Daniel Stalter's Blog, page 11

THE SECRET BEDROOM

Fear Street #13: The Secret BedroomSpoiler-Free Review

For me, the scariest Fear Street books were always the supernatural ones. Those were the ones that got in my head, under my skin, and occasionally into my nightmares. The Secret Bedroom ticks all the right boxes on this point. The plot builds slowly in a way that I enjoyed, with the creepy old house setting the perfect atmosphere for building that kind of tension. Lea’s high school drama felt relatable, although her enemy Marci felt a tad...

FEAR STREET: 1666

Spoiler-Free Review

The trilogy of films concludes with Fear Street: 1666. I’m not typically a fan of historical horror, but I loved R.L. Stine’s Fear Street Saga. Like its predecessors, 1666 makes a tonal shift for the third part of the story that fits the time period is set in. I appreciated how the color palettes of the films shifted with each movie, and I’m glad that trend continued. 1666 by nature is more somber than its predecessors, but the way that it brought back the cast of the first t...

FEAR STREET INTERVIEW

I got to interview Leigh Janiak and Phil Graziadei, the director and one of the writers of the new Fear Street trilogy, on behalf of Geeks OUT!

Watch it below or click here.

 

THE DEAD LIFEGUARD

Fear Street Super Chiller #6: The Dead LifeguardSpoiler-Free Review

The Dead Lifeguard was a fun, twisted affair. It reminded me of the movie Clue. It wasn’t plainly obvious who Mouse was and I enjoyed guessing who it might be. The multiple points of view were handled well; I had been worried it would be too much for such a short book but I was proven wrong. There was a great cast of characters. I was immediately engaged in Lindsay’s story and could not have guessed how that ended up shaking ...

FEAR STREET: 1978

Spoiler-Free Review:

 

Fear Street 1978 doesn’t waste any time getting right to the good stuff. Last week’s 1994 had already done a lot of the heavy lifting introducing us to Shadyside and the witch’s curse, so 1978 was poised to hit the ground running. Where the first movie featured an homage to nineties movies, the second part of the story does the same with the greats of the seventies. You can pick up references to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, The Exorcists, and probably several ...

LIGHTS OUT

Fear Street #12: Lights OutSpoiler-Free Review

R.L. Stine has written some excellent mysteries with a slasher horror flair in this series, and Lights Out doesn’t stray far from the proven formula. Unfortunately, it felt stale as a result. I felt really bad for Holly throughout the book. Everyone was just so shitty to her. Even her one good friend Thea was OK at best, and not very supportive. Holly’s experience was more infuriating than it was scary. I suppose some of the pettiness among the c...

FEAR STREET: 1994

Spoiler-Free Review

It’s been over 30 years, but we finally got a Fear Street movie! And not just one, but three of them! So let me take a moment to first acknowledge my excitement as a Fear Street superfan. This is a big moment. So you can only imagine how excited I was that they decided to center the movie on a queer relationship. You read that right: these aren’t just some minor side characters who will be killed just as soon as things start getting good. The new Netflix movie is also ...

BROOKLYN PRIDE COMIC BOOK FAIR 2021

Brooklyn Pride Comic Book Fair

June 13, 2021
Anyone Comics
Brooklyn, NY

 

 

Overview:

The one and only John Jennison invited me to table at this event he put together with Anyone Comics. I hadn’t been to a show since NYCC 2019, and hadn’t tabled since Flame Con 2019. So much has changed in those 22 months, but I couldn’t have asked for a better show to come back with. Not only do queer shows always bring out the best audiences, but I love that it was small and only one day. I’m happy to report ...

A NIGHT IN TERROR TOWER

Goosebumps #27: A Night in Terror Tower

 

Spoiler-Free Review

This was the first Goosebumps book I read as a kid. I distinctly remember getting it for Christmas in 1994 and starting it that night. I loved it then, and I’m really happy to say that fro the most part it holds up. It struck a near-perfect balance of horror and adventure. From being chased by a creepy man to then being left by their tour group in a strange foreign city, there was a great escalation in scares with each scene. The memo...

MIRROR, MIRROR

Mirror, Mirror
by D.E. AthkinsSpoiler-Free Review:

First things first: D.E. Athkins is an amazing pseudonym. I thought it was really cool the way Mirror, Mirror was based on the Oscar Wilde classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. That being said, the concept was the strongest part of this book. Dore was not a likable main character from the jump. This worked for the most part given the nature of the story, but I think the story would have been better if she started out a little more humble. Showin...