the premiere edition of their new paperback imprint, New Century Macabre. Knowing these things, I had high expectations for this collection, both in production quality and content.

As far as production goes, my expectations were exceeded. The book is beautiful and built to last. Macabre cover art by Jason Van Hollander perfectly fits the collection's theme. Like the dust jacket on a hardback, the cover has front and back flaps that contain blurbs by Ligotti, Pelan and McNaughton, as well as Matt's picture and bio. They also function well as bookmarks. The interior is as nice and polished as the exterior, with easy to read text and pages that even smell good. Yes, I like to smell book pages. Weird aren't I?

So, did the content meet my expectations? No, it blew them out of the water.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/DEF/Divinations of the Deep.

Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura! It's a #HalloweenMiracle!

MOVIE -

THE GRAVEDANCERS
Writers: Brad Keene, Chris Skinner. Director: Mike Mendez
Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
Tragic, brooding, and morbid, THE GRAVE DANCERS starts with a bizarre murder. Then it's a year or so later for no discernable reason and there's a funeral - not for the murdered person. Then there's the reception. A friend died and his remaining three high school friends have come together to mourn him.

Okay, mourning's over, I've got to get up early tomorrow for work. The friend with the hard-nosed attitude and the ill-fitting suit (this guy is a lawyer?) is Harris McKay (Dominic Purcell). His friends, in particular his former friend, Sid Vance (Markus Thomas) rightly calls him to task and walks off in disgust.

Harris and the third pal, Kira Hastings (Josie Maran), know where to find Sid, right where he said he'd be; at the cemetery conducting their dead pal's funeral, the right way! The way friends should: With loads of drunken debauchery. Debauchery being the word since their stupor leads to Kira and Harris rekindling old feelings they once had for each other: made all the more sticky by the fact that Harris' wife, Allison (Clare Kramer), is waiting for him at home, having trusted him with his friends.

Nearly dozing off by his dead bud's tombstone, Sid finds a grievance card among the flowers and reads it. It sounds like a poem celebrating life and encourages everyone to "dance among the tombstones." In their inebriated state, that sounds like a great idea and they spend the rest of the time dancing until Harris passes out.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/GHI/GraveDancers.

NOVEL -

A HOUSE DIVIDED
by Deborah LeBlanc
Review by Scott Nicholson
Deborah LeBlanc carved out a place for herself in modern fright fiction with two previous novels steeped in the swampy, mysterious depths of the bayou. In A HOUSE DIVIDED, LeBlanc not only sprinkles Cajun flavor on the dark dishes she serves, but also adds a feast for haunted house fans. The eponymous house literally has been split in two by contractor Keith Lafleur. What Lafleur senses, but doesn't know, is the house harbors a long-slumbering but not-fully-dead secret. When the two halves of the house are set up and separately inhabited by chef Matt and hair stylist Laura in a small Louisiana town, the inevitable bad things ensue.

LeBlanc excels at building tension, not easy to do in a genre where the readers pretty much know what's coming. LeBlanc is also gifted in the arena of characterization and dialogue, allowing each person to maintain a distinct voice and style even in "talking" scenes. Such attention to detail is welcome, especially since so many modern writers fall back on dialogue that sounds like it came from television actors, with no accent or personality. She also understands regional flavor and its value in making a story come alive, rivaling fellow swamp dweller James Lee Burke in that category.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/GHI/A House Divided.

Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura! It's a #HalloweenMiracle!

MOVIE -

FRAILTY
Writer: Brent Hanley, Director: Bill Paxton
Review by Christos N. Gage
We've all had family problems. Uncle Pete gets drunk and blows up the gas grill. You bring a new girlfriend home and Mom breaks out your potty training video. Your pothead brother hides his stash in your carry-on bag. Dad has a vision from God and starts hacking up the neighbors.

If you can't top that last one, you got nothin' on the kids in FRAILTY.

FRAILTY is a character-driven thriller, the kind of film that a first-time director could easily have turned into a train wreck. But, in his directorial debut, actor Bill Paxton draws on his years of experience in front of the camera to make his first time behind it a solid success.

FRAILTY begins on a rainy night at a regional FBI office, as Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) is visited by a bedraggled man (Matthew Mc Conaughey) who introduces himself as Fenton Meeks.

Agent Doyle has been on the trail of the Hand of God serial killer. Meeks says he knows who it is; his brother, Adam - who committed suicide earlier that night.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/DEF/Frailty.

NOVEL -

FOUND YOU
by Mary SanGiovanni
Review by Diane Matson
Since this book is the sequel to THE HOLLOWER, Feo insisted I read the books in order. The two books were created to be read together. Plots and even book titles cleverly intertwine. Characters in the first book are also in the second - some are referred to, others remain primary characters. Although Mary provides back-story in the sequel, FOUND YOU is best enjoyed after reading THE HOLLOWER.

THE HOLLOWER is the evil alien entity that binds the characters together. Because it's from another dimension, it can recreate reality. Every illusion looks, sounds, and feels real. It can make a weapon disappear or melt. All surrounding people disappear too. The Hollower can appear as anyone - alive or dead. In its typical form, it looks like a faceless person wearing a trench coat and hat. Even without facial features, its "expression" is readable.

It feeds off fears. Able to read emotions, thoughts, and memories, it knows everything. Its goal is to torture, over and over again, feeding off their fear and angst. Because it's smarter, it's able to manipulate and out-maneuver humans - which makes it one heck of an SOB to kill.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/DEF/Found You.

Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura!

MOVIE -

THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE
WriterS: Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras, David Muñoz. Director: Guillermo del Toro
Review by Monica J. O'Rourke
Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (El Espinazo del Diablo), written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, is a tale of childhood horrors, of despair and perseverance. Told through the eyes of twelve-year-old Carlos (Fernando Tielve) who is brought to the orphanage, a fortress-like building in the middle of nowhere, Spain, a day and a half walk from the nearest town. Carlos, who has no idea his father is already dead, is abandoned by his tutor and left to face the hostilities of his new home by himself.

Almost immediately after the film begins, Carlos sees the ghost of a young boy in the kitchen doorway, a ghost who later calls to Carlos, seems to want to communicate with him. And with a child's typical open-mindedness, Carlos investigates the strange sounds until he realizes what he's discovered and flees, terrified, back to the relative safety of his bed.

The ghost, who may or may not be the missing boy named Santi (Junio Valverde), and whose name is carved into the locker above Carlos's bed, is common knowledge among the boys but is not something they care to discuss. They refer to the phantom as "he who sighs", and this ghost story unravels to reveal a murder mystery, set against the political backdrop of civil war.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/DEF/DevilsBackbone.

NOVEL -

EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
by Brian A. Hopkins
Review by Regina Mitchell
Earthling Publications is a newer small press, but one that sticks out from the crowd for its high production values and quality work. The book itself is gorgeous with a glossy dust jacket (with beautiful artwork by John Picacio) and a tightly bound cover. Notably absent are the typos and printing errors that seem to plague many of the smaller presses.

EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS is the story of Richard Bennington, an American archaeologist who lived in Mexico with his wife and daughter. During the last earthquake his daughter was killed, and his marriage fell apart. However, Bennington doesn't give up. Determined to have his family reunited, he calls upon ancient rites, the Aztec New Fire Ceremony, to call up old gods and hopefully resurrect his daughter and, in turn, his marriage.

The first half of the book sets the stage with Bennington recounting his relationship with his wife and the role Fate has played in their lives.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/DEF/El dia De Los Muertos.

Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura!

MOVIE -

ALTERED STATES
Writer: Paddy Chayefsky (as Sidney Aaron). Directors: Arthur Penn and Ken Russell
Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
It has been over 30^ years since ALTERED STATES was released and despite that amount of time, the movie still stands in every respect, even in Special Effects. ALTERED STATES, in accordance with Ken Russell's vision (THE DEVILS, GOTHIC, LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM), could not exist without special effects. Ken Russell's over abused Psychedelic Journeys, and his oft repeated imagery grafted onto film after film, one to the next, whether it worked or not, often threaten to overpower the movie itself. Discipline and care was taken to stop this on many levels.

While Penn cannot hold a candle to Russell in terms of quantity of films directed, he more than makes up for that in the quality of films he has directed. At the time that Russell was drafted to finish directing ALTERED STATES, he was stumbling off of a very sporadic career that included way out celluloid LSD trips such as the musicals (or Rock Operas, if you prefer) Lisztomania and Tommy. The only noticable thing he did after ALTERED STATES was GOTHIC, a flawed masterpiece which raised his career up and THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM, an insipid and ridiculous piece that brought him back down.

Fortunately for us all, Ken was brought in to direct the final scenes that involved the mind voyages. So Russell was a brilliant choice in that respect as he could take us from the staid and sterile old Boston centers of learning and smack into the extraordinary out of control excitement that knocks us out of our seats.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/ABC/AlteredStates.

NOVEL -

DAMNABLE
by Hank Schwaeble
Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
Both Stephen King and Peter Straub have said and written, "It is the story, not he who tells it." In fact, each has a tale featuring a room with this phrase engraved on the mantel of a fireplace. It can mean a number of things, but the interpretation I'm going to give it today is this:

Sometimes it's important not to let writing interfere with your story.

Many novelists, particularly first-timers, fall into the trap of thinking their prose has to "sing." And sometimes they can pull off a well-told story with flowery or poetic prose. Laird Barron is particularly good at telling a good story with beautiful prose. Gabrielle Faust and Norman Prentiss are other excellent examples.

Hank Schwaeble, in his debut novel DAMNABLE, follows King's and Straub's advice to the letter. While his prose is highly tailored and crafted, it serves the story by fading into the background to just the right degree in favor of story and character.

In short, the guy makes the whole process look easy. Trust me, it's not.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/DEF/Damnable.

Welcome to OCTOBER
October is the time for Horror Thriller Obscura.

Every weekday in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Something Indie or forgotten. Something you may have seen in a cover or image but never got around to watching. Or maybe something you never knew existed.

Enjoy the month of Horror Thriller Obscura!

MOVIE -

ALIEN RAIDERS
Writers: Julia Fair, David Simkins. Director: Ben Rock
Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
Whoa! Just what is up with these people? They've got cameras and boxes of tape cassettes; they are in a dark van and all wired up and nervous. Some guy they call Spooky (Phillip Newby) is questioned. They want to know if this is the place and Spooky says, "I think so."

That doesn't sit well with these folks and then we see they also have guns.

Spooky corrects himself and says he is sure that this must be the place. His compatriots don't like that either. Spooky has to be positive, yet he just can't bring himself to say that.

The van pulls up outside a rural grocery store in the small Arizona town of Buck Lake. It's almost midnight: the Hastings grocery store is large but not city large and the folks inside are few.

We meet local cop Seth (Mathew St. Patrick), who talks to his daughter, Whitney (Samantha Streets), the cashier, and ignores the bagboy, Benny (Jeffrey Licon). After Seth leaves, Benny asks Whitney why her Pop has a problem with him.
"He hates you," Whitney says curtly, and turns away. Benny isn't having a good night and its about to get worse for everyone in the store.

The folks in the van break into the store, shouting, threatening, shooting, pointing guns at everyone, and getting it all on tape.

Are they robbers? Terrorists? Neither, they're something much worse.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/ABC/AlienRaiders.

NOVEL -

MAN WITH THE BARBWIRE FISTS
by Norman Partridge
Review by Mike Oliveri
Going into World Horror Convention 2001 in Seattle, I'd heard of Norman Partridge but I'd never read anything of his. Then I spotted this gorgeous book on the Night Shade table, mostly due to its fantastic cover art by John Picacio (who will also be doing the cover for Tim Lebbon's next Night Shade release, FACE, due to ship in August).

For the rest of the weekend, I would periodically walk by the table just to eye its cover. I'm not normally one to buy a book just because of its cover, having been burned too many times doing so, but damn I wanted that book on the shelf. So I talked to a friend of mine, Brad Gullickson, who informed me "Partridge's work reads like Joe Lansdale's, only meaner."

Hell, how do you pass that up? So I roamed on back to the Night Shade table, and to my surprise Partridge himself was sitting there signing books. I visited with him briefly, then happily plunked down $27.00 for the trade hardcover edition and got it signed on the spot.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/ABC/ManWithTheBarbWireFists.

Welcome to OCTOBER
Hey gang, this is how it works here at Feo Amante's Horror Thriller.

Every day in October I'm going to offer you something to watch and something to read.

Weekends too? No, I don't work weekends. Screw that! So Fridays are for great Horror franchises. A movie marathon that will last you 'till Monday - or maybe catch up on your reading with those five book titles for the week.

And now, on to some tantalizing Horror Thriller obscura!

MOVIE -

THE ABANDONED aka BLOODLINE
Writers: Karim Hussain, Richard Stanley. Director: Nacho Cerdà
Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
American audiences are accustomed to Hollywood movies about an American abroad who runs into Merry Mishaps of the dark kind. Perhaps that's why, for THE ABANDONED, Spanish filmmakers decided to make a movie about an American traveler too. Amazingly enough, they don't paint the American tourist in the same broad cartoonish colors that Hollywood has been portraying them, lo these last 25 or so years. Then again, I was intrigued to see that Spain and Russia, at least in this movie, have a better understanding of just who an American is, than their clumsy Hollywood counterparts.

The movie begins with narration, and while I usually despise opening narration, this time, in a young girl's voice, we hear the reason for a journey that isn't exposition, and would have taken far too long to show. The narration is almost lyrical, and very brief, speaking over vistas of forests and mountains. It sets the tone for what is to come, without explaining why. In short, it draws you in.

Continued at Feo Amante/Movies/ABC/Abandoned.

NOVEL -

ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN
by Simon Wood
Review by Christopher Treagus
ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN, the new novel by Simon Wood, is a fast-paced, smoothly written thriller of how one poorly chosen misstep can lead to a horribly tumbling fall, impossible to stop once it has begun. Josh Michaels has the perfect life. A loving wife, a young daughter, a good job, loyal friends, and a decent amount of money. But when a mistake from his past returns to haunt him, he soon loses all of this, and quite nearly his life as well.

I greatly enjoyed reading this novel. The style is crisp, and very readable. The plot moves easily from point A to B, and even throws a few curves along the way. The characters may not be thickly drawn but are fleshed out enough to seem like real people - or at least facsimiles of them. If there was anything that dissatisfied me about ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN, it may be that a number of the secondary characters did not seem so much like individuals but rather "types" filling a specific role. They do act and speak in believable ways, but there doesn't seem to be that much depth to them. But then, the pace carries us so quickly through the book that we don't really need to know much more about them.

Continued at Feo Amante/Stories/ABC/Accidents.