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snowwhitehatesapples 's review for:
Strange Houses
by Uketsu
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Also on Snow White Hates Apples.
What would you do if you just so happen to be an author and an expert of sorts in the occult, and your friend, who plans on buying a home, casually asks you if you have a look at the floor plan to see if anything’s up? Would you take a look as per your friend’s wishes and forget about it after? Or, would you delve in as deep as possible?
In the case of the author in Strange Houses , he reaches out to a draughtsman acquaintance who loves horror and mystery stories. Together, they spiral into conspiracy theories based on architectural oddities and somehow, land on a serial killer’s actual trail and unravel a bunch of secrets and solve mysteries.
Which makes it sound just like the best kind of mind-boggling fun time I was looking for since I was chasing after a thrill like the one Strange Pictures gave me. Alas, Strange Houses didn’t deliver the same level of impact as Strange Pictures did.
Sure, it was still mind-boggling in its own way, but the execution of the story is too passive. Events are recounted in matter-of-fact dialogue, and characters are no more than puppets. If not for the fast-moving plot, interactive elements and convoluted mystery, it would’ve been hard to remain invested in the story. Though I have heard that Strange Houses is meant to read like an urban legend on the internet, I believe a more active way of telling the story would’ve done the book more justice. The eerie premise could’ve come to life and been allowed to stick to the mind like a terrifying nightmare.
What would you do if you just so happen to be an author and an expert of sorts in the occult, and your friend, who plans on buying a home, casually asks you if you have a look at the floor plan to see if anything’s up? Would you take a look as per your friend’s wishes and forget about it after? Or, would you delve in as deep as possible?
In the case of the author in Strange Houses , he reaches out to a draughtsman acquaintance who loves horror and mystery stories. Together, they spiral into conspiracy theories based on architectural oddities and somehow, land on a serial killer’s actual trail and unravel a bunch of secrets and solve mysteries.
Which makes it sound just like the best kind of mind-boggling fun time I was looking for since I was chasing after a thrill like the one Strange Pictures gave me. Alas, Strange Houses didn’t deliver the same level of impact as Strange Pictures did.
Sure, it was still mind-boggling in its own way, but the execution of the story is too passive. Events are recounted in matter-of-fact dialogue, and characters are no more than puppets. If not for the fast-moving plot, interactive elements and convoluted mystery, it would’ve been hard to remain invested in the story. Though I have heard that Strange Houses is meant to read like an urban legend on the internet, I believe a more active way of telling the story would’ve done the book more justice. The eerie premise could’ve come to life and been allowed to stick to the mind like a terrifying nightmare.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Murder
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting