C.M. Saunders's Blog, page 6
December 25, 2023
Intruder by C.M. Saunders
Season’s Greetings and all that hippy shit. As my gift to you, please enjoy this tiny ‘lil shocker taken from my collection X: Omnibus.
You’re welcome. And it’s okay that you didn’t get me anything. Your love is more than I need. 
Rosie turned on the lamp and slid into bed, glancing at the clock on the bedside table as she did so. 23:57. Mark would be home soon. He was such a good, reliable son, and was never late. It really was a wonder that no woman had snapped him up yet.
But he drinks too much!
Chimed her resentful side.
Or was it the voice of reason?
Things had been hard on him since his father died six years ago, and he’d taken to spending virtually every spare moment down the pub.
Rosie understood.
When tragedy strikes, after recovering from the initial flurry of shock and crawling on your belly through that grey wasteland of grief, you learn to cope the best way you can. It’s a transition of sorts. You just have to get on with it. Her way of coping was Xanex and early nights, Mark’s way of coping was drinking beer and staying out until midnight.
Each to their own.
Slowly, the two of them had fallen into a routine. Rosie kept the front door firmly locked, only unlocking it just before she went to bed. Mark had a spare key once, but lost it when in one of his drunken stupors. Since then, Rosie decided he just couldn’t be trusted. Not mature enough, not by a long chalk.
The front door opened and closed softly and a key turned, returning the door to its locked state. The ghost of a smile played on Rosie’s lips.
There he was. Right on time.
Now she could drift off to sleep.
The downstairs toilet flushed.
Oh dear.
Rosie hoped he hadn’t drank too much and made himself sick. She tried not to smother him with a mother’s love, but it was hard. Mark was all she had left now. Luckily for him, she’d left the porch and living room lights on. That should at least stop him bumping into things.
She listened intently, body rigid, wrinkled mouth pulled taught. If she listened carefully, she could hear him move through the house. She cringed as heavy footsteps trumped across the hard wood floor of the kitchen.
Rosie sighed.
Damn you Neil! How many times do I have to remind you to take your shoes off when you come in the house?
The refrigerator door opened and something rustled faintly. That would be tin foil.
Found the left-over turkey, then?
There was the soft clink of a glass, the cutlery drawer opening, a cupboard, and finally the sound of a kitchen knife being pulled from a scabbard. Then, the sound the footsteps retreating from the kitchen and making their way across the living room.
She lost track of them for a split second, that damn shag pile carpet, then there was a soft rustle as a coat sleeve brushed against the door frame.
He must be deciding what to do.
Watch TV or go straight to bed.
Rosie pictured her son standing at the foot of the stairs, swaying on his feet and a bemused expression contorting his face. It was a look she had come to know so well. She smiled when the landing light finally snapped on and the footsteps began making their way slowly but purposefully up the stairs.
One, two, three, four…
Wouldn’t be long now and he’ll be in bed. Only thirteen steps in these old houses. Then she could stop her worrying for another night.
Suddenly, there was a new noise. A metallic clunk coming from outside.
What was that?
It sounded like the garden gate opening.
But who could be paying a visit at this time of night? Mark was already home.
She wondered if he had heard the gate opening. It didn’t sound like. There was no urgency in its steps.
Probably too drunk.
Five, six, seven…
Her bedroom window overlooked the garden. Rosie scooted over to the edge of the bed as quickly as her tired old legs would allow and opened the curtain a crack. She peered through, into the darkness beyond.
Somebody was coming down the path.
A man.
Oh my, who’s that?
She was dimly aware of the footsteps still climbing the stairs.
Eight, nine…
She wanted to call out, warn Mark that an intruder was, at this very minute, making his way down the garden path!
Ten, eleven…
But she found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight below.
A little voice inside was telling her that she couldn’t turn away. Not now.
Twelve, thirteen…
In a way, she was glad she listened to that little voice. It softened the blow somewhat. She was also glad that she was already sitting down, too, albeit on the edge of her bed. Because as she watched through the bedroom window, the intruder in the garden looked up and for the briefest moment their eyes met.
It was Mark’s face gazing up at her.
She saw him reach for the front door handle and try to turn it, unaware that it was locked from the inside already.
At that same moment, her bedroom door opened.
NB:
Intruder previously appeared in X2 and Shadows in Ink back in 2012.
December 17, 2023
Introducing…. The Wretched Bones
The Regal Retreat is an exclusive resort situated deep in the countryside of East Anglia where the rich and famous go to unwind. However, far from being a place of rest and relaxation, bad things happen there. Its history has been plagued by tragedy and misfortune. Over the years there have been scores of killing sprees, accidents, suicides, and even the occasional sighting of the resident ghost.
In a desperate attempt to save the business, the resort calls in jaded paranormal investigator Ben Shivers. Since the devastating loss of his daughter and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage, he has been travelling Europe in a vintage VW camper van with his sidekick, a rescue cat called Mr. Trimble. He sees the assignment as the perfect opportunity to kick back a little and break the cycle of self-destruction he has been on.
But as he delves further into the case, he uncovers a history many would rather forget full of sordid family secrets, witchcraft, murder, retribution, and an ancient curse, all coming together in a perfect storm deep in the heart of the English countryside.
Welcome to the Regal Retreat, where the last thing you want is for your dreams to come true.
The Wretched Bones: A Ben Shivers Mystery is available now on paperback and ebook via Midnight Machinations, an imprint of Grinning Skull Press.
December 8, 2023
Macabre Minima – Ho Ho Ho
My 91st published short story, Christmas Lights, is included in the anthology Macabre Minima – Ho Ho Ho on Black Hare Press out just in time for Satan, sorry, Santa, to come barrelling down the chimney and empty his sack all over your floor.
Check out this stonking cover art!
Christmas Lights is inspired by what is often referred to as the shortest story ever written commonly attributed to Ernest Hemingway, which I can reproduce here in its entirety because it’s only six words long:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
It says so much with those six words, I started wondering how much more I could say with a hundred.
November 23, 2023
Samiam – Stowaway (review)
“Don’t call it a comeback. Call it an evolution, a rebirth, a continuation after twelve years of absence.”
So said the review of this album on Punktastic. I’d rather call it a resurgence. Strange band, Samiam. They formed in 1988 with their first couple of albums being released on indie label New Red Archives. Then, after a single album on Atlantic (1994’s Clumsy), they signed to Hopeless, home of the disenfranchised. Stowaway, their first on Pure Noise Records, is the California quintet’s first album since 2011’s Trip. That’s 12 long years. Where have you been, guys? I don’t think they ever officially broke up, they’ve toured intermittently, sometimes with some big artists (Green Day and Blink 182 included), but they’ve hardly been prolific. I didn’t think they even had a website, but evidently they do.
It requires something akin to a perfect storm for a band to become successful, especially given the fractured state of the music industry, and momentum is a key factor. Sadly, Samiam just never seemed to have any. They had everything else; songs, an identity, a following, talent, but they can’t seem to keep it together long enough to build up a head of steam. They are a bit like that old friend you have that spontaneously shows up every couple of years. You have a great night, then they go back underground and you don’t see them again for ages.
Anyway, here we are. If I had to describe the Samiam sound I’d go for a mash up between Smashing Pumpkins, Alkaline Trio, Deftones and maybe a touch of the Wonder Years. On Stowaway they race out of the blocks with Lake Speed, which segways neatly into lead single Chrystalized. All layered vocals, power chords, and soaring choruses, this is just about as perfect a track as you’ll ever hear. Listen to it. Just listen to it!
The pace doesn’t let up for Lights Out, Little Hustler, Shoulda Stayed and Shut Down. Samiam are at their best when they are being melodic, treading the thin line between thrashing about and staring at their shoes. Their music often has a kid of wistful, nostalgic feel, similar to latter-era Bouncing Souls, and it takes a couple of tracks before you remember how good this band were. Or are. A highlight for me is Monterey Canyon which is apparently about being an octopus, but don’t let that put you off. The second half of the album dips slightly but comes roaring back with Something, one of those that sticks in your head for days after a single listen. Guitarist Sean Kennerly said of the track: “The light perkiness of the music is belied by the heavy subject matter – searching for meaning and reason inside of everyday actions.”
Stowaway is closed out with the mid-tempo title track, which also happens to be the longest song on the record by some margin (though its still only 4:12). This just feels like an important album, one that I will probably forget about for a year, then rediscover one night and curse myself out for not paying it more attention to it. I only ever listen to MP3 and flac files these days but bizarrely, this album was practically crying out to be played on vinyl. Go on, treat yourself. I only hope we don’t have to wait another 12 years for a follow up.
November 13, 2023
RetView #76 – Night of the Creeps (1986)
Title: Night of the Creeps
Year of Release: 1986
Director: Fred Dekker
Length: 88 mins
Starring: Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins, Wally Taylor, Richard Miller
As regular readers of this series will know, I can’t resist some eighties schlock. And they don’t come much more eighties and schlocky than this. On the surface it’s a zombie flick, the splatter/comedy tone eerily reminiscent of Re-Animator (1985), right down to the zombiefied cat. But at it’s core, Night of the Creeps is a homage to the fifties B-Movies like The Blob (1958) and The Giant Claw (1957) we all love so much. It even opens with a cut scene which manages to encapsulate an alien invasion and an escaped lunatic before fast-forwarding 27 years to a university Pledge Week setting where Chris Romero (Lively) and his best friend JC (Marshall) are pining over lost loves (“I don’t like being depressed. It’s depressing”). In the crowd they pick out Cynthia Cronenberg (Whitlow) and join a fraternity in a misguided attempt to gain her affection. Unfortunately, Cynthia’s boyfriend is the head honcho and tasks the hapless duo with stealing a cadaver from the university medical center and depositing it on the steps of a rival frat house. In the process, they inadvertently thaw out a frozen corpse (“a corpsicle!”) who turns out to be the boy from the opening scene, who then goes to pick up his date at her sorority house 27 years late. And dead. Not only that, but he’s infected with an alien parasite which looks like a slug and likes to jump into people’s orifices. Before you know it, it’s carnage.
Released by TriStar Pictures the film is widely regarded as a box office flop, earning a meagre $591,366 domestically. But it was only released in 70 theatres so that isn’t too surprising, and apparently it was quite big in the Philippines where it was released on March 5, 1987, with free “protector” stickers handed out to moviegoers. I love a good bit of PR.
Director Fred Dekker, who was also involved with House (1986), Monster Squad (1987) and several episodes of the legendary series Tales From the Crypt, originally wanted to shoot the film in black and white. He included every B-movie cliche he could think of and insisted on directing the script himself. Most of the main characters (Romero, Carpenter, Raimi, Hooper, Cronenberg) are named after famous horror movie makers and ‘Corman University’ itself is a reference to Roger Corman. The script was allegedly written in a week and the truth is, it shows. Some of the jokes are weak and predictable, and the whole thing treads the line between being a homage and simply being derivative. Part of the charm is the slapped-together punk-tastic approach, but you can’t help but wonder how much better it could have been had it been a bit more polished. In their review, the New York times acknowledged as much but went on to say it also demonstrates, “A fair ability to create suspense, build tension and achieve respectable performances.” Writing for Fangoria, Michael Gingold called it, “One of the year’s most surprisingly entertaining fright features, one that homaged practically every subgenre imaginable yet kept a sure hand on its tone and never descended into spoofery.” Dread Central were even more complimentary, generously calling it, “A classic in every sense of the word.”
Strangely, in Cincinnati and a few other cities, the movie was re-named Homecoming Night and two different endings were made. The most common version shows Chris and Cynthia standing in front of the burning sorority house, with the camera moving to the street as police cars race towards the burning building past a ‘zombified’ Cameron, who stops and falls to the ground. His head then bursts open and the alien parasite slugs that incubated there scamper out and slither towards a nearby cemetery. The other, far less elaborate ending, has a dog in it. A later completely unrelated film called Zombie Town was marketed to some audiences as an ‘unofficial sequel.’ The original has been reissued in a number of formats, most recently on Blu-ray in 2019.
Trivia Corner
According to Dekker the prominent “Stryper Rules” graffiti visible in the bathroom scene appeared due to makeup artist Kyle Sweet’s relationship with future husband Michael Sweet, frontman of Christian metal band Stryper, who’d she’d met whilst working on their video. Kyle Sweet also worked on Teen Wolf (1985) and The Terminator (1984) and passed away from cancer in 2009. Stryper live on, releasing their most recent album The Final Battle in 2022.
The RetView series is taking a short break and will be back soon, giving you the perfect opportunity to catch up on some previous installments.
November 2, 2023
tiny frights!
I have not one, but two (count ’em!) ickle fings included in the latest edition of the ezine/podcast project tiny frights.
The Vase is a drabble, a story of exactly 100-words. Writing these things is an art form in itself. Brevity is key, and not a word can be wasted. I’m paraphrasing but Stephen King once said writing or reading a short story is a bit like having a one-night stand, while writing or reading a novel is more like having a relationship. If that’s true, a drabble must be like having a quick snog with a random in a night club toilet.
The other piece, Broken World, is a dribble. If a drabble is a quick snog with a random in a night club toilet, then a dribble (a complete story of exactly 50 words) is probably precisely that. A dribble. But who knows? It might tastes nice.
Both stories are free to read HERE.
Tiny Frights!
I have not one, but two (count ’em!) ickle fings included in the latest edition of the ezine/podcast project Tiny Frights.
The Vase is a drabble, a story of exactly 100-words. Writing these things is an art form in itself. Brevity is key, and not a word can be wasted. I’m paraphrasing but Stephen King once said writing or reading a short story is a bit like having a one-night stand, while writing or reading a novel is more like having a relationship. If that’s true, a drabble must be like having a quick snog with a random in a night club toilet.
The other piece, Broken World, is a dribble. If a drabble is a quick snog with a random in a night club toilet, then a dribble (a complete story of exactly 50 words) is probably precisely that. A dribble. But who knows? It might tastes nice.
You can read both stories for free HERE.
October 22, 2023
October 16, 2023
October 13, 2023
RetView #75 – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Title: From Dusk Till Dawn
Year of Release: 1996
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Length: 108 mins
Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, Tom Savini, Danny Trejo, Michael Parks
There’s been a long-running debate as to whether or not From Dusk Till Dawn qualifies as a bona fide Tarantino movie, who was then riding the crest of a wave on the back of his masterful Pulp Fiction (1994) which he wrote and directed as he had his 1992 breakthrough Reservoir Dogs. Though he played a supporting role and From Dusk Till Dawn definitely benefited from his involvement, Tarantino’s creative input was limited to a screenplay writing credit, the original idea coming from Robert Kurtzman whose career had started in the special effects departments of Night of the Creeps (1986) and Predator (1987), and handed Tarantino his first ever paid gig, for which he was paid $1500. Universal Pictures originally considered Tarantino’s screenplay as the follow-up to Demon Knight (1995) but ultimately produced another vampire film, Bordello of Blood (1996), instead. With it’s slick production values and all-star cast, From Dusk Till Dawn was very much a movie for the MTV generation, a sentiment underscored when it cleaned up at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards, winning in three separate categories including Best Horror Film and Best Actor for George Clooney. Interestingly, Tarantino was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at both the Golden Raspberry Award and the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. The film was banned in, Ireland with Irish Film Censor Board head Sheamus Smith citing its, “Irresponsible and totally gratuitous” violence, which he felt was particularly untimely in the wake of the then-recent Dunblane and Port Arthur massacres. On January 27, 2004, the video release was passed with an ’18’ certificate.
Fugitive bank robbers Seth (Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino) Grecko hold up a liquor store, killing a clerk and a Texas Ranger (Earl McGraw, played by Parks. More about him later) in a shootout and go into hiding at a motel. Meanwhile, Jacob Fuller (Keitel), a pastor experiencing a crisis of faith brought on by the death of his wife, is on vacation with his teenage children Scott and Kate (Lewis) in their RV. They stop at the motel and are swiftly kidnapped by the Gecko brothers, who force the family to smuggle them over the Mexican border. In Mexico, they arrive at a banging strip club in the desert called the Titty Twister, where the Gecko brothers plan to meet a contact, Carlos, at dawn. During a bar fight, the bar employees reveal themselves to be creatures most commonly referred to in literature surrounding this film ‘vampires’, though they have very little in common with other cinematic portrayals. They attack the patrons, killing most of them, including Richie, and what was already a very tense evening (for the Fuller family, anyway) is elevated to a whole new level.
This can best be described as a horror comedy, with plenty of Easter eggs and nods to other works by Tarantino and/or Rodriguez. For example, Seth Gecko’s line, “All right, Ramblers. Let’s get rambling!” is a direct quote from Reservoir Dogs (1992). Chronologically From Dusk Till Dawn takes place after both Kill Bill movies (2003 and 2004) and Death Proof (2007) since minor character Earl McGraw was alive in those and was killed in this movie. Due to the heavy number of special effects, the film had to be strictly budgeted. Only six full body vampire suits could be made for the climax that called for many dozens of vampires. In the final film, the same six actors play all of the vampires getting killed over and over. In some shots, dummies, puppets and cardboard cut-outs were placed in the background to create the illusion of a large host of vampires. In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, “The latter part of From Dusk till Dawn is so relentless that it’s as if a spigot has been turned on and then broken. Though some of the tricks are entertainingly staged, the film loses its clever edge when its action heats up so gruesomely and exploitatively that there’s no time for talk.” Meanwhile, in his review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, “The movie, which treats you with contempt for even watching it, is a monument to its own lack of imagination. It’s a triumph of vile over content; mindless nihilism posing as hipness.”
It’s fair to say that Tarantino’s work has always divided critics. Personally, I think it can be a bit hit and miss. Pulp Fiction is one of my favourite movies ever, and From Dusk till Dawn isn’t that far behind but a few of his other high-profile releases have been much-ado about nothing. From Dusk till Dawn was followed by two direct-to-video instalments, a sequel From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) and a prequel called From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter (2000). Tarantino served as producer on both, and Danny Trejo was the only actor to appear in all three. There was also a TV series which ran for three seasons from 2014-2016 and a video game.
Trivia Corner:
Salma Hayek had a morbid fear of snakes, so when she read the script, she knew her phobia would prevent her from taking the part. Robert Rodriguez conned her into thinking that Madonna was ready to step in should she not accept it so Hayek spent two months in therapy trying to overcome her fear. She didn’t have a choreographer for her now-legendary dance, because according to her, it wouldn’t be possible to choreograph the live Albino Burmese Python Reticulus around her neck. Therefore, she made it up as she went along. Rammstein’s video for “Engel” is an homage to this movie.
