Scan barcode
A review by thoroughlymodernreviewer
Horror Movie: A Novel by Paul Tremblay
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
In Horror Movie, Paul Tremblay writes both a love letter to and a condemnation of the art of low-budget, gritty horror filmmaking. Narrated by the lone survivor of the original film, Horror Movie recounts the tragic making of a low-budget horror film, alongside the filming of its Hollywood remake some thirty years later. Jumping back and forth in time between the two productions while also reproducing the original film’s script, Horror Movie paints a picture of a ragtag group of dedicated young filmmakers committed to making their movie a reality no matter the cost. All at once horrific, heartbreaking, and even a bit damning, Horror Movieis a read unlike many others.
It takes a bit of time to get used to the book’s structure, but Tremblay makes it as easy as possible. The whole book plays out more like a mystery novel than an out-and-out horror book. Going in, all you really know is that somethinghappened on the set of this low-budget horror film in the nineties, something so horrific that it resulted in the nearly-finished film going wholly unseen until portions of it leaked onto the internet decades later. And throughout the book, as the narrator compares and contrasts the productions of the original film and its remake, you get this overwhelming sense of dread, this creeping fear of what’s gonna happen when the shoe drops and you understand all of the novel’s seemingly disparate pieces.
For the most part, it’s a deeply compulsive read. Not necessarily fast-paced, but wholly engrossing nonetheless, and a quick read overall. The script excerpts help tie together the past and present storylines. And, for added authenticity, the script reads intentionally pretentiously; the kind of horror movie that would probably win numerous awards at film festivals but baffle a more general audience. You gotta appreciate the commitment to the bit if nothing else.
Unfortunately, despite how good the vast majority of the book is, Horror Movie stumbles right at the finish line. Without going into any spoilers, the ending feels both predictable and woefully underexplored and unexplained. It’s shocking, but not necessarily in a good or satisfying way. Thematically relevant, perhaps, but almost certainly polarizing.
And that’s gonna be true for the book as a whole. Mostly, Horror Movie tells an endlessly compulsive, skin-crawlingly eerie story. It’s a total love letter to the art of indie filmmaking while also ruthlessly critiquing the culture that supports dangerous corner-cutting. It’s a gripping, emotional, scary story that’s well worth a read - even if the ending is a bit disappointing.
Disclaimer: a review copy of Horror Movie was provided by the publisher and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own.
It takes a bit of time to get used to the book’s structure, but Tremblay makes it as easy as possible. The whole book plays out more like a mystery novel than an out-and-out horror book. Going in, all you really know is that somethinghappened on the set of this low-budget horror film in the nineties, something so horrific that it resulted in the nearly-finished film going wholly unseen until portions of it leaked onto the internet decades later. And throughout the book, as the narrator compares and contrasts the productions of the original film and its remake, you get this overwhelming sense of dread, this creeping fear of what’s gonna happen when the shoe drops and you understand all of the novel’s seemingly disparate pieces.
For the most part, it’s a deeply compulsive read. Not necessarily fast-paced, but wholly engrossing nonetheless, and a quick read overall. The script excerpts help tie together the past and present storylines. And, for added authenticity, the script reads intentionally pretentiously; the kind of horror movie that would probably win numerous awards at film festivals but baffle a more general audience. You gotta appreciate the commitment to the bit if nothing else.
Unfortunately, despite how good the vast majority of the book is, Horror Movie stumbles right at the finish line. Without going into any spoilers, the ending feels both predictable and woefully underexplored and unexplained. It’s shocking, but not necessarily in a good or satisfying way. Thematically relevant, perhaps, but almost certainly polarizing.
And that’s gonna be true for the book as a whole. Mostly, Horror Movie tells an endlessly compulsive, skin-crawlingly eerie story. It’s a total love letter to the art of indie filmmaking while also ruthlessly critiquing the culture that supports dangerous corner-cutting. It’s a gripping, emotional, scary story that’s well worth a read - even if the ending is a bit disappointing.
Disclaimer: a review copy of Horror Movie was provided by the publisher and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own.