Take a photo of a barcode or cover
beillumined 's review for:
Danse Macabre
by Stephen King
I don't generally do well with non-fiction, but I decided to give this a go anyway because Stephen King always gets a pass. And obviously, it took me forever to trudge through.
Stephen, don't take it as an insult that you only got 3 stars, you're still my favorite.
"Danse Macabre" is really about the genre of Horror itself. And not just about writing horror, but also television and film. Obviously this subject interests me, if you know me. However, King's novel was published in 1981, the year I was born. So many of the works discussed in the book are ... well, irrelevant to our time period. Of course some were familiar, especially classic novels and movies. I found myself wondering what King would have to say about today's horror culture and how it has evolved in the past 33 years, especially in television and film (hey, Steve, how about a Danse Macabre sequel?)
So with that in mind, I did find myself feeling a little out of place. Or, out of time, really. A generational gap truly existed between myself and some of the topics. Which, I didn't hold against him. In fact, I'm pretty thrilled about the big list of movies I now plan to add to my Netflix queue.
But, some spots lagged, some spots bored, some spots... I don't even remember reading. I perked up here and there, maybe things I especially agreed with? Pages and quotes I purposely marked? But I had to force myself to sit down today and finish the ending.
But I will leave you with a couple quotes that really stuck out for me...
"And whenever I run into someone who expresses a feeling along the lines of, "I don't read fantasy or go to any of those movies; none of it's real," I feel a kind of sympathy. They simply can't lift the weight of fantasy. The muscles of the imagination have grown too weak."
"Omega, the horror film sings in those children's voices. Here is the end. Yet the ultimate subtext that underlies all good horror films is, But not yet. Not this time. Because in the final sense, the horror movie is the celebration of those who feel they can examine death because it does not yet live in their own hearts."
Stephen, don't take it as an insult that you only got 3 stars, you're still my favorite.
"Danse Macabre" is really about the genre of Horror itself. And not just about writing horror, but also television and film. Obviously this subject interests me, if you know me. However, King's novel was published in 1981, the year I was born. So many of the works discussed in the book are ... well, irrelevant to our time period. Of course some were familiar, especially classic novels and movies. I found myself wondering what King would have to say about today's horror culture and how it has evolved in the past 33 years, especially in television and film (hey, Steve, how about a Danse Macabre sequel?)
So with that in mind, I did find myself feeling a little out of place. Or, out of time, really. A generational gap truly existed between myself and some of the topics. Which, I didn't hold against him. In fact, I'm pretty thrilled about the big list of movies I now plan to add to my Netflix queue.
But, some spots lagged, some spots bored, some spots... I don't even remember reading. I perked up here and there, maybe things I especially agreed with? Pages and quotes I purposely marked? But I had to force myself to sit down today and finish the ending.
But I will leave you with a couple quotes that really stuck out for me...
"And whenever I run into someone who expresses a feeling along the lines of, "I don't read fantasy or go to any of those movies; none of it's real," I feel a kind of sympathy. They simply can't lift the weight of fantasy. The muscles of the imagination have grown too weak."
"Omega, the horror film sings in those children's voices. Here is the end. Yet the ultimate subtext that underlies all good horror films is, But not yet. Not this time. Because in the final sense, the horror movie is the celebration of those who feel they can examine death because it does not yet live in their own hearts."