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[declanowo]

My Favourite Watches of May

Hell of a Summer - 2025

I’d been incredibly excited to watch Hell of a Summer ever since it started its festival rounds - summer camp horror has long been a favourite of mine. 

Although the film feels more comedy than horror, it’s not a parody, which is often where my interest wanes, it’s earnest in regards to the genre it’s working in. Despite not being too gory, in fact most kills are entirely off screen which would undoubtedly be my biggest complaint, I found the characters and twists charming, it’s made by gen z filmmakers for a gen z audience, and while I totally understand people’s frustrations with the film being a fairly bloodless slasher, in the end, it still worked for me, it was the exact cosy time I had hoped for. 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 1974

I’ve long considered TCM to be among my favourite movies. With sun-baked cinematography, this movie radiates an uncomfortable heat, it’s a boiling pot, a slow bubbling of tensions and fears until finally you’re at the dinner table, the world imploding. 

Something I always forget is how tense the lack of a score is in certain sequences, there’s something so grounded and gritty about the Hitchhiker sequence or the aforementioned dinner sequence - they approach their horror in completely different ways, the Hitchhiker sequence uses diegetic music and the silent fear of its characters against the Hitchhikers abrasive giggles and sudden outbursts. Whereas the dinner sequence is overbearingly loud, the cinematography mimics this with sharp cuts to Sally’s eye, which is maybe my favorite shot in the movie. It’s haunting, watching as hope leaves her, the sanity and rest of her life departs in this moment, all as the Sawyer family loudly argue, shouting and laughing, it’s horrifying, it’s perfect, and plays further into this idea of a summery boiling pot. 

Also, watching through the entire series, this is maybe the sweetest depiction of Leatherface. I’ve loved him since forever. He's such a unique take on a villain, exploring the ways these tiny families gate off any hope for their children; once you’re born into the Sawyer family, there’s no escape, no future, much like how for Sally, her future too is bleak. Therefore, Leatherface is a sympathetic villain, especially as we watch his family's cruelty, his moments where he simply needs a break, because such a character is only a product of his environment, unable to break free from the shackles he was bound in at birth. 

This is such a perfect movie, and I adore how genuinely dense it is thematically, there’s so much to pick apart here, it’s beautifully made, and a nightmare to watch.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - 1986

I don’t think there’s much room to craft a sequel to TCM, as I feel has been proved time and time again by its sequels. Most of the movies follow a similar structure, the same ideas - the core of the film requires both Texas and Leatherface, and seemingly this leaves little room to explore anything, in contrast to other slashers where you can throw them in space, Manhattan or a psych ward. 

However TCM 2 is undoubtedly a perfect sequel, in a similar vein in my eyes to Gremlins 2, which also pokes fun at the very concept of making a sequel to its predecessor. Yet it still tells a coherent, well made story that leans into a more comedic nature that I personally love. 

Chop-Top is undoubtedly the best addition to this franchise, he works as a complete inverse on the Hitchhiker; they fulfil similar roles, with the initial scene in the radio station playing on your expectations in regards to this, however, Chop-Top pushes the mania even further, he’s a more comedic character this particular sequence a perfect inverse of the initial Hitchhiker scene too, using music to craft this bubbling anxiety, portraying him as erratic which then only makes the reveal of Leatherface hiding all the scarier. 

Every set here is beautiful too, I’m a huge fan of any beautiful or evocative set design, and this movie falls into the former, both the radio station and updated Sawyer lair are gorgeous, the neon lights ooze 80s. 

Another aspect I adore is how it never sacrifices scares for comedy - I have very specific tastes in horror comedies, as I stated with Hell of a Summer, I don’t love when they lean into parody or pointing out tropes, etc… and this movie manages to perfectly balance these tones, reminding me a lot of one of my favorite movies Return of the Living Dead. Its ability to make me laugh one moment to feeling tense the next is masterful, this is a perfect sequel to a movie that demands nothing more from its story. 

The Ugly Stepsister - 2025

In an age where public domain slashers are the norm, I found myself somewhat uninterested in this movie when I first heard of it, writing it off entirely when I saw the trailer, edited in a very Substance esc manner. Both of these aspects left a sour taste in my mouth, which is incredibly frustrating in retrospect - I adore fairy tales and by proxy, horror takes on them, I am constantly seeking out good retellings of old stories and the trailer was very clearly created by a completely different team. All of this is to say that this movie is in competition for my favourite of the year, entangled with Sinners currently. 

This movie spoke to me on a very visceral level, it’s a perfect body horror story, detailing the titular Ugly Stepsisters attempts at winning the Prince’s heart. Of course, it’s a retelling of Cinderella through a different characters lens, and I cannot begin to express how perfectly it goes about telling this story, how it takes the source material and evolves upon it, drawing in new ideas that remain in line with practices of its period setting, the original novel and various adaptations of said novel. Offering the perspective of this character, a character who is often referred to not by her name, but by the title adjective of ugly, is perfectly horrifying. 

Everything here is beautiful, the sets, the costumes, the cinematography, it’s truly mesmerising to watch, every performance is excellent, and the character work here digs incredibly deep - nobody is written off as entirely good nor bad, everyone is shaded with such care, they’re all messy people, all cruel to one another and all incredibly damaged, you despise the way Elvira is treated, and by proxy, how she treats herself to purge this treatment, and yet, even her mother, a despicable character, has so many layers, she too demands sympathy, even if you hate the way she treats her daughters. 

It’s grotesque, an amazing style of body horror grounded in reality, which only seeks to further make you squirm, yet I found myself brought to tears constantly, every new step sees Elvira dreaming of a “cure”, a pathway into something greater. So many of these actions, while extreme, felt incredibly gritty and hit incredibly close to home, it’s horrific to watch the excitement in Elvira’s eyes as she dreams up all these schemes and pours all this money into rotting her body, her mind, and of course, it leads her into a deeper pit of sadness. 

This is truly a beautiful movie, and one that ends with sparks of hope and joy; it’s heartbreaking and spoke to me incredibly deeply. I cannot wait to see what director Blichfeldt makes next. 

Texas Chainsaw 3D - 2013

In contrast, I have very little to say about this film. 

It’s a cosy little time, a warm and fuzzy, stupid little hug. From the 3D chainsaw throws to the awful timeline blotting that just does not make sense in any world, this is a messy, silly movie. Yet it’s a messy, silly movie I had so much fun with, a movie I could dissolve into, I could allow everything to drain from my mind. 

Also, I appreciate what this movie does differently, I really enjoy the story of this one, the idea of building a wider town who were affected by the Sawyer family, the opening is genuinely amazing, and I find the protagonist’s arc to be enjoyable. It’s a movie that I find to be incredibly funny, most potently with this movie’s Hitchhiker who I was laughing so hard at. I love this stupid movie, it’s incredibly fun and comforting. Also the amusement park! See, there’s loads to love. 

Final Destination Bloodlines - 2025

Many have been claiming this to be one of the strongest in the franchise, and I can’t weigh in exactly, I haven’t seen the other movies in roughly five years, my minds a little foggy, but what I can say is that this is a great time. 

Maybe the movie’s strongest asset are the characters, the familial bond that threads them together adds an additional weight to the stakes, in contrast to something like the first movie (which I also love) where the protagonist cares for maybe two of the other characters. Rather than having the fear be death crawling closer to this film’s protagonist, every death holds more weight, we witness the impact, not just of fear bubbling, but of a family grieving, not allowed to fully do so. 

Plus, this film has so many great and likable characters! I think I enjoy everyone here, which is refreshing for this franchise, given for so long it lived on the idea that making characters suck made it satisfying to watch them die - a sound theory in concept, until you have to build an entire movie around these characters who suck, now I’m frustrated for forty minutes, and personally, I’m not someone who feels that kind of satisfaction, so then they’re dead, and we move on. 

I adore the opening premonition, which I can safely say I enjoy more than the racing track and bridge, maybe even the first movie’s plane too. There’s something innately terrifying to me about heights, and the slow boil of things going wrong is a gorgeous way of building tension - although this goes for every death, they’re perfectly set up, with enough objects floating around the room to keep you tense. Maybe my favorite of these deaths is the one in the hospital. 

Maybe my biggest complaints come from the sometimes excessive use of CGI, which admittedly has been a staple in the franchise since the initial movie, and how it looks. There’s a kind of faux sheen to the movie, especially the opening, and I found it to be incredibly distracting, never able to appreciate the gorgeous skyview shots. 

Also, of course I cried at Tony Todd’s sequence, which holds so much more emotional weight knowing he improvised many of the lines. It’s such a shockingly beautiful monologue for this franchise, and it lingers with me still. 

Drop - 2025

I feel like new releases are starting to pick up for me a little, prior to this month, there were only a handful of movies that released this year I truly fell in love with (Sinners, The Monkey, Companion) but five of the films in this review released this year, which is great to see!

Drop is a thriller that does exactly what it intends to, it’s something that works great on a first watch especially, attempting to unpack the mystery at hand, it’s often tense, great at building on itself, even if I wish there were slightly more steps to said build up. 

It’s a movie where the experience of watching it is where I derive most of my joy - sure, the sets are beautiful, I found it to be well acted with some great and memorable performances, but as a whole, this is a great little time if you’re willing to allow it to consume you, just to dissolve into this movie for ninety minutes, and drift off, and to this end, it’s great!  Although I definitely still prefer Freaky as far as Langdon’s movie’s go. 

Fréwaka - 2025

Initially I hadn’t planned to watch this movie, but I wanted something nice to burrow into after a dreary day at work, and having seen the gorgeous poster a few days prior, it sprung to mind. 

Fréwaka is an Irish folk horror movie, it’s a slow burn, although one I completely sank into given the amazing lead performances, both the protagonist Shoo and the old lady she’s caring for Peig, are deeply interesting characters, you want to root for them both, while also understanding their innate flaws and messiness, which only furthers how interesting they are to watch. 

It’s steeped in Irish folklore and the accompanying Folk Horror aesthetic, perfectly blending these in with the beautiful landscapes of Ireland. As a whole, the cinematography and editing here are phenomenal, the opening is especially haunting, and you ride on these bleak and creepy early sequences throughout. 

I would recommend any folk horror fans check this out! It’s a beautiful, creepy time. 

Thank you so much for reading!

If you enjoyed this, please consider looking at my debut novel, a coming of age, fantasy/horror story formatted in an episodic narrative.

[declanowo]

A Brief Guide into Video Nasties

During the 80s in the UK, a moral panic spawned in regards to low-budget horror movies and exploitation films, and concerns over how easily accessible they were to children, alongside the effect they would have upon them if they were to be consumed. Violence was on the rise, and as such, these movies, alongside violent video games, became a scapegoat of sorts - a quick and easy fix to a far larger problem.

Subsequently, Mary Whitehouse led a campaign designed to thwart the selling of movies that could be deemed to have a negative effect on their viewers. As such, a list of 72 films were devised by the director of public prosecutions, this scrutiny was defined by movies that sought "to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it". Of course, this allows for a wide umbrella of movies, and the fear of what people were watching grew even wider given the growing accessibility of filmmaking, with horror movies that would have otherwise been rejected by studios able to be placed straight to video, offering less censorship and a greater power to show whatever the filmmaker could devise.

Although there is a fairly definitive list of “Video Nasties”, police could seize any movies they had suspicion to believe could be harmful, with a handful of dramas and the likes taken for their vulgar titles. Following this inconsistency, a DPP list was published, with police subsequently allowed to take these from shops and homes. Of course, this became a fairly unregulated world, and many shops continued selling these tapes under the counter, now teenagers were, if anything, more inclined to seek out these movies, because banning art only spurs people to consume it. By demonising these tapes, they became coveted, and certain movies were likely aided by this label. The movies themselves range greatly in content, but for the most part, they’re mostly gory, sometimes sexy, horror movies, with a pinch of exploitation movies in the midst. Maybe the most popular movie criminalized was The Evil Dead, although a slew of cult classics better known in the horror world include Possession, The Beyond and A Bay of Blood.

It’s worth noting the lexical similarities between these movie titles, often featuring buzz words such as Cannibal, Blood (or variations upon) and Dead. There are a few explanations for these words frequently appearing in the film titles (which are frequently changed, many of the movies on the list have several titles) such as a general naming scheme for horror movies, a prejudice against these labels that led to higher prosecution rates given higher interrogation rates, or inspiration striking filmmakers to pack their titles with these words to grow traction. Cannibal sticks out especially to me, because it encapsulates this violent human against human fear that bubbled in the 80s; cannibals in these movies are often depicted as low-class, uncivilized and dangerous by association, and typically, their victims would be middle or higher classes. As such, the higher ups making these choices were likely fearful, and attempting to control lower classes in a greater capacity, sought to demolish movies that presented themselves as victims and these lower class teenagers (likely growing all the more frustrated with the poor economic state of the 80s) as powerful, be it for the wrong reasons or otherwise.

Another common theme throughout these movies is having the viewer placed in the perspective of the killer - The Witch Who Came from the Sea and Driller Killer examples of this. Of course, stories tend to assimilate us with the protagonist, they’re often who audiences instantly align with because we grow to know them first, most potently, and as such, to place the viewer in the mind of a deranged killer, inspires a fear that viewers will grow tainted, and want to imitate the acts from the film.

Yet, the reality is, the movies mentioned prior paint their killers in negative manners entirely, Driller Killer is designed to make the audience fear the killer because we follow him, we shouldn’t draw empathy from the man, but become horrified by the idea we could be him, it’s entirely the ideals perpetrated by the banning of these movies in the first place. Meanwhile The Witch Who Came from the Sea paints its killer as a lost, and damaged woman, she’s a victim at her core, it’s a character study above all else, where we’re tasked with understanding her fractured psyche, but again, we don’t idolise her.

By banning these movies, there’s a suggestion that its viewers cannot discern for themselves what’s reality and fiction, there’s an assumption that people cannot decide who a villain is and who are heroes. Movies listed as Video Nasties don’t craft killers, rather, the way society in the 1980s Britain shunned the poorest of the nation and constantly beat them lower and lower gives people anger without outlet, there’s a lack of understanding to people as to where this comes from, and as such, a rise in killers becomes a president. For a government crafted these issues, it becomes far easier to ban a handful of movies, villainise filmmakers and those who enjoy these films, rather than uproot a system they’re building that benefits them, but pushes people into positions of desperation, moulding them into monsters.

The complete list can be found here!

Thank you for reading this post! It comes from research for my sequel to my debut novel, Lives Worth Missing, although video nasties inspire a large amount of that novel too, with VHS tapes playing a large factor in the story.

Please consider checking out my novel!

[declanowo]

Favourite Movies of April

This month I decided to choose what to watch in a unique way, that being to pick a movie off my watchlist from every decade (since the 30s), alongside watching through the Re-Animator franchise alongside a smattering movies that act as research for my novel!

Pulse - 2001 

Horror movies that use technology as a vehicle to scare are often a favourite of mine, from Videodrome to Ring to the likes of FearDotCom, I love the way the style can be used, either to great effect or an amusing outcome. Pulse, uses technology in a genuinely haunting manner, it blends traditional ghost stories with a modernised world. 

It expertly makes use of dual protagonists to explore themes of loneliness and isolation in an age where connection was only growing easier and easier, and this early 2000s Tokyo backdrop is such a perfect time capsule, this era of the internet, working with dial up and dim screens, there’s a veil of unknown that only aids in blending the more classical ghosts with this technology. 

It’s eerie to its core, and when you scratch away at the surface, push closer to the dimly lit screen, making out the features clearer and clearer, it soon becomes bleak and hopelessly terrifying. Of course, the ghosts and imagery are scary, yes, but the existentialism and grainy fear the movie is steeped in is what makes this movie so haunting. 

Re-Animator - 1985

When I first watched re-animator, I remember finding myself somewhat in a slump, struggling to focus on anything, watch anything - it had been a rough day, and I decided eventually to watch this movie in the background of another activity, and it brightened me, yet I couldn’t shrug the feeling I had done myself a disservice not offering the film my full attention. 

So rewatching the first movie, and then the trilogy as a whole for the first time, I came to see just how great this movie is. For the past year or so my pinterest has been swamped with fanart of Herbert West and his assistant Dan, and almost instantly I came to remember why there is such an obsession with these characters, especially as a pair. As the third movie demonstrates, it’s their pairing that makes this story so interesting and compelling, living in Dan’s reality rather than the mad yet great West’s mind is vital to telling this story, because when this grounded eye is removed, there is a great loss to both the narrative and these characters. 

It’s such a great take on the zombie formula, it’s Frankenstinian by design, and the over the top characters blend perfectly into this world. With an earworm of a score and some breathtaking practical effects, the movie is near perfect for any mood, it captures such an enjoyable atmosphere, the cinematography is beautifully colourful, it’s amazing. 

Also, as someone who loves set design, Dan’s bedroom is made up of pretty much just a bed and Talking Heads poster and it’s perfection. 

Revenge - 2017 

CW: Rape

Although I’ve wanted to watch this movie since I saw The Substance, I’ve been putting it off for a while given its subject matter. As it goes, I tend to avoid Rape Revenge movies, for a plethora of reasons. But given it was directed by a woman (Coralie Fargeat), I decided to finally give it a go, mostly because of the movie’s costume design; I’d had the star earrings glued to my brain for months. 

To start, the costume design is great here, and the star earrings are even more fun in the movie. 

So much about this film works so perfectly, from the gorgeous cinematography to the rich characterisation, I found the film to be tasteful and subvert typical tropes found in its subgenre, which oftentimes placed father figures as the characters seeking revenge. Here Jen does everything, it’s over the top in its gore, sequences are filled with unrealistic scenarios which build up this resilience a character like Jen has, the phoenix frequently used as a motif for her rebirth. 

Truly, this is amazingly crafted, it’s tense, uncomfortable and cathartic as all hell. Plus, of course, the ear rings too. 

Bride of Re-animator - 1990 

Everything that I loved about re-animator I adore here too. The movie offers a more overtly comedic tone, fixating more so on the relationship between Herbert and Dan. Their relationship here is even better than in the first, it’s such a natural way to further their bond, I love it all. 

Most who discuss this film will note how fun it is, yet how disjointed the story itself is, feeling like a mass of parts that ultimately tangles come the end. While I do agree, I view this as a larger positive - you’re just spending an hour and a half with these guys you love to watch. 

Maybe my least favorite part of the first film is its ending, and this movie is no different, in fact, I think I feel fairly similarly about these movies. This might be one of the best sequels I’ve watched. It stays true to the original in so many ways, yet it builds upon its central themes, while introducing new characters and a more gothic aesthetic, alluding to the titular Bride (of Frankenstein), who plays a far smaller part in the film than one would initially conceive based on the title alone. 

This movie is such a fun time, I would recommend it to anyone that loves the first film for its central characters. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1956

Invasion is a movie that I have felt incredibly compelled to watch for a while, unsure whether to pick the original or 70s remake as my starting point, but ultimately, I stuck to the original. 

Stewing in an American Cold War zeitgeist, it would be fairly easy for me to dislike the movie, as often happens with me and 50s movies. Yet, there’s something so profoundly terrifying about the premise of this movie, the titular body snatchers allow for a constant sense of paranoia as the characters navigate this movie, their seemingly unfounded fears becoming a reality, their cries for help ignored, something particularly potent when looking at the 50s too. 

There’s so much to love here, but I particularly loved the practical pods, the “birth” scene particularly stuck me in how beautifully it’s filmed with a great use of canted angles and set design - the greenhouse is perfect and reminds me of my first Goosebumps book Stay Out of the Basement. 

Crash - 1996

When I first heard the concept of Crash, I was desperate to watch it. A psychosexual movie about car crashes sounded hypnotic, especially when Directed by Cronenberg, although I did briefly ponder how one builds a story around this central idea; frequently, I find myself confronted with that exact issue - I’ve had a great idea, yet now I need to craft a story around it. Yet this is where Crash shines, it’s able to tell a deeply profound story with such an abstract concept. 

Thematically, it reminded me a lot of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, the idea of industrialisation and loss of human connections by proxy. It’s rich, beautifully shot and dripping in eroticism. 

As someone who has no interest in cars at all, this film managed to so deeply capture my attention, there’s something for everyone to love within its walls. Cronenberg’s movies continue to appeal to me in such a grand way. 

Pan’s Labyrinth - 2006 

When I studied film at college, this is undoubtedly the movie that I fell in love with the most. While I enjoyed most of the film’s and held a great appreciation for their craft, it was Pan’s that managed to nest inside my mind.

At first, I found the war centric plot to dampen the movie, it was the fantasy I was enamoured with, completely infatuated with these creatures and the gorgeous set pieces. Yet over time, I’ve come to appreciate the woes of the war too. It's a perfect exploration of how escapism becomes particularly vital to us in times of great hardship, when all we carry is our mind and the world around us grows too weary, where can we escape to? 

Ultimately, it’s the fascists that attempt to dampen Ofelia’s imagination, it’s these domineering figures that attempt to conglomerate her, because to exist in a single, exact binary is the ultimate fascist dream. To craft fantasies, we can escape our own realities, process them, and above all else, allow ourselves to live. 

Watching behind the scenes of Del Toro working on this movie instantly endeared me to him and his work; I love the creative stride he carries, and Pan’s means so much to me as a result. 

Dead of Night - 1945

I’ve recently been reading MR James’ Ghost Stories, an anthology collection of his works, and prior to that, I read an anthology of Ludmilla Petrushevskaya’s “Scary Fairy Tales”. Both of these have aided in my realisation that I adore anthologies, and yet still, I was shocked how much I fell in love with this movie. 

Told with a framing narrative of a man who is experiencing a recurring dream that he can’t exactly remember, yet he knows contains every member in the house he’s just entered, the movie has the characters recounting their own unexplainable, haunting tales. I want to briefly touch upon them all. 

The Hearse Driver 

Although short, this segment does a great job at setting the groundwork for the style of horror this movie is seeking to share, these are ghost stories at their core, steeped in fantastical, unexplainable experiences. It’s snappy, reaching its peak swiftly, which allows for a striking conclusion and segment that doesn’t overstay its welcome. 

The Christmas Party

There’s a beautiful contrast that separates the pieces of this segment, from the crowded blocking as the children flock around our protagonist, the loud cheering soundscape and warm feeling, to having smaller spaces, claustrophobic yet empty cinematography, there’s a colder air, the set design feels far more desolate, and the sound design is near silent, eerily so. 

The Haunted Mirror 

At the core of this story is the way we force ourselves to overcome fears and signs that warn us of something awful oncoming as a means to assimilate into society better. When we feel profoundly uncomfortable by something and yet, we deem it to be far better to swallow our anxieties, to make ourselves, our minds and bodies feel terrible, just to fit in. It writhes at the centre of this story about a haunted mirror, of a singular experience that festers much further as a result of shrugging off foreboding warning signs. One of the best here. 

The Golfer’s Story

Far brighter in tone, a comedic tale to bridge the far more harrowing stories. Honestly, I found this to be funny, I enjoyed the concept of a ghost tethered to his old friend on his wedding night, although I did leave feeling as if it were somewhat out of place against the other movies, there’s a curiousness to the comedic throughline that holds this segment up.

The Ventriloquist's Dummy

This segment is the reason this movie is best known; its influence cannot be understated, going on to inspire countless stories of Dummy’s coming to life. It’s terrifying, the blending of reality and sanity is beautiful, it’s the most ambiguous of these stories and it thrives as a result. Michael Redgrave's performance is beautiful, truly haunting to watch his descent into madness as he fears his dummy Hugo may leave him for a different ventriloquist. Deeply haunting, and undoubtedly my favorite segment. 

I’d be remiss not to mention how great the wrap-around is at building tension, and the entire movie is worth watching for the final sequence alone. Viewing the film as a boiling pot, it excellently incorporates every aspect of its stories to tell a final, dreamy story that had me dumbfounded at how terrifying it manages to be. Anxiety inducing doesn’t even cover it, there’s a profound horror within every frame of the finale, and I left the movie entirely shocked by how much it struck me. I cannot recommend this enough. 

Sinners - 2025

I cannot recommend watching Sinner’s enough. 

Vampire stories are already favorites of mine, I tend to enjoy most media with them at their core, but Sinner’s manages to tell such a hypnotic, thematically rich story using the loss of souls as an allegory for losing one’s heritage and purpose. 

To me, the story is that of trying to assimilate without losing yourself and that which is important to you. Music connects people when prejudice prevails, and throughout the film, it is music that is guiding the characters, luring in the white characters and connecting the black characters, it runs through them like a thread. 

I completely lost myself watching this, the music sequence in particular is a true sight to behold, it encapsulates the film’s themes and thesis entirely, it’s gorgeously shot, amazingly acted, and maybe the standout for me, is the score. 

Every personal review of this movie unpeels another layer of meaning, of purpose, and it’s beautiful to see how united people are in regards to it. There is a mountain of emotions, themes and ideas to unpack, and that is only a piece of why this film is so amazing and important, especially in our current political climate. 

I cannot stop thinking about this film, and I cannot recommend people watch it enough. It’s undoubtedly my favorite movie of the year so far. 

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - 1920

I watched this movie as research for my sequel novel; it’s a film I have watched before, somewhat, I was distracted, struggled to focus, and found myself hypnotised by the set design which just oozes with style and allure. 

Of course, this is once again what I latched onto most, German Expressionism is an artistic movement that fixated more so on the feelings of an artist rather than capturing an objective reality. As such, the film is able to build abstract sets and backgrounds, playing with shape and perspective to drop these characters in a world that appears to be lavish painting. Every frame becomes this artistic dreamscape, which feels integral to telling this story and to captivating me when the movie itself is silent. 

However, beyond just this, I found myself far more captivated by the story on this watch than I was five or so years prior when I first watched this - it’s a classic horror story, one of an incredibly gothic, stylish young man being drawn from an eternal sleep to murder. It’s a core horror story, its sequences of horror are hauntingly beautiful, and it’s such a perfect story for a silent movie. 

Maybe my most common critique when watching silent movies is the score, which is rarely standardised, and given the majority of silent movies are in the public domain, anyone can loop any classical arrangement over the top, and it crafts a repetitive nature, dampening any impact a sequence could have on me. Yet, this version of the movie I was watching had maybe the most beautiful, loud and impressive score I’ve heard, it elevates every scene. 

Blue Velvet - 1986

When I first finished watching Blue Velvet, I found myself wondering “is that the end?” Mostly, I feel this came from the prior Lynch movies I’d watched, and ultimately, the reality painted in this movie is far more straightforward than many of his other works. Yet this simplicity, comparatively, at least, is what allows this movie to fester. 

Within an hour, I couldn’t stop thinking about every frame of this movie, how deeply impactful it truly was, its themes of voyeurism are potent, certainly the most powerful I’ve ever witnessed. Watching this young man mould into that which he fears, which he hates, assimilating into a darker world to dissect what rests beneath the seemingly picturesque roses and picket fences is deeply moving. It’s a subtle metamorphosis, with key sequences detailing him becoming that which he intends to expose in order to learn more, to become a piece of the narrative. 

Kyle Magclauchlan and Laura Dern are maybe my favourite Lynch actors, so watching them both here is a lot of fun, and their romance is incredibly sweet, it’s the surface of this suburbia, beauty and calm, as the grittier darkness is exposed. 

It’s a strong and consistent two hours, and every second is used perfectly, Lynch stated to the studio that there wasn’t a way he could improve upon the movie, and I completely agree - this is the epitome of perfect. And despite my initial reaction, the ending too is perfect, poetic and powerful. I haven’t been able to stop playing the titular song ever since finishing this. Certainly my favourite movie I watched this month. 

Magic - 1978

Something I always find frustrating when I read reviews of horror movies that  have escaped the general genre sphere, is when the movie they like is praised as good because it isn’t a different horror movie, it doesn’t use supernatural tropes or jumpscares, when the reality is, Magic is a great film because of what it does do, not because of tropes it subverts that weren’t popularised at the time of its release. 

Magic is a character drama at its core, that allows the viewers to question for the entirety of its runtime whether or not the monster at its core is a man or a puppet. It’s psychological, harsh and at times, bleak. 

From the opening sequences that hop from our protagonist, Corky’s first and second magic shows, the first bombs, using a scoreless sequence, overlaying shots of disinterested crowds with skittish, acting from Anthony Hopkins, it paints a perfect picture as he lies to his father about how well it went. Soon after, we witness his second chance, where he has his puppet Fats, and of course, this works perfectly. The direction here is immaculate, it’s lively, brimming with heightened emotions. 

Also Corky and Fats wear matching jumpers at one point, so it’s pretty perfect in my eyes. 

Viy - 1967

Viy depicts the eponymous fairytale of a young Christian as he’s tasked with reciting prayers to the corpse of a witch he’d met a night prior, and the ultimate horrors unleashed during these hours. 

For the time especially, there are some gorgeous effects and sequences, they’re of course, not seamless, yet this offers the film an authentic aesthetic, one of heart greenscreens atop vivid countryside, but this isn’t to diminish how, despite their age, these effects look phenomenal. 

So much of the costuming and set design is beautiful, with the poster for the movie encapsulating this in a single artwork perfectly, I cannot fathom the artistry of this movie, that at its core, is a fairytale, conventionally simple stories.

It's fantastical, beautifully so, and every sequence that takes place at night is claustrophobic, it has a beautiful finale I want to consume over and over, such perfect creatures, effects, wow! 

Thank you so much for reading! Next month is looking very heavy on new releases and research, so that's very exciting! I'm planning on posting weekly on here too :)

If you enjoyed this, please consider looking at my debut novel, a coming of age, fantasy/horror story formatted in an episodic narrative.

[declanowo]

Lives Worth Missing Inspirations

Volume One

My novel follows a group of children who have fantastical powers thrust upon them through death, the piercing of this veil between life and death, child-like innocence and the growing harsh reality of existence, it chronicles these characters as they become teenagers. 

Many of my earliest influences come from Cartoons, especially when looking at volume one in particular. 

Maybe the most potent are Adventure Time, Steven Universe and Gravity Falls  in that their structure builds a serialized narrative across episodic adventures. All of these shows have overarching storylines, threads of information about these worlds and characters are spread across a whole season, leading to a handful of large finales. Season One of Steven Universe maybe echoes this idea the closest, it’s a massive season, and the first half of said season use mostly episodic storylines, this aids to build up the characters, while giving hints towards the greater scope of this world. It’s vital to understand and get to know these characters here, for this then allows for a greater impact when their backstories and growth. It allows the biggest beats of the season to stand out: Ocean Gem and Jail Break spring to mind. 

I sought to echo this style of narrative, there’s an inciting incident to build up the narrative, but until chapter eight, there’s little hints here and there, but this is a more concrete explanation of what’s happening, and why. Yet these larger moments cannot exist without one first caring for the characters and the world itself. I love the townie episodes of Steven Universe for this reason. 

Adventure Time has a similar style of narrative, although its earlier seasons do so to a lesser degree, we’re dropped into this world, and it’s through experiencing all that it has to offer, that we then have interest in why it’s this way, why the characters exist as they do, characters like Ice King appear first as a silly villain, yet quickly we tumble into tragedy when diving into his backstory. 

Gravity Falls has the most evident theme of mystery, it in of itself draws heavy inspiration from Twin Peaks, another favourite show of mine. Every episode allows for a new little mystery, meanwhile a handful build into the wider narrative, the looming threat of Bill, and the purpose of the journals. 

Another pair of shows that worked to influence aspects of the volume were Clarence and South Park, which carry the similarity of placing their youthful characters in fantastical scenarios, endowed with their imagination that we as the audience, see physically manifested. Although my novel does include pure fantasy, there is this joy that comes from having the children treat these terrifying situations as nothing more than little games, it blends this theme of innocence with puberty as an inevitably. 

Growing up, I steeped myself in cartoons, I'd watch them after school at my grandparents while waiting for my parents to pick me up, and so this style of story structure, and the relative associations with youth and the fading memories of it intertwine here for me. While I never fell out of love with these series, for a while it became difficult to pick up new ones, but maturity brings understanding, I love these shows, hell, I'm currently watching through the Powerpuff Girls, because these shows speak to a specific pit in my brain. All of these feelings intertwine into my novel too.

I'd be remiss not to mention the horror influences too. The genre populates my mind, I live and breathe horror movies, and so this naturally exhales throughout my work. Although much lighter in this first volume, there are odes to classical monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula.

Classical literature also bound itself to my novel. I wrote the majority of this book while studying my A-Levels, English Literature my favourite of the three I took. Specifically, I name a handful that go on to greatly influence the plot, however the idea of alluding back to classics and more modern, less "prestigious" pieces of art is always my goal, especially within Lives Worth Missing.

Looking at wider literature to aid in building the world, Greek Mythology also worked as an influence, I can see shades of Patroclus and Achilles training with Chiron, alongside crafting divine powers and Demi-Gods. Oftentimes, I also find myself falling to Biblical stories to echo within my narratives. Every chapter unveils its own influences, a bi-product of having an episodic narrative, examples include Frankenstein and Undertale. Treating these episodic stories like a playground for testing ideas and techniques is a lot of fun - in later volumes I have a lot of experimental chapters, which can often be the most fun to work on.

If any of this sounds interesting to you please give my book a look! It would mean the world :)

[declanowo]

My Favourite March Watches

Creep 2

Creep was a movie I remember hearing about incessantly when I first truly got into horror, and yet, it took me until last October to finally get around to it. Yet upon watching it, it became abundantly clear why people love the movie, it’s a near perfect example of how found footage is one of the scariest subgenres, the rudimentary feel, the digital camera, awkward and realistic pauses and breaks, and of course, Peach Fuzz is a perfect villain, he’s unpredictable, every word he states could be a fallacy, and so the reality of this world grows blurrier, and far scarier, every minute. 

Creep 2 offers more of the same, but in the best possible way. Although I don’t quite love it as much, I think the movie acts as a perfect sequel and continues to evolve upon the original in a lot of great ways, pushing it nearly on par with that movie. 

Sara takes the role of our protagonist in this movie, and I think she offers a perfect new lens to which we can view this story. Unlike Aaron from the first movie, she’s far more assertive, this is what gets her into these problems as opposed to the incredibly passive protagonist in the first movie. Once again, we have a perfect purpose for her to continue spending time with our villain, and to this end, it conquers a great hurdle of both found footage horror, and sequels. 

Everything that works here also works in the original movie, although the innovation and attempts to draw new life into this story are what allows it to truly shine as a sequel, it understands what we as an audience are aware of given having watched the first movie, and it offers us something unique in turn. Truly, this series is one of the best for found footage, offering the casual, awkward dialogue needed for this subgenre, the dead air, without crafting a dull atmosphere. Unlike a movie like Paranormal Activity (which I also love, especially the down time) the scares never end, the terrifying aspect, is out villain, who lingers in every frame, you’re always on edge, unsure exactly what he’ll do next, if what he’s saying is true.

Ring (1998) 

Both versions of Ring are among my favourite horror movies, and when I received the Arrow Blu-ray collection of the first four movies in the Japanese canon, I couldn’t wait to watch them. Although eventually I want to watch the entire series, I’m aiming to spread out the movies across this year, given some of the latter sequels' reputations precede them. Although I will never complain because they’ve offered some of the coolest collabs out there in the Sadako Hello Kitty merch. I am desperate to get either the plush or the well to go with the Hello Kitty Chucky and Tiffany I already own, but for now, I must wait. 

Regardless, I think watching the sequels to this movie highlight just how perfect this is. Having the slow countdown of seven days brings such perfect pacing to this story, there’s an air of despair that hangs atop every frame, as you slowly watch these character’s lives erode under the weight of the videotape. 

At the centre of this movie are deeply interesting characters, it’s something both Spiral and Ring 2 share too. Reiko and Ryuji are so interesting, their relationship itself allows for such an interesting exploration during this brief and tense period of time, and the interjection of characters having psychic powers is something I will always love. Here they exist without much explanation, and I love that! 

Sadako too continues to shine here, there are the obvious stand out sequences, but she’s a joy to watch in every moment we share with her, she’s such a perfect creepy kid archetype. 

Often in discussions of horror, people will refer to this movie in regards to modern horror being “too jumpscare reliant”, “bland”, or “too gory”, and while I can’t agree with any of that, I do agree that this offers a near perfect scary experience, yet it’s similarly morose. Down to the opening scene, it’s creepy and tense, yet oftentimes lightens itself, before striking the viewer suddenly once more. It crawls under your skin and burrows there, the film is perfect beyond its stand out moments, often discussed. 

In the Mouth of Madness

Maybe a year or two ago, I remember hearing the various titles of Sutter Cane’s fictional novels within this movie: The Breathing Tunnel, The Feeding, The Thing in the Basement… They stuck to my mind like glue, and the premise for the movie soon did too. I love stories about writers, and this movie is no different. 

There’s a certain allure to the large catalogs of authors such as Stephen King or R.L Stine, staring at aged paperbacks with gorgeous artwork to stories many seldom visit. It’s this feeling I found myself steeped in while watching this movie, learning of these novels that I'm entranced by yet am never to read. 

Lovecraftian in nature, the movie plays with what reality is, it’s psychological to its core, the weird characters that appear blend typical horror conventions with just slightly off performances, they’re played perfectly, they’re eerie and offbeat, contrasting the different locations with unique flavours of horror, yet all with the same twinge, an author's mind is streaked throughout the pages of this world. 

Halloween 3 drew to mind during a section of this film, and while I adore that movie, I do love the way this film only goes on to subvert my expectations. Its own ability to draw upon these tropes so perfectly, only to twist them is what makes this such an enjoyable watch. 

I found myself desperate to read Sutter Cane’s novels the moment the movie ended, and maybe that says more about me than anything else. 

Ring 2

Ring 2 is everything I wanted Spiral to be, and nearly was. Developing upon the character of Mai, who briefly appeared in the first movie, the film follows a unique trail in telling a story revolving around the curse without completely severing itself from the original movie. 

With something like Ring’s seven day structure, it would be easy to make this movie feel repetitive, however the story manages to venture into different depths, keeping the investigatory storyline, but shifting away from the tape, which keeps the movie fresh, if not lacking a large part of what makes the first movie so great. 

Yet it’s to the credit largely of the characters that the movie stays afloat, most notably, Mai, who I quickly came to love in Spiral, and even more so in this movie. And much like the first movie, the continued use of psychic powers allures me further, they’re a joy to watch and grow to understand, fleshing out this world and the types of people who live in it. 

At the core of this film is a tale of a found family, of growth and survival following something rooted in trauma. It lacks the key moments of its predecessor to craft a terrifying tale, but instead, it asks the question of what happens next? When we lose everything, how do we carry on? For the majority of the film, there’s not a tense tone, no given time limit nor a direct impending threat, which only accentuates the latter half of the film, when Mai must place her own woes aside to aid the writhing pain of someone else, to make peace with herself so she can ensure another doesn’t live through the endless spiral of pain she has. 

Leprechaun 2

I have such a soft spot for both the original movie, and now this one too. I’m not too sure what to say, it’s a fantasy horror tale, it’s a conventional slasher that feels tethered to the era, the somewhat bland landscape of the early 90s horror, especially with slashers. They’re formulaic, sillier than the earlier and mid 80s movies that defined their era. Similarly, Leprechaun 2 is a by the books slasher, and I mean that in a positive light, I sat down, knew what to expect, got that, and I was pleased. 

Leprechaun 2 is comfort food to me, a warm weighted blanket at the end of a long day, it can be funny, creative, and completely stupid, and a great, cozy time. 

The Wailing 

In contrast to every cozy and warm feeling imbued within me by Leprechaun 2, The Wailing is neither a silly nor stupid fun time, but rather, a gritty, tense and bleak experience, shifting from a police procedural, which is violent and grotesque, but a spectacle that allows everyone to shed a sigh and move on, to an intimate and dark descent. 

There are so many stand out sequences in this movie, but my mind is drawn to the end of the movie, a long, tense stretch that had my stomach churning. The flavour of horror here is diverse, the filmmaking reflects this, there are cold, frail moments, dark and bleak expanses, yet some of the scariest are maybe the loudest peaks, the busy, anxiety inducing waves. 

From start to finish, the film engrossed me, the story unfolds in such a fun way, and the folklore and biblical stories in which it draws upon were a joy to sink my teeth into. 

The horror of watching the world around you rot, praying the same curse doesn’t crawl to your door can feel all too close to home navigating modern life, and this is what makes the story so scary, the build up of the decay, that swiftly digs deep into your soul. How does one react when the suffering they’ve been turning the other way to surrounds them completely, where can one go when there’s no more places to hide? Maybe the scariest part of all, is the control our characters still hold, the ability to make things change, we sometimes see everything as out of our reach, yet maybe the horror lies within the reality we can save those in pain, but do we know enough to do so? 

12 Hour Shift 

As a huge fan of both May and the 2002 Carrie remake, I was excited to watch 12 Hour Shift for a while. 

It’s a tense, funny ride, oftentimes feeling to me like a stage play in the single location used, the constant escalation of every problem and its dialogue. 

In fact, the film's ability to keep building upon itself is near perfection, everything that occurs plays so perfectly into every character's exact traits, they’re all messy and imperfect, and it only serves to further descend into an impossible spiral, while making everyone deeply enjoyable to watch. 

It’s such a clean movie, with great gore, a great script, acting, characters and it’s powerfully fast paced, it’s difficult to go wrong with this one. 

MadS

Without a doubt my favourite new watch of this month, MadS is a beautiful, dreary descent. It’s anxiety inducing, filmed as a one-shot, the camera is constantly used in such great ways to further the feeling of having an awful high, it guides the viewer to question everything. 

Without spoiling the great twist here, the way we join these characters, feed into their lives as we bounce from protagonist to protagonist is great, all of them are so distinct, strung together with the same, horrific, trip. 

Both the cinematography and the choreography are great here, I found myself anxious from the first scene, where an incredibly high character starts driving, and from there, we only spiral deeper. 

It begs the question, who do you trust when you can’t trust yourself, nor your friends? Our perception is the only thing between us and shattering, so when this reality begins to crack, what can we do? This is the pure horror of this film. 

It’s a perfect, beautiful, hazy nightmare. One of my favorites from last year, and of all time. Truly a movie that you have to watch for yourself. 

As Above, So Below 

This is a movie that I watched after work, melting into my weighted blanket with a herbal tea. It’s a movie that I’d heard plenty about prior to watching, always a recommendation, yet there was never much drive to watch it. Seemingly, it was always the second choice, on the brink. 

Found footage is a favorite subgenre of mine, so when I learnt this film took that approach, I couldn’t have been happier, it aids the feeling of claustrophobia as our cast crawl through the catacombs, it’s awful and I hate it, which only goes to demonstrate how amazingly crafted this is, partly, because the film was filmed on location. 

As someone who is incredibly claustrophobic, I love watching anything like this because of how much it makes my skin crawl, both this and needles are two areas I struggle with completely, and so I adore spending time with them. 

Maybe this is what kept me having a great time with this one, the interesting themes they explore alongside the nauseating cinematography, it’s a perfect use of the found footage format, and I appreciate the strides to make this feel different in contrast to other “people get stuck somewhere they shouldn’t be” movies. 

Thank you for reading this months reviews! I have a lot of fun writing these! I'm hopeful to eventually write some other stuff on here too! For anyone new, I'm a first time author of a coming of age, fantasy/horror novel! more information can be found here! I also run a Scooby Doo Review blog @scooby-review! Any support and interest towards my novel is hugely appreciated <3

Also, less importantly, my Letterboxd is here too!

Have a great month! :)

[declanowo]

Favourite February Watches

I hope everyone had a great February! I’ve been incredibly excited to take a look through my favourites of last month! I usually pick out a small handful of movies right before the months roll over, and this month I fixated on romantic horror movies, alongside seeking out a handful of duologies where I had seen the first movie, but simply hadn't gotten around to the sequels or remakes yet. Of course, I realise now this perfectly fits into the Valentines theme that runs potently throughout the month itself. In total, I watched sixteen movies, eleven of which I loved enough to discuss. 

Some spoilers throughout! All reviews are broken up clearly to make it easy to dip in and out. 

The Fly - 1986 

I started out the month by watching The Fly, a movie I have always sought after, but never caught until this point. Originally, I had no plans to watch it this month either, yet, I became fixated on doing so as I started to spin the webs of a body horror chapter of my novel, and when I considered these ideas and how I wanted to portray them, I couldn’t shake the image of The Fly from my mind. Yet it also acts as an incredibly romantic movie, centring on Seth Brundle, a scientist, as he shares his ground-breaking new invention. 

Often cited as director Cronenberg’s best display of body horror, it’s difficult not to agree; I adore Videodrome, it has such a vivid aesthetic and the body horror there surely sticks in your mind too, although I think both do so for different reasons. Throughout the story, we grow incredibly close with Seth Brundle as a character, and therefore, his slow transformation is made all the more intimate, the shifts break through not only his skin, but his personality too. Truly, this is a complete metamorphosis, a slow and brutal one at that. 

80s remakes of 50s movies are somewhat of a little obsession for me, in the sense of, I haven’t seen many of the 50s versions, but this mere phenomenon is always enticing to my mind, and the evident differences in style, tone and intent are reflections of the shifting cultural zeitgeist. 

Everything about this film is perfect, from the performances to the makeup. Lingering on the former, I love the feeling of being inside Veronica’s shoes, in a sense, it feels like we shift both perspective and alignment throughout the film, everything seeks to alienate us from the man we once knew, much as Veronica knew, for he has crumbled. Mimicking this through the perspective shift is great, especially given it is done so when we’ve grown to love the budding romance between the pair, it’s a capital T tragedy, textbook lovers doomed to perish, and it’s beautiful. Their relationship binds this narrative together, it gives purpose to what we witness, to how intense our reactions should feel. 

Seth Brundle is, of course, great too. His slow fall places this as an amazing character study, every step of his physical transformation draws closer unique shifts to his personality, he becomes like every other man, he grows obsessive with sugar and his mind ceases to linger on anyone but himself, for he is magnificent. Every step is precise and the effects of it linger on every scene, every breath of dialogue. 

But of course, the stand out of the film was always going to be the practical effects. I’m a huge fan of body horror, and for my purposes of researching the subgenre slightly more deeply, it was perfect. There’s very little that I can add to discussing the effects, they’re simply perfect, every new crack in his flesh aches. This is undoubtedly a favourite of this month (and of all time) surrounded by a large array that have truly hit me. 

Ouija: Origin of Evil - 2016

This movie was one of the aforementioned duologies I wanted to finish. I watched the first film when I was house sitting for my brother a few months back; I remember being a child and seeing the Blu-Ray and being filled with an unbridled anxiety. Given this fear growing up, I had been curious to finally visit this movie, and I wasn’t the biggest fan despite oftentimes enjoying a (well crafted) jump scare movie, far more than the average horror fan appears to. Yet this film just missed every mark with me, it felt evocative of Slender Man in this sense, except I was laughing a lot during Slender Man, and also, I enjoy the character of Slender Man, and Ouija unfortunately wasn’t funny nor did it include Slender Man. 

In contrast, Ouija: Origin of Evil is the kind of jump scare horror movie I adore. It feels gateway by design, and it uses its subject matter to explore interesting characters and dynamics, the scares are fun and the entire movie is brimming with style - split dioptres are all over this film and never fail to make me smile! 

We follow a widowed mother and her two children, the former runs a scam business where she talks to the dead, however instantly, the movie takes a unique turn when we realise that she does so with the hope she can provide closure to those who need it. Her intent isn’t malicious, rather, she is making money while providing comfort to those most vulnerable, a position she no doubt understands. 

From this first scene I was engrossed, the film has a unique perspective on familiar characters, and this alone is enough to get me excited, and yet, this only grows as we learn more about this family and the individual members, the intricacies and struggles of their lives, it’s a great time. 

Crafting this kind of movie as a period piece is such a bold choice; I’m a huge fan of period pieces and oftentimes fall in love with them much easier than others given I know very little about these periods, it’s a style I would love to write in some day, yet I'm holding off for now given the mountains of research and precision that’s required to craft such a vivid and accurate world, and as far as I can tell, this movie does an excellent job. 

Once I finished watching the film, I found myself sitting on my laptop in the dark, reading director Flanagan’s detailed discussion about set life and the creation of the movie, and his incredibly frank description was a joy to read. Learning about why different stylistic choices were made, what restrictions were imposed on such a large studio movie and what this set was like will never fail to allure me, it’s a world I adore and being able to see such an amazing insight into it is always something I will cherish. 

Companion - 2025

I believe Companion is the first new release I am discussing, and while I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve watched releasing this year, Companion is incredible. 

Describing Companion without spoiling anything is difficult, and to properly discuss it I feel it’s important to explain a fairly key plot point, so feel free to shift to the following movie to avoid spoilers! 

Everyone in this is amazing, with both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid standing out especially, possibly a result of me enjoying their prior works. Yet their performances are magnetic, these characters are joys to watch, Quaid perfects the loser incel boyfriend archetype perfectly, he’s funny to watch and yet so quickly by the end does he become a figure to fear. Although fragile, he attempts to exert power over Iris (Thatcher) through nothing more than his masculinity. It’s impressive how quickly this shift comes, how he’s feared, although never truly in power, he’s a complete loser, yes, but the film acts as a warning of the dark streaks that come through these kinds of people. Particularly, I am also a huge fan of gay Jack Quaid dressed in a dinosaur costume dancing, that scene and song have been tangled inside my mind ever since I watched the movie. 

Despite everyone’s amazing performances, it’s Iris who truly stands out, who carries this movie through her shift from docility to hostility. Of course, she is a robot, and therefore, her growth could come across cheaply, especially since her personality is nothing more than a series of switches. Yet we learn deep into the film of her identity as a companion robot, that we’ve already grown entirely endeared to her, and now we as an audience see the humanity shining from her character in a way the other characters cannot. I adore how assertive her character becomes, and when she is later neutered once more, we can feel a sense of a mind trapped behind a filter, she isn’t shifting per se, rather, she is being filtered. 

At the core of this film are themes of misogyny, and I think it ties perfectly into imagery of robots, simply, Josh can dehumanise Iris in an instant, because after all, dispute looking human, talking like a human, feeling like a human and believing she is a human, she is nothing more than a device to have sex with. I wouldn’t describe the film as subtle, and I don’t think it needs to be. It’s potent in its imagery, the final act can grow hard to watch and it treats these ideas with the horror and severity they should be treated with. Josh cannot view Iris as a person, yet the film reinforces these themes through his relationship with his friend, Kat, it’s evident he’s in love with her, and he acts somewhat more reserved towards her at times, yet finally, we see his fury pour out, for the reality is, it never mattered that Iris was a robot, she was human enough, but ultimately, Josh hates women and craves power. 

Stylistically, this film is beautiful, from the picturesque dream sequences popping with vibrant colours, to the costume design that boasts Iris in bright and colourful feminine colours and designs, to the sweeping landscape shots that drip with flavour. 

As I’ve written about the film, I’ve come to realise how much more I like it than I previously realised, despite already knowing I enjoyed it. This is an incredibly funny horror movie, and I adore it. 

The Haunting - 1963

Maybe my weakest spot as far as horror is concerned, is the 60s, it’s a bridge between a tame era of monster movies blended with hays code plagued stories of the 50s into gory, terrifying, maddening and beautiful movies of the 70s (this comes as no disrespect to monster movies, which I adore, but complete adversity towards the hays code). 

However when I got around to watching this movie (I feel it important to add I am yet to watch the Flanagan mini-series, nor have I read the novel) I found myself infatuated with every corner of it. This movie oozes with style, the characters are captivating and the horror itself is filled with dread. 

The film follows a doctor who seeks to prove the existence of ghosts, banding together a group of outsiders to investigate Hill House. 

Oftentimes people will quote the notion that modern horror movies show too much, and while I disagree, a lot of the strengths of The Haunting come from how much restraint it holds in regards to what it shows. Of course, showing the ghosts is one way to drum up fear, however, there is something maddening about never knowing the reality of this house - we see the world through Eleanor, a woman who has fled her family and whose plagued by nightmares of her mothers passing, she’s an unreliable narrator, and the cast around her mirror this, nobody is completely to be trusted, although this comes not from a malicious intent, rather, these are outsiders, everyone here is haunted by something, and therefore, it is worth questioning what exactly draws across this house. We never see the ghosts, we hear them, we feel them, but sight is not a sense we are gifted, for sight unveils certainty, as the audience, the most powerful certainty we are gifted is that of sight, it denotes the power we hold, and therefore, we are left much like these characters, pondering the truth of Hill House. 

Almost all of this film is spent in the grand house, yet the large setting slowly grows all the more claustrophobic throughout the movie, we witness a shift from a labyrinth, to a cage. Similarly, the characters grow from strangers, to family, to maddened and tiresome. Love burns as Eleanor's mental state deteriorates. 

The film embodies many a gothic dichotomy, it’s a treat to get to know these characters, their secrets and mysteries, and the setting drips with a gothic allure, the themes of the dead calling to the living too carries a heavy gothic weight. In January, I had steeped myself in the Gothic canon researching for an upcoming novel of mine, and therefore, watching this was all the more enjoyable, plucking away at the conventions and basking in everything they had to hold. For at the soul of this story rests serial tragedies, the house calls those most vulnerable, and it seeks to comfort them. Macabre as it may be, within a period of such regulation, it makes complete sense that such tortured characters would find such a comfort within dreams of death. 

Picking apart everything I adore about this movie would be impossible within such a short discussion, but to linger momentarily on my favourite character, Theodora, her cause of isolation and escapism is hinted to the audience as being a result of her sapphic identity, this is her secret, and one she buries even amidst her found family. In contrast to her, Eleanor opens herself completely, she flays her inhibitions and displays all, and she’s loved, she’s cared for, although there isn’t enough that can be gifted to her tortured soul. Theo never opens this wound, she leaves herself stitched tightly so no harm may come her way, even here, she feels closed off. Yet there are a plethora of moments that denote her affection towards Eleanor, however oblivious she may be, for this house allows her at the very least to dream of living as herself. 

This was undoubtedly my favourite new watch of the month, and I can’t wait to return to this world again. It’s stuck to me now, and I adore it. 

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - 2022

Although I can’t remember exactly the cause of my condition, I have a vivid memory of feeling fairly awful the day I watched this movie. Yet in this darkness, I found this movie drawing so much light into my evening. 

The film is a retelling of Pinocchio, a story which until now, I hadn’t experienced in any capacity. Directed by Mark Gustafson and Guillermo del Toro, the stop motion movie came during a year of three “major” adaptations of this story, and it’s easy to forget this fact now the year has faded, for this is the only film that appears to have stayed afloat. 

I’ve loved Del Toro’s work for a long time, I adore Crimson Peak and Pan’s Labyrinth, the latter I studied and found myself entirely consumed by the behind the scenes content for the movie, watching the director flip through his sketchbooks and detail his ideas was captivating, and for the first time on that course, I found myself seeking out more and more. Truthfully, the majority of the movies I watched for my Film Studies class didn’t do loads for me - they were incredibly made, but beyond that, I felt very little for them. However Pan’s Labyrinth I was enamoured by, and I truly wanted to absorb everything I could about the film's production and fantastical world. 

Similarly, I adore the world built up here, the non-human character designs are especially interesting to me. Although, any stop-motion project I will instantly fall in love with, the style is so pure, every story that uses it as a vehicle is one filled with human compassion and love, it’s a true and beautiful indicator of dedication and care for the arts. 

There’s a beautiful, bright soul at the centre of this movie, and I found the way it allowed its story to unfold to be hypnotic, it’s an odyssey, a hero's journey filled with fun side characters brimming with life and personality, and the war torn backdrop makes the film all the more heart wrenching. Come the end, I was in tears. 

I’d put off watching this film a little too long. A goal of mine for this year is to make some room amidst the mountain of horror movies I want to watch for a handful more animated movies. I frequently find myself watching animated shows, but movies sometimes escape me. I’m pleased to have made this stride with this movie. 

My Bloody Valentine 3D - 2009

There is a very specific flavour to horror in the 2000s, one I first detested, often fixated on saw-like gore, these films can feel like there was little care placed into their stories, their characters and direction, everything is stained with the same small array of palettes, and especially when you break past the amazing movies of the decade, it can often feel like you’re wading through dregs. Also, they often have such a mean and cruel sensibility to them. But honestly, I’ve grown such a soft spot for this genre of horror, the countless remakes and abysmal offerings, there’s a charm to knowing what to expect, a cosiness to how awful some of these can be, I sometimes find a need to watch them after a streak of particularly great movies, just to remind me where I come from. 

My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009) is a remake of My Bloody Valentine (1981), one of my favourite movies, and is in no way affiliated with the band, My Bloody Valentine, who stated their shared names are simply coincidence. The movie follows a valentine's day tragedy within a mining town, and the haunting effects of this massacre ten years later. 

Remakes of horror movies were running rampant in the 2000s, likely a domino effect of The Ring (2002) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), with the latter providing a gorier experience than the original film, and given Saw’s release on the horizon, torture porn was in and often a blueprint for crafting these remakes. My Bloody Valentine 3D is no different, the gore here is truly great, there’s a wide array of kills all pushing themselves to new levels, my jaw dropped several times while watching this. However, another layer to the gore and style of this film arises when considering the 3D in the title of the film, for yes, this is in 3D. There is a goofiness to this oftentimes - an inexplicably nude woman throwing a gun at a man to give a cool 3D effect, rather than having her shoot him comes to mind as one of the films most egregious examples of the mental gymnastics the filmmakers go through to stick with the 3D subtitle. 

I have a physical copy of this movie and it came with a pair of 3D glasses, which honestly, gives the film a fun scarlet sheen in contrast to the films usual bleak colour grading, however, they gave me a headache and so I had to take them off around twenty minutes in and switch to the regular version of the film. 

Like I said, this film is like comfort food to me, it’s not great, I can’t angle the idea it is, but I find this film to be so much fun. So many horror movies from the 2000s take the wrong lessons from Saw, they often copy the gore, but the core of the Saw franchise is the beautiful, convoluted story. However i find myself folding into movies like this or Prom Night (2008), they’re a joy to watch, they’re cosy, often gross and lingering with a weird air of cruelness, yes, but sometimes all I want after a long day is to dissolve into a shitty 2000s horror movie, and I love My Bloody Valentine 3D with all my heart for providing me the comfort it does. 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 1975 

(Rewatch)

Rocky Horror is one of my favourite movies ever. 

I remember the first time I watched this, my best friend at the time had recommended it, and I watched it on my phone in chunks on some weird website. I must have been fourteen, shifting about my day watching this movie - picking it up, putting it back down again, finding myself at first enamoured with Frank N Furter, the style of the movie, the soundtrack, and while I quickly moved on with my day, the film constantly returned to my mind. I’ve seen it countless times since, and my favorite book, Perks of Being a Wallflower references it endlessly, only furthering my obsession with the film. 

Every time I return to this I truly can’t fathom how perfect this is - every scene is gorgeous, every song is enchanting (often I find myself excited that we’ve reached a song, only to be equally excited to reach the next, and so on), the characters are dreamy and ooze with flavour, there is truly nothing else like this, and nothing else that can exist like this again. 

I consider Frankenstein to be one of the most adaptable novels ever, even more so in the horror space, for the central concept lends itself so uniquely to different stories. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is about a mad scientist who has built a person, amidst many other things, however honing in on this, it tells a totally unique story brimming with unique characters and ideas about sexuality and how we express ourselves, that both perfectly tie back into its source material while also crafting a completely unique story too. Similarly, movies like Frankenhooker, Lisa Frankenstein, May and (looking outside the horror genre) Poor Things are all adaptations of Frankenstein in some capacity, and yet all of these movies use the central concept of the novel to dive deeper into different ideas and themes. 

In my eyes, this is the core idea of Rocky Horror, the idea of crafting a person relates directly to the movie’s themes of how we exist as ourselves - Janet and Brad are repressive characters, Frank-N-Furter is their foil, a character who knows himself, he’s sexual, he’s stylish and boisterous. Come the end of the movie, there’s a line: “And crawling on the planet's face, some insects, called the human race... lost in time... and lost in space... and meaning,” and it stuck out to me in particular, for I see this as encapsulating the themes of the movie entirely. We search for meaning that doesn’t exist, we seek out ideas of how we should act and be, and ultimately, these guidelines and rules we shine upon a society about how one should act are pointless. We govern ourselves with compassion, yes, but beyond simple human instincts, one should be able to exist as they please, to give themselves over to “absolute pleasure”, for this is the human condition - seeking pleasure, before fearing the consequences of quenching such a thirst. But to exist wholly as oneself is what pure pleasure truly is. 

Ginger Snaps - 2000

(Rewatch)

Coming of age horror is among my favourite subgenres; there’s a perfect tie between the shifting natures and bodies we experience as teenagers that lends itself perfectly to horror. Ginger Snaps takes this directly, following a pair of sisters, one of whom is attacked by a rabid beast on the night of her first period, and soon finds her body changing. 

I’ve always loved werewolves as archetypes - I grew up on Twilight for one, but also, I deem them to be such tragic vehicles of corruption, unlike common vampires who become bloodthirsty and evil in a heartbeat, there is humanity within a werewolves flesh, sunken and waiting to be torn to shreds. 

Ginger and Brigitte work perfectly as morbid sisters, they’re a very specific archetype that feels evocative perfectly of the time period it was crafted in. Yet their grungy sensibilities are questioned as Ginger begins spending more time with popular people, she starts getting high and seeking out sex, these are all brought on from her new condition, of course, a metaphor for puberty. However there’s more to it than this, there’s a strong feeling of Brigitte being left behind, the isolation that comes from only pairing yourself with one other person during your most formative years. 

However the film feels especially intertwined with a female puberty, the imagery of becoming a monster feels potent when intertwined with ideas of body hair and blood that go against a patriarchal image of a woman. To go through puberty is to become a monster, to be forced to tame these aspects of oneself or to live an outcast. 

I also simply adore the characters here, both Brigitte and Ginger, are a joy to watch, their certain flavour of grunge has always been a lot of fun to me, and their relationship at the core of the film works so well given how long we’re given to understand what they mean to one another and who they are, they’re fully realised and fleshed out long before the attack. 

This is another movie I watched when I was much younger, I remember loving it deeply, finding the imagery so cool and attaching myself to these characters. This is maybe my favorite film I watched this month, but it’s closely tied to Rocky Horror. 

Inland Empire - 2006

I don’t quite know what I can say about Inland Empire, so I'll keep this fairly brief. I’m a huge fan of Twin Peaks, Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive, and for a while I’ve wanted to delve into more - Twin Peaks especially lingers with me, it’s undoubtedly one of my favourite shows ever. 

I’d heard Inland Empire was Lynch’s most experimental and least accessible feature, but I wasn’t expecting what unfolded before me. I found the premise to be deeply enticing - an actress takes a role in a cursed remake of a Polish movie, and slowly finds her life mirroring that of her characters.

The movie blends styles of storytelling, form a surrealist but linear story for the first hour, before falling into a “stream of consciousness” style of filmmaking, any linearity is gone by now, and true madness unfolds. Unlike any of Lynch’s other work I’ve seen, it’s difficult to describe quite what this movie is about. However stylistically, the movie boasts many stylistic traits common from the auteur, and maybe this alone is what the movie is about, filmmaking as an art. 

The Monkey - 2024

I’m a huge fan of Osgood Perkins' work so far, and so I was incredibly excited for The Monkey too. The movie follows a pair of twin brothers as a toy wind-up monkey intercepts their lives. 

Stylistically, the film often feels perfectly at home in the Stephen King canon, his style of writing dialogue and characters seeps into the bones of this movie, although alongside this, I found the film also felt like a far gorier Goosebumps novel, especially throughout the opening - two twin boys find a mystical item that soon unleashes an unending horror upon them and their family. 

Despite feeling distinctly King, Perkins’ voice is equally as loud, both in the writing and direction. Although tonally alien from Longlegs and The Blackcoat's Daughter, The Monkey still oozes with a more comedic style to his writing, themes of parenthood and isolation trickle into this story too, much like his prior works. For at the centre of this film, much like Longlegs, is the tale of a father attempting to reconnect with his son, fearful of the influence he may have on him as a result of the horrors his own father passed unto him, physically here, the titular monkey. Yet thematically, this idea runs deeper than just the monkey himself, for the images of isolation and neglect mirror that of which our protagonist Hal’s father did to him. 

When analysing the apocalyptic ending, I see this as a continuation of the horrors that exist, much like the monkey, the apocalypse is merely another horror that we pass onto our children - to bring life into this world is to condemn them to the human condition, to the cruelty and death that stains us. Yet finally, when faced with such an extremity, Hal is able to connect with his son, to spend time with him, because as the movie states “everyone dies, and that’s life,” we have no control over the state of the world, and the horrors tethered to us, but we can effect the people around us, those we love and care for. Therefore, to create life which will eventually rot too is only cruel when that life is neglected. 

Everything in the film is completely over the top, from the gore to the scenarios, the movie seeks to craft a fun experience. All of the gore is amazing, I wish there was even more, although maybe this is greed, for that in which we’re blessed with is gross, colourful and beautifully crafted. Every vignette is a joy to watch, with certain deaths bleeding with absurdity, while others are far more grounded, there’s so much going on that constantly, these deaths are able to shock the audience. 

An aspect I cannot neglect to discuss is the sound design, which first captivated me in the trailer, but the sound of the monkey drumming, the key turning and the squishy deaths linger in the diegetic soundscape in a beautiful way. Similarly, I adore the soundtrack to this film too! 

While watching this film, I had a huge grin on my face the entire time. It's comforting in a way completely different to Longlegs, which is comforting to me in a far more aesthetic focused manner. But the Monkey is so much fun to me because of how much it commits to its idea, the absurdity and comedy are great, and the titular monkey stands out greatly too. 

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person - 2023

I’ve had this movie sitting on my watchlist for a while, unsure quite how to watch it, and upon returning to look at the film, I learnt it has been available for quite some time in the UK. 

Both of this films draws speak to me greatly, I adore vampires and coming of age movies, and I found myself grieving the fact that I hadn’t come up with such a perfect concept for a story myself. Watching this I found myself reminded both of A Woman Walks Home Alone at Night and Let the Right One In, both of which are films I deem perfect, they allure me greatly and the concept of people and vampires connecting through a similar sense of being outcasts speaks to me so personally. Lisa Frankenstein is a similar style of movie I also adore. 

For this little pocket of movies that detail characters deemed freaks and ostracised from the people around them falling in love with the dark and mysterious monster, who sees them and loves them, speaks so specifically to growing up lonely, to finding a person who understands that in which you’ve endured and loves you wholly, it’s a bright feeling, and yet, this escapism is often bleeding, it can’t last, tragedy often strikes in some capacity with the aforementioned movies. 

There’s a certain hopeful charm to Humanist Vampire, there are bleak moments, but above all, the film presents hope, love and another way. It’s a fun vampire tale, building in its own mythology without straying too deeply away from the core ideas. It blends a classical monster movie with a pair of coming of age tales that intertwine, both of isolation, one of questioning oneself and the other of suicide. As such, the film carries a heavy weight, and it treats this topic perfectly, with love, care and compassion, it shines the cracks in our human character, the reasons his life is so awful and how, despite some positive aspects, its near impossible for him to escape such an eclipse. 

I’m glad to have finally been able to watch this movie, it’s beautiful and drew tears from me several times, it’s masterfully crafted and it brings a unique spin upon the coming of age genre. 

Thank you for reading this months reviews! I have a lot of fun writing these! I'm hopeful to eventually write some other stuff on here too! For anyone new, I'm a first time author of a coming of age, fantasy/horror novel! more information can be found here! I also run a Scooby Doo Review blog @scooby-review! Any support and interest towards my novel is hugely appreciated <3

Also, less importantly, my Letterboxd is here too!

Have a great month! :)

[declanowo]

See Snow Evil - One Shot

(A bonus chapter from Lives Worth Missing - designed to be read with no knowledge of the series! A preview can be read here. The story follows a group of four children who receive magical powers upon death.)

The Stone Angel abandons her world. Almost every decision she will make in the coming days will be thanks to her beneficiary. Every decision she will make will be carefully conjured inside her mind. Everything will be precise, perfect; there has never been any room for mistakes.

Her surroundings are bitter, stone graves are withering before her very eyes. Snowflakes are cascading onto her face, freezing into a neat film. The Stone Angel stares lightly at the man crouched by a grave, roses clenched tightly between his hands as the thorns prick him and the petals decay to the frosted grass forming a minuscule mural of petals and blossoms of blood.  

The man's hair is long and silver - it hasn’t been washed in weeks - his glasses are steamed up, concealing his eyes from the world. He would do anything to never see anything again. The Stone Angel, of course, knows this. She can sense the extreme sadness dripping down his unshaven face; such a perfect and extreme emotion is one that should be cherished.  

Slowly, she moves her rigid body towards him, where he rests, unknowingly. The world could end and the man at the grave would never realise. Words crumble from the man’s mouth, as a cold kiss is pressed into his cheek. He freezes, his eyes edging across his face to glance at The Stone Angel who has so graciously given him this gift. 

The gift of heaven is brewing inside his mind and in front of his eyes. Who is he to deny such a thoughtful gift? 

“I’m not even going to do it this time - I mean it too!” Hayden shouts angrily, glancing in the vague direction of his school despite already almost being at home, the bus long gone.

“You say that every time he gives us homework Hayden, but you always just copy off Jasper on the bus anyway,” Evan points out.

“Yeah, well this time I’m really going to do it! Not do it,” he corrects afterwards.

“Sure thing Hayden! And my hair isn’t ginger-” Jasper stops abruptly as it dawns upon him that his hair no longer is ginger, it's been mossy for a while now.

“I guess he isn’t doing it after all,” Rosie laughs to herself. “I wish we could just not go in though! We only get two days at the end of a week when we can do whatever we want together, and that isn’t fair! I want an extra couple in there too.”

“What if we just don’t go in? Or we can destroy this school too!” Hayden shouts triumphantly.

“There’s no way we’re skipping school,” Jasper’s face turns bright red at the thought of it. 

Rosie stops walking, everyone staring in awe as an idea sprouts from her head, “Everyone, make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight - we won’t be allowed to go in tomorrow!”

“What are you going to do?” Evan asks, his voice torn in half by fear and excitement, an endless war.

“I’m going to make sure we have the best day ever.”

Jasper rises with the sun, the warm glow of the morning sun alerting him to wake up. With puffy eyes, he rolls onto the floor, a weary smile already growing on his face at the thought of an exciting day off school. His fear, of course, is unbridled due to the mere thought of how they are going to get out of going. 

His fear dissolves the second he glances outside - Pendle Point has been painted white. Snow has blanketed the streets, trees are decorated with ice and roads have been layered with a carpet of snow, any tire tracks almost instantly hidden under the flurry of snowflakes pirouetting to the floor. 

Rosie really did it, she cast a snow storm across the village.

Excitedly, he rushes out of his room, only to remember his pyjamas are still on, in turn, retreating to his room to get changed. He plucks every jumper that looks in any way warm, squeezing it on top of the last one and topping off his design with three scarves and a woolly hat. 

Overwhelmed, he runs in circles around his bedroom as his mind races with thoughts of what they can all do today: build snowmen, have snowball fights, sledge, make snow angels catch snowflakes… The list is truly endless. First things first, of course, he must go and collect his friends. After writing a note to his parents explaining he has gone to play in the snow and putting two pairs of gloves on, he enters the frosty wonderland awaiting him. 

Snow falls onto his rosy cheeks, they almost melt upon contact with him, but not quite. The snow reaches Jasper’s ankles as he dashes towards Hayden’s house, small ovals of snow being flecked with every stomp he takes. This perfect quilt is no match for such a force of nature. 

Rambunctiously, he cups a pile of snow between his palms, twisting it into a perfect sphere before launching it at Hayden’s window, his eyebrows arched villainously and his smile curled curtly. Hayden’s face rises from the box window, his eyes wide, bright and filled with menace. Staring down at Jasper’s excited wave and rotund new shape, surrounded by the snow may almost be too easy of a target. After pondering for seconds as to whether or not such a trap would be placed, he throws his normal clothes on and darts out of the house, making sure to collect a rough pile of snow on his way and taking a small chomp of some just to check how it tastes. 

Like snow.

“She did it, Hay-” Jasper begins before a large and icy block of the crispest snow known to man crashes into Jasper’s warm face. With a laugh, he shakes it off as a dog would with water, before retreating to the floor to compile some more snow. 

As Jasper returns to the surface, ready to throw his ball of snow and dodge whatever Hayden has concocted in retaliation, he soon finds a rather scary sight - Hayden’s head filled with a plan and menace written across his face plain as day. Helplessly, he throws the snowball regardless, only to be met with the crushing reality of a tiny ball of fire melting away at the creation he just spent a countless minute on. 

Before long, their extended snowball fight ends with both sides believing to have won - this is never a good sign in regards to war. However, it is a common occurrence regarding Hayden and Jasper, and it leaves them both bountiful in happiness. 

They depart from Hayden’s house and make their way to Evan’s, the next closest. Their walk is a journey of resilience and power, as the two young warriors bravely force their way through the harsh conditions, constantly being forced to wipe snow from their brows just to see ahead of them. 

Eventually, their quest comes to an end as they cower at the door of Evan’s house. Throwing a snowball at the window is an option, but it is almost certain that he will not be awake just yet, with him usually waking only minutes before he is forced to leave for school.

Three knocks are rapped on the door before Evan’s mother answers, a mug of tea in her hand that is dripping as she shouts up for her son. 

Eventually, Evan arrives downstairs in a warm coat and hat, no doubt a thick knitted jumper underneath too. After pushing a pair of non-weather-appropriate shoes on, he follows his friends into the hazy wilderness, the three mesmerised by their best friend's creation. Their quaint and rather pretty little village has been turned into a painting of mass acclaim. 

When they arrive at Rosie’s house, it takes double the amount of time for her to arrive downstairs than it did for Evan, her slumber was well needed after pulling off such a feat. Exhaustion is still glimmering in her dainty eyes, being rubbed deeper as she brushes her hands across them.

“Just like I promised,” Rosie boasts as she forces a pair of her favourite boots on. As the four naively trudge through the snow, their colourful hair dotted with flakes, what the day holds for them is in no way up for contest, nothing bad can happen on such a beautiful and raw day. 

After a long walk of deliberation, they land on the decision of crafting a snowman first, one as tall as possible and with a distinctly London personality. 

Eventually, they land on their training field as the perfect spot to build their new friend, not only is it piled with snow, just like the rest of Pendle Point, but it also gives them enough room for a snowball fight directly afterwards, which Hayden was quick to suggest as their second activity, suggesting Jasper might want a chance at redemption.

As they rear their heads into the field, they find themselves faced with a new friend, lurking in the corner of the field. A stone statue of an angel stares loosely at the snow below, her wings spread wide and glazed with snow, her hair is curly and long, gathered neatly as it caresses down her dress, the dark highlights within it are almost impossible to see as they hide in the shroud of the snow. The cracks in the aged stone are frozen, just waiting to be torn further apart. 

“Has she always been there?” Evan asks.

“I don’t think so, probably just something put there by Alex for us to fight next time we’re here - come on let’s build!” Rosie begins the snowman, restlessly pushing mounds of snow into a pile. 

Soon, the hill of snow turns into a mountain; handful upon crunchy handful is pushed onto the pile before Evan attempts his hardest to round out the body into a smooth oval. 

Jasper quickly rushes home halfway through the snowman building to collect some clothes: a top hat, scarf and a carrot, for decoration. Upon his arrival back, the snowman is almost fully formed now, the three ovals are almost round, their sides exposed and mottled, yet they hold an innocent charm. 

“Ready?” Jasper asks after throwing the hat and scarf onto the snowman, all four grabbing into the carrot together to plunge into the pits of his face. 

Hayden begins rolling around on the floor soon after, collecting pebbles to form a sort of face for the dapper gentlemen they have collectively birthed. 

“He’s perfect!” Jasper murmurs, tearing up from all their hard work. All four stand in awe of their new friend - this must be the same awe Frankenstein felt, before everything muddied at least.

“What should we call him?” Evan asks.

“George!” Hayden chimes in, “Like the king.”

“George it is?” Rosie says, only half convinced. 

George sits before their very eyes, snug in his hat and scarf. All four take turns to imitate George talking and cackling instantaneously afterwards. In fact, they have become so incandescently entrenched in this, that they fail to see or hear their guest who has moved from the corner of the field and is now lurking ominously close. She slices her snowy wing through the centre of George, the two halves of snow folding neatly into piles on either side as the mass of pebbles and clothes search for a new home. 

Everyone falls silent. 

The Stone Angel does not move, instead, she inhales the ecstasy that comes from such rapidly changing emotions: from the purest, most innocent happiness one could find, to the most distraught devastation one can conjure someone into. 

These are the kind of emotions that keep The Stone Angel alive, ones so pure and extreme that nothing else can ever match them. Nothing in this world tastes better than the changing of emotions, they come like the seasons, growing warmer and brighter until all they are able to do is wither away, decaying until something new can replace them. 

The Stone Angel’s chiselled face beams at the overwhelming smell in her mouth. 

“Die!” Jasper shouts as tears roll down his face, his shoe planting into The Stone Angel before he collapses to the ground in pain. Kicking a stone statue is often not helpful. 

“Go away mean lady! This is our day off,” Rosie hisses before encasing The Stone Angel in ice. The day has once again been saved by Rosie, how brave and courageous of her. Her pride exhales from her body, it is tangible, a strong waft of pride and an inkling of love. “Come on, let's leave her.”

Everyone listens to Rosie, following closely behind through the thick snow, their movements slow yet meaningful. 

In the mist of the snowfall, a low crackling can be heard, that of ice breaking and creaking, that of life moving on. 

Although The Stone Angel’s instructions were clear, she seeks not to just follow the orders, she is in search of something far richer - she wants to feed again. Of course, she doesn’t need to feed this much, she is overindulging, but one cannot blame her for such gluttony, this kind of emotion is rare within the other world she calls a home.

Her rigid body steps across the field, stone legs moving, veiled by her stone dress. Her endless smile is carved into her face, as she begins to feel a twinge in her heart: a new emotion has arisen.

Fear.

A new feast. The Angel is no stranger to the taste of fear, it is rather common in the other world - it's maybe the most potent delicacy. Despite this, she will take every drop of emotion she can from these children before disposing of them. 

The Stone Angel approaches the children as they stare dumbfounded. They do not move. She raises her hands to her face, cradling the aged stone in her palms with a distinct crunch, a loud crumble and a piercing shriek. Rubble cascades from her hands as she lowers them, revealing a gap in her face, her stony skeleton staring out at the world as the other half is hidden away by her rocky flesh.

A sudden ball of fire crashes into her face, melting the snow that was slumbering on her hair. The Stone Angel snarls at them, just in an attempt to draw out any more droplets of fear that she can; unlike happiness and sadness, she can feel the fear, it digs into her body, rocks, ice, fire and electricity, all just reactions to their surroundings. They are weak, pitiful children who can do nothing but fight - if they were smart, they would have attempted to fly. 

“Run,” The Stone Angel whispers, watching as they disappear into the snow-flooded streets, their bodies hidden by the stressed snowflakes crashing to the ground. The Stone Angel begins to flap her wings, taking to the sky to finally follow through with what she has been gifted the opportunity to enact. 

The children have nowhere they can run to - nowhere to hide either. Although they could hide among the crowds who are littering the streets of Pendle Point, they wouldn’t dare. Revealing the existence of a sentient statue would be rather foolish. 

Instead, they allow themselves to be caught, huddling together in a mass of polystyrene snow, cowering weekly as the creature in the sky descends, the snow fleeing at the sight of her landing. 

“Your time is here, which one of you would like to go first?” The Stone Angel whispers, her voice soft and sweet. 

Nobody moves despite a voice inside Rosie and Evan’s heads beckoning them forward, instead, they stay as one. Instead, they wait for her to choose.

“Fine, I guess all of you will have to die!” she shouts, her voice deeper and darker now, it is highlighted in shadows and vermin. Their fear is decreasing, she can feel it fading away. 

“Do it,” Evan hisses.

The Stone Angel listens, pushing her lips together and leaning in to kiss Evan’s cold, salmon forehead. Her lips are icy, they press into him and burn like hell, her eyes have a lingering discernment for the boy she has sentenced to death. His body crashes to the floor, and as his friends crowd around, The Stone Angel has a new emotion to feed on - sadness. The three shake his body violently, calling out his name desperately. 

Evan can see a bright and incessant light, he can hear the warm voice of his friends call him closer, and they are happy and content in the light. Oh, how he loves the sound of the light - The Stone Angel is standing there and waiting for him, except, she is not sculpted from stone, she has rich skin and eyes, and her face is whole once more. 

As he takes his first steps into the warm light, he can almost make out the chirps of his friends, not the happy ones in the light, but fearful and tearful ones coming from the darkness that is hiding behind his shadow. 

“No,” Evan whispers, before collapsing back into the darkness, he allows it to encase him until no longer can he see the light, instead, he can see snow as white as ivory, as perfect as silk. The voices turn happy, not fabricated like the light, but pure and restless.

“He was right about you,” The Stone Angel nods, her face crumbling entirely, residing her skull exposed. Her skull follows suit, falling into nothing but dust - her gift of death has never been denied before. She has been released. 

“Can we go sledging now?” Jasper asks as if this event has inconvenienced his day greatly. 

“We can, but you can’t!” Hayden shouts.

“Shut up Hayden I can!”

“We’ll see about that!” Hayden shoves Jasper into the snow before running to the closest hill he can find, Jasper trailing close behind.

“You okay?” Rosie asks Evan, helping him to his feet.

He nods with a smile, “Thank you.”

“What for?” 

“For dragging me away from the light.”

They walk, Evan’s arm tucked around Rosie’s to make sure he doesn’t fall on their way. They won’t let such a menial person get in the way of their best day ever. 

Thank you for reading! If anyone is interested further, Lives Worth Missing can be purchased here, and in many other retailers! I'm planning on posting more one shots and bonus content here so if that's interesting to anyone, please follow to catch it!

[declanowo]

My Favourite Watches of January

Throughout January, I watched 17 films, and I thought it would be fun to look back on my favourites from this month! Sifting through them in chronological order, I want to delve into why I loved watching all of these so much. Although there wasn’t anything I watched this month I disliked, I figure it’s easiest and most interesting to discuss those which stand out to me the most. Minor spoilers throughout, but I’ll give a heads up for anything major :) I guess the most notable of which is including pictures of Nosferatu in case anyone is yet to watch it :)

Nosferatu - 2024

Sitting in a cramped screening for this movie on opening night (in the UK) after months of anticipation and excitement was a dream. When i first got into horror, The VVitch was an early watch that struck me in a big way, and I grew obsessed with the way Eggars crafts his sets and period pieces, they're lavish, every frame filled with an incomprehensible amount of love and dedication, and Nosferatu is no different. 

I’d watched the original 1922 film a few months back and I think it’s deserving of its status and iconicity. Despite struggling with silent movies, especially those that come packaged with a dull looping classical soundtrack. Yet there’s a lot to love in this story. I'm a huge fan of Dracula (the novel) and completely adore the way it’s adapted here. 

Nosferatu rebuilds this story, it takes pieces both from the 1922 movie, but also its original source material of Dracula, blending them into a cohesive gothic story that encapsulates prevalent themes in the genre. Having recently steeped myself in research of Gothic literature and conventions, my love for the way this adapts the story has only grown, it gravitates towards themes of female sexuality, a theme common within early Gothic literature as it allowed a wide range of female authors and readers to indulge in these human pleasures that society shunned, it was subversive and so gratifying, in a sense, the dark aesthetic embodies this concept of a secret, sexuality that was hidden from the world, a sexuality embodied by Ellen’s relationships with Count Orlok and Hutter. 

When watching the film, so many people burst into laughter at the opening scene, and I understand why, it’s a tense sequence that builds into a jumpscare, only to divert into sexual subject matter, yet I think this laughter only goes on to fuel the idea of sexuality as being othered, especially for women. Within the film, people are fearful of Ellen’s sexuality, only a monster can accept and satiate her in such a society. 

I adore what everyone is doing in this film, but there are certain sequences with Orlok where I felt entirely dissolved in the movie, consumed entirely by the performance and characterisation. Waiting throughout the marketing just to get a single glimpse of him was such a joy, I adore how he’s kept to the shadows for so long when we first meet him, this truly defines the genre of monster he is.

If I had a single complaint, it would be that I wanted to live in this world even longer. Also, I wish that the sapphic hues to Ellen and Anna as seen in the novel were brought into the film a little more - there’s a single scene that does paint the pair as incredibly intimate, and yet, I couldn’t help but find myself searching for more, especially in a story about the shame pushed upon women’s sexuality. It’s one of my favourite aspects of the novel and I would have enjoyed its presence here. 

I also find the debate between whether the film is a story about women's sexuality or abuse incredibly interesting, because in my eyes, it's both. Great stories can derive more than one interpretation, and staring with these unique lenses can unfold new pieces of a puzzle, there is so much joy in digging around for different perspectives, and a film like this demands unique perspectives. Although I prefer the gothic lens of sexuality, I do think there are a horde of interesting concepts when discussing themes of abuse in relation to this movie, and I don’t think both should be at odds. 

Frogs - 1972

I had a joint birthday movie afternoon with my friend, and we decided on watching Frogs, a film we’d both mentioned wanting to watch previously. What a delight, genuinely, it’s such a fun B movie! 

Frogs follows an upper class family living on an island that grows suddenly infested with frogs, alongside a myriad of other reptiles. Eco-horror often has the opportunity to grow into a rightfully terrifying ordeal, however, Frogs simply stares at those crafting the ongoing degradation of the natural world, and allows the reptiles harmed by their carelessness the satisfaction of killing them. 

So much of this movie is b-roll footage of frogs croaking, it’s cut like an episode of a nature documentary, and it’s great! Watching this with friends was especially enjoyable, because this film takes so many peculiar strides, there are sequences that go on far too long - one such sees a woman running through the woods for what feels like a decade - and these instances only add to the movie's charm. 

I adore movies that pit victims against rich families, there’s a bitter joy that is born from watching these despicable characters get a goofy comeuppance, and as a slasher with reptiles as the killers, there’s a lot to love. 

Despite often finding creature features somewhat of a slog, I adored the way Frogs use their animals. Surprisingly, no frogs murder, and this only goes to make the film funnier, there’s some crazy kills in here, not in a gory sense, just in the over the top setups - hell, the trailer for the movie teases a giant butterfly that was ultimately cut. 

With a cast of great caricatures, a short runtime and a lot of frogs, Frogs is easily one of my favourite B Movies, it’s a joy and one I’m glad I spent my birthday watching! 

Alien - 1979

For my birthday I received a boxset of the first six movies in the franchise, and having already been planning on finally digging into it in January, I now had the perfect reason to. 

Alien was the only movie I had seen in the series prior to my watch this month, and I can firmly place this as my favourite in the franchise. 

So much of the first half of this movie is a slow build up, it can truly feel like a slow burn until a sudden injection of energy halfway through, and I adore the way this is done. To me, this movie is the best at setting up the crew, of detailing what life is like for these people, they feel like they have wider lives beyond this mission, and countless questions about the world they inhabit subsequently bloom, and none of this comes at the expense of the narrative of characterisation. Every minute is used perfectly, it’s a perfect set up, and the second the chestburster scene kicks in, the movie grows this unfathomable power, it’s instantly terrifying, everything grows even more claustrophobic, there’s no escape from this impending evil, this all consuming creature. 

Atmosphere is the name of the game in the first half, and I think a growing love for awful 2000s sci-fi sets, and as such, these beautiful space station sets are a pleasure to witness, certain sequences have an absence of any score, you live in this world, you’re absorbed by it, and wow does it do a perfect job at this. 

Beyond telling a compelling story, Alien also is incredibly interesting to dissect the themes of sex are especially interesting to me. Of course, the Xenomorphs head resembles that of a penis, and there is a common theme throughout of life and death, the former drawn forth by sex which is only elaborated on through later sequels. Beyond just this phallic imagery, there are countless images that resemble vaginas too, there’s so much slime and goop. 

Even just glancing briefly at the chestbursters, this horrific, unplanned birth, the “baby” tears apart the lives of their parent, this child was not a piece of anyone's plan. 

There is far more to dig into, but for now I’d simply like to mention how cool the aliens are. Of course they’re amazing, but it takes the sequels to unveil how amazing the practical Xenomorph is, this style of full body acting is truly some of my favourite, I adore actors that are able to play creatures and inhabit what they are, their movements and mindset. Gorgeous stuff! Bolaji Badejo is perfect!

Of course, Ripley is an amazing character too, and I think this film is her at her best in terms of characterisation and writing, she’s so compelling to watch, every decision in this film is so precise, I adore it. 

Also I love the cat a lot :)

The Lost Boys - 1987

Another heavy hitter! I watched a fair amount of more popular horror movies this month!

This was another rewatch, I remember watching it for the first time and being enamoured by the vampire antics - the first half of this movie is perfection, truly beautiful horror with an amazing array of characters and a gorgeous setting to boot. Yet when the Frog brother antics came in, I found myself surprisingly bored, I felt out of place given this film's classic status. 

Upon rewatching it, I felt about the same, although I think I found myself enjoying both sections even more than on my first viewing. Santa Carla is such a perfect setting for this movie, I love the boardwalk and oddball characters the flood the frame, paired perfectly with the immaculate People are Strange montage. In general, this film has a great soundtrack, Cry Little Sister is of course another stand out. 

David is such a perfect lead antagonist, his design is instantly iconic, going on to influence Spike from Buffy, and there’s never any questions about why Micheal would want to earn his respect, I think he’s crafted so perfectly that he finds this balance between being an evidently dangerous person, yet he oozes a coolness that is magnetic, of course everyone loves him. For an upcoming novel of mine I used David as reference for how to write a leader with an obvious danger to them, he becomes a blueprint, and the idea of finding why someone would stick with him is the reason why he’s so perfect, it’s the core of the character and the story as a whole. 

All of the vampiric stylistic choices are also so distinct in crafting a unique aesthetic for this style of story. Maybe my favourite is the first person shots of the vampires flying - I don’t feel like anything would have looked great, and innovation draws in such unique ways of conveying certain aspects of this mythology. Although we could now show these characters flying a lot easier, there’s so much charm that drips from their flight here, it’s far scarier, reminding me a lot of Suspiria, and it’s a very bird-like feeling, it conveys perfectly to the audience their roles as predators in the food chain. Alongside this, I love how the vampires sleep upside down, clearly evoking bats. 

Every iconic sequence in this film deserves every ounce of praise it receives, and I do believe the first half of this film to be perfection, a stand out amidst a subgenre I have loved since childhood (I was a Twilight kid). 

Prometheus - 2012

Prometheus has maybe the most polarising reception out of any film in the Alien series. It centres on a team of explorers who’re searching for the origins of humanity. 

I can’t say I too didn’t have a polarising view of this film, when it ended I was deeply conflicted as to how I felt, there’s a lot to love here, and yet, there’s equally a lot that can be criticised. Yet where it rises above many of its sequels in my eyes, is how engrossed I found myself. Unveiling this new, massive mystery draws with it an abundance of questions, the film has an impossibly powerful scope, and while it never quite answers everything you’d hope, there’s so much here to chew on. The ideas it presents dig far deeper than, although constantly return to, the films namesake, Prometheus, a Titan who gives fire to humans, and who is punished for eternity for this transgression, chained to a rock with his liver plucked by an eagle.

Maybe the greatest complaint regarding this film is that it doesn’t feel much like an Alien movie, and this is entirely intentional - director Scott wanted to escape the fairly formulaic approach of the original films sequels, deciding to keep the franchise's DNA in the story. Fairly quickly I found myself enjoying the ongoing, often convoluted, storyline built up within the first three sequels, yet, where they fell short for me is in this repetitive structure, my favourite moments therefore ended up being when the film subverted its own conventions or drew in a new idea rather than relying on old ones. 

Ultimately, this is a messy film, it’s ambition sometimes gets the best of it, yet this same ambition often is the source of its greatest moments, the wonder and awe it is able to inspire. It’s a constant set of scales, for example, a certain sequence involving a character fleeing to a medical bay is beautifully disgusting, the blend of practical effects and CGI craft a truly gross scene that is often heralded as one of the movies best examples of its horror, it’s a powerful stylistic connection to the original movie, and yet, in this same breath, I’m frustrated by the fact nobody is following this character in this apparent chase sequence, there’s the idea someone might be, yet any tenseness the scene builds dissolves quickly because of this fact, the horror and fear comes not from the chase that’s being emphasised, but from the body horror centric elements. 

So much of this film is this, it’s offsetting itself constantly in regards to whether I love or dislike this film, yet, evidently, I liked it more than I disliked it. Looking at the wider concepts this film presents inspires so much dread, everything else feels so large in the grand scheme of this world. 

I guess ultimately, this all boils down to the fact that I had fun, it’s not perfect, but I was constantly and deeply entertained, it’s large strides are brimming with ambition and love! 

Alien: Romulus - 2024

Rounding out the Alien franchise is Romulus; I’d initially intended on watching this entire franchise before the release of this movie, but then time escaped me, and as such, I put the franchise on hold until a later date. 

Romulus is a “back to basics” entry into the franchise, it resembles Alien far more than anything Prometheus and Covenant were doing, and it’s great at living inside this world. I was confident in this movie when I heard Álvarez was attached to direct - I am a huge fan of Evil Dead, it entirely understands the original movie which allows it to put a unique spin on the premise. 

Maybe this is why it rests currently as my second favourite in the franchise, this film dials up the original movie, it knows that we’ve seen it and therefore, and while sometimes I think this works against the films horror factor, because so much of what works for me about the original movie is how frightening a single Xenomorph is. Yet for the most part, the film manages to make everything difficult for the characters - sure, it asks “what if there were more Facehuggers” but it doesn’t tone down the DNA of these creatures, every single one is a constant threat, and it helps that we have a single one escape before bringing more into the picture, the audience assimilates into the idea that these creatures are scary, and therefore, the entire army is treated with a sharp increase in stakes. 

Kinetic is maybe the best way to describe this film, once the action starts, it never stops, yet all of this is aided by a heart at the centre of the film, a deeply compelling relationship between a pair of siblings casts a ricochet effect upon the rest of the crew. Without these characters to care about, this film means nothing. 

Also, the return to a practical Xenomorph goes a long way, it’s evident the performance by Trevor Newlin elevates the terror this monster can craft. Practical monsters are always the way. 

While I don’t love everything this film does, undoubtedly the most egregious decision in the film is to use CGI to recreate the late Ian Holm. Not only is this simply disrespectful and something I despise in any movie, but it also looks pretty rough! They went back and edited the CGI for the blu-ray release, but even comparing the two, I don’t love how it looks at all. Positively, Álvarez did discuss the idea with Holm’s family, who he states “loved the idea”. 

All of this is to say that I’m shocked at the Oscar nomination for best VFX. As much as practically, I agree, this character is fairly prominent and inspired a huge discussion about how that effect in particular doesn’t look great. Regardless, I’m overjoyed at the three horror movie nominations at the ceremony and especially at The Substances best picture nomination. 

But as is, Romulus is a lot of fun, I love the final alien and wish it stuck around longer! Above all else, Romulus manages to be a great, sometimes gross, time!

The Blackcoat's Daughter - 2015

When it comes to picking what I want to watch each month, I often fall to seasons, holidays and events, with this film being fairly snowy and with the release of The Monkey in February, I thought there was no better time than now to watch this! 

The Blackcoat's Daughter follows three girls, two of whom are left uncollected in a prep school over the winter break. Being a huge fan of Longlegs, I was excited to watch some of Perkins' earlier work. I left this film feeling somewhat conflicted as to the purpose of certain aspects of the story, and the more I sit with it, the more I succumb to the beautiful aesthetic of this movie. 

In the moment, I knew I enjoyed what I’d watched, it was fairly slow, reminding me a lot of House of the Devil, a favourite of mine, and while I didn’t feel the pay off of this matched the finale to that movie, I don’t mind too much when I feel so engrossed in this world. 

Honestly, this is the greatest praise I can give the film - the more I think about it, the more I hone in on the films best attributes, I reminisce upon these characters, what they represent and why, and how their relationships build and burn. In my eyes, this is a story about loneliness, about the depths one is willing to go to in order to purge themselves of this state. What do you do when the only other person around you leaves and refutes your presence? 

This is slow as all hell, and honestly, I wish it were slower. So much of this film is breathing the same air as these characters, understanding who they are and why they therefore act how they act. Everyone is imperfect, there is a beauty to this fragility. 

Another great aspect of this movie is the snow blanketed cinematography, it crafts every frame into a painting - I love snowy horror, and this is no exception. It rests amidst some of my favourite horror movies exploring loneliness such as May and Lisa Frankenstein. 

Tetsuo: The Iron Man - 1989

I ended the month with Tetsuo: The Iron Man; I saw a handful of people who were predominantly watching movies from Japan during January, and so I added this one last minute as a bonus! All of the J-horror I’ve watched I adore and so I was excited to tick another from my ever expanding watchlist! 

Tetsuo: The Iron Man follows a non-linear plot, but loosely, it’s about a business man that accidentally runs over a “metal fetishist”, and soon after learns he’s been afflicted with a curse turning his flesh to metal. 

This is a body horror darling, it’s gross to its core and constantly experimenting with new techniques. Maybe my favourite is the stop motion used, which I will never not be able to adore. 

Many view this movie as an allegory for Japan's growing industrialisation, suggesting that if everything else was turning to metal, surely people soon would too, and given the grotesque nature of this transformation and the loss of humanity for our characters, it's evident how such a theology is viewed.

Experimental is the name of the game, it’s flooded with unique techniques of storytelling which allows the film to leave such a distinct mark on the viewer. Discomfort is maybe the primary emotion most are struck with, the opening sequence alone is skin crawling, but a more understated aspect I love about this film are the locations, it truly captures this time that is escaping the characters, the audience too, all in favour of this metal revolution. 

It’s a great, very short, movie! I recommend anyone who likes body horror check it out! 

Thank you for reading this little What I Watched Last Month! I intend on doing these monthly throughout] the year, only highlighting my very favourites to make it a little more interesting, but everything I watched this month I enjoyed! I'm a huge horror fan and an author who often uses movies as inspiration :)

Please follow if you enjoyed this :) I'm intending on posting these monthly, alongside some other "review" style posts and some short stories/ writing offshoots!

Socials - My debut novel, Lives Worth Missing, is now available! Any support is hugely appreciated :)

I also have a Scooby Doo Review blog where I'm working my way through every episode chronologically! @scooby-review

[declanowo]

An Introduction to Lives Worth Missing: Act One

Hello! My name is Declan, and I am the author of Lives Worth Missing: Act One. The novel focuses on Rosie Williams and her three friends, Evan, Hayden and Jasper, and what happens after they’re all killed in unexpected and supernatural manners. Their deaths and subsequent resurrections define their young lives from this point on, and the narrative follows them as they’re guided to fight back against dark forces and keep themselves out of misadventure, all as a larger plot unravels above them. 

For so long, these characters have lived inside my brain, although they’ve shifted a lot in design, characterisation and trajectory in these long winding years. Initially, I conceived Lives Worth Missing as nothing more than a dream - I had crafted this long sprawling narrative in my mind that felt impossible to ever truly craft alone. I was inspired by cartoons I grew up on such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall and Gravity Falls. There is an evident throughline with these shows, their often episodic storytelling bleeds into a larger story, the episodic narrative is aided by the serialised stories laced into the plot.

Although the idea was born far earlier, I have sketches of the characters from 2020, with ideas for plots in my documents from several years prior. Many pieces have left since then, many have stayed, but surprisingly the general structure of twelve volumes split into three acts has become a constant. 

Currently, I am working on the sequel to Lives Worth Missing: Act One, which would of course be called, Lives Worth Missing: Act Two, comprising volumes five - eight, with an eventual third act finishing the story with volumes nine - twelve. Hopefully that all makes sense. I’m also working on another story that’s currently unnamed, but it’s slowly taking a more rigid form. 

Back to the release of Lives Worth Missing: Act One, this is a story that I have cherished for years, it’s grown alongside me, and so in the end, the novel was always going to be about growing up, the changes we face and how that affects those around us. I would say there are three main themes in the series: growing up, companionship, and storytelling. All of these are integrally tied to my growth and how the story itself changed alongside me. 

To give a few more specifics about the novel, the stories often combine fantasy and horror together, although certainly a lighter element of horror to begin with. Horror is my favourite genre, and I think that inevitably makes it bleed into my work - I almost entirely watch horror movies, and slowly have started to read more and more horror books, and as such, it’s difficult to avoid its influence, and frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

For anyone curious about examples of the chapters plots, they include: 

The main cast attempting to foil an assassination attempt at a water park. 

The main cast unknowingly trapped inside a Sitcom, written entirely as a script.

The cast is hypnotised by a teleshopping show. 

People in the village are mysteriously turning into statues.

To earn money, the cast is tasked with babysitting, only to learn that “baby” is a haunted doll. 

And so many more across the book's 100 chapters :) 

There are strong motifs that evoke nostalgia and youth such as a trail of VHS tapes and trading card games. Trials of childhood are told through fantastical allegories, and through it all, the heart of the novel is the ensemble cast and how they interact and grow. 

I am incredibly proud of my work on this book! I hope this has encouraged anyone to read the book! And to anyone who does, it means the world to me! For as long as I’ve known, becoming an author has been my wildest and deepest dream, and to be there is overwhelming. Crafting these stories is truly what I love doing, and I hope that others can enjoy the world I have built here :) I can’t wait to share it with others!

The book can be purchased here!

Or here!

And I can be found elsewhere here!

- Declan :)

[declanowo]

My Novel, Lives Worth Missing: Act One, releases on 3/1/25.

“Rosie is hardly special in any way; she doesn’t stand out amongst the masses and fades into the background alongside her close-knit flock of friends. Yet she has always wanted for things to be different, for her life to matter even the slightest bit, not only to herself but to the enveloping world around her. Finally, with voices in her head, a ring on her finger and death’s hand clawing at her, she and her friends might just be able to find their worth.”

This novel has been, and continues to be, a labour of love. Every second I’ve spent in this world has been a joy. Blending fantasy and horror with a coming of age story, the novel encapsulates the feeling of growing up, the loss of innocence and youth. Told in an episodic narrative, the novel is mimetic structurally of cartoons like Adventure Time, slowly unveiling more and more about the world and characters, yet fixating on a single storyline per chapter, with a larger, overarching plot looming over the cast. 

Thank you to anyone who has read this! Any support to the book is immensely appreciated. The novel can be purchased below, and from other retailers. For anyone who is curious about the novel, its creation and so on, please stick around! I intend on delving into all these facets soon! A completely free newsletter will soon be available on my Patreon also! This too will delve more into the book, but I’ll likely post it here too :) 

https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/lives-worth-missing

https://linktr.ee/Declan.Writing 

[declanowo]

My Book, Lives Worth Missing: Act One

Hi! My name is Declan, and my first novel is being published on January 3rd 2025! It's a dark fantasy coming of age novel, with hints of horror that only grow throughout the series.

I'm a first time author who has been working on this book for around four years now, and so finally being able to watch it release is incredibly exciting!

The book follows a cast of four characters that slowly builds, it uses an episodic narrative to tell its coming of age story of these children who die one by one, before finding themselves bursting with life once again. It bridges a realm between dark fantasy and reality, and uses its stories to craft allegories for growing up and becoming a teenager.

The cast is contemporary, filled with varied faces, ideals and archetypes. The narrative follows four separate "volumes" introducing new villains, creatures and worlds! Every chapter unveils something new!

I'm incredibly proud of this passion project and can't wait for people to read it :) I'll link websites where it can be purchased physically, or as an E-Book.

Thank you for reading and any support :) It means the world!

[declanowo]

[declanowo]

*unhinges my jaw like a snake, revealing shark like rows of teeth and swallows 19 raw potatoes* lol sorry I have adhd

[declanowo]

[declanowo]

Worms :) 🪱