Tracking the Fortunes of the New Friday the 13th
It’s the week of February 13, 2009 and the hotly promoted FRIDAY THE 13th remake has opened number one at the U.S. box office.
The Strange Saga of the Exorcist Sequels
1973’s THE EXORCIST remains one of the most successful and enduring horror movies of all time yet, Hollywood being as it is, multiple sequels were an inevitability.
LEGION
This is the official sequel to THE EXORCIST (the novel) written by its creator William Peter Blatty. Most of the things that made THE EXORCIST such a memorable read are in evidence in LEGION, including page-turning suspense, strong characterizations and a powerful sense of raging evil.
ESCAPE FROM HELL (Book)
That book remains an invigorating jaunt through Dante’s Inferno, with the deceased science fiction writer Allen Carpenter traversing the nine circles of Hell.
HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
The nuttiest of the HALLOWEEN sequels, a Michael Myers-less something-or-other involving computers, Stonehenge, androids and deadly masks.
HALLOWEEN II
This is the original HALLOWEEN II, not the inexcusable Rob Zombie one—even though this one’s pretty rotten, as its co-writer/producer John Carpenter admits.
HALLOWEEN
One of the most iconic horror films of all time, and the most famous ever made by John Carpenter.
DOG BLOOD
David Moody’s HATER was one of the 2009’s most vital and arresting genre novels. DOG BLOOD is the long-awaited follow-up, and the middle book of a projected trilogy. As such it bears the problems of most middle books/films, namely that it functions as a bridge between the first and last parts, and so isn’t entirely satisfying as a stand-alone story. Nevertheless, it definitely has its moments.
DEAD CALM
The most famous novel by the legendary pulp fiction maestro Charles Williams (1909-75), a horrific suspense thriller par excellence. Few authors could match Williams when he was at his most inspired, and DEAD CALM was such an occasion. Many deem it his finest work.
AUTHORITY
The second book in Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, and a novel that follows the standard etiquette of most middle entries in a trilogy, from THE TWO TOWERS to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK