Thomas R. Clark's Blog, page 6
March 10, 2024
December 24, 2023
THE 10TH ANNUAL BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR OF 2023
2023 marks a decade of me reviewing and critiquing movies and TV for various outlets, which have included THIS IS INFAMOUS and RUE MORGUE to name just two. My taste in film is a little broader than most, and I certainly enjoy the hell out of a bad movie when I can (I’m looking at you, 65!). But I try not to let that influence my professional approach to what does and doesn’t work for me. I saw a ton of films in 2023, but there were many I didn’t. SCREAM VI, for example. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDIES, THANKSGIVING, the list goes on.
Truth be told, my favorite movie of 2023 wasn’t OPPENHEIMER (As I’ve not seen that yet, either) or JOHN WICK IV, although this is my second favorite overall movie of the year behind….
Gareth Edwards’ THE CREATOR. In years past I would have said fuck all and put it as my number one and Wick at number two. But 2023’s crop of crossover appeal horror films was a little, um, sparse, and I already bucked my list with one entry (#talkaboutthatinfinnishlater).
So, standing apart from my horror and dark fantasy list is this science fiction gem. THE CREATOR is a smoothie of sci fi goodies, blended together to make a film I’d say is important as any in the genre. The Terminator movies, EX MACHINA, BLADE RUNNER, CHILDREN OF MEN, and DISTRICT 9 all have their footprints on this film, with all the metaphor and themes of both, THE CREATOR uses AI as a metaphor for racism. It’s a gem of a movie currently available on streaming you don’t want to miss. Much like EDGE OF TOMORROW, the film didn’t find its audience right away, and I’m hoping it does find new life. This is a movie that needs to be seen and discussed. The charisma of John David Washington can’t be ignored. He’s a rising star. And the special effects! My Lord! They’re reminiscent of DISTRICT 9 and EX MACHINA, so natural and organic.
Now, on to the horror… and my top ten movies not named LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (the highly anticipated indy horror film that will be seeing mass release in 2024)
At #10 is MEGAN, a movie my wife and I enjoyed together. The tweener Chucky, MEGAN started the year off with its TikTok viral ad campaign and set the tone for our number 1 movie. MEGAN’s main theme is how we deal badly with grief. This is a trope we will see in many of 2023’s releases. You can read my review of it here.
#9 is a movie I didn’t think would make it on the list, as my review of it stated, but as time wore on and I watched a couple more times, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER grew on me. Expanding on a much loved portion of Bram Stoker’s vampire classic, it’s basically ALIEN on a ship with Dracula. What’s not to love about that? What’s surprising about this movie is its themes. They’re more in line with THE CREATOR than one would think.
#8 THE EVIL DEAD RISE was everything I expected it to be, a bloody good time that brought me back to the world of Sam Raimi’s deadites. It’s got all the dark humor (“Mommy’s with the maggots”), blood, guts, and gore one would want from an Evil Dead film. My review of it is here, next to the wood chipper.
#7 Is going to be controversial, particularly if you have fascist politics. SISU. SISU is a Finnish word that has no direct English translation. It’s an ideal, a sense of self determination unrivaled by anything. Is it a horror movie? Most people will say no. I say yes, metaphorically. You see, SISU is horrifying… for Nazis. The titular character is a slasher killer of unparalleled determination, excising his wrath on the Nazis that stole his gold. As an unstoppable force of nature, he’s on a level with Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers… when it comes to killing Nazis. Are seeing a theme here?
#6 A KNOCK AT THE CABIN, M. Night Shamylan’s adaptation of Paul Tremblay’s wonderful THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Night took a splatterfest and moved the violence off screen to make it darker. And his narrative changes, scoffed by some, worked for the screen. My review here goes over the differences between the book and the film, and why this movie hits so close to home with me. This movie haunted me for weeks.
#5 Is the DMT trip from Brandon Cronenberg, INFINITY POOL. Featuring horror’s new darling, Mia Goth, this movie is fucked up. How fucked up is it? Read my review here. Save yourself a trip to the Amazon rainforest to find poisonous frogs and rent this film to understand what a DMT trip is like.
#4 The multi layered COCAINE BEAR is a gem of a movie, and a splatterpunk classic. I’m not rehashing this movie’s brilliance in this, you can read why I love this movie so much here. The metaphors for addiction, single motherhood, and bad fathering are all wrapped up in a stellar cast.
My top three horror films are all imports, two with subtitles and one that likely needed them…
#3 is the sleeper hit of 2023, Toho international’s GODZILLA MINUS ONE. What can I say about this surprisingly wonderful kaiju movie that hasn’t already been said by my peers. It’s basically a remake of the first Godzilla movie, with a better thought out climax and a human story we can get behind. Sure, we’ve all seen the pictures of the aftermath of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But this movie brings to life the after effects of America’s fire bombing of Tokyo and the recovery of its citizens in a post WWII Japan. Focusing on a failed kamikaze pilot and the PTSD/Survivor’s Guilt he suffers from, using Godzilla as metaphor for both the mass destruction caused by nuclear technology… and how a person’s internal demons can be just as destructive.
Argentina gives us our #2 movie, the bleak as fuck WHEN EVIL LURKS. It’s the second best possession film of the year not dealing with grief. How can I say this the nice way? After watching this film you’ll need to watch a feel good movie. Like I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY (Bloody Disgusting’s #1 holiday horror movie) or THE MIST.
#1 wants you to TALK TO ME. It has many similarities to WHEN EVIL LURKS, including dealing with possession and sudden violence. And yeah, sometimes the Australian accents make you wish it was subtitled. I saw this movie by accident, and for that I’m grateful. In my review here, I make it clear this is Gen Z’s THE EXORCIST and I stick buy that, especially after the failure of THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER reboot of the venerable possession franchise. I had nightmares for three fucking months from this movie, and they were vivid!
Next year I’m looking forward to Egger’s NOSFERATU remake and that damn LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL! What about you? What were your top horror movies of 2023? What were your favorite films of 2023?
December 11, 2023
December 9, 2023
November 24, 2023
November 22, 2023
GHOSTS DON’T SCARE ME… PUBLISHING DOES
Immoral Dilemmas. It’s a title I’ve long wanted to use. Initially it was slated to be the name of my old garage band’s first full length album… which never happened. And now? Immoral Dilemmas is the title of my curated splatterpunk collection, set to be released in December. It might be up in digital form before that date, as we all know on demand publishing is unpredictable at best.
Some of you may notice this book isn’t with a small press. Typically, I’ve self-published my collections, and am continuing this tradition, taking it a step further. It’s officially under my personal imprint, NIGHTSWAN PRESS; named after my immortal multiversal witch, Amy Nightswan. NSP is going to be a home for much of my forthcoming material, including my Splatterfolk Collection, WE ARE 13, coming out in Spring 2024. I do intend to shop THE CURSE OF KATIE ELDER around to potential small presses that may be interested in the book.
Reactions from Immoral Dilemmas ARC reviewers have been overwhelmingly positive, much more so than any of my previous releases. Some of the comments have blown my mind—like who gets compared to Ed Lee? Me, it seems!. The stories included within its covers were previously published in a variety of outlets, including the Books of Horror volumes and From the Ashes anthologies, Stranger With Friction magazines, and my own chap books. They were edited by great talents in the horror community: Lisa Lee Tone, Mary Danner, and Candace Nola. Of course the content editing fell under the aegis of Lisa Vasquez and Garrett Cook—both of whom’s skills helped develop my voice.
My beta readers also helped me bring this collection to life, and a shout out to them for taking their time to assist me.
One of the stories included in this volume, SOBRIQUET ALA MODE, was also part of the BRADONOMICON II that came out this past fall. The story is getting a TON of attention. In fact, Brad Tierney himself had this to say about it: “The Brado story is a goddamned Flawless Victory. LOVE it. LOVE! Such a rank fruit cocktail of everything I love.”
I’m pretty sure that says it all, the seal of approval from the Super Fan of horror himself. This story, you mist know, was the vile thing I’ve ever conceptualized, to the point where I refuse to read it aloud and almost stopped writing splatterpunk because of it. With this being said, you can help this story grow by:
1. Buying it in either BRADONOMICON II or IMMORAL DILEMMAS.
2. Send an email to splatterpunkawards@gmail.com and suggest the story SOBRIQUET ALA MODE by Thomas R Clark for best short story, BRADONOMICON II for best Anthology, and IMMORAL DILEMMAS for best Collection.
This weekend is the 2nd Greenhouse Craft Fair at Lasnicki’s Landscaping in Hastings, NY and you can find me there, with my friends in the Wandering Wordsmiths, for my final Public Appearance of 2023. Normally I’ve gone to the SKY ARMORY event in downtown Syracuse… but not this year. You can see my publisher and friend Tim Murr at that event and he will have a few titles with my name on them. So why in tarnation am I going into the woods of upstate NY? Because it’s a small business support day and what is an indy horror writer other than a small business?
I will have the remaining chap books of Alive Inside, What Fragile Beings Are We, and Dropping Karma with me. All three are included in Immoral Dilemmas, so these will be collector’s items if I ever get famously and shite like that! I will also have a limited stock of my other titles with me, basically whats left from this year’s conventions… which were a huge success. I did what I set out to do—better establish my regional fanbase. I’m so grateful to all of you who took a chance on this guy and his stories.
For those of you who can’t wait for Immoral Dilemmas to hit, I’ve had a bit of material come to life in 2023. A PRAYER FROM THE DEAD, my cyberpunk splatterpunk novella tops the list. I’ve had stories appear in the aforementioned BRADONOMICON II, BOOKS OF HORROR VOL 4 PART 2, as well as the reissues of From the Ashes’ anthologies FAIRYTALE HORRORSHOW and TIL DEATH. I’ve got a story coming out early next year in THANK YOU RJ, too.
It seems there’s lots of Thomas R Clark everywhere this holiday season. So… mark your calender for 12/8/23 for the release of what some people are calling one of the best splatterpunk collections they’ve ever read (no joke!). Immoral Dilemmas, featuring the best of what I’ve written in the splatterpunk genre over the past five or so years. And if you’re within a few hours of me, come to Hastings on Saturday from 10am to 3pm and see me in a Greenhouse!
November 10, 2023
THE MARVELS, LOKI, AND THE COURSE CORRECTION OF THE MCU
Anyone who knows me is aware I’ve got one of those addictive personalities. When I find something I like, I envelope myself in it, likely going overboard with my public praise and adoration of the thing. It can be any Goddamned thing. A game, a movie, a TV show, a band, a comic book… anything really. Growing up I couldn’t get enough of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, KISS, Dungeons & Dragons, or Spider-Man.
Here’s a great recent example, I saw Amon Amarth live over the summer and bought a drinking horn and hip holster at Pagan Pride Day. My wife looks me dead in the eye and says, “You only got that cos of that band.” She wasn’t wrong. Now, any regular readers of my social media feeds can tell you my current musical love is Green Lung, a folk-horror, doom metal band from London. At any given time it could be Metallica, The Goo Goo Dolls, Seether, Ozzy, Black Label Society, Iron Maiden or the aforementioned KISS, only dependent on the era. Before Green Lung it was Ghost. And following them it will likely be Dogma (imagine if Ghost were a quartet of dirty little nuns…). I love following bands and watching them grow with their listeners through the years.
But what I REALLY love is when things I already dig come together. Those circumstances create a match made in my own personal Heaven. It could be as simple as an obscure song from one of my favorite bands playing in a movie I’m enjoying, or it could be something on the lines of a writer I know doing an adaptation of a beloved film.
Around the time I started focusing on my fiction, I discovered a writing directing team and they blew my mind away. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Through the suggestions of my peers at This Is Infamous (the website I wrote and reviewed media properties for a decade ago), I saw their sophomore effort, SPRING. And it blew me away. SPRING forever changed how I perceive the horror genre and how I write fiction myself. You can see its influence all over my second novella, BELLA’S BOYS. SPRING stood at the forefront of the new and ever evolving Elevated Horror sub-genre, and remains there as a prime example of the art form.
At this time I still hadn’t seen Moorhead & Benson’s first film, the indy time loop flick RESOLUTION. It just wasn’t on my radar, and I’m grateful it wasn’t, for reasons I explain in this blog post from a few years ago, after I saw their third film THE ENDLESS. It immediately shot to the top of my list of favorite horror movies of all time. I won’t rehash the why’s of it here, you can read about it in the link above. Suffice it to say Justin and Aaron have a firm grip on what works in cosmic horror, and especially when it comes to time traveling and alternate realities. Now the duo has spread out, doing episodes of the Twilight Zone, and the MCU Disney + shows…
The addition of Benson and Moorhead to the Marvel Studios creative team on MOON KNIGHT tickled me pink. It was only logical, in my mind, for Kevin Fiegie to bring them on board. Which brings us to the topic at hand: the season finale of LOKI and the latest MCU theatrical offering, THE MARVELS.
Do I ever LOVE the MCU. I’ve watched every minute of every movie and TV show at least once. It’s my adult Star Wars, as it really does mash up my love of movies with my love of ages old Marvel super heroes. My favorite MCU films are Guardians of the Galaxy, followed by Captain Marvel and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Doctor Strange and Captain America: Civil War round off my top 5. The opposite end of the spectrum holds THE ETERNALS and IRON MAN 2 at the bottom of my Marvel barrel, alongside the disappointing SECRET INVASION (which I held out hope for and continued to disappoint me every week like a bad child destined for a trip to principal’s office!). I won’t deny there has been a decline in quality of the MCU properties since the Pandemic, both in the stories and special effects. The mad rush to mass produce content for people sitting at home during a plague subsided, but not until a tsunami of shit flooded across streaming services and spread into theatrical releases. I, for one, want to see an expanded “Director’s Cut” of QUANTUMANIA. Despite all of that, I’m happy to say the MCU is back on track.
It starts with THE MARVELS, which is a delightful balance of all that works in a Marvel movie. Nia Decosta’s follow-up to the polarizing CAPTAIN MARVEL is joyful and almost better, dare I say, than its predecessor. From the opening Marvel Girl-Power logo, we’re tossed right into the thick of things. After this brief intro, and a cold open introducing our villain, Dar Benn, the movie starts up where the MS MARVEL Disney+ show ends, and wastes zero time getting us into the action. We’re brought up to lightspeed on the new characters of Monica Rambeau, aka Spectrum (don’t call her that but that’s what her name is in the Little Golden Books so we’ll fly with it.) and, of course, the darling new mutant, Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel.
The comedy of THOR: RAGNAROK or GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is present, without getting into the campiness that befouled THOR: LOVE & THUNDER. Much of it is the family dynamic as represented through Kamla’s mother, father and brother having a presence through the movie. Kamala’s nativity and innocence also adds to the mix. I laughed out loud more than I can ever recall in an MCU movie during the comedy scenes, which included, among other things, a musical homage to a one-shot comic book and a litter of Flerkens.
Iman Velanni’s Ms. Marvel is the clear heart of the film. I also loved Brie Larson’s lighter Carol Danvers, showing sides of the character we didn’t see in her origin story. Teyonah Paris’s Spectrum goes deep with the character’s morose grief from losing her mother. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say it was good seeing Nick Fury fully recovered from his bungled SECRET INVASION mission. But it’s the fate of Spectrum that will have most viewers talking, and it implies that the Fox X-Men universe has a Binary Captain Marvel in the form of a Maria Rambeau variant.
The threat of the villain, Dar Benn, was real, and their impact on the overall Multiverse Saga story arc was as important, if not more so, than anything Stephen Strange did in SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME and DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. But Zawe Ashton’s villain suffers from the same malady too many MCU villains succumb to: banality.
I mean, not everyone can be Thanos…
Or LOKI.
And this brings us back to the brilliance of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. You see, as excited as I was learning Moorhead & Benson involvement in the MOON KNIGHT show, seeing them brought on the LOKI Season 2 team blew my mind. Kevin Fiegie did something fantastic and brought in the cinematic kings of cosmic horror to work on the second season of the hit Disney+ show. They directed four of the season’s six episodes, and worked closely with head writer Eric Martin to give us what turned out to be the craziest, most fucked up climax of any MCU entry.
This is where Moorhead and Benson come into play, with their imaginative approach to time and space in science fiction. Taking the tricks they utilized in their previous films, like THE ENDLESS, SYNCHRONIC, and SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, the writing/directing duo have crafted a masterpiece of television programming fans of science fiction and cosmic horror will be fawning over for decades to come. The bar is raised so Goddamn high at Marvel now, I fear future programming on Disney+ may suffer in the same manner the theatrical films have been pandered since AVENGERS: ENDGAME made a couple billion dollars.
The themes of time as a cycle were rampant throughout the series, and its conclusion, aptly titled with the same words as the series’ debut GLORIOUS PURPOSE. And what is Loki’s purpose revealed to be? The one fated to be imprisoned, holding the strands of the World Tree, the Yggdrasil, together. The God of Mischief’s arc is complete, and it was heart wrenching to behold his damnation.
So, we finally got to see the fate of our favorite MCU villain, the original gangster, so to say, have his promise of glorious purpose revealed. What happens in the LOKI show is a reflection of what has happened in the MCU, these are the actions of Gods in a realm outside of space and time, and they have an impact on the real world. The syncing of Wandavision’s finale and Doctor Strange’s Spider-Man spell with the He Who Remains threshold scene, for example, comes to mind.
The end of LOKI reveals the 616 universe already pruned their KANG problem… a verification some online reviewers will be unhappy about (the running theory was Kang the Conqueror was He Who Remains), and this series verified the Kang of QUANTUMANIA is, indeed, dead. We also learned Victor Timely isn’t He Who Remains, either. The door is open for the KANG DYNASTY to arrive.
Make it a Marvel Weekend, my friends. If you haven’t watched LOKI Season 2, binge that shit. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back, people. We have a bar to measure the quality of Super-Hero cinema with now, and LOKI stands atop the heap. THE MARVELS is a fun entry, breathing positive life into the MCU theatrical entries with a button, where X marks the spot.
October 30, 2023
BRADONOMICON II
You know what’s commonplace lately? We hear it all the time. There’s drama in the community. That’s what we always hear, right? “The horror community has some drama,” like it’s a non-stop thrill ride of people being horrible, doing awful things, or saying reprehensible stuff and getting canceled. A lot of this has been warranted over the years, I mean policing our own is a responsibility any community has. After all, it takes a village to raise someone, so the opposite could be said in turn when it comes to bringing down bad actors and undesirable elements in our ranks.
What isn’t so commonly discussed is how the community, and the horror community in particular, will come together to help one of our own. We’ve done it before, rallying together to support both fans and creators. Like when Dave Thomas fought his battle against cancer. Or when Kristopher Triana’s dog, Bear also fought cancer, and the community came together to support Kris and Bear. And now, for a second time, we’re doing something for one of the super fans.
I first met Brad Tierny online around 6 or 7 years ago I’d say. He frequented many of the groups I did, and I learned he was a fan of my podcast. I found a kindred spirit in Brad and his family. Brad’s love for all things horror and heavy metal made it easy for us to become friends. I got to know him, learned about his troubles and tribulations—and believe me when I say this guy has had a tough life—but he makes the best out of it and I’m proud to call him a friend.
A few years ago, finances got bad for Brad and the community rallied around him, putting together a charity anthology to help them pay their bills as a token of our appreciation for Brad’s support. From this was born BRADONOMICON I. You see, Brad’s family ran into a horrifying issue, his wife, Mishka, was diagnosed with aphasia, the same condition that has taken Bruce Willis from the public eye. Aphasia is more common than one would think, Amelia Clarke suffers from it as well, just for example. Now, when you exasperate this condition with previously diagnosed issues, including schizophrenia, you can only imagine how bad things got.
Earlier this year, Brad’s beloved bride and partner passed away as a result of complications from this condition, a matter of days after a decision had been made to compile a second charity volume!
To say Brad has had it tough financially is an understatement. Add on to this the grief of losing your life partner… it can be a devastating blow. As a result, we—the indy horror community—have compiled this second anthology to aid the Tierny family. BRADONIMCON II hits the Amazon virtual shelves tomorrow. All proceeds go directly to Brad. When you buy this book, it will feed a person.
Let that sink in…
Your TBR pile is too high? That’s fine. Brad is hungry. Buy this book.
You don’t read horror? I don’t care, buy the book anyway. It will help keep a roof over my friend’s head.
You are too busy? I am too. But you know what I did? I took the time to write what some people are calling my best short story ever… for Brad. I’m not sure about that declaration, but I do know it’s the most vile, disgusting, and strangely heartwarming pieces I’ve ever written. It’s Fried Green Tomatoes meets the Sixth Sense and it’s called Sobriquet Ala Mode.
The talent in this book is overwhelming. It includes me, Candace Nola, Bedlam + Swann, R.J. Benetti, Rowland Bercy Jr., Brian G Berry, Brian Bowyer, Mike Ennenbach, Rayne Havok, Duncan Ralston, RJ Roles, Megan Stockton, Regina Watts, and Daniel Volpe.
Preorder this bad boy today and dive in tomorrow when it arrives on your kindle. Heck order it today and get it in the mailbox by the week’s end. Don’t stop there, if you don’t already have it, get Volume I! And thank you for helping our friend.
Love you, Brad!
October 4, 2023
WILL THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER FAIL?
THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER opens this weekend, and I’m not sure it’s going to be as impactful as Universal would hope. Sure, director David Gordon Green seems to have hit all the sweet spots in its advertising. Heck, it’s even gone as far as to use a photo-negative of the possession victims in the trailer, ala the original film. But there are some who see this film, touted to be the first in a new trilogy, as a waste of time and effort. Another legacy sequel to a franchise that has hit or miss sequel action over the years. No different than Green’s last venture into reboot land, his 2018 HALLOWEEN. The film came out to much fanfare and was celebrated. Its subsequent sequels, however, suffered from the same maladies as the original franchise’s.
Why did Green’s HALLOWEEN reboot work? Because he remembered the story was about Laurie, not Michael. Why did his sequels fail? Because they were not about Laurie. Well, I can’t say they failed. They made a bunch of money, but they were polarizing to the franchise’s fan base, with the third film having the strongest negative reactions.
THE EXORCIST and its sequels have shared a similar path, including a reboot from David Gordon Green and his writing partner, the not very funny comedian Danny McBride. Why have all but one of its sequels failed? Because they were not about the film’s primary characters… and those characters are not named Regan or Chris or even Father Merrin. Regan and her mother ARE not the protagonists. They are sympathetic antagonists, albeit not the villain (that’s Pazuzu). Father Merrin is not the eponymous protagonist, either. If not, then who is?
Who is the film about? It’s simple. Two people. Two friends. Their names are Bill and Damien… Lt. William Kinderman & Father Damien Karras. They are the protagonists of THE EXORCIST book AND film. They are also the protagonist and antagonist of LEGION aka THE EXORCIST III – which happens to be the only other successful sequel to Blatty’s IP. It’s funny, wouldn’t you say, that he also wrote the book and wrote/directed the film? You want something done right… you do it yourself, correct? The EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, THE EXORCIST: DOMINION (both versions!), and the short lived two seasons of FOX’s television reboot… they all forgot what the OG was about. And it’s not a demon with a habit of practicing defenestration.
You see, part of THE EXORCIST’s secret to its success is that it’s not a traditional horror film. Much like its immediate mainstream successor, JAWS, it’s a mashup of genres. In fact, they’re both VERY similar in what makes the two films so successful and has solidified their lasting impact on pop culture. First and foremost, both films are technically POLICE PROCEDURAL DRAMAS. JAWS has the added joy of being a political drama (LET’S KEEP THE BEACH OPEN!) and a family drama (A FATHER AND MOTHER AND THEIR SONS). It’s worth noting that both franchises also have a pariah entry. One can safely say, with the exception of JAWS 2, the subsequent JAWS sequels failed for mostly the same reason.
In comparison, THE EXORCIST is also a family drama (And this is where the sympathetic antagonists of Chris and Regan MacNeil come into play)… BUT… it’s also a sports film.
A sports film? THE EXORCIST IS A SPORTS FILM? Are you high Tom?
Always, but that is moot. This wasn’t a high-dea, oh no. I didn’t come up with this one on my own. My writing mentor, Garrett Cook, used it in a lecture once. And I’ve never forgotten it. Because he’s right. This makes THE EXORCIST closer to ROCKY than it is to JAWS. They’re the same story. Damien Karras is a failed boxer who wants one more shot at getting in the ring for the big fight. He goes through the trials of getting to the fight, and when he finally gets in the ring…
And just like Rocky… he fucking fails and jumps out the window from a knockout punch by Pazuzu Creed.
Green and McBride have a surmounting task ahead of them, continuing a franchise without the principal characters. Early screenings have given the movie a mostly positive outlook, but we’ll have to see what happens at multiplexes this weekend as the Halloween horror films ramp up! What do you think? Will THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER be a hit… or a miss?
DON’T FORGET I HAVE PUBLIC APPEARANCES COMING LATER IN OCTOBER! Want to come out and see me? You can!
10/21 I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble in Wilkes-Barre PA for HALLOWEEN SCARES from noon to 4pm with a host of other great talent, including Kelli Owen, Bob Ford, Todd Keisling, CW Briar, Amanda Headlee, Sam Rebelein, Patrick R Field, and Anthony J Rapino.
10/28 I’ll be at the WORCESTER WEIRD FESTIVAL in Worcester, NY from 10-3 with a slew of other indy authors. Artist collaborator Miguel Santiago will be there with me!
See you all on the road this fall!
