#hatchet girls

[the-final-sentence]

The next chapter, however, was still just a whisper.

Diana Rodriguez Wallach, from Hatchet Girls

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: Set more than one hundred years after the Borden murders, this propulsive, supernatural thriller imagines what might happen if history were to repeat itself today. Perfect for fans of Kara Thomas and Courtney Summers!

When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question.

But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.

Tessa’s search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, notoriously cursed forest, where she and Mariella must face a darkness that has lurked within their town since before the days of Lizzie Borden—the original axe murderess of Fall River.

Review:

A paranormal teen slasher inspired by the Lizzie Borden murders! Mariella Morse is a beautiful and wealthy white girl who's parents are murdered with an axe... and the person she's accusing of doing it? Her boyfriend Vik Gomez, a person of color who is poor. It doesn't help that Vik is caught standing over Mariella's parents' bodies covered in blood and with an axe at his feet, however he doesn't have any memories of the night in question. Now it's up to his sister, Tessa to prove that Vik isn't the one responsible and that something else is going on. Tessa's search for the truth will spiral out of control and soon she'll find that the real villain was someone she never saw coming. While the story is suppose to be Lizzie Borden inspired, I was really hoping it would be more female focused and inciting, rather than *spoilers* have the main villain be a boy who not only is a psychopath and is drugging girls but violates and touches the other one without her consent. It just felt really gross and I did not enjoy this take on the book at all. I was expecting something much different than what I actually read. This story is very much a paranormal mystery and if that's what you are looking for then this is perfect for you.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[screechwhisper]

🐻🐻🐻🐻

(from Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach)

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour: Top 5 Reasons to Read HATCHET GIRLS by Diana Rodriguez Wallach!

Welcome to Book_Keeping and my stop on the TBR and Beyond Tours blog tour for Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach, which released this past Tuesday, 10 October! I've got all the details on this deliciously creepy nod to the story of Lizzie Borden, along with my top 5 reasons to read, below!

About the Book

title: Hatchet Girls author: Diana Rodriguez Wallach publisher: Delacorte Press release date: 10 October 2023

For fans of Kara Thomas and Courtney Summers comes a supernatural horror that reminds us family can be our saving grace–or our biggest curse. Set one-hundred years after the Borden murders, this propulsive thriller imagines what a similar trial might look like today. When the parents of the richest family in Fall River are found murdered by axe, the town is quick to blame newcomer Vik. It doesn’t help that he was caught standing over the bodies with blood on his hands and can’t remember anything about the night in question. But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to Fall River in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence. Her search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, supposedly cursed forest, as well as the childhood home of Lizzie Borden—the original axe murderess of Fall River. Content Warning: Violence, mentions of murder, blood, grief, abuse

Add to Goodreads: Hatchet Girls Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Diana Rodriguez Wallach is a multi-published author of young adult novels. Her most recent, Small Town Monsters, is a YA Latinx horror novel that published in September 2021 through Random House’s Underlined imprint. Her next YA horror, Hatchet Girls, will publish in hardback in Fall 2023 through Random House’s Delacorte imprint. Additionally, Diana is the author of the Anastasia Phoenix Series (Entangled Publishing), a trilogy of young adult spy thrillers. The first book in the series, Proof of Lies, has been optioned for film and was chosen as a finalist for the 2018 International Thriller Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. Additionally, Bustle listed her as one of the “Top Nine Latinx Authors to Read for Women’s History Month 2017,” and Paste named Proof of Lies one of the “Top 10 Best Young Adult Books for March 2017.” Diana is also the author of three YA contemporary Latina novels: Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals, and Adios to All The Drama (Kensington Books). Amor and Summer Secrets placed second at the 2009 International Latino Book Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. She also penned a YA short-story collection entitled Mirror, Mirror (Buzz Books, 2013).

Connect with Diana: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook

Top 5 Reasons to Read

I have been a fan of Diana Rodriguez Wallach since I read the first of her Anastasia Phoenix trilogy, Proof of Lies, back when it was released in 2017. I was on a tour for it and then did the next two books as well. (If you like YA thrillers, you should absolutely check it out, it's so good!) So I was excited to hear about Hatchet Girls coming out and had high hopes for it -- which were more than met! Here are my top reasons to read this deliciously creepy novel!

I love a good YA horror, and Hatchet Girls more than fits the bill! It is creepy and gory and horrific without being *too* over the top, great for folks who might not like more extreme/adult horror.

I love how the story takes inspiration from and pays homage to the Lizzie Borden story, updating it for the modern day and including supernatural elements.

Diana honors the bloody history of the area in which the book takes place, the Bridgewater Triangle, by including actual facts about that history and incorporating it into the supernatural forces at work in the story.

The book asks the question, which I am still pondering, of whether a place's bloody history can infect and curse the land itself, and/or whether land can be infected and cursed and thus lead to continual acts of violence perpetrated there.

This might seem weird, but the author's note about her own experience while researching the novel just sealed the deal for how much I loved it! You'll see when you read it -- I actually got chills!

I love doing these top reasons to read posts, but once again find myself wanting to rate the book even though this isn't a traditional review, because you have to know this is a five star read for me! I hope every fan of YA (and adult!) horror will pick this one up. Make sure you read the historical facts section and author's note at the end to enrich the reading experience.

Thank you to Delacorte Press for the finished copy, and to TBR and Beyond Tours for having me on the tour today!

Make sure to check out the Bookstagram tour as well! You can find my post here, and the full schedule is here.

[lilibetbombshell]

[oracleofmadness]

I loved how this story recaptured the eerie tale of Lizzie Borden. This has a murder/mystery and horror/ghost story vibe that I really enjoyed.

The popular girl in town, Mariella, starts dating the new guy, Vik. But when her parents are suddenly brutally murdered in the same way Lizzie Borden's were, Vik gets the blame. Soon, his sister, Tessa, is there to help him.

This really had a cool feeling to this story. Seeming realistic and also supernatural at once. It's definitely a very creepy read!

Out October 10, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

[classichorrorblog]

10 Modern Slasher Movies To Consider For October/Halloween

[virginia-uu]

[channnel]

My random burst of energy led me to this.

⁽ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᶦⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍᵒᵖᶦˢˢ ᵍᶦʳˡ ᵖᶦᶜ, ᴵ ʳᵃⁿ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᶦᵈᵉᵃˢ⁾

[mokadevs]

day 19: partners-in-crime

[sketchinventor]

Ryouri offers you some fine...

🍜 ✨ cuisine ✨ 🍜

Sketchie for @themultibro on twitter !

If youre interested in getting a sketchie like this you can do so over on my ko-fi! ☺️

[autisticnari]

HellSpawn_32 is going to be SO jealous.

[frey-draws]

HATCHET! 🪓🐇❓🍩 OC LINEUP # 2/6

[chena-h]

Me, muttering at the shadows that dance along the walls of my cave: Look, all I'm saying is that if Sansa has a mini survivalist arc where she solos a part of her trip from White Harbor to The Wall, I would not be mad. No, no wait hear me out-

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

You watch slasher movies? I haven't done so in years (much to my disappointment), got any recommendations, classics, popular, underrated, anything really?

I knew I hadn't watched them in a long time, but it wasn't till I had to try and write something based on classic slashers, that I realized how long its been since I consumed that kind of content.

My only plan so far is that I need to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Alright, Pandora, it depends on your tastes, and what you look for in a "slasher" ❤️

As you may remember, I fucking love the OG the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and when I got pretty bad last month emotionally I watched it on repeat for two weeks straight. However, if you go in for a regular slasher film you will be disappointed. The first movie is incredible, focusing on amazing shots and atmosphere for nearly the entire first half. It's less of a slasher as we would come to know the genre, and more of an artistic film centered around the horrors of humanity. The series is a wonderful mess of multiple timelines and little continuity, but the sequels better fit the slasher archetype. The best sequel (imo) is the one directly after the first, and it's a black comedy slasher, focusing more on the kills.

Now, slashers ❤️

If you're a nerd and want to experience the slasher history, then before Halloween (which still holds up) there was Black Christmas, and before that the Town that Dreaded Sundown.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown is based off a true serial killer, and unlike TCM which is loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a lot of the kills (except the trombone scene) are based on actual murders, with his mask accurate to the only real world survivor's testimony of her assault. It's very slow pace, and with how desensitized we are as a society you might find it boring, but if you ever get a phonecall from Ghostface, then you have to know the Town that Dreaded Sundown. Fun fact, his mask also inspired Jason's mask from Friday the 13th part 2!

Black Christmas is awesome! I'd recommend it more than Sundown, because of pacing, characters, acting, and overall atmosphere. I love my second wave feminism horror (Stepford Wives (mwah)), and it did a lot better with it's feminist themes than the loose remake from 2019 that tried to be intentionally feminist (ignore the 2006 remake entirely, so bad, so lame, so gross). It did the first person perspective of the killer nearly four years before Halloween's iconic opening. It introduced the idea of the final girl, but she wouldn't become a sexually repressed younger woman until Halloween solidified the trope. It has some great kills that still hold up, and Billy is iconic. I really feel the only reason why he isn't more well known in non-horror spaces is because he doesn't have a mask or outfit that can be replicated and sold in Spirit.

After that we have our most well known slashers, and they're popular for good reason ❤️

A Nightmare on Elm St, Friday the 13th, and Halloween spawned sequels that spiraled off into varying degrees of madness, but still have fun moments.

After the success of Friday the 13th (and the realization of the franchise-ability of slashers) there were a lot of slashers that tried to capture the money magic of the first few success stories. Not all of them were great, but a few notable slashers imo are My Bloody Valentine and the Dentist.

Although Candyman is often lumped in with slashers, like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the first movie is more than a traditional slasher. I recommend the first one as a beautiful love story about the horrors of American racism. It's score is still incredible, the behind the scenes are so interesting, and Tony Todd is absolutely beautiful. Such an amazing actor. (Not so) Fun fact: Tony Todd said in the behind the scenes that there originally was a romantic scene where Helen proclaimed her love for Candyman, but they were forced to cut it, because "they were okay with a tall, black man covered in bees.. but, mm, when it came to a kiss, or something like that, it was a little bit too risque..." ( :/ )

(Please please please watch Candyman)

Then the best, or worst (depending on your views), thing happened to the genre; Scream.

One of the best slashers there is, it isn't the first self referential, meta horror (see Wes Craven's New Nightmare), but it did change the slasher genre for a very long time. It was a revival for the genre, since it was declining in popularity by the early 90s. However, post Scream horror was very meta. See Chucky's personality changing from the occasional funny quip, to Bride of Chucky levels of silly (still love him tho). Of the terrible horror trying to copy Scream, I'd recommend Urban Legend over I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was a shame, just how silly a lot of scary movies got back then, trying to be as smart and self aware as Scream was.

But my favorite (outside of Scream) meta horror slasher film is Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon ❤️ took meta to a whole new level, mockumentary style, a camera crew follows a wannabe slasher killer explaining how to be a slasher icon.

I've watched too many slashers to remember all of them right now, but if you want really meta black comedies, Tucker and Dale vs Evil isn't a slasher but a loving joke on the genre, and the Final Girls made me laugh and cry like a little bitch.

A lot of slashers since the late 90s have drifted closer to the black comedy sub genre. Killers that kill for the sake of killing are often B-rated blood fests, that can be great for mindless fun but not so great for box office gains, especially in our current horror renaissance. Slashers don't fit in to the current horror culture. Serial killers aren't scary for desensitized audiences, and the mindless gore expectations set by older slasher films have created a pretty specific genre setup and pay off (dumb people who only exist to die get brutally murdered). It either has to be B-rated mindless fun (Laid to Rest 1 and 2 had terrible camera work and directing, making even incredible actors like Lena Headey feel lackluster, but the practical effects are so impressive I'd recommend it just for the blood and guts (and bewbs)), or comedic (the Hatchet series has great cameos, genuine laughs, and more impressive practical effects, but with good cinematography and directing (still bewbs)). Slashers that don't lean in to how ridiculous the concept of slashers are and try to take themselves seriously often end up falling short, either creating boring killers with no personality or trying to force a plot into a generic slasher shaped hole.

This does include most remakes of slasher movies, as a lot of slashers were remade in the early 2000's with less interesting characters to be killed off by the slashers. The remake of Candyman was an exception, because even though it wasn't as good as the original, it did go back to it's non slasher roots, learning from the mistake that was the third Candyman.

TLDR:

Non slashers that are considered slashers because of the slasher sequels/iconic murderers:

the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Candyman

Child's Play

Best Precursor to the genre:

Black Christmas

Popular Classics:

Halloween

Friday the 13th

a Nightmare on Elm St

Pre 90's Slashers that I recommend:

The Dentist

Sleepaway Camp (it's divided on whether it's problematic or interesting representation)

Alice, Sweet Alice

My Bloody Valentine

Post 90's meta commentary/black comedy:

Scream

Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon

Hatchet

The Final Girls

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

There are obviously a lot more, but these are a few off the top of my head ❤️

[pattora]

Quick go play beary the hatchet it has a girl with probably ADHD and what I call peak character design because is a a serial killer with an animal mask and an axe (I'm normal about this rpg maker game)

I did some doodles because the character design is so good, god, I love this game I laughed so hard