Adam L.G. Nevill's Blog, page 29

S. T. JOSHI’S ESSAY IN ’21ST CENTURY HORROR’ FEATURING FOUR OF MY NOVELS: ‘ADAM NEVILL; THE SENSE OF DREAD’

I was most interested to read the thoughts of the literary critic and eminent weird fiction and Lovecraft scholar, S. T. Joshi, on four of my novels: The Ritual, Last Days, Banquet for the Damned, Lost Girl.

S. T. has written a full seven thousand word essay on these works. It’s extremely rare for my fiction to receive this level of detailed critical scrutiny so this was a most welcome surprise. Mercifully, it’s mostly positive recognition – not something I ever take for granted in any kind of review. Of particular significance to me is the analysis of LOST GIRL, a novel of mine that was “under-published” to say the least, and remains the most overlooked of my titles. In many respects it is the most ambitious idea and unusual story within my backlist to date.

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The full essay is available here.

“overall, Adam Nevill’s novels are refreshing in their vivid contemporaneousness, their crisply realised characters, the deftness of their execution of a complex and many-stranded plot, and most particularly in the originality of their supernatural scenarios. The author displays an unerring sense of those hints and details that are most likely to evoke terror and dread in the reader, and he exhibits the skill to elicit those emotions without descending into crude bloodletting. Nevill’s subsequent career is well worth watching.”

BOTH COLLECTIONS OF MY SELECTED HORRORS 99P/99C AT AMAZON

The ‘Hasty for the Dark’ and ‘Some Will Not Sleep’ eBooks have gone into a simultaneous promo on Amazon UK and US and will remain at around 99p or 99c until Saturday April 7th at 8:00 am GMT and PDT.

A promotion of my selected horrors exclusive to Amazon and the very first promo for Hasty’.

UK here

US here

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RECOMMENDATION: ‘THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR: VOLUMES 1 – 9’ (DATLOW)

I read all nine volumes of Ellen Datlow’s ‘The Best Horror of the Year’ between December 2017 and February 2018 and highly recommend this series. It has been very skilfully curated, the editor has an eye I trust implicitly, and the series has an international reach in its selections. I’d venture that it also leans to the literary, which is to my taste.

I was already familiar with about 25% of the stories published, but also found many new authors I’d never read, as well as some of my favourite new horror stories (a multi-author anthology should also be about surprise and discovery and I venture this will be to nearly every new reader). For me, it also has my favourite horror series’ artwork.

I also read in reverse order from volume 9 to volume 1, and though I recommend reading each volume, numbers 4 to 9 were my personal favourites, with Vol. 8 & 9 being as enjoyable and exciting to read as the Derleth collections in my dad’s library that I read as a young teen (in which I discovered the likes of Robert Bloch and Wakefield).

The series mirrors the growth of quality horror fiction that we’ve seen over the last decade, giving the editor a greater, wider and more varied choice as the number and variety of publications increased. To my eye as a reader, we have enjoyed something of a renaissance in quality horror since this series began, and not just in the short story. This series 1 – 9 organizes and exemplifies that period.

Many of the individual stories in the collections, and the summations of each year’s publishing in nearly all mediums, from journals to novels, have also made my wish-lists grow like magic beanstalks.

I’ve had some of my own stories included in the series and I can honestly say I was lucky to even get into those volumes. Ellen Datlow has now had to create a ‘Best of the Best Horror of the Year’ volume. No easy task and I’m surprised and delighted to see that my story, ‘The Days of Our Lives’, has also been included in this volume.

An essential series for serious readers and writers of horror to see what can be done in this field. Vol 10 is out this summer.

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DIRECTORS & ACTORS GIVE THEIR VIEW OF THE RITUAL FILM AT INDIEWIRE

I’ve been delighted to see this kind of peer recognition and approval for David Bruckner and Imaginarium, the makers of the film. Good precis of it here at IndieWire. It was a first full feature for each of them and an indie Brit’ horror made on a modest budget. They may even have added a beast to the pantheon of horror creatures. Time will tell, but what a wild ride it’s been for all involved in ‘The Ritual’ since last October.

For me, on reflection, my maddest ideas that were written when I had nothing to lose, may ultimately have the longest legs and most robust hooves. Even with more to lose now, I won’t be changing my approach anytime soon. “Horror’s over, Horror’s dead. No one wants horror.” And on and on and on. I’ve been listening to that script since I began writing 20 odd years ago. Even if that were true, I’d go down with the ship. But I don’t think it is true. Horror is an enduring culture with many forms, continually regenerating and producing new, dark offspring.

On Twitter:

From Guillermo del Toro: “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! “The Ritual” at NETFLIX. Amazing and scary. With a beautiful creature designed by frequent collaborator Keith Thompson.”

From Mike Flanagan: “THE RITUAL on @netflix is seriously great. Wonderful performances and dripping with tension. Well done @bruckmachina”

And may more here

THREE NEW INTERVIEWS WITH ANDREW SHULKIND, DP, ON MAKING THE RITUAL FILM

“This movie has just about every classic horror element that you can imagine: a scary forest at night, grotesque violence, a witch, mummies, a giant creature-beast, and jump scares. But I found the script to be so human and the relationships so authentic that we decided to approach the lighting and camera work as more of a drama, using naturalistic lighting and soft tones.”

A really good interview about making the film with Andrew Shulkind at Wolfbaneblooms: “We were shooting during a supermoon on the upper floor of this house that we had built in our village location. My gaffer was about to light the master mummy with a little light source hidden behind a roof rafter, but I noticed that the moon was so bright and our camera and lens setup was so sensitive that we could actually use the moon to light part of our interior scene.

We were about to burn down this house anyway, so we had the art department cut a hole in just the right spot of the roof to light this character. We had to shoot it quickly—before the shaft of light moved from the Earth’s rotation—but it worked out great, and the shot is in the movie!”

NEW FILM RECS

Here’s another airdrop of good to terrific supernatural/supernormal/weird/horror films I’ve watched over the last few weeks. All highly recommended [disclaimer: these are to my taste] – though I don’t have the capacity right now to write about them in the detail they deserve. But, you know I’m good for it …

YellowBrickRoad – how have I not seen this film before? Seems to have been released at a time when every other horror film featured a woman being dragged backwards on the dvd cover. No one, until recently, has recommended this film to me, nor have I ever seen it on a popular or even obscure horror film list. But check it out. Wonderful outdoor horror. Bought the DVD.

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We Go On – a supernatural horror from by the directors of YellowBrickRoad. Bought the DVD.

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The Unfolding – under-appreciated Brit paranormal investigation film set on Dartmoor in dear old Devon. Bought the DVD.

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Black Mountain – (also called Black Mountain Side) I was really gripped by this film & it’s another terror in the great outdoors story. Thing-shming: this stands up on its own feet. Remarkably, the guy who wrote, produced and directed was 21 years old. Respect. Bought the DVD.

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I Remember You – beautiful and chilling Icelandic horror film available for free on Prime.

[another FB rec’]

[image error]Annihilation – now on UK Netflix and it really is worth doing the double here, on the book by Jeff VanderMeer and Alex Garland’s film. Each a smorgasbord of cosmic awe.

Caught the film last night. Turned the TV on, switched channel from my Nipper’s Pokemon and low and behold … the shimmer was just there, waiting for me.

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I’ve read that “Stay-at-home & free” is undermining theatrical releases, but how do they counter that kind of industry disruption? I have no idea, but I do both and it’s not a problem for me as a consumer: I just see more.

 

BLACK ROOM MANUSCRIPTS VOLUME THREE PUBLISHED BY SINISTER HORROR COMPANY

The smart and enterprising Sinister Horror Company have published their ‘THE BLACK ROOM MANUSCRIPTS: VOLUME THREE’.

The collection features 24 stories; tales drawn from a wide range of writers: Guy. N. Smith to Paul Tremblay and Ray Cluley.

Btw, Paul is in the UK this year, and at Edge Lit, I believe. I bumped into his publicist at Walker Stalker. That’s a real coup for the annual Derby convention.

My ‘Angels of London’ from ‘Hasty for the Dark’ is also included in this volume.

The book is available here.

 

THE RITUAL APPEARS ON NEW HORROR ‘LINE-UP’ AND ‘INDIEWIRE’ LISTS

Great to see ‘The Ritual’ make this list, as well as ‘Evolution’ and ‘Canal’. Among other terrific foreign horror films (though they’re not on Netflix yet), I’d also add ‘The Borderlands’, ‘The Ghoul’ and ‘Awakening’ from the Brits, the Italian film ‘Across the River’, not to mention a few Aussie films, not least ‘Lake Mungo’ and ‘Snow Town’. Full article here

Also The Ritual isn’t on UK Netflix, but is almost everywhere else … why must everything be so complicated? But the UK does have comprehensive distribution and DVD. Bluray coming soon too I hear.

And here is The Lineup’s list of horror films set in the woods. Also worth checking out here.

 

 

THE RITUAL – INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR AND DP

Here’s a really informative and interesting interview with the filmmakers of The Ritual: David Bruckner (Director) and Andrew Shulkind (Director of Photography). Starts at 39 minutes, and is like a really good DVD extra.

The crafting of the creature scenes is discussed, and how the creature itself was brought to life in stages is also fascinating.

Lots of information about shooting at night too, and how they created the tone and aesthetic of the film. The bears, adapting from a book, what they were up against technically, and how the curious landscape and its variations were incorporated into the filming, is also discussed.

Prior to this, David and Andrew talk about their other horror films, which is also great.

Full Episode of Popcorn Talk here.

Here’s a really informative and interesting interview wit...

Here’s a really informative and interesting interview with the filmmakers of The Ritual: David Bruckner (Director) and Andrew Shulkind (Director of Photography). Starts at 39 minutes, and is like a really good DVD extra.

The crafting of the creature scenes is discussed, and how the creature itself was brought to life in stages is also fascinating.

Lots of information about shooting at night too, and how they created the tone and aesthetic of the film. The bears, adapting from a book, what they were up against technically, and how the curious landscape and its variations were incorporated into the filming, is also discussed.

Prior to this, David and Andrew talk about their other horror films, which is also great.

Full Episode of Popcorn Talk here.