Review: The Girl From The Well

Title The Girl From The Well
By Rin Chupeco
Genre YA Horror
Format Audiobook
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
She hunts serial killers, child killers, kills them. It's her life's work...or her after life's work. Three hundred years ago she was murdered and thrown down a well. She's spent years hunting the type of man that killed her and wreaking her revenge. When a strange boy with arms covered in tattoos crosses her path she finds herself drawn to him and the evil thing that follows him. Can she be more than just a destroyer of souls and save one instead?

First Sentence
I am where dead children go.

We have another one of those elusive 3 star reads to review so bear with me. I think what defines a 3 star read for me is that I'm enjoying it but not on the edge of my seat or dying to get back to it after setting it down. Does that make sense? No? Yeah I don't get it either. Anywho...

Ever see that movie The Ring? With the creepy girl that climbs out of the well and then the TV and kills people? This is a book about her. Whether the lore from the book was true or made up for the book I'm not sure but basically this poor girl loved and served her master who then betrayed her and sold her to this awful guy that killed her and threw her down a well. Needless to say, she was a bit miffed.

This book is also about a boy who's mother bound an evil spirit to him to keep it from going on a killing rampage. So, yeah. Fun stuff.

I found it creepy and enjoyable and it kept me very distracted on my long drive to Oregon over Labor Day weekend.

However, I'm just not sure how memorable it will be. So far I remember it just fine but in a few months I might not remember much. I never blame this one a story though but I always wonder if a book's memorable impact says anything about its worth???? Anyway, if you like horror books and like The Ring, I'd definitely give this one a read.

Review: Bird Box

Title Bird Box
By Josh Malerman
Genre Adult Suspense Thriller Horror
Format Audio book
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Malorie and her two small children need to make a perilous journey; rowing a boat on the river for twenty miles...completely blind. Five years ago something was unleashed on the world. When you see it you go mad and become violent and eventually kill yourself. Alternating between the past and the present, Bird Box tells the terrifying story of a horror you cannot see. 

First Sentence
Malorie stands in the kitchen, thinking.



A million thanks to Jen at BookDen for drawing this book to my attention. This book! Guys, this book! Just thinking about it makes me nauseated and tense all over again.

Can you even imagine a horror you cannot see? You know it's out there, you know if you see it you'll go mad and become violent and then kill yourself, and you don't know what it is. There's no way I would have been able to keep my eyes shut. I would have been too terrified of the unknown.

Add in a women, alone except for two four year-olds, rowing blind down a river being followed by something and you'd be as sick as I was.

This book was so freaking intense! And it wasn't just the intensity I loved. I felt for the characters and was rooting for them. The creepy characters were just the right amount of creepy and knowing that others were at their breaking point was almost too suspenseful.

Seriously! I think I'll be pushing this book on everyone I know.

With the current popularity of The Quiet Place which had a sort of similar feel, I don't know how people haven't read this one. It was much more intense for me. Being quiet is one thing but being stalked by something you can't look at; feeling it right beside you and. Not. Being. Able. To. Open. Your. Eyes. And. Look??? I just can't!

Read this book!!!! 

Review: The Broken Girls

Title The Broken Girls
By Simone St. James
Genre Adult Suspense Horror
Format ebook
Rating ⭐️

Synopsis
Alternating between the past and the present, The Broken Girls tells the story of a run down boarding school and the secrets it holds. Fiona has reason to hate the abandoned and derelict boarding school Idlewild. Her sister was found murdered and dumped on the grounds 20 years ago. But the old school has a history long before the tragedy that's haunted Fiona for years and she's about to learn all about it.

First Sentence 
The shrill of the cell phone jerked Fiona awake in the driver's seat. 

Oi! I've seen this one popping up all over the place; people raving, and praising it. So of course I had to get my hands on it. Peer pressure and all that. And once again,  I found myself feeling like the little child in The Emperor's New Clothes; wondering what the hell everyone was talking about! There's nothing special here!

Ugh! I kept stopping mid sentence in this book to look up again who published it because I was so sure it was self published. It had to be. It was so painfully bad. The conveniences were too many to count! I found myself rolling my eyes so hard and often I got a headache.

Why? Why did I keep reading? I guess I wanted to know how it would end and if it could redeem it's self but when the MC ended up with the man who's father tried to kill her...Yeah, no. I just couldn't get behind this one. At all.

Review: The Little Stranger

Title The Little Stranger
By Sarah Waters
Genre Horror, Suspense
Format Audio book
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Dr. Faraday is called to the Georgian house Hundreds Hall, home to the Ayres for over two generations. Always an admirer of the old manor he soon finds himself enmeshed with the family and their troubles. The house is struggling financially and as a result is falling down around them but soon strange occurrences begin to take place and Dr. Faraday struggles to determine if the house is truly haunted or if the family is slowly going insane.

First Sentence
I first saw Hundreds Hall when I was ten years old.


I saw a preview of the movie they're making based on this book and became intrigued. I'd heard of Sarah Waters but haven't read any of her books before. I guess this one isn't her usual style but it sounded good to me so I gave it a listen.

It was pretty creepy, guys. My anxiety was flaring up while listening and I had to put it down sometimes and give my poor nerves a break.

I really loved the style and slow mystery as it unfurled. I loved the creepy house and the recounts of the haunting that was taking place. I was emotionally invested and dying to know what was going on. It was hard to stop listening.

But that ending made me want to scream! I wanted answers and was offered none! I guess if I was expected to come up with my own answers I have a theory but that's MY theory and I didn't write the book. Waters did and I'd like to know what HER theory was! Sheesh!

Still, despite the lack of any answers I liked the book and am interested in reading Water's other books. 

Friday Flicks: Winchester

Winchester 
Rating ★★

What It's About
Heir of the Winchester rifle company, Sarah Winchester believes she is cursed and haunted by the spirits of those killed by the rifles her company produces. To alleviate this curse she is driven to have her sprawling mansion under constant construction. Rooms are added and taken away daily. The construction on her house is constant. Not even stopping at night. Dr. Eric Price is sent to evaluate the heiress. A skeptic, Dr. Price has been offered compensation for concluding the heiress is insane so that she loses her share of the company. But as he stays in the ever growing and changing mansion, Dr. Price quickly becomes convinced that something is indeed haunting the mansion and that Sarah Winchester isn't insane at all.

I didn't have high expectations going into this one. I knew it was going to be an entertaining horror movie and that's exactly what it was. Filled with creepy make-you-jump moments, I found it very typical. Nothing special or new with the the it's-over-but-not-really-over ending included.  Drives me nuts.

The acting was alright. Again, nothing special. Helen Mirren once won an Oscar and I can't help but think about "how the mighty have fallen" but that makes me sound like a snob and I really don't care about what roles and actor or actress takes.

Despite my lack luster feelings, I think most of the other people in the theater liked it. The girl next to me was curled up in a ball whimpering and jumping at every "scary" moment. You know me, I'm always the exception to the rule but the critics weren't jumping to praise this one either so there is that.

I did like the tiny nod at the historical story that inspired this one. Sarah Winchester really did have a mansion she never stopped working on. It's still standing and called The Winchester Mystery House.

Basically it's pretty much what you'd expect. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't amazing either and as far as scary movies goes, I've seen much, much scarier.

Let's Talk
Do you think actors and actresses can take whatever role they want or do you think they should only take Oscar worthy roles? I actually find those actors and actresses that are always taking Oscar seeking roles annoying. Which is why it's weird that I got snobby during this movie.

Recommendation
Wait till it's on Redbox, Netflix or Amazon.

Mini Movie Reviews #12

Oi! I've fallen behind in movie reviews. Life is not going so great for me right now and blogging is becoming a last priority.  Still, I'm seeing movies so I thought I'd do my old style Mini Movie Reviews to catch you up.

Flatliners
I'm not sure why they felt the need to remake this one. There's not some amazing story here that's worth retelling but since I never saw the original I figured what the hell. I was more entertained than I thought I'd be. It was creepy and enjoyable enough but nothing special...or memorable.

Victoria & Abdul
I was really excited to see this one. It seemed like it would be cute and fun. And it was...to a point. And then it just got weird. I don't know how accurate this was to real history, I'm guessing not very. And while I wanted to just watch and appreciate the relationship between these two it just got a little "what's-the-point" and I was left slightly disappointed.

Made in America
This one was the husband's pick. I had no desire to see it. And, as usual when I don't want to see it and he convinces me, I ended up liking it. I know Tom Cruise isn't anyone's favorite anymore but I thought he did a great job. It was very entertaining to watch this guy's life. It does end sadly but you know it's coming. I'd actually recommend this one. I guess I should listen to the husband's recommendations a little more often, huh?

 The Mountain Between Us
Why I didn't realize this one was going to be a romance I'll never know. I thought it was going to be about these two completely different people surviving some horrible stuff together. And it was but...then romance came into it. And the romance wasn't bad but when you're not expecting it and have to adjust your perception mid movie it can be a bit jarring.  It was still very entertaining and emotionally investing, though. I'd recommend it.

Friday Flicks: IT

Title It
Rating ★★★

What It's About
Unless you're deathly afraid of clowns and haven't seen a single trailer or heard a single thing about this one you probably already know what it's about. In fact, you could pretty much just look at my book review synopsis of this one and get the gist. I will say, however, that this movie is "part one". This movie just focuses on the kids and they're battle against It. While the book talks about these kids as adults too the movie just focuses on them as kids. So, yeah. Creepy evil thing that often manifests as a clown is terrorizing a small town in Maine and these kids decide to fight it.

Especially after Bill's brother, Georgie goes missing after a freaky encounter with said evil.

I'm not sure why I got so obsessed with this  one. I saw the preview and knew I'd be seeing it but then suddenly I decided to read the book. So I was all ready to jump into this movie. I knew I shouldn't have read the book first, though. The movie always pales in comparison to the book.

But that's an argument for a different day. This movie was entertaining. It had it's scary moments but wasn't too bad. The kids were hilarious and did a great job with being kids, being funny, and being brave.

I like that we have such great special effects in movies nowadays because then the clown isn't just some guy in a costume. He twisted and contorted in the freakiest of ways and it looked real and added a lot of creepiness to the movie.

Although, he was pretty creepy just standing there too. The different forms the clown took were gross and scary and made me really appreciate special effects.

So, while I had a little bit of trouble truly enjoying this one because it just didn't hold up against the book it was entertaining and as I've said before, that's what movies are for, right?

Let's Talk    
I was really impressed with the special effects in this one. I've seen bits and pieces of the 90s miniseries and laugh at how stupid everything looks. Although back in the day it was probably awesome??? What do you think? Do you think the stuff that looks so cool today will be laughable in 20 years?

Recommendation 
Rent it from Redbox.

Review: It

Title It
By Stephen King
Genre Adult Horror Suspense Fantasy
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
As kids they battled the evil that has haunted their town for hundreds of years. Now as adults it's happening again. Fulfilling an oath they took as kids they must return and destroy the evil once and for all.

First Sentence
The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years  - if it ever did end- began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made with a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.



I love Stephen King's writing. I haven't read all his books, not even close, but I usually end up liking the ones I do read. I wanted to read this one because of the upcoming movie. Otherwise I'm not sure I would have picked it up. I'm so glad I did, though.

 King claims he doesn't consider himself a horror writer and the more I read of his books the more I agree. I know, I know, just look at that cover. How can he claim to not write horror when he writes a story about an evil that appears as a clown (among other things) and kills children? But I really think his stories are much more fantasy and drama than horror. *shrugs*

Let's just get this out of the way. This one was Loooooong!!!! At fourteen hundred plus pages I knew I was in for the long haul. I feel like as I'm getting older I read slower too, so it took me forever to read this one. Still, it was a very fun read.

The way the past and present move seamlessly back and forth and coalesce at the end was amazing. The perfect way to tell a story of this magnitude. And those last 500 pages blew by. I stayed up late into the night to finish because it was just too exciting and I had to know how it all ended.

I adored the relationship these kids had. It was beyond mature and grown up, it was godly. Which of course explains why it wouldn't really last which made me so sad. Ah well. These characters and this story will stick with me for years, I'm sure of it.

I think this is one of King's masterpieces. It's not just a creepy little story about some kids and a clown. It's so, so, soooooo much more than that. It's an epic story so perfectly put together I feel privileged to have read it.


Should you read it
If you know it will give you nightmares then, no, don't read it, but if you've been curious then yes, read it.

Friday Flicks: Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation
Rating ★★★★


What It's About
In case you've been under a rock, a happy never watch creepy horror movies rock, then you'll know that this is sequel/prequel to Annabelle which is a Conjuring universe movie. Here we learn how the creeptastic doll was created by a nice man who lives in the middle of nowhere with his wife and daughter. Sadly, the daughter dies and when they pray to any power that will listen to them to have some connection to their daughter, a power listens, alright, a demonic power...of course. This is a horror movie after all. So their "daughter" starts communicating with them through this freaky-deaky doll and it's not long before they realize it's not their daughter. Fast forward 12 years and the man and his wife have thought it would be a good idea to let some orphan children come stay with them...this takes place in the 50's...and we're under the understanding that whatever evil was there is gone...or is it? Dun Dun Dun!!!

So, we have this house in the middle of nowhersville, full of girls and the nun that's watching over them, where this horrible thing happened. What could go wrong?

I'm not the greatest person to review horror movies. I don't get scared during them. I actually just laugh. I do get startled when something jumps out or something and some movies disturb me (I'm looking at you Sinister 2) but mostly I just laugh at the absurdity of them.

This movie had all the classic cliche horror movie tricks. You know, footsteps behind you but when you look no one is there, inanimate dolls/scarecrows looking away one minute and then right at you the next. Normally that might be a big turn off but it worked in this movie.

 In a horror movie, I prefer things to make sense and tie together. Not just a bunch of scary crap that doesn't make sense and has zero thought or story behind it. And I like some resolution. I know, I know, horror movies don't have resolutions. They're supposed to think they destroyed the evil but they never really have. That's so you go home from the movies, turn all the lights on in your house and jump at every little sound.

This one doesn't really have any resolutions but since it was a prequel to the first movie it made sense not to have one but rather be a build up to the next movie. It does have an actual story line, though. It's not just scary to be scary with no coherent thought behind it. So I was forgiving.

The actors did a great job. I've always had a soft spot for Anthony Paglia. And LuLu Wilson did a great job too. She was in Ouija Origins of Evil so I knew she'd be good.

 All in all it was a fun cast and your typical horror movie with all the creepiness you could want.

Lets talk
If you're a horror movie watcher, do you prefer when you get to see the evil thing (even just glimpses) or do you prefer only partial viewings that leave your imagination conjuring up the worst?
The reason I ask is because this one had both partial glimpses and full glimpses and I prefer partial. Seeing the evil being, whether it's a ghost, demon, clown, or all around creepy figure tends to take away from the fear. Once you see it full on, in the light, nothing to hide...it just isn't all that scary anymore. What do you think?

Recommendation

See it in the theater.

Review: Odd Interlude

Title Odd Interlude
By Deak Koontz
Genre Adult Horror
Pages 279

First Sentence They say that every road leads home if you care to go there.

Synopsis
Crazy, Evil adventures always seem to find Odd. It was supposed to be a simple one night stay in a small town but Harmony Corner is anything but harmonious. With and evil presence controlling the bodies and minds of the entire town's inhabitants and a secret, underground, deserted government lab, Odd is in for another creep adventure to save the day.



What it has going for it
Oh, Dean, your sick twisted imagination never ceases to disturb and delight me. I'm always so entranced in your creepy worlds and captivated by your horrific creations. How do you come up with such interesting ideas? Too many nights watching The Twilight Zone? No. Your creations are much more disturbing than anything TTZ could come up with. I love Odd. I really do. He's such a humble hero. No one in this world could compare. I'd risk living in his scary world if it meant I might meet him. His sense of humor and wit amuse me. His selfless deeds astound me. Poor Odd. My heart aches for his loss and the trials he goes through. Thank goodness he has his dog friends to keep him company. Thank goodness he saved Harmony Corner. I never doubted he would fail.

What's lacking
Nothing

Favorite moment
When Odd hijacks the semi. Hee hee!

Yea or Nay?
Yes! Don't let this one slip you by or any of the other Odd books. Rumor has it there's only one more to come.