Countdown, a review. This movie is a horror based on an app showing a person's time of death. An interesting premise that falls into the typical tropes of demons and curses. Still, has some good jump scares.

 

Countdown (2019), a review.

    So we have a horror for the modern age, not the first or the last in this genre. It opens up with several college students downloading an app that is supposed to tell you when you'll die. Most get years before their demise, but one young woman has only a few hours. This spook's her, but she seemingly shrugs it off. However, when getting in the car with her drunk boyfriend, the young woman is disturbed enough she wisely gets out. Why are people always so ready to drive whilst drunk in these films? Is it common in America? Anyway, they bicker before he drives off in a huff. At this point, her phone goes off, and the Countdown app states that she has broken the user agreement contract. Still disturbed, she walks on, but we see a figure behind her. Thankfully, they are just getting a lift, and she continues on. The phone goes off again, and more disturbed, she runs for her home, quickly unlocking the door and rushing within. Feeling safer now, she moves to ready herself for bed. Brushing her teeth, she hears something and is pulled upwards out of frame, screaming and sounds of pain loud before she drops down and cracks her head open on the bath, the countdown visible on her phone. The film switches then to the boyfriend, the car had crashed into a tree, and the seat she would have been in is impaled by a thick branch.

    We meet Quinn, a nursing student, as she deals with Evan. Evan is the boyfriend of the young woman, Courtney, who died in the initial opening. He's freaking out because he also downloaded the app, and due to expire in nineteen hours. Quinn is sceptical, seeing it as only a game. Evan tells her of Courtney's death and how she had also downloaded the app, convinced that he is in danger. After returning Ethan to his room, we see her be congratulated on passing her nursing exam. During this celebration, the app is mentioned and downloaded. A colleague gets to live until they would be in their eighties while another their nineties. When Quinn downloads the app, it gives her only two days and a few hours to live. She is a little startled by this but brushes it off initially. We get some backstory on Quinn when she returns home, she has a younger sister, and it seems her mother has passed away. Her father invites her to put flowers on her mother's grave, and she agrees to go with them, leaving quickly after that. The film then moves back to Ethan, and his countdown continues. Shaken by this, he decides to miss his surgery, and the user agreement is broken. At this point, he sees something in the mirror behind him, but it is not there when he turns around. Upon returning his gaze to the mirror, the figure rushes forward and the mirror cracks. Scared now, Ethan runs for the stairs, the lights going out, and he sees Courtney, only it isn't her. Not Courtney rushes Ethan, his phone falls down the stairwell moments before he follows, and the countdown hits zero. Quinn learns of this and is shaken to the point that she decides not to go to her mother's grave, and her user agreement is broken. At this point, Dr Sullivan makes unwanted advances, almost forcing himself on her. Quinn is shaken by this and goes to report him, but he uses his position to call the senior nurse from her. Quinn begins to experience things, seeing Ethan in her room after she begins looking into the app and the countdown going off repeatedly. Things quickly escalate for Quinn as she searches for a way to free herself from this app. She meets Matt after changing her phone, and we learn that the same thing is happening to him.

    The pair exchange their stories, seeking out the priest at the hospital in the vain hope of getting some advice or help. He cannot help them but gives them the details of someone that can. And they meet Father John, who is a strange and unique character. He is certainly not your typical priest. He tells them that such things exist, regaling them with a tale of two brothers and one's death when attempting to circumvent it, of forces that seek to bind them by contracts and then devour them. He says it would help if he could see the source code for the app and see what it actually is. Quinn has the idea to go to the shop where she bought her new phone, as the owner said he could crack it for her. He manages to, and they learn that some of the code is in Latin. Quinn takes a picture of the code, and Derek changes the code making it so that they will no longer die at their original times. Of course, this doesn't stick, and they are soon visited by the entity behind this. Rushing to Quinn's sister, they get to her and head straight for Father John. After seeing the code Father John tells them that it is a curse, that a demon is after them, but he can protect them. He does his best, but things inevitably go wrong, and Matt is lured out to his death. After this, Quinn decides to take things into her own hands, and a confrontation between Dr Sullivan, Quinn, and the entity unfolds. It appears that she succeeds, but at the film's ending, the app loads onto her phone with version 2.0.

    The film is okay, having some decent jumpscares scattered throughout but never maintaining the tension. Which is a shame. The acting, whilst not groundbreaking, is decent enough. Dr Sullivan is suitably sleazy and charming in turn, and Quinn is believable as our lead. The demon is done well, though it doesn't feel quite menacing enough. I would have preferred some more backstory into the app, such as how it came to be etc. And more screen time for Father John wouldn't have hurt, either. I give this film a 7 out of 10. It is enjoyable but lacking in any real scares. Worth a watch for any horror fan.

The Night House. A film that seems to be as much about loss and depression as it does about a strange haunting. A good film that leaves you feeling unsettled.

 

The Night House. A film by David Bruckner and starring Rebecca Hall.

    This is a strangely sad and creepy film. And when I say creepy, I'm referring to the film's atmosphere. The film centres around Beth, newly a widow after her husband's sudden suicide. Still reeling from his unexpected demise, she is attempting to hold herself together, going through the motions as she begins to unravel. Beth is lost as to why Owen killed himself, saw no warning signs and is confused and angry with the unanswered questions she is left with. During this time, she drinks a lot and is not sleeping well, which is noticeable throughout the film. In short, Beth is barely holding it together, and that is before things begin to take a creepy turn.

    It starts slowly, with a knocking on the door downstairs as she rouses from sleep. Obviously hesitant, she makes her way downstairs, and we see nothing outside. However, as she opens the back door, she looks back to the front door,  the door swinging open behind her. In the reflection, we can make out the shape of a person, with eyes flashing in the darkness before the door closes and the figure vanishes. This is the first time we get the hint that something is lurking in the background. Beth takes back to school, she is a teacher, and it is easy to see that she is not ready to be back. After an encounter with the parent of one of her students, we see that her mental state is not good, along with losing time after appearing to doze off. Beth goes through Owen's things, clearing out much of his stuff before she stumbles on one of his architect books. Here we get to see strange puzzles and notes contained within and what appears to be a copy of the house he built for them. Now things start to take a worrying turn. Woken by music, Beth gets a text from Owen and phones him, and it appears that he answers. Then she wakes up on the bathroom floor again, apparently without any memory of how she got there and checks her phone. The message is not there. Convinced to go out, Beth joins her friends for drinks. I have to say, she has crappy friends. The line of questioning is inane, and how do they expect a woman who lost her husband a week ago to be entirely rational after everything she has gone through. But, we do learn a few things from this encounter. Firstly, Owen left a note, and secondly, Beth is beginning to believe she is being haunted. And after Claire gets Beth home, she has yet another strange encounter. Before that happens, she tells Claire of the time that she died. Beth tells Claire that whilst she was dead, she saw nothing, that there was no bright light or anything to experience. The word nothing is important to note, as it refers to the note that Owen left.

    Things begin to take another turn from this point. As she begins to experience dreams or visions, Beth learns of another house that Owen had built in the forest. She finds a picture of another woman on Owen's phone that looks like her. Beth begins to obsess over this, determined to discover what Owen had been up to while believing that Owen is visiting her. It is shot in such a way that the viewer may think that this is nothing more than wishful thinking, that her grief is getting the better of her. However, Beth finds the woman in the picture and learns that Owen has been seeing her for some time. The haunting continues, with Beth learning that there may have been more than one woman. Also, her neighbour had known of this after a chance encounters in the woods, Owen coming to him claiming that it would never happen again and that he had 'urges' that he had found a way to manage. As Beth begins to spiral, the haunting becomes more intense, and she discovers that Owen had killed women that looked like her. Beth may be imagining this. Her grief and depression may be getting the better of her. Reaching a climax, the events around her grow darker, and she discovers that this being haunting her is not Owen. She discovers that this entity is what she encountered upon her death, that it has been with her ever since and corrupted Owen to get him to send her back to it. As this dark encounter plays out, we learn that Owen had tried to trick it by sending women that looked like her to it. This encounter leads Beth out on the boat, as the thing looking like Owen attempts to convince her that she has nothing to live for. Her best friend had come looking for her, and her calling out to Beth helped her to push this desire away and cling to life. 

    This film is about a haunting, at least on the surface. But, it feels as though it is more a look at depression, at the emptiness that can swallow up the joy of life, and that is never far from those suffering from depression. Beth had always suffered from dark thoughts, and Owen had held them at bay. He had brought joy to her life, and upon his death, they had returned. Her grief had broken her defences, and she spirals without him. Everything else may be her imagination, or some are real but coloured by her grief and depression. The film does a great job of leaving that open to the viewer.

    I recommend this to any fan of horror, more so psychological horror, and it is an easy 8 out of 10. It is a haunting and sad film that leaves the viewer unsure how much is real and what is merely in the mind of Beth. Definitely, one I would watch again.

    

Classic Tales of Horror from Canterbury Classics. A short review of a great collection of tales in a high quality leather hardback form.

 

Classic Tales of Horror, from Canterbury Classics.

    This isn't my usual review. There is simply too much within this book to break down each short story or novella that makes up its entirety. I bought this book purely out of the desire to possess many of the stories within its pages that I had never gotten around to reading. It was worth the price simply for the excellent quality of the book. At over 900 pages, this is a massive selection of stories, and many of them are well known, but others are less so. Some are only a couple of pages long, while others run for several chapters, each of them possesses its own style, but each fits the overall theme. I have my favorites, such as The Pit and the Pendulum, but there were many that I read for the first time. I enjoyed The Turn of the Screw, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, and The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. Many of these stories are from the late 19th century and the early 20th century, and the language used can be a little jarring for those who have not read books from those time periods before.

    As I said earlier, this isn't the typical review. It is hard to give the contents a review, and with such a great variety of works, it becomes hard to provide an overall grading. So I'll do my best and rate this book on the quality of the product, the overall quality of the range of contents, and the selection of stories. The leather seems of good quality with a simple but well-designed cover. There were no signs of damage, and the material appears hardy and well maintained.  It is a chunky book with fifty-five stories within. That is more than I had expected, and they are well-written and great examples of the genre. There are some of my favorite stories within, which makes me a little biased, but even without those, I found this product to be a great read. I would recommend this to any horror fan, and it would be a greater recommendation to those that prefer works reflecting an earlier period in history. 

    This is an easy eight out of ten for me. The contents alone are worth the price and will satisfy any horror fan. Give this book a go if you are looking to add a collection of short stories to your book collection or if you are just looking to find some elusive tales that you might not have come across yet. If you can recommend any other classic collections of stories, let me know. Always looking for new books to add to my personal collection. 

Gothghul Hollow by Anna Stephens. Another entry into Warhammer horror, that is equal parts horror and mystery. Featuring the return of a fan favourite that I did not see coming.

 

Gothgul Hollow by Anna Stephens. A review.

    This was my first time reading anything by Anna Stephens, and I was glad I gave this entry into Warhammer horror a chance. This new sub-genre within the Black Library is rapidly proving to be my favourite, though I'm somewhat biased as Horror has always been a favourite for me. Having read a number of them now, I had a level of expectation, an idea of what to expect from future entries. Though there is a familiar formula to this book, the story proved exceptionally well written with a surprising twist towards the end. I am looking forward to what Anna Stephens will write next after this one. Hopefully, they will keep her on these characters and further the narrative. I am definitely interested in seeing what other stories the Games Workshop crew has in store.

    This story is a horror of multiple themes. We have a monster story, a haunting, a curse of sorts, and a mystery. It centers around four main protagonists and is set in the realm of Shyish during the Age of Sigmar. There is a fifth character that plays an important role, but I don't want to give too much away. The main gist of this story focuses on the history of the Gothgul family. Father and daughter stand at the heart of it all, their relationship strained by time and loss. The Hollow is under attack by some strange bloodthirsty creature, a curse upon the town and its people. As the ruling nobles, they seek to protect those within their ancestral lands though they have had little success. As the story begins, we find the creature stalking a wayward townsperson foolishly outside when the howls signal its approach. Things do not go well for him, his life ends painfully, but we are introduced to the first of our protagonists through the opening. Runar has been hired to hunt this beast down, he has brought his people with him, and they have, so far, done little more than find the bodies. The body is taken to the castle, to the awaiting Gothguls. There, along with Tiberius Grim Aaric's best friend, and Edrea's uncle, they begin the study of the corpse. A corpse that is found to be drained of blood, like all the others. Something that should be impossible, given the freshly slain nature of the corpse. There is a supernatural nature to this creature, when fired upon and injured, it seems to be unaffected by the damage inflicted upon it. Edrea theories that it is feeding on each kill, that the blood is giving it strength. This theory proves to be partly correct, but there is more to the creature than any of them have realized.

    All that is happening in this tale is related to events in the past. Events that Edrea is unaware of but are tied to her. There is much that Aaric has not told her about her mother, Hephzibah. Edrea is adamant that her father is lying to her about something, something about her mother. Before we discover what that is, Runar has taken to hunting the creature down. It is a hunt that goes badly for Runar and his companions. Some discoveries are made through his interaction with the entity.  Those discoveries come at the cost of those Runar holds dear, however. It almost costs the hunter his life also. The timely arrival of Edrea and her father saves Runar from meeting his demise and reveals more of the entity's nature. The next part of the story plays out in the castle, Runar waking to a strange vision that leads to a blood binding coming to each of the four protagonists. After this occurs, the story of the events leading to Hephzibah's death is revealed, along with some family secrets. 

    After discovering what happened to her family before her birth, Edrea is more determined to bring this event to a close. The events spiral into a conclusion of desperate battle as they enact a final gambit. Stephens does a great job of taking this in a direction I did not see coming, revealing a character I had not read in years. This reintroduction is startling, a message brought with them that tells of far greater danger to come. This is a much-changed version to the one I knew, and there is enough revealed to make me each for the next outing. With this being a horror/mystery tale, I have done my best not to spoil anything, hopefully, the above covers enough to pique your interest. 

    This is an easy 8 out of 10 stars. It is a well-written book with great action sequences and amazingly fleshed-out characters. I would recommend this book to any fan of horror novels, mystery novels, and the Age of Sigmar books. Give it a look if you're looking for anything new and are interested in one of the best stories from Warhammer Horror novels.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, a review. One of the best novels by one of the greatest absurdist authors, ever. A feature with my favourite character in the entirety of Discworld, Death himself.

 

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, a review.

    I've read Pratchett since my teens, and yet it has taken me until now to read Hogfather. How that happened, I have no idea, but thankfully, I finally got around to enjoying this masterpiece of Pratchett's Discworld. Death has always been one of the best characters in this series of books, in fact, I would say it is probably his best-known character overall. Death's outlook on life, his fixation with humanity, and his literal take on many aspects of living are brilliantly done by Pratchett. He took what should be a terrifying character and made him kind and funny with a unique outlook on what occurs around him. In this book, he is very much one of the centralized characters, and it works so well because of the part he plays in the storyline. 

    Hogfather follows the premise of belief. It focuses on how belief can bring things to life, how the belief of so many can empower something beyond what it began as. The story starts out with the assassin Teatime, pronounced 'Teh-ah-tim-eh,' having been hired to kill someone at the behest of Lord Downey of the Assassin's guild.  Teatime is chosen for this task as this kill should be impossible, but Teatime is known for his 'unique' outlook and ability to achieve that which others could not. Pratchett's level of description of his characters has always amazed me. You don't just get what they look like but a deep look into the core of who, and what, they are. The level of insight is staggering, and I haven't read many authors that can replicate this feat with such ease. Pratchett's easy humor and his ability to use absurdism to highlight reflections of the real world makes him an author that can drag the reader into his world and immerses them in it completely. As the story continues we are introduced to Susan, another of the main protagonists, and the normal life she is trying to live. She lives as a governess, chasing away bogeymen and other nasties that only her young charges can see. Susan is not as normal as she would like, and she has to deal with these nasties rather directly, with a poker most often. We learn far more about Susan as the story unfolds and the cause of her unusual nature, something that directly ties her to all that occurs. It is not a spoiler to say that Death is currently masquerading as the Hogfather on Hogswatch eve, though the why is not revealed until later once Susan is thoroughly involved. It is fair to say that the visual is quite amusing, considering the natural slender build of the grim reaper, that and the general lack of flesh. He is going about the business of the Hogfather, giving out presents to children, though his lack of understanding of the particulars of the holiday is amusing. His trusty helper Albert does his best to keep Death steered in the right direction, but the Grim Reaper often does things he probably shouldn't. This leads to several amusing incidents, one that leads to a rather unique use of boots and shooing of a King attempting some late-night Hogswatch charity. As this is all playing out, Teatime has hired some help and is working on completing the contract given to him by Lord Downey. The reader is left somewhat confused about his thinking, but the Assassin has gathered himself a motley crew, and he has a plan. Teatime is a singular character, deadly, focused, and quite possibly insane. If anyone can take out the Fat Man, it is him. As Death's escapades continue and Susan is dragged further into this mystery, events taking stranger and stranger turns. My personal favorite thing in this book is the inclusion of the 'oh god' of Hangovers. He, who suffers the hangovers of the god of Wine. 

    The book is filled with many of the familiar characters that make up Discworld. The Archchancellor and many of the wizards of the Unseen University feature prominently, along with one or two others that fans of Pratchett will recognize. The Unseen University has a special place in my heart, Rincewind was my introduction into this world, and it featured heavily in the first books I dived into. Not to mention that I spent time there in the Discworld PC game, way back in the nineties. I enjoyed how Susan does her best to hold on to her 'normal' life, and yet she delves back further into the other part of her life, that part that she has inherited, in a fashion. Anyone that has read much of Pratchett's work will find it easy to follow his tangents and strange twists. The way the tale, seemingly, wanders, to me, always added so much more to the narrative. It is only as the book moves on, that you realize how each part plays into the overall story, how each part is important, and nothing is without import, no matter how small and inconsequential it may seem. That is the magic of Pratchett's writing, nothing is wasted, nothing is there for the sake of being there. It has always seemed, to me, that even his side characters are full of life. That they possess a degree of agency that some main characters lack in other works of fiction.

    As the story continues, Susan delves deeper into the mystery, eventually solving it. It turns out that things aren't quite as simple as it appears, though dealing with Teatime is not a simple task in itself, and she is forced to deal with the architects of this entire debacle. She does have a little help from her Grandfather, the Death of Rats, and a very talkative Raven throughout. The book does come to a satisfactory conclusion, in my opinion. It is a thorough look at belief and the power it has for good and for ill. Pratchett does a wonderful job of using aspects of comedy to show the absurdity of much of the elements of his work, and so many things ring true of what is said here within this brilliantly written book.

    Hogfather is a brilliant representation of Terry Pratchett's work in general. The man was a genius, and I think it will be many years before we see an author who does this kind of fiction so well. I highly recommend that any fan of fantasy gives this book a read. I would recommend any book by Pratchett, but this is a highlight of his library of work. Pratchett's use of comedy in this book is second-to-none, and his characters come to life on every page.

    This is an easy 5 out of 5. Rarely do I enjoy a book so much, and I find myself eager to delve back into Discworld at the first opportunity. Let me know what you think of this book, and any work of Pratchett's that you would recommend.