Nick Cato's Blog, page 52

2009: My faves / least faves in horror/bizarro fiction

Unless I finish Wrath James White's YACCUB'S CURSE by New Year's Eve, my total reads for 2009 will be 58. The first 2 books I read in '09 were both fantastic: GUNPOWDER by Joe Hill (a nifty scifi novella) and SHARK HUNTING IN PARADISE GARDEN by Cameron Pierce, one of the coolest new voices in the bizarro genre (his 2nd book, ASS GOBLINS OF AUSCHWITZ, kicked some goblin ass, too).

Some of the more memorable titles were Michael Laimo's killer collection DARK RIDE, Kim Paffenroth's DYING TO LIVE...

Far From King's Finest Hour...

UNDER THE DOME by Stephen King (2009 Scribner / 1074 pp. / hc) While I didn't have TOO much of a problem with who was behind the Dome (despite the Twilight Zone-ness of it), I had a very hard time with how quickly things happen in Stephen King's "Longest Novel Since THE STAND."In a matter of days after they've been enclosed in the massive title object, people begin to commit suicide (out of despair) after one attempt to break open The Dome fails (?); The corrupt law enforcement goes balistic ...

Killer 2nd issue...

Dark Horse Comics is doing a fantastic job on the resurrected CREEPY. This issue even features a story written by Joe R. Lansdale (which--SHOCKER--is the best in the issue), and the 2nd installment of 'The Curse' is very well done. If you miss the good-old days of horror comics and don't have the $50 to blow on Dark Horses' CREEPY ARCHIVES hardcovers, these new 48-paged, regular-sized comics are a best bet.

Dark Arts Books Strikes Again

MIGHTY UNCLEAN edited by Bill Breedlove (2009 Dark Arts Books / 261 pp. / tp)

Yet another 4-author collection from the always reliable Dark Arts Books, MIGHTY UNCLEAN is perhaps the most diverse one in their catalog (which can be good or bad, depending on just how strange you like your horror).

First up is an author who (I believe) is on the verge of becoming one of the most noted in the genre; all 4 tales from Cody Goodfellow are fantastic, frightening, and each bizarre in their own way. 'Love...

The Balls on Ba'al!

THE 13TH by John Everson (2009 Leisure Books / 323 pp. / mmp)

As with Everson's last novel, SACRIFICE, and his novella, FAILURE, THE 13TH centers around a demonic ritual; this time a highly unbalanced genetics doctor and his assistant attempt to incarnate the demon Ba'al by impregnating 13 women and slaughtering them (with their babies) during a drunken occult orgy in the basement of a former mental asylum. 'Sound like a cheesy undergound horror flick? While the plot may seem like one, Everso...

Monsters and Dicks

TEMPORARY MONSTERS by Ian Rogers (2009 Burning Efficgy Press / 39 pp. / cb)

While I'll admit that during the first chapter of this quick chapbook I rolled my eyes and said, "No! NOT another vampire story!," Ian Rogers had me hooked by the middle of the second and keeps things fresh till the end.

Private Investigator Felix comes across a vampire at a restaurant and manages to off him with a makeshift stake. When he finds an actor's guild card after frisking the deceased vamp, Felix decides to c...

Suck my Soul

FEAST by R. Scott McCoy (2009 Shroud Publishing / 155 pp / tp) When Sheriff Nick Ambrose and his brother Pete track down a psycho, they become local heroes, although Pete dies and Nick is presumed dead. But during their "capture," Nick aquires something quite strange; his brother and the killer (Reid) are now "living" in his head, and to survive, Nick must feed off the souls of others. He has the ability to see people's auras, and the ability to literally suck souls from people's mouths (and ...

Until the Light Takes Us

If you've read the 1998 book, LORDS OF CHAOS (feral house publishers), you've already heard most of the material presented in this documentary dealing with the early 90's Norwegian Black metal scene. The directors do a good job of showing what led to the infamous burning down of churches (some did it as a revolt to their national pagan heritage being taken over, while others did it for kicks and to be accepted), and also take a look at murders and suicides committed by (alleged) fellow...

A Living Train Wreck

This super low budget (albeit shot on film) backyard-styled film is, in the words of my wife, "like looking at a dancing, naked fat girl: you don't wanna look but feel compelled to watch."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

FREAKY FARLEY deals with a town weirdo who tells the tale of how he went nuts to an asylum shrink. After losing his mother in a car accident at a young age, Farley's gestapo-father raises him alone, continually punishing him (by making him dig and re-fill a 4-foot hole ...

STATEN ISLAND (film review)

James DeMonaco's directorial debut, STATEN ISLAND, follows the lives of three typical Staten Islanders; a mobster named Parmie Tarzo (played by Vincent D'Onofrio), a septic tank cleaner (Sully Haverson) played by Ethan Hawk, and a deaf mute deli owner (Jasper Sabiano) played by the scene-stealing Seymour Cassel. DeMonaco's over-lapping-style gives the film a Pulp Fiction-meets-Scorcese's After Hours feel, allowing him to reveal tidbits of info. at a masterful pace.
Parmie Tarzo is arguably...