A to Z Challenge. Letter M.

And with letter M we have...

Movie.

Martyrs (2008)
Directed by Pascal Laugier

Plot: Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embarks on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse, she quickly descends into madness and her own delusions. Anna, left on her own, begins to re-experience what Lucie did when she was only twelve years old.

Review: A warning for all interested in this canadian jewel; the movie is part of the extreme violent and bloody slasher movement. I wouldn't categorize it with the rest of the Torture Porn movies (Hostel anyone?) simply because there is a deep, profound story and a reason for the violence. The movie attempts, and succeeds in my opinion, to show the deep emotional pain and scars that torture/abuse leaves. It is a harrowing story that somehow manages to have a somewhat uplifting ending. This is not for the faint hearted but definitively interesting and thought-provoking.

Book.

Midnight by Dean Koontz.
Published by Berkley in 1989.

Blurb: Four people are the last hope of Moonlight Cove because one by one the rest of the citizens are changing into boogymen, werewolves, mythical creatures, or something entirely new. They are the New People; the willing victims of a seductive experiment in chemically induced evolution. They can transform their bodies at will and eliminate unproductive emotions, like grief and compassion. In fact, the only instinct left to the New People is self-preservation, and their only emotion is fear. And they want the rest of humanity to join them.

Review: After a very gory, crude recommendation, I have something lighter and entertaining for you. "Midnight" is set in a small town in Northern California, where an experiment is transforming humans and a small group of survivors, along with an FBI agent, band together to respond to the horror. There is a pervasive sense of eerieness throughout the story and although the book is not without violence, it is not stomach-churning. True to his style, Koontz generates suspense and terror more through implication than explicit description, so fret not my squeamish friends. Also, as usual with Koontz, the book reads more like a mystery with a supernatural twist. "Midnight" was a Bram Stoker nominee in 1990.


Now a little extra.
For those who asked me to include Lovecraft in the list I give you At the Mountains of Madness.
Published in Outstanding Stories Magazine in 1936.

Blurb: A novella, At the Mountains of Madness is a tale of terror unilke any other. The Barren, windswept interior of the Antarctic plateau was lifeless--or so the expedition from Miskatonic University thought. Then they found the strange fossils of unheard-of creatures and the carved stones tens of millions of years old--and, finally, the mind-blasting terror of the City of the Old Ones. 

Review: This is one of my favorite Lovecraft stories, mostly because I read it in my youth and got me so stoked I read everything with his name on the cover that came my way. I couldn't stop thinking about the Necronomicon for months. I actually believed it to be a real satanic book and searched sea and earth to find a copy. Back then there was no internet to tell me my search was futile because the book existed only in the brilliant mind of the author. My heart broke when I found out. =(

A to Z Challenge. B...

Day 2 and time for B recommendations...

Movie.

Borderland (2007)

Directed by Zev Berman.

Plot: Loosely based on a case occurred on 1989 in a northern Mexican town close to the American border where a group of drug dealers killed at least twenty people for the sole purpose of using their bodies in satanic rituals. When they kidnapped and killed Mark Kirloy, a student who disappeared in march 1989 during spring break, the story became so big, it lead to the capture of their leader and dismantlement of the group. In the movie three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry, take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers.


Review: Though the movie does not depict the real turn of events, it follows the line our imagination goes when one reads about a group of drug smugglers and satanists killing people to offer them to the devil in exchange for power and money. The movie is very disturbing. There is no paranormal monster anywhere, no ghosts, nor any cameo from demons of any kind. The evil in the movie comes totally as courtesy of the humans committing despicable acts of violence with the possible excuse of being crazy. In that sense this film works perfectly as the viewer can perceive the frail mental state of the one calling the shots, as the desperation of the young group of friends trying to escape the unbelievable situation they put themselves into. This movie is not for everyone but let me assure you, it will scare you silly.


Book.


I just couldn't make my mind, so I will point to two amazing books that every lover or horror has to read.


1. Books of Blood by Clive Barker.
    Published in 1985 by Berkley Books.


Blurb: There are six books in total, each simply subtitled Volume 1 through to Volume 6, and were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Each volume contains four or five stories. With the publication of the first volume, Barker became an overnight sensation, hailed by Stephen King as "the future of horror". The book won both the British and the World Fantasy Awards. Several of the stories have been adapted into movies, "Rawhead Rex" (1986); "Candyman" (based on "The Forbidden" in 1992); "Lord of Illusions" (Based on "The Last Illusion"in); "Quicksilver Highway" (based on "The Body Politic" in 1997); "The Midnight Meat Train" (2008); "The Book of Blood" (in 2008, which combined "Book Of Blood" and "On Jerusalem Street"), and "Dread" (2009).


Review: This is another book that's waiting for me atop my huge pile of TBR but it doesn't matter where you read about it, it has nothing but four and five stars, and with so many amazing movies being based on these stories, one can't wait to jump at the chance of holding in one's hands a piece of contemporary horror history.




2. Best Ghosts Stories by Algernon Blackwood.
    Published in 1973 by Dover Publications.


Blurb: "If a ghost is seen, what is it interests me less than than what sees it?" Thus Algernon Blackwood describes his fascination with human beings' ability to sense invisible powers and stirrings in the universe, a fascination he developed most famously in his stories about mystical, ineffable encounters with nature. This collection, selected by renowned scholar of the supernatural, E. F. Bleiler, is an excellent sample of Blackwood's work, including 12 of his best ghost stories and a crime story as well. Blackwood is acknowledged today as the author who made the ghost story into a respectable literary form.


Review: Sadly, Algernon Blackwood is a name most of us haven't heard at all. He definitively set the groundwork that made the horror genre what it is today and his stories should be a must for every self-respecting horror buff. Now, don't expect blood and gore, these stories are the complete opposite of Clive Barker's in that they are subtle, quiet, and atmospheric but nonetheless eerie. Algernon Blackwood presents a good opportunity for those who are not used to or do not enjoy extremely frightening reading, however they will stay with you for a long time.


Hope you enjoy today's selections! Keep the comments and suggestions coming, I'll do my best to accommodate them all. Have a great B-Day and remember to keep hopping!!

The A to Z Challenge's Here. A...

I can't believe how fast the years is going, already April!! And what a month it will be. My first A to Z Challenge ever. So, my plan is simple, I write mostly horror and I love the genre so I'll share with you a movie and a book based on the letter of the day. Now, I'll try to stay away from the classic movies and books that show up on every list. The idea is to help those of you interested in the genre to find a few new pieces you might haven't come across before. Please, do share your own favorites as I'm always looking for things to read and watch.


Here. We. Go. (drum roll, please)...

LETTER A

Movie.


The Abandoned (2006)
Director: Nacho Cerda
Country: Spain/UK/Bulgaria



Blurb: An American woman searching for her birth parents learns she has inherited a house in the middle of a forest in a remote area of Russia. It is the house where she was born. Abandoned and uninhabited for 40 years, it stands in total disrepair and neglect. What she finds is more than an old house. She meets a mysterious man who claims to be her brother, a twin she never knew. Together they find the house holds secrets to a past they don't remember. Soon they are haunted by ghastly apparitions as they're forced to confront a tragic family secret and a destiny they cannot escape.


Review: This movie is beautifully filmed, the photograph is amazing and eerie in such a way that I couldn't turn my head away from the TV even though I was thoroughly confused through most of the movie. The story is not linear, hence very confusing when watching it for the first time, however, mystery surrounds everything, the ghosts are so disturbing and incredibly scary, and then there's the pay off of a very intelligent ending. I promise you will be flabbergasted with the final twist. On second view, the story is clearly a lot more logic, though there are a few gaps that I couldn't really explain. But who cares, right? This is a movie completely off the traditional path, haunting, super creepy, intelligent, and well done. Definitively a must see for all horror lovers.


Book.


American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.
Published: 1991 by Vintage Books.

Blurb: Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.


Review: Though I haven't read this book, it has been highly recommended to me by several well trusted friends and connoisseurs of the genre. This book is, by all means, a modern classic that scares us because we have actually seen this kind of violence-for-no-reason type of people really exist. They are well adapted and can very well live in that pretty blue house next to yours. You'd never know it until he's killed you or the police knocks on your door to ask for what you might have seen over the past decade. What can be scarier than that?


Well, there you go. I hope you liked this recommendations, can't wait to read your thoughts. And remember to keep hopping!