Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

59 reviews

bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A surreally terrifying and original story. Just thinking about the premise of a rotting witch popping up randomly in my house gives me the chills, and the exploration of the prosaic ways in which a small XXI century town would deal with an ancient mystical curse like this is very unique and interesting. The creepy atmosphere of Stephen King-esque small town gothic (King is a big influence in general) escalates and the tension rises, but unfortunately it all falls apart in lazy shock horror and hamfisted moralizing.

The amazing concept is also pretty heavily dragged down by the book's "dudebro-isms": the almost fetishistic amounts of gendered violence used for horror, the mean-spirited portrayal of small town folks as bloodthirsty Bible-thumping idiots, and the entire character of Robert Grim, the epitome of "Reddit cool". Sometimes even the language of the writing slips into these cringy tropes, which makes the big sweeping declarations about the evils of humanity and mass hysteria feel even more adolescent.

This all makes it sound like I didn't like the book, which is not true. It's an incredibly spooky and engaging read and I'd still definitely recommend it to horror fans everywhere. I'm just kinda pissed about the ending still ;-;

(Also the setting should've stayed Beek in the English version, WHERE IS THE DUTCH HORROR REP)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gore

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

whirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence

alexandraloveee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

sare1125's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Torture

pearljanecatmama's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Death

Minor: Body horror

silvermis99's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

finneasty's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Blood, and Grief

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

an absurd amount of nipple in this book and I assure you, it isn’t in a fun sexy way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol

There isn’t a tag for the f slur but it is used a handful of times.

acorn192k's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thomas Olde Heuvelt stop talking about nipples challenge. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

jilly_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I DEVOURED this book. I rarely get this enthusiastic about new horror and this was just *chef’s kiss* perfection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Abortion, and Death of parent