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 - Asylum

Asylum

1972

Production Companies:  Amicus Productions & Harbour Productions Limited.

The first thing which should draw you to this little horror flick is its writer... Robert Bloch, the man who penned Psycho - that in itself should have you excited.  I had totally forgotten he'd written this anthology, so it brought a massive smile to my face when I saw it in the credits.  Another plus for this movie is the great cast.  I didn't know of any of the director's other work, but after watching this film I would be very happy to watch anything else he may have directed.

Bloch's stories are strong and teeter on the edge of sanity and the paranormal.  Both he and Baker do an excellent job of using the fifth story to tie all the others together.  Dr Martin arrives at Dunsmoor Asylum to start work only to find Dr Rutherford is standing in for Dr Starr, who appears to have suffered a mental breakdown.  Dr Starr has been moved upstairs to be confined with patients of a similar malady.  So Rutherford sets out to test Martin by challenging him to talk to the patients on the ward and to diagnose which one is Dr Starr.  Once on the ward, we are introduced to the inmates and their delusions.

The first tells of a married man who's having an affair.  However, when his wife informs him that she'll never let him go he has to take extreme measures... though she has some ideas of her own on the matter.  Tale two tells of a struggling tailor about to lose his business.  Needing a quick influx of cash he takes on the job of creating a suit for a stranger, out of some strange material...  Story three is of a sister returning to her family home after a stay in a hospital.  Upon her return, her best friend starts to weave doubts into her mind over what her brother and the nurse are really after.  Can she be telling the truth or does she have an ulterior motive?  Story four is about Dr Byron and his creations.  At the moment they are just effigies of his former colleges, though he has a plan to bring them to life...

Each story is acted superbly by its cast (I found nothing bad about any of the performers or their portrayals) and are beautifully filmed.  There are some wonderful camera shots, not too outlandish but very subtle that you don't notice them.  For example, when Martin enters the Asylum he is met by a nurse.  The camera follows behind her slowly.  Once they are acquainted they turn down a hallway and the camera pans with them.  As they stand outside Rutherford's door they are just silhouettes.  The camera work is so steady and smooth.  In today's film, it'd be jerky - to give it a "realistic" feel - and they would more than likely stay with them or have quick cuts from hallway to outside the door.  I know which I prefer.  Baker does a good job of using not only the camera work but lighting and sound to create atmosphere.  In the first story, where there's a little action, he creates a creepiness though with an exciting sting to it.  For the second story, Baker ups the eerieness element to unnerve the audience.

The only reason it didn't get full marks is that I am marking by today's standards, which means that some of the special effects let it down a little.  I've never been one for the "Stuffed attacking beast" or "decapitated body part" attacking scenes - I've always known it's nothing more than the actor holding a prop.  As a viewer I want to lose myself in the story, incidents like these just bring me out of that story a little... usually with a giggle.  This hurts the film and the enjoyment of it because you're meant to be scared - not amused.  That said, some of the other effects are top notch.  Loved the dolls internal organs and the mirror scene was pretty much perfect.

I would recommend this film to every horror fan out there as this is how it should be done.  Though it isn't perfect I would still watch this over a lot of the "so-called" horror of today.  Well worth a watch and well worth keeping.

Movie Review - XX

XX

(2017)

Snowfort Pictures / Scythia Films / XYZ Films : Magnet Realeasing

6.25 / 10

This is a wonderful concept four stories directed by four women - and in that respect, much kudos for the poster artwork, sexy Lip-Skull-Kiss.

I'll break this down into the four short films, but let me say that the Dark Fantasy, stop-motion, animation segue's that tie the stories together is superb and quite haunting, in its own right.

The Box - Penned by Jack Ketchum is the best film of the four.  Jovanka Vuckovic wrote the screenplay as well as directing the film.  She does a good job of bringing a tenseness to the whole tale of a family going through a mysterious trauma after her son looks into an ambiguous present a stranger is holding, on his lap, on the subway train.  From that moment on he stops eating.

Vuckovic did a good job of casting as all the actors and actresses in the story do a commendable job of portraying their characters, along with their feelings.  Jonathon Watton is especially believable as the dad, Robert Jacobs, who is scared, angry, worried, and concerned for the safety and future of his son.  Whereas his wife, Susan Jacobs, suitable portrayed by Natalie Brown, distances herself from the happenings and troubles in her family... until it's too late.  Though one of best characterisations comes from Michael Dyson who is brilliant as the man on the train with the mysterious present; right from the moment he turns his head to look at the boy, you know this isn't going to end well.  There's something dark and ominous about the man in the black fedora.

Liked this film a lot and though you never know what's in the box... I really don't want to find out.

The Box - 8/10

The Birthday Party - This segment was written and directed by St. Vincent (AKA Annie Clark).  For me, this is the weakest of the four stories and isn't even a horror story.  What you have in this little story is a poor relative to "A Weekend At Bernie's", without the dark humour.  A rich woman wakes up in her big house and is getting the place ready for her daughters birthday when she stumbles across the dead body of her husband, who she thought had been out all night.  Instead of calling the police she decides to hide the body from their daughter and the nanny.  What's worse is that if you didn't actually get the joke, Clark decides to literally spell it out to the audience in the way of a two-part chapter heading- this is when my heart sank even further.  I won't even mention the characters except that a more unbelievable cast I have never seen.

The Birthday Party - 1/10

Don't Fall - This is a strange title for the story as it has nothing to do with falling.  What writer and director Roxanne Benjamin gives you is an action tale of possession.  While out hiking, four friends come across a strange petroglyph on a rock.  That evening one of their group goes missing...  The bad thing about this story is there's no atmosphere, no feeling of terror or horror that something supernatural is occurring.  There was plenty of instances within the story where Benjamin could have created tension but no she went for all out action.  This was a waste of a story - it could have been so much more.  The acting was average and the actresses who played Gretchen, Breeda Wool, made her too irritating. 

Don't Fall - 5/10

Her Only Living Son - Karyn Kusama is the writer and director of this bright tale of darkness.  I liked the fact she tells most of this story about a boy's eighteenth birthday and his right-of-passage into more than just manhood out of the shadows of night and in the brightness daylight.  This is a difficult thing to do as horror and tension lead itself to darker arenas.   It's the strangeness of the characters and their actions, as well as some situations, that give the feeling something isn't quite right in this town.  I would have liked a little more tension and oppressive feeling, given the ending and the reveal, but on the whole, Kusama does a good job.  The characters are believable, I particularly liked the postman, Chet, portrayed well by Mike Doyle.

Her Only Living Son - 6.5/10

I would recommend this film for The Box and the segue, though only to die hard horror fans that can sit through the bad bits.