Book Review - The Mammoth Book Of Terror

The Mammoth Book Of Terror

Various Authors

1992

This is an above average collection of horror stories set to turn your veins to ice with terror.  Not only are there short stories but there are a few longer works and a couple of short novellas - from the cream-of-the-crop of horror writers.  There are a few stories that are worth the price of the book themselves.

I give this book a chillingly cold 7 out of 10.

The Stories:

The Last Illusion

8 out of 10

This is one really good story of magicians and the dark realms which surround them.  This story stars Harry D'Amour, Barker's PI who has the unfortunate luck to be hired in occult cases.  This tale is very reminiscent of The Books Of Blood stories, so if you enjoy dark and graphic horror with high tension and thrills then you'll love this story.

Bunny Didn't Tell Us

6 out of 10 

Gangsters and hitmen are not your average fayre for horror stories so this little tale is a nice change.  Schow, who has been acclaimed to have created the Splatter Punk sub-genre, does a good job of interweaving dark humour.  However, be aware that there really isn't much splatter in this story.  That doesn't really detract from it's telling or your enjoyment of it.  In the blurb before the story, we're informed that Schow wrote the story as a homage to EC Comics.  I must confess that, at times, I could actually see the artwork and the frames in the comics pages.

Murgunstrumm

8 out of 10

I had never heard of Hugh B Cave before reading this novella and I am ashamed of that.  I thought I was up on my horror and dark fiction writers but sadly I have missed Cave.  This is a brilliant tale of love and insanity.  I have never been one for the Gothic as I find it a little too romantically inclined with not enough weird.  However, they way Cave attacks and structures this story and his skill at painting visions in my mind hooked me in right from the start and had me read the story in one sitting.  I now have a desire to hunt out more of Cave's work...  I believe it will be well worth it.

The Late Shift

5 out of 10

If you thought that death was the end of your boring work routine then Etchison has you thinking again with this dark little tale, as he asks the question of what happens between the time you die and the moment you are laid to rest?  This for me isn't the strongest story in the collection as I'm not too keen on Etchison's style (but that's just me) and the story concept for me was a little weak... and there's not a lot of terror in the piece. 

The Horse Lord

6 out of 10

I do like Lisa Tuttle and this short story about a malignant spirit is no exception.  Though the story is dark and does worm it's way under your skin it's the build to the climax that lets the story down as it feels rushed when compared to the rest of the tale.  For me a slow burn and creepy atmosphere would have been better and kept in style with the story; though it is still worth a read or two.

The Jumpity Jim

5 out of 10

This is the type of Gothic horror that I'm not too keen on.  There's love, romance, and lots of hints at strange things.  Then when the horror finally shows itself... well it just wasn't that horrific - especially when Hayes was building it up to be one of the worst entities ever born.  Hayes does a good job with the writing and the pace flows well enough to keep the reader going, it's just a shame that he goes for a standard ending.

Out Of Copyright

7 out of 10

Campbell, for me, is one of the great horror and dark fantasy writers of our time.  I really did love this little revenge tale of an unscrupulous editor who uses out of copyright stories for his anthologies so he doesn't have to pay the writer - and it also gives him the privilege of altering the narrative to suit his needs.  The twist is nice and well thought out.

The River Of Nights Dreaming

8 out of 10

This is a strange little nightmare of a story depicting the fall of a female prisoner into the abyss after an accident allows her to escape.  If you like strange and weird, peppered with a little sex, then this could be your cup of tea.  There is one brilliantly written sequence where her mind starts to crack and realities and dreams merge, mix, and rip apart.  I have never read anything so convincing; a brilliant job by Wagner and makes the story worth the read it itself.

Amber Print

7 out of 10

This story of movie collectors spoke to my heart.  I love film and I love the film this tale is based around - The Cabinet Of Dr Calgari.  Copper magnificently weaves his dark tale around the film and gives the reader a new insight that will chill the bones.  If you, like myself, have a good imagination then this will have you thinking of movies in a different way...

The House Of The Temple

7 out of 10

Being a fan of Lovecraft's it's always nice to read other author's stories based upon his mythos.  Lumley does a great job creating a dark and oppressive atmosphere in which to set his tale.  I have to admit that I also like his "Monster" as it's not one of the Old Gods, which is a nice twist in itself.  Well worth a read, even if you're not a fan of Cthulhu.

The Yougoslaves

9 out of 10

This is one well thought out and structured short story and easily shows why Bloch is a master of his craft.  It also has some of the most believable characters, situations, and outcomes, in the compilation.  Though there is no gore in the story, it is easily the darkest and most unnerving tale so far - and still, if not more-so, relevant today.  For me, this is the one to read.

First Born

7 out of 10

The Little Shop Of Horrors meets One Born Every Minute - this is a slightly humorous dark tale of a bored, newly-retired, successful businessman with a hobby and a dream.  Unfortunately for his surviving relatives, he needs their help to reach the next step in his experiments.

The Black Drama

8 out of 10

This is a short novella that is based on Lord Byron's lost vampyric tale Ruthven.  What Wellman gives the reader is a very clever story based on Urban Legend and blood-sucking mythos.  The twist isn't exactly a surprise as I'd figured it out quite early in the tale, though the writing is splendid and Wellman can really create a believable and creepy world and atmosphere.

Crystal

6 out of 10

I am a great fan of Grant's though I have to say that even though this has a great idea it isn't one of Grant's better-written works... and loses a lot as it's missing his eerie atmosphere which is usually present in his works.

Buckets

9 out of 10

This IS my favourite tale in the compilation.  It's the still controversial subject matter which I loved the most.  That and I really do love a great Halloween story - and this is great.  Though if you're not into graphic detail then this may not be for you.

The Satyr's Head

7 out of 10

This is a strange and weird sexual horror story based on mythology.  Though it's well written and structured it does seem to be lacking in some elements.  I think the story would have been stronger had Riley added a little more sensuality to the storyline.  However, it is still an enjoyable read as it stands.  Riley was looking at turning this tale into a novel - I will try and find the book and see how the story has been expanded.

Junk

8 out of 10

Ever since I came across Ghost Train, The Wyrm, and Spectre in a secondhand bookshop while on holiday on the Isle of Wight I have been a fan and avid reader of Laws.  I would highly recommend horror fans to check him out if you haven't done so already.  In this short we are introduced to a stranger, who may be more than he first appears, that has an interest in used car parts...  The only trouble for the owner of the junkyard is that the parts have some dark "conditions" attached to them.  This could be a nice little opener for a bigger and nastier tale.

Pig's Dinner

6 out of 10

Claiming to be the most gruesome story in the collection I have to say it falls short of that title, as both Yougoslaves and Buckets left me more grossed-out and chilled.  Though the gore is there it's missing atmosphere... to be honest, it would have been difficult to add a creepiness.  I do like the dark humour that Masterton infuses into his writing, though I would have liked a little more of everything as the story is pretty much over before it's begun.  This could be because it's one of the shortest tales in the collection.

Movie Review - Knucklebones

Knucklebones

2016

The Cast

I am unsure as to what this movie is trying to be as it takes in a few of the horror subgenres, including Nazi Splatterpunk, Supernatural Slasher, and Laugh While You Kill... the trouble is it just feels too sycophantic and pompous.

The idea of Knucklebones is a great idea; I've always been a sucker for Daemons.  Like all Daemons he has to be summoned into our world this is done in the form of an ancient Sumerian Incantation - this was one of my biggest irks of the whole film since it appears that everybody can read and write Sumerian (I know it's one of my favourite dead languages!) - and the casting of severed and fleshless metacarpals into a pentagram.  Though, the best bit of the summoning is Knucklebones's arrival as he literally rips his way into the world through one of the summoners.  Plenty of bones tearing through flesh.

However, it's the rest of the story which kills the film, as well as the "Thirty-Something" teens and their mediocre acting skills.  At the start of the movie we have a group of Nazis conducting an experiment on a topless blonde, this is just to show the audience the evil Germans connection to the Daemon.  Then we move to the USA in the '70's where something or somebody is killing the nightshift at a clothing manufacturer.  Finally, we end up in present day and though we've been shown the connection the audience is then told of the connection in a little more detail making the two opening sequences redundant and pointless.  I do hate a waste of time when it could have been used to better assist the story or help to create better killings.

Then there's Knucklebones himself who appears to be Freddy Krueger minus skin - the gruff voice and dark humour one-liners are very reminiscent of good ol' Fred and that is a shame; with a little more work he could have had his own character.  At least his look is pretty good.  I did like the skull with tattered flesh hanging loose, though at the time you could tell it was a rubber mask.  This could have been handled better with a different camera angle and moodier lighting.  One thing in the film's favour is the lighting as the director doesn't rely on darkness to try and scare you.  He makes sure you can see everything - this I appreciate greatly, I am not a fan of too-dark-to-see movies.

Apart from a couple of times with the bad guys mask the special effects are okay.  Though you've probably seen similar done better they are pretty good for a low budget flick.

This is not a brilliant film and it teeters on being poor to average but I would recommend it for horror lovers as there are a few good ideas and scenes in the film.  However, if you're thinking of getting into the genre then do yourself a favour and watch the original Nightmare On Elm Street films (but only up to part five) - then when you've caught up with all the good stuff out there, then give this a go - just to satisfy your dark cravings.

I give this a weak and below average 3.75 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - The Haunting Of Briar House

The Haunting Of Briar House

AKA:  The Unspoken

2015

The Cast

There's something wrong with the house in the woods down on Briar Lane.  Years after a family disappears from the house in the '70's the boards are being pried off the windows and the doors are being unlocked as a new tenant is moving in.  A young mother, Jeanie (Hutton), and her mute son have escaped the city and their traumas there.  After his father passed away Adrian stopped speaking and hopefully, the change of pace and scenery will help him out of this fugue.  With them comes a nurse and housekeeper, Portia (Rukiya Bernard), and from the town, they hire Angela (Ferland), a part-time confidant for Adrian.  However, no sooner than they've opened the doors to the house that strange things begin to happen.

I really do like this new and refreshingly well thought out take on the Haunted House subgenre of horror.  The story is well structured and full of interesting characters.  However, it would have been nice to have a few more scenes between Father and Daughter in respect to Angela's character as this would not only have strengthened and filled her out more but would have added a better depth to the story.  It also would have added more power to climax when Angela's dad (Munro) comes to save her.

The director does a wonderful job of creating the scene of a town/village which has seen better days.  This is great as it adds to the believability and reality of the story.  People have problems and they are doing their best to survive... everything isn't rosy.  I also have to give credit for the opening sequence which throws the audience straight into the action and sets the scene, pace, and atmosphere for the rest of the movie.

With all the horror films out and about that stomp over well-worn scenarios, it's refreshing to have a twist. It's also nice to have a decent director filming - all too often the direction itself is one of the major things to harm a film (contrary to belief not everyone can make a good horror film).

As for the acting, it's well above par and the portrayals only add to the power of the film.  One of the best is Adrian (Suljic), though he doesn't say a word, he definitely has a presence throughout the whole film.

I would recommend this to all lovers of the horror genre and to those wishing to try something out of the field.  It's not the best but it's a great deal better than most in the genre and well worth a viewing... or two...

I give this fear flick a head-scratching and nerve-jangling 7.25 out of 10.

The Trailer