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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
“People only board up houses they want to protect.”
“Burn the Negative” began with a solid premise: think a nostalgia soaked 90s era slasher flick, complete with winks and nods to the greats that came before (also an odd amount of Winona Ryder mentions that after the 4th or 5th time don’t really add much to the plot or character development, but, I digress.) Tack on a hopalong pace, a few “ooooh” inducing reveals, a decently scary bad guy, and you woulda coulda shoulda had a whopper.
The story and characters were undeniably inconsistent. Hard to get a read on dependability when their behavior changed and conflicted every other chapter. I had the thought that this reached for the fun and flirty “Scream” (1996) vibe but fell short and became more cringe than camp. Too much homage can start to feel cheap, fast. Plot was a bit all over the place, as if it was figuring out what it wanted to be as it was happening.
3/5 Winning knows his stuff, his enthusiasm is obvious, but the delivery fell just short of what I’d expected from the hype.
“Burn the Negative” began with a solid premise: think a nostalgia soaked 90s era slasher flick, complete with winks and nods to the greats that came before (also an odd amount of Winona Ryder mentions that after the 4th or 5th time don’t really add much to the plot or character development, but, I digress.) Tack on a hopalong pace, a few “ooooh” inducing reveals, a decently scary bad guy, and you woulda coulda shoulda had a whopper.
The story and characters were undeniably inconsistent. Hard to get a read on dependability when their behavior changed and conflicted every other chapter. I had the thought that this reached for the fun and flirty “Scream” (1996) vibe but fell short and became more cringe than camp. Too much homage can start to feel cheap, fast. Plot was a bit all over the place, as if it was figuring out what it wanted to be as it was happening.
3/5 Winning knows his stuff, his enthusiasm is obvious, but the delivery fell just short of what I’d expected from the hype.
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:
No
Looks like everyone is divided on this one, but I am debating on giving it 4.5⭐️! I loved this. The action starts at the very beginning. We’re getting creepy stuff, cursed film, the Needleman, child star trauma, spooky cursed deaths, and so much more with this one. It takes a lot for me to get even slightly creeped out by a book, and I did with this one!!
This is action packed with quite a few twists and horror movie lore. My only real critique is that it is a little cliche at parts near the ending, but I was still pleasantly surprised when we found out what was happening. Absolutely loved the very end!! It left me so satisfied.
This is action packed with quite a few twists and horror movie lore. My only real critique is that it is a little cliche at parts near the ending, but I was still pleasantly surprised when we found out what was happening. Absolutely loved the very end!! It left me so satisfied.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So this is probably closer to a 3.5 or 3.75 but!! I had fun with this! I think the best descriptor for this book is that it was very cinematic? Not just in terms of the focus on Hollywood and the film industry, but the whole book chugged along with the same beats and feel of a big budget, well written supernatural horror film.
And again!! I had fun! Some of the deaths felt wildly rushed/skipped over in it, which is a weird thing to say, but it feels like the book kind of pushed past them to get to the next plot twist, but the anticipation of them was great! I also loved the epistolary/found items bits between chapters that added more texture to the world, it reminded me of how they were used in Final Girl Support Group, and it was so effective for setting up world and atmosphere.
I also loved the ending, in that, like I said earlier, it's a tried and true horror ending that works really effectively and just... Isn't a surprising twist but still is fun. Also it's interesting to have a book that discusses how the film industry is literally a horror show for child actors, and the way that that pain lingers!! Generally a fun horror novel, if not revolutionary!!
So this is probably closer to a 3.5 or 3.75 but!! I had fun with this! I think the best descriptor for this book is that it was very cinematic? Not just in terms of the focus on Hollywood and the film industry, but the whole book chugged along with the same beats and feel of a big budget, well written supernatural horror film.
And again!! I had fun! Some of the deaths felt wildly rushed/skipped over in it, which is a weird thing to say, but it feels like the book kind of pushed past them to get to the next plot twist, but the anticipation of them was great! I also loved the epistolary/found items bits between chapters that added more texture to the world, it reminded me of how they were used in Final Girl Support Group, and it was so effective for setting up world and atmosphere.
I also loved the ending, in that, like I said earlier, it's a tried and true horror ending that works really effectively and just... Isn't a surprising twist but still is fun. Also it's interesting to have a book that discusses how the film industry is literally a horror show for child actors, and the way that that pain lingers!! Generally a fun horror novel, if not revolutionary!!
Good premise, bad execution. I didn’t love the characterization; it constantly confused me. And the ending completely ruined the book for me. Listened to the audiobook with my mom on a car ride and we were both confused about how the rest of the book lead up to the last part
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated