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Horror Fuel

Face Book: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller by Paul Johnson-Jovanovic

Face Book: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller by PJ Jovanovic or Paul Johnson-Jovanovic caught my eye because for a short while I was on a serial killer spree. I’ve now added The Killer Net by Matthew W. Grant to my reading list, so evidently I’m on a bit of a “serial killers utilizing social media” kick. (Better than the Hell/Occult spree I’ve been on for the last few weeks! …and oddly more specific.) Book Description: A cast iron guarantee: you’ve never read anything like this. This novel is pedal to the floor, from start to finish. No lulls. To say that this novel is a page-turner is an understatement. Strap yourself in for a hell of a ride. Justice is about to be served and it’s going to chill you to your soul. This is what happens when social media goes wrong … Down on his luck, Jack Williams heads for the pub to get drunk. He’s lost his job,

Continue reading →
Fox Emm
Sep 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

The 90s: Designer Horror

Jordache Horror Somewhere in the 80s, someone got the idea that horror should be less frightening and more sexy and trendy. I am not sure where it happened, but a good starting point might be Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The “World Premiere Video” back when MTV aired videos and before its implosion was the thing to see. Director John Landis was in between the smash hit horror classic, An American Werewolf in London and the public relations nightmare of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Michael Jackson was truly The King of Pop, and his LP, Thriller elevated MTV into something else…exactly what, I don’t know, but Thriller was more than a video. It was a pop culture event and it used horror as its spring board. Vincent Price became known to a the Pepsi Generation as “the old dude who “rapped” in Thriller and laughed at the end. Academy Award winner and makeup genius, Rick Baker did the makeup effects and suddenly

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Sep 1, 2015
Horror Fuel

Review: Dark Horse Comics’ “Midnight Society: The Black Lake #2”

I reviewed the premiere issue of Midnight Society: The Black Lake here and was looking forward to reading the second installment. The first issue blew me away with it’s masterful storytelling, other-worldly artwork, and it’s alluring dialogue. I was sure that the second issue would be just as good, if not better. I was wrong. The suspenseful storytelling was there, the artwork was wonderful again, and the dialogue was brilliant. However, dialogue is basically all there was. The two main characters in this story essentially just talked to each other the whole comic. The buildup to the climax of the story was so long that when the big reveal actually comes it is kind of disappointing. There was very little action whatsoever even though the suspense had you suspecting it at every turn. This issue also left me with more questions than it did answers. The last issue had just enough mystery to keep the reader engaged and wanting more.

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Sep 1, 2015
Horror Fuel

Dark Secrets by Matthew W. Grant

Dark Secrets by Mattew W. Grant is a book I found through one of my horror writers groups. Mr. Grant was trying to find readers/audible listeners in exchange for Amazon reviews, and I have a 45 minute (one way) commute to my day job, so I’m always looking for new audio books to check out! This was my first audio book since “reading” The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer last December, also via long car treks, so clearly I’m not an audio book connoisseur. My last semi-horror audio adventure was Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, so I felt obligated to step away from that family for a little while. (What better opportunity would present itself than to check out Dark Secrets?) Book Description: When the Powers of Darkness infest a small New England town… Rick Williams is the dependable, boy next door type. As his eighteenth birthday approaches, he suddenly experiences violent, unexplainable headaches. Enter Terrence, a mysterious substitute

Continue reading →
Fox Emm
Aug 27, 2015
Horror Fuel

Review: Dark Horse Comics’ “Death Head #2”

I reviewed the premiere issue of Death Head here and was excited to read the second installment. I was not disappointed as this title from Dark Horse Comics just keeps getting better. The comic opens up with two utility company workers going down into the sewers to investigate water levels rising due to backed up drains. They find that the tunnel is chock-full of ravenous rats and one of them meets a grisly demise. Next we see Niles at the doctor’s office after coming back from their babymoon. He has a piece of bone embedded in his leg that has to be removed, although it is not his own. He then makes a call to the Shadowcliff National Park Service’s Ranger Station to complain about their vacation from Hell. He is obviously and reasonably upset by their brush with death at the crematorium. Instead of getting some sort of apology, they accuse him of trespassing on private property, and sell

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 27, 2015
Horror Fuel

Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Acquires Rights To ‘Don’t Breathe A Word’

Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert’s Ghost House Pictures will teaming up with Gold Circle Entertainment to bring an adaption of the supernatural thriller ‘Don’t Breathe a Word’, written by Jennifer McMahon, to the big screen. According to JoBlo Ghost House and Gold Circle are now searching for a writer to pen the script. The story follows Sam as his twelve year old sister disappears. Years later Sam and his girlfriend Pheobe face a series of unexplained events that challenge Sam’s view of the world. As both Sam and Pheobe begin to question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made long ago comes to light and threatens to destroy everything they know.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 26, 2015
Horror Fuel

Norman Bates Returning In New Novel

You might recognize the name Robert Bloch, he is the author that wrote the book that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous film about a mamma’s boy in 1959, Psycho. Bloch wrote the sequel in 1982 and yet another book in 1990. Bloch passed away twenty years ago, but according to Entertainment Weekly, another author is picking up where Bloch left off. Chet Williamson is writing the next book in line, Psycho: Sanitarium. The novel is not a sequel, but a prequel to Bloch’s Psycho 2. In Williamson’s new novel Norman Bates is locked in a sanitarium and reveals what took place during those twenty years he was institutionalized. The book’s end will meet the beginning of Bloch’s Psycho 2. Williamson’s Psycho: Sanitarium will be out on shelves on March 1st, 2016.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 24, 2015
Horror Fuel

Consuming Cynema PART I

Go Shopping A persistent misconception immediately after the 911 attacks in 2001 is that President George W. Bush urged Americans “to go shopping.” This was not the case. Over the years it’s been simplified into that message. In reality The President said this, “It’s to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America’s great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.” George Bush, White House Archives Not once was the word “shop” or any form of it used. This is not a political defense. Rather, something in that speech to a shocked nation did stand out to me, and can be applied to the entertainment industry. While we were not directly urged to “go shopping” the simplistic picture of consumerism congruent to the picture of American life was apparent. We have accepted an image of

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 23, 2015
Horror Fuel

‘The Curse Of Downers Grove’ Inspired By True Events

For the past eight years the town of Downers Grove has suffered a curse, every year just before graduation, one senior dies a bizarre death. Graduation is approaching and Senior Chrissie Swanson (Bella Heathcote) has the nagging feeling it’s her turn. Can Chrissie survive the curse of Downers Grove or will she suffer the same fate as those Seniors before her? ‘The Curse of Downers Grove’ was directed by Derick Martini based on the script co-written by Martini and Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), based on the novel by Michael Hornburg. The film was produced by Oren Segal, Chiara Trento, Jason Dubin and Anchor Bay. Heathcote, Lucas Till, Tom Arnold, Penelope Mitchell and Kevin Zegers star in this horror-thriller, inspired by true events. ‘The Curse of Downers Grove’ debuts in select theaters August 21st and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 1st.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 22, 2015
Horror Fuel

Warner Bros. Adapting ‘Dante’s Inferno’ To Film

Deadline broke the news that Warner Bros. has accepted a pitch from Dwain Worrell, writer of the film ‘Walking the Dead’, to make an adaption of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’ and will begin with the first of the three books that make the poem, ‘Dante’s Inferno’. The original poem, set in 1300, is split into three parts/books, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. In the ‘Inferno’ poem Dante, heart broken by the lost of his love, Beatrice, is met by the dead poet Virgil while walking in the woods. In ‘Inferno’ Dante is guided through the nine circles of Hell by Virgil. The film adaption will follow Dante through the nine circles to save the woman he loves. This is where the film will differ from the poem, at no point does Dante seek to save his Beatrice. In fact in the in the poem Beatrice saves Dante at the end of ‘Purgatorio’ and replaces Virgil as

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 21, 2015

More from Books

Horror Fuel

Face Book: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller by Paul Johnson-Jovanovic

Face Book: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller by PJ Jovanovic or Paul Johnson-Jovanovic caught my eye because for a short while I was on a serial killer spree. I’ve now added The Killer Net by Matthew W. Grant to my reading list, so evidently I’m on a bit of a “serial killers utilizing social media” kick. (Better than the Hell/Occult spree I’ve been on for the last few weeks! …and oddly more specific.) Book Description: A cast iron guarantee: you’ve never read anything like this. This novel is pedal to the floor, from start to finish. No lulls. To say that this novel is a page-turner is an understatement. Strap yourself in for a hell of a ride. Justice is about to be served and it’s going to chill you to your soul. This is what happens when social media goes wrong … Down on his luck, Jack Williams heads for the pub to get drunk. He’s lost his job,

Continue reading →
Fox Emm
Sep 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

The 90s: Designer Horror

Jordache Horror Somewhere in the 80s, someone got the idea that horror should be less frightening and more sexy and trendy. I am not sure where it happened, but a good starting point might be Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The “World Premiere Video” back when MTV aired videos and before its implosion was the thing to see. Director John Landis was in between the smash hit horror classic, An American Werewolf in London and the public relations nightmare of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Michael Jackson was truly The King of Pop, and his LP, Thriller elevated MTV into something else…exactly what, I don’t know, but Thriller was more than a video. It was a pop culture event and it used horror as its spring board. Vincent Price became known to a the Pepsi Generation as “the old dude who “rapped” in Thriller and laughed at the end. Academy Award winner and makeup genius, Rick Baker did the makeup effects and suddenly

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Sep 1, 2015
Horror Fuel

Review: Dark Horse Comics’ “Midnight Society: The Black Lake #2”

I reviewed the premiere issue of Midnight Society: The Black Lake here and was looking forward to reading the second installment. The first issue blew me away with it’s masterful storytelling, other-worldly artwork, and it’s alluring dialogue. I was sure that the second issue would be just as good, if not better. I was wrong. The suspenseful storytelling was there, the artwork was wonderful again, and the dialogue was brilliant. However, dialogue is basically all there was. The two main characters in this story essentially just talked to each other the whole comic. The buildup to the climax of the story was so long that when the big reveal actually comes it is kind of disappointing. There was very little action whatsoever even though the suspense had you suspecting it at every turn. This issue also left me with more questions than it did answers. The last issue had just enough mystery to keep the reader engaged and wanting more.

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Sep 1, 2015
Horror Fuel

Dark Secrets by Matthew W. Grant

Dark Secrets by Mattew W. Grant is a book I found through one of my horror writers groups. Mr. Grant was trying to find readers/audible listeners in exchange for Amazon reviews, and I have a 45 minute (one way) commute to my day job, so I’m always looking for new audio books to check out! This was my first audio book since “reading” The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer last December, also via long car treks, so clearly I’m not an audio book connoisseur. My last semi-horror audio adventure was Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, so I felt obligated to step away from that family for a little while. (What better opportunity would present itself than to check out Dark Secrets?) Book Description: When the Powers of Darkness infest a small New England town… Rick Williams is the dependable, boy next door type. As his eighteenth birthday approaches, he suddenly experiences violent, unexplainable headaches. Enter Terrence, a mysterious substitute

Continue reading →
Fox Emm
Aug 27, 2015
Horror Fuel

Review: Dark Horse Comics’ “Death Head #2”

I reviewed the premiere issue of Death Head here and was excited to read the second installment. I was not disappointed as this title from Dark Horse Comics just keeps getting better. The comic opens up with two utility company workers going down into the sewers to investigate water levels rising due to backed up drains. They find that the tunnel is chock-full of ravenous rats and one of them meets a grisly demise. Next we see Niles at the doctor’s office after coming back from their babymoon. He has a piece of bone embedded in his leg that has to be removed, although it is not his own. He then makes a call to the Shadowcliff National Park Service’s Ranger Station to complain about their vacation from Hell. He is obviously and reasonably upset by their brush with death at the crematorium. Instead of getting some sort of apology, they accuse him of trespassing on private property, and sell

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 27, 2015
Horror Fuel

Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Acquires Rights To ‘Don’t Breathe A Word’

Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert’s Ghost House Pictures will teaming up with Gold Circle Entertainment to bring an adaption of the supernatural thriller ‘Don’t Breathe a Word’, written by Jennifer McMahon, to the big screen. According to JoBlo Ghost House and Gold Circle are now searching for a writer to pen the script. The story follows Sam as his twelve year old sister disappears. Years later Sam and his girlfriend Pheobe face a series of unexplained events that challenge Sam’s view of the world. As both Sam and Pheobe begin to question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made long ago comes to light and threatens to destroy everything they know.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 26, 2015
Horror Fuel

Norman Bates Returning In New Novel

You might recognize the name Robert Bloch, he is the author that wrote the book that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous film about a mamma’s boy in 1959, Psycho. Bloch wrote the sequel in 1982 and yet another book in 1990. Bloch passed away twenty years ago, but according to Entertainment Weekly, another author is picking up where Bloch left off. Chet Williamson is writing the next book in line, Psycho: Sanitarium. The novel is not a sequel, but a prequel to Bloch’s Psycho 2. In Williamson’s new novel Norman Bates is locked in a sanitarium and reveals what took place during those twenty years he was institutionalized. The book’s end will meet the beginning of Bloch’s Psycho 2. Williamson’s Psycho: Sanitarium will be out on shelves on March 1st, 2016.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 24, 2015
Horror Fuel

Consuming Cynema PART I

Go Shopping A persistent misconception immediately after the 911 attacks in 2001 is that President George W. Bush urged Americans “to go shopping.” This was not the case. Over the years it’s been simplified into that message. In reality The President said this, “It’s to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America’s great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.” George Bush, White House Archives Not once was the word “shop” or any form of it used. This is not a political defense. Rather, something in that speech to a shocked nation did stand out to me, and can be applied to the entertainment industry. While we were not directly urged to “go shopping” the simplistic picture of consumerism congruent to the picture of American life was apparent. We have accepted an image of

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 23, 2015
Horror Fuel

‘The Curse Of Downers Grove’ Inspired By True Events

For the past eight years the town of Downers Grove has suffered a curse, every year just before graduation, one senior dies a bizarre death. Graduation is approaching and Senior Chrissie Swanson (Bella Heathcote) has the nagging feeling it’s her turn. Can Chrissie survive the curse of Downers Grove or will she suffer the same fate as those Seniors before her? ‘The Curse of Downers Grove’ was directed by Derick Martini based on the script co-written by Martini and Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), based on the novel by Michael Hornburg. The film was produced by Oren Segal, Chiara Trento, Jason Dubin and Anchor Bay. Heathcote, Lucas Till, Tom Arnold, Penelope Mitchell and Kevin Zegers star in this horror-thriller, inspired by true events. ‘The Curse of Downers Grove’ debuts in select theaters August 21st and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 1st.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 22, 2015
Horror Fuel

Warner Bros. Adapting ‘Dante’s Inferno’ To Film

Deadline broke the news that Warner Bros. has accepted a pitch from Dwain Worrell, writer of the film ‘Walking the Dead’, to make an adaption of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’ and will begin with the first of the three books that make the poem, ‘Dante’s Inferno’. The original poem, set in 1300, is split into three parts/books, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. In the ‘Inferno’ poem Dante, heart broken by the lost of his love, Beatrice, is met by the dead poet Virgil while walking in the woods. In ‘Inferno’ Dante is guided through the nine circles of Hell by Virgil. The film adaption will follow Dante through the nine circles to save the woman he loves. This is where the film will differ from the poem, at no point does Dante seek to save his Beatrice. In fact in the in the poem Beatrice saves Dante at the end of ‘Purgatorio’ and replaces Virgil as

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 21, 2015
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