Book Review: An Unexpectedly Thoughtful and Traumatizing Read
SynopsisA chilling twist on the “cursed film” genre from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club and The Cabin at the End of the World.
In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.
The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.
The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions — demons of the past be damned.
But at what cost?
Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film” that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.
Overall Rating5/5
Spooky Rating3/5 initially – but it creeps up to 4/5 towards the end, and the more you think about the novel after reading it
Quick TakeHorror Movie by Paul Tremblay is an atmospheric and cinematic horror novel that creeps, slowly worming its way into your brain and rewiring everything that you think you know. It is a reflection on the creation of art, cult fandom, and horror movies, and how once art has been created and released into the world – it becomes something else entirely. This one will make you work for it, but damn if it isn’t rewarding!
Tell Me MoreHorror Movie is my third book by Paul Tremblay. The Cabin at the End of the World was my first, and I was in the minority that loved it.
Now, here is what I’ve come to learn about Tremblay’s books. I genuinely hope that this helps you if you have not read his work yet or have mixed feelings about it.
They are not horror novels that come out swinging. They are not going to throw machetes at you and hope something sticks, so to speak. What you have to understand about Tremblay’s writing is that the horror of it comes from what isn’t shown. Sure, there may be scenes that depict “classically” horrific things, but he’s not feeding those scenes to you. He is coaching your imagination, prodding it, and making it work for him. With Tremblay’s books, it’s always what you put into the story that you get out of it. He won’t be spoon feeding the story to you, your thoughts and perception will become his equal partner in how the story lands.
That, my friends, is why I think Tremblay’s books get mixed reviews. You either love them, or hate them, and there is rarely an in-between. It makes total sense to me that he and Stephen Graham Jones are friends, because their work tends to land the same way.
Horror Movie is basically a tale about the “Thin Kid,” a man who played this character in a cult horror movie that never was. We never learn his real name; he is referred to as the “Thin Kid” throughout. Only three scenes from the movie were ever released, but it created a cult fandom that leads to the optioning of a reboot in present time.
The book goes back and forth in time, and highlights scenes from the script of the movie that the book is about. It is through these scenes that we learn essentially what the “Thin Kid” was put through in the movie, how things went wrong, and most importantly, how either the role changed the man playing, he changed the role, or both. The “Thin Kid” is a deeply unknowable character. By him not having an actual name, and following his story throughout, we never really know if he is trustworthy. Even after finishing the book, I still think about him, and wonder who this man really was.
Horror Movie is a narrative about the creation of art, how fans possess it once it is released, and how it ultimately changes the creator and the consumer. But it is also about the horror community, its pros and cons, and all of the weirdness that comes with it.
All of the characters in the book are wholly “unknowable.” We know very little about all of them, and that adds to the ambiguous atmosphere that the book possesses. At no point in time were any of the characters trustworthy, and I think that that played on the idea that none of us are truly “knowable” or simply “good or bad.” We all make choices based on our own experiences and perceptions, and we are all ultimately changed and molded by the media we consume.
Is this a book that can go over your head if you aren’t careful? Absolutely. I am already planning on going back in and annotating to further try and comprehend it. I am as mesmerized by it as I am scared, and to me, that is a beautiful thing. Please just try it out. That’s all that I ask.
BonusHere’s a picture of me meeting Paul Tremblay a few weeks ago. He was in discussion with Stephen Graham Jones and Walter Chaw. It was such an interesting conversation on horror, the horror community, and the power of horror films and media!
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