David Moody's Blog, page 41

ALIENS versus PADDINGTON

Forgive the clickbait title of this post, there is a serious point to this. I regularly recommend films here, but today’s recommendation is completely out of character and I wanted to give you some context. I saw PADDINGTON 2 this weekend just gone, and it was quite simply one of the best films I’ve seen. I laughed a lot, I cried a bit, and I loved it completely.

I’d read a review before seeing the film which said “Following a year of big-budget disappointments, this sequel is an hour and forty minutes of absolute joy.” That’s played on my mind since we left the cinema, and I decided to devote a little time to trying to work out why some sequels work whilst many others don’t. Looking back through other movies I’ve watched this year, one particular film stood out as an obvious counterpoint to PADDINGTON 2’s success, and that’s ALIEN: COVENANT. Yes, these are diametrically opposite movies intended for wholly different audiences, but they’re both sequels and therefore have certain things in common. Bear with me and I’ll explain (pun absolutely not intended – I may be a hack at times, but I’m not that bad).

In the interests of full disclosure, I have a real affection for PADDINGTON. I grew up watching and reading about the furry little bugger, and my wife and I made sure to indoctrinate our daughters in the cult of the little bear from darkest Peru before they were old enough to protest. My wife’s far, far worse than me, by the way. She has it really bad. She has a Paddington tattoo (honest).

Also in the interests of full disclosure, I love the ALIEN movies and will watch every single one that’s made, no matter what. The first and second (and third, to a lesser extent) films are ground-breaking in many ways. Ridley Scott’s original 1979 film in particular is incredibly influential and had a huge impact on me back in the day. It’s a masterclass in creeping, claustrophobic terror and features a creature which, to my mind, remains one of the ultimate movie monsters.

Sequels are funny things. ALIENS, for example, is often cited along with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and TERMINATOR 2 as a prime example of how to do it right, but for every good sequel there are many, many more inferior follow-up films. So why am I so enthusiastic about PADDINGTON 2 but was underwhelmed by COVENANT?

I did enjoy COVENANT, but not without some serious reservations. If I’m honest, in the six months since I saw it, I’ve forgotten much of what happens. I don’t think that lessens my arguments here, if anything it strengthens them. The movie was fun (for the most part) while it was on screen, but as soon as the credits rolled, I’d stopped thinking about it. By contrast, that bloody little bear hasn’t left my mind all weekend (and that’s not just because of my wife’s tattoo).

In comparing these films, my first question was why were they made? That’s a question I’ve also asked of PROMETHEUS, the two ALIEN VERSUS PREDATOR films, and ALIEN: RESURRECTION. The simple answer is inevitably to make money, and that’s pretty much a given in today’s film industry. If the first film is successful, a sequel will be greenlit. Let’s be honest, it’s why PADDINGTON 2 was made too. But let’s forget about economics and look at the question from a purely story-centric point of view. I guess Ridley Scott might say that COVENANT was made because it continues the narrative he’d begun with PROMETHEUS, and that fans are keen to know how that movie takes us to the beginning of the first ALIEN. If I’m honest, I’m not that bothered. If anything, with each new ALIEN film, my love for the original movies is eroded a little further. It was the lack of explanation which contributed to the first film being so powerful. I admired the simplicity of the story: a handful of people are stranded in space aboard a cavernous mining ship, slowly being picked off by a devastatingly dangerous (and smart) creature they’ve unwittingly brought on-board. The more I hear about Engineers and the more variations on the original monster I see, the less I care.

I think PADDINGTON 2 was made because people really enjoyed the first film and wanted to know what the little bear got up to next.

And that leads me onto the plots of PADDINGTON 2 and COVENANT. They’re wildly different, sure, but when you boil it down to basics, a story is a simple thing whether it’s set in London or outer space and stars a bear or a xenomorph: our protagonists have a goal, and things go wrong as they’re trying to achieve that goal. The interest for the reader or the viewer comes from what happens on that journey – the hurdles and issues the characters have to overcome or avoid, and how this changes them (physically and/or emotionally) from the first scene to the last. It’s a matter of personal preference, I guess, but this again is where I like simplicity, and again this is where PADDINGTON 2 (and the original ALIEN, for that matter) succeeds. Paddington wants to get his Aunt Lucy (another bear) a present for her 100th birthday. That’s all there is to it. Everything that happens in the film stems from that simple premise, and the whole thing is set up and wrapped up within its one hour, forty-three minute running time. COVENANT, on the other hand, is up against it from the outset. Not only does it have to tell a self-contained story of its own, but it also has to tie up (or not) the loose ends from PROMETHEUS and steer a course towards ALIEN. It suffers greatly because of this. It’s one of the reasons why I think the STAR WARS prequels were fighting a losing battle from the get-go – we already knew the ending, and that made it harder for George Lucas to build any tension or surprise. Many sequels develop increasingly complex worlds for their characters to negotiate. The more convoluted a story is, the harder it can be to follow, and the harder it is to follow, the greater your chance of alienating your audience (again, no pun intended).

Back to characters for a second… accepting completely that this isn’t a fair comparison because PADDINGTON 2 is about a talking bear and the supporting cast are deliberately cartoonish caricatures, I really struggled with the characters of COVENANT. Who were they? Bland, poorly defined, largely interchangeable… I’ve just gone back and re-checked IMDB, and I still don’t remember seeing most of the Covenant’s crew in the film. Michael Fassbender as David and Walter and Danny McBride as Tennessee apart, the rest of them were forgettable. And that, for me, is a key reason why there was an absolute lack of drama and emotion. I just didn’t care about the people being hunted down and killed. Half the time I was rooting for the monster.

Thing is, from the opening scenes of COVENANT (in fact, from even before that thanks to the LAST SUPPER short and other clips released by the studio in the run-up to release) I could pretty much guess who was going to die, almost in what order. The set-up felt stale and familiar – a rehash of most of the other films in the series: crew arrives, alien(s) discovered, all but one or two of the crew are gradually killed over the course of the movie. Where’s the originality? Where’s the interest? Where’s the risk? It’s the repetition of a successful formula, but the more it repeats, the more my investment as a viewer reduces.

PADDINGTON 2, on the other hand, managed to cram more originality and unexpected twists into its running time than almost every big budget sequel I’ve watched this year combined. It too contained frequent nods and references to the previous film, but the call-backs were used to develop the characters or to wrong-foot the audience by lulling them into a false sense of familiarity.

Most disappointingly for me was the way COVENANT degenerated in its final scenes into a sub-par rehash of ALIEN and ALIENS. It felt lazy and tired. PADDINGTON 2 also harks back to the franchise’s past (there’s a beautiful section early in the film which is animated in the style of the Film Fair TV series of the 1970s), but this enhances the film and doesn’t detract.

It has to be said that, both films are visually stunning in wildly different ways, and the technical skills behind the scenes are undoubted. Ultimately, though, COVENANT promised much and delivered little, while PADDINGTON 2 promised nothing and delivered one of the most enjoyable films in years.

Perhaps it would have been fairer to compare the triumphant WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES to ALIEN: COVENANT, because that really was a magnificent sequel. Interesting how the APES trilogy was formed of three very distinct, largely self-contained movies which combined to tell a larger story. Ultimately, though, none of that matters. I just wanted an excuse to recommend PADDINGTON 2 to you. Go and see it.

Oh, and if ALIENS VERSUS PADDINGTON ever becomes a reality (and stranger things have happened), then my money’s on the bear to win.

ALIENS versus PADDINGTON is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning – read the opening chapter

“She gasps for breath, her mind in overload, struggling to work out what, who, how, and why? and at the same time trying to cope with the most horrific pain imaginable. It fills her whole body, hurting so much it steals her breath from her lungs. Her arms give way and she hits the deck and rolls over onto her back, looking up into the rain and spray. She’s numb and slow to move, and the chain lashes down again and again. She instinctively raises her hands to protect her face, but it does her no good. Busted fingers, split skin, broken teeth, more blood, and so much more pain that it almost stops hurting.”

Less than a month now until the new HATER novel – ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING – hits the shelves. You can read the gruesome, tone-setting first chapter right here.

In the meantime, don’t forget that signed copies are exclusively available to pre-order from this link. They’ll be shipping shortly, so please get your orders in quick.

One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning – read the opening chapter is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

A starred review from BOOKLIST for ONE OF US…

Not long now until ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING hits the shelves, and the novel has received a starred review from BOOKLIST. “Moody really knows how to write creeping, claustrophobic terror, effectively sneaking up on his readers and, finally, scaring the life out of them. Top-drawer horror.” Very happy with that!

Pre-order your signed copy today.

The book is released in hardcover by Thomas Dunne Books on 5 December, and pre-orders will be shipped by that date (if not a little before). You can also order the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Indiebound and all other good bookstores. Ebooks are also available, and an audio version is coming soon.

A starred review from BOOKLIST for ONE OF US… is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

THE RITUAL

I first met ADAM NEVILL in 2011, shortly after our mutual US publisher asked me to write a cover quote for THE RITUAL. If you look at my post about the book, you’ll see that he and I were born a year apart in the same city, but it took the involvement of St Martin’s Press in New York for our paths to cross. I’ve had the pleasure of attending a few horror conventions with Adam recently (next up – The Birmingham Horror Con Halloween Special next weekend) and it’s been great to catch up again and compare experiences. Adam recently moved into independent publishing, and I wholeheartedly recommend his two recent short story collections.

The film adaptation of THE RITUAL opened in the UK last weekend, and knowing the book well and having had opportunity to discuss the production of the film with Adam (and the frustrations of film-making for authors – which we talked about on a panel in Liverpool recently – photo below courtesy of Dan Burgess Photography) I was keen to watch it. It didn’t disappoint.

Here’s the blurb and the trailer. Click the link below for my thoughts.

Four old university friends reunite for a hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle. No longer young men, they have little left in common and tensions rise as they struggle to connect. Frustrated and tired they take a shortcut that turns their hike into a nightmare that could cost them their lives.

Lost, hungry and surrounded by forest untouched for millennia, they stumble across an isolated old house. Inside, they find the macabre remains of old rites and pagan sacrifices; ancient artefacts and unidentifiable bones. A place of dark ritual and home to a bestial presence that is still present in the ancient forest, and now they’re the prey.

As the four friends struggle toward salvation they discover that death doesn’t come easy among these ancient trees…

It’s not easy to get one of your novels filmed. It’s surprisingly easy to sell the rights, but as soon as the deal’s done the poor author is at the mercy of just about everyone and everything else. There are funds to be found, schedules to match, stars to align… it’s an astonishingly frustrating and unpredictable process, as I’ve found over the last decade or so with on-off-on-off HATER adaptation (last I heard – still on, currently waiting for an update to share). And then when the movie does get made, it’s often not what the author, or the readers, expected or wanted. Again, I’ve experienced this too, with AUTUMN (and as it’s ten years this December since the movie was filmed, I think I’m overdue a re-watch and re-evaluation). So it’s with real pleasure that I can report the film adaptation of THE RITUAL is a well-crafted and very effective movie.

If you were to simply read the synopsis and a handful of reviews, you’d be forgiven for thinking THE RITUAL is a story along the lines of EVIL DEAD or BLAIR WITCH. It’s not. Sure, there are some similarities, but THE RITUAL is something else entirely, and I’d rather you discovered why for yourselves, so won’t go into detail here. But what I can say, and what elevates this from films like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (and its derisory 2016 sequel), is that THE RITUAL is populated by characters we’re able to give a damn about. All four of the friends are well-defined, and there’s a strong backstory which holds them together/tears them apart and which gives us a real vested interest in their fates.

The film looks beautiful. As well as some stunning location shots, there are other dramatic visuals which make this something special. Again, at the risk of spoiling the film, I’ll not go into those here, but you’ll know them when you see them. The cast are excellent, particularly Rafe Spall and Sam Troughton, and the pacing is spot-on. How refreshing to watch a strong movie with a 90+ minute run-time. Maybe I’m just a grumpy old man, but many films these days seem to be two hours or longer and filled with bloat.

All in all, it’s great to be able to report that THE RITUAL is the adaptation Adam’s book deserved, and I very much recommend you watch it. It’s out now in UK cinemas, and will be hitting Netflix in the US and other regions later this year.

THE RITUAL is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

Recommended Reading – THE DARKEST HAND trilogy

I recently had the pleasure of reading TARN RICHARDSON’S THE DARKEST HAND trilogy. The final book in the series – THE RISEN – was released earlier this year. This is an excellent series of books which deserves to find a wide audience. Set in Europe in an alternative twentieth century against the backdrop of World War I, it’s the story of Inquisitor Poldek Tacit. Tacit is sent by the Catholic Inquisition to investigate the murder of a priest in France, and finds himself neck deep in a battle between demons, werewolves, and heretics to prevent the world spiralling into oblivion. Don’t get the impression that Tacit is a quiet little fellow in robes wandering around Europe dispensing words of wisdom to placate the opposing sides – he’s anything but. He’s a battle-damaged, emotionally scarred, vicious, ruthless bastard, and one of the most entertaining protagonists I’ve read about in a long, long time.

I had a blast with these books, and I’d like to encourage you to do the same. Here’s the spiel for book one, THE DAMNED:

1914 – the outbreak of war. In the French city of Arras, a priest is brutally murdered. The Catholic Inquisition—still powerful, but now working in the shadows—sends its most determined and unhinged of Inquisitors, Poldek Tacit, to investigate: his mission to protect the Church from those who would seek to undermine it, no matter what the cost.

Yet as Tacit arrives, armed forces led by Britain and Germany confront each other across No Man’s Land. As the Inquisitor strives in vain to establish the truth behind the murder and to uncover the motives of other Vatican servants seeking to undermine him, a beautiful and spirited woman, Sandrine, warns British soldier Henry Frost of a mutual foe even more terrible lurking beneath the killing fields that answers to no human force and wreaks havoc by the light of the moon.

Faced with impossible odds and his own demons, Tacit must battle the forces of evil, and a church determined at all costs to achieve its aims, to reach the heart of a dark conspiracy that seeks to engulf the world, plunging it ever deeper into conflict.

This is the perfect time to pick up THE DAMNED and work your way through the trilogy. The first book is the next novel to be featured on the excellent IN THE SHEETS podcast, hosted by Brendan Cooney. Head over to the site and join the discussion. And while you’re there, there’s still time to take part in the HATER re-read. I’ll be joining Brendan later this month to talk about HATER and answer questions about the novel, the rest of the series and the film adaptation etc.

THE DARKEST HAND trilogy – THE DAMNED, THE FALLEN and THE RISEN – is available now. Find out more about Tarn at his website. You can also pick up THE HUNTED, a free ebook prequel, and dive into Richardson’s bloody and brutal world. Highly recommended!

Recommended Reading – THE DARKEST HAND trilogy is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING – preorder your signed copy today

Lots of people have been asking, so here you go. You can preorder a signed hardcover copy of ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING now from this link.

The book is released in hardcover by Thomas Dunne Books on 5 December, and pre-orders will be shipped by that date (if not a little before). You can also order the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Indiebound and all other good bookstores. Ebooks are also available, and an audio version is coming soon.

ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING – preorder your signed copy today is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

HATER on IN THE SHEETS podcast

I’m really excited that HATER is the first book to be featured on IN THE SHEETS, a new podcast from Brendan Cooney. Each month, Brendan and his audience will pick two books to read, review, and discuss. The author will introduce the book at the beginning of the month, then take part in an extended podcast towards the end of the month to answer any questions and meet the readers.

Brendan’s been a long-time supporter of my work, and I’m honoured he’s chosen HATER as the first book for this new venture. You can hear Brendan and I talking about the book on episode one.

This isn’t designed to be a passive experience, so please get involved. Join the IN THE SHEETS Goodreads group, subscribe to the podcast, and follow the discussion on Twitter and Facebook. I hope I get the chance to talk to some of you about the book. If you don’t make it this time, make sure you register for updates because I’ll be back in the next couple of months to do the same thing with ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING.

HATER on IN THE SHEETS podcast is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

Kirkus Reviews – One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning

First reviews are coming in for the new HATER book, and I’m pleased folks seem to be enjoying it. Here’s the KIRKUS review of the book… They’re saying it’s “another wetwork nightmare that should delight fans of Haters and intrigue writers who wallow in the genre” which sounds good to me!

ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING is released on 5 December by Thomas Dunne Books. Signed copies will be available to pre-order from www.infectedbooks.co.uk in the next few weeks.

Kirkus Reviews – One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

Liverpool Horror Con

I’ll be a guest at the LIVERPOOL HORROR CON on 7th and 8th October at the Exhibition Centre, Kings Dock, Liverpool. There’s a cracking guest list, tons of exhibitors, and loads more besides. Tickets are available here and I hope to see some of you there.

Liverpool Horror Con is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER

Two Halves Make a Whole

I’ve told you a lot about it, but I don’t think I’ve properly explained why I’ve been writing a second HATER trilogy. Is it a cynical cash in? A cheap way to drum up interest in my books again after a quiet couple of years? The answer to both those questions is a very definite ‘no’.

The new trilogy has its roots in some of the many movie-related discussions I’ve had about the books over the years. On numerous occasions, producer Ed Barratt and I have talked about TV adaptations (and we came tantalisingly close to getting that off the ground at the turn of this year but, as is so often the way, our plans unravelled at the last moment). Ed and I discussed the issues we’d face trying to translate HATER, DOG BLOOD and THEM OR US to the small screen. Part of the attraction of the books is the fact they focus exclusively on one man’s story, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that this relatively narrow approach might present problems from a theatrical point of view.

One of the recurring themes of the series is ‘who is the bad guy?’. When the outbreak (or whatever it is) begins in HATER, the natural assumption is that the Haters are the villains. But, for various reasons, we later start to question that assumption, particularly when the extent of the actions taken by the Unchanged to keep themselves safe is revealed. It’s clear that both sides are capable of doing whatever they have to do to survive, and this comes to a head at the end of DOG BLOOD. I’ll be vague in case you’ve not yet read the books (come on, keep up!), but a pretty unspeakable act is carried out by someone. It’s particularly shocking, because that act has huge ramifications for both sides and every surviving individual, Hater and Unchanged alike.

So that got me thinking, are the Unchanged as innocent as I initially thought? Are the Haters as evil and ferocious as they appear? Do the lines ever blur? Are there weaker Haters and stronger Unchanged? How clear is the distinction between the two?

I re-read the original trilogy, and started to think more about the situations Danny McCoyne is faced with. How did the refugee camp in DOG BLOOD come into existence? How did a group of Unchanged manage to survive deep in Hater territory? What happened to the Haters who didn’t want to fight? What happened to the Unchanged who didn’t want to run?I started filling in the gaps – working out what had happened off the page – and the more I thought about these questions, the more the structure of the second trilogy started to take shape.

One of the early reviews I’ve read for ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING calls the book a side-equal, and I think that’s a perfect description. As I showed in the graphic I shared recently, the new novel takes place at the same time as HATER, and it introduces new characters who we’ll follow (if they survive!) through books four, five and six. What these new books do, hopefully, is show the other side of the story. Hence the title of this post – two halves make a whole.

Right now I’m tidying up book two (five) THE OTHER HALF and getting ready to send it over to my editor. Writing it has been an eye-opening experience, particularly in view of everything that’s happening in our increasingly divided world today. From the moment HATER was first released independently back in 2006, people have talked about how socially relevant the book sometimes feels. It’s frightening that that relevance seems to increase year on year. Bizarrely, HATER has been taught on university courses and has been the subject of academic papers too, so there must be something in that. I’m just hoping I can get the second trilogy written and published before the human race really does tear itself apart!

ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING is out on 5 December from Thomas Dunne Books, and it’s available for pre-order now. Please check back here regularly for a couple of impending giveaways and competitions. Also, in answer to a question I’ve been asked a number of times, signed copies will be available to order from this site and www.infectedbooks.co.uk in the near future.

Two Halves Make a Whole is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER