#techno thriller

[anhed-nia]

I have been trying to figure out what to say about this movie since I saw it on the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival jury, and I keep running up against the embarrassing conclusion that it has been impossible for me not to take it personally. This happens occasionally, where something hits you so strongly right in your DNA that you can't even tell whether it's as good as you think it is; mercifully the quality of RED ROOMS is not in doubt, but it reminded me of my delusionally personal associations with the original SNOW WHITE. The Disney feature was one of the first movies I ever saw, and it seemed to communicate to me very directly about my options for living as a human female of the brunette variety: On one end of the spectrum there is the sickly virgin with her morbid beauty and her kinship with nature, and on the other end, the cannibalizing bitch goddess with her devious mind full of arcane knowledge (ok so the Wicked Queen is not actually dark-haired, but I assert that that cowl counts (and I want one)). As a little girl I thought, yes, this is a pretty good deal for me, either one of these assignments will do.

Pascal Plante's RED ROOMS offers a similar dichotomy, and it has proven very hard for me to avoid seeing its main characters as an Aspirational Self, and a disappointing Actual Self. Maybe RED ROOMS has a Magic Mirror quality, in fact maybe all films do, though they don't all speak so clearly and bluntly to every viewer.

Juliette Gariépy plays Kelly-Anne, a fashion model who is fixated on the high profile trial of Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) who is accused of serial murder and traffic in the snuff films of his young female victims. Seated in a row of goth groupies, the expressionless Kelly-Anne is identified with their fascination with the case, and yet we have no idea what really motivates her. Implicitly, few people would have any idea what it is like to be Kelly-Anne; as her internet handle LadyOfShalott suggests, she lives alone in a luxury highrise with the computer as her only connection to the outside world. She emerges for fashion shoots marked by her dark, edgy brand, and to attend the Chevalier trial. Otherwise, her only regular human contact is with online poker competitors who are no match for her savant-like math expertise and apparent lack of feeling. She presents as a bit of a sociopath, which becomes worrisome as she uses her technological skills to stalk the bereaved mother of the only victim whose recorded murder has not yet surface. However, Kelly-Anne is ultimately unknowable, and not much like the other fangirls and -boys who appear day after day at the hearings. We find evidence of this in the arrival of Clementine (Laurie Babin).

In opposition to Kelly-Anne, Clementine is needy, ingratiating, and naively intrusive. The tiny girl is fueled by her fanatical belief that Chevalier is innocent, a conviction she assumes Kelly-Anne must share. In a moment of rare empathy, the model invites the urchin into her sanctuary and, after flirting with the notion of human friendship, she eventually reveals enough to totally shatter the young woman's illusions. Clementine is the perfect foil, providing us with a tool for interrogating Kelly-Anne's identity and motivation--and for me, she also provided a painful reminder of the difference between myself and what I claim to value. Kelly-Anne is like every William Gibson heroine I have ever attached myself to: beautiful and alien, yet more intelligent than beautiful, dangerously brilliant and purpose-driven, emotionally incompatible with normal people, voluntarily exiled to the fringes of society despite her social currency and financial power. It's hard to imagine what she does and does not feel, but perhaps her life is not so easy. Clementine doesn't see it, of course, finding Kelly-Anne's robotic perfection very amusing. Clementine is her opposite: pretty only in a childlike way, hopelessly unself-conscious, counterbalancing her ignorance with self-righteous fanaticism. I saw myself there, and while Clementine is appealing and sympathetic despite (or even because of) her foibles, it wasn't a great feeling. She is obsessed rather than focused, embroiled in adult matters she can't quite grasp, and incapable of understanding or engineering other people's perceptions of her. She and Kelly-Anne make a lovely odd couple, but true connection is not quite possible, and Clementine only ends up feeling embarrassed, and like she has something to apologize for.

Whatever filmmaker Pascal Plante's grander statements might be, about the cybernetic nature of modern life and the merchandising of other people's lives and deaths, laced through as they are with a peculiar Arthurian motif, I've had a hard time fully engaging with them only because of my own passionate investment in his characters and their perverse interpersonal dynamics. Maybe by October I will have matured enough to articulate a more robust argument about this in-any-case extremely great movie. In the meantime, I am haunted by the enviable unknowability of Kelly-Anne, and the tragic transparency of Clementine. For now I will just say that I love it when a male filmmaker seems to live out a fantasy through a female character. One of the reasons that I don't totally dis Rob Zombie is that I enjoy the way that he encourages personal identification with tough female protagonists represented by his wife Sheri Moon, genre heroines like Meg Foster and Karen Black, and in my personal favorite instance, young Taylor Scout Compton:

When I saw this grim, black-eyed portrait of Pascal Plante, with its stark resemblance to Kelly-Anne, I thought yes, this guy gets it, he wants to live through her just like the rest of us, even if her version of humanity is not ours.

PS Please enjoy Lord Alfred Tennyson's description of average Tumblr user the Lady of Shalott, depicted visually by John William Waterhouse:

[schlock-luster-video]

On January 6, 2023, Hackers and S.F.W. we're screened as a double-feature on TCM Underground.

[statecryptids]

Yo, it’s another book review!

ELEMENT by Gregory Wyche

John is lost, adrift, looking to find a purpose for himself. He sees little opportunity in his current life, much less a path for his future. Life has not brought him happiness or satisfaction. His is the curse of existential angst that so many young people have faced in every generation. It’s the desire for meaning that builds revolutions, that leads youth to overthrow the entrenched, stagnant old world and build a new culture upon its ruins- though whether for good or bad is not always clear.

John feels trapped, so he flees from his comfortable but boring life and his family and, under the guise of attending an internship in Arizona, disappears to Europe. Not forever, of course. Just long enough to gather his thoughts and re-center his life. He doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to do, but maybe a change of setting will give him some purpose.

And so it does. While staying at a hostel, John encounters Katie and her group of young eco-activists, risking their freedom and their lives to expose the powers that are destroying the environment. John falls in with Katie and her group causally at first. He joins for the thrill and the thought of doing some good. But things soon get real when the team uncovers a plot that will catastrophically wreck the global climate. John and his comrades end up on the radar of some very powerful and dangerous people.

There is much in Element that is relevant to our current world, from cyberattacks, to environmental disaster, to government corruption. Katie’s fight is one that will resonate with many readers just as much as John’s ennui.

There is a palpable fondness for technology and gadgets throughout the book that borders on Tom Clancy-levels of tech-worship. This can bog the narrative down sometimes, as can the overabundant descriptions of people, rooms and mundane activities. I occasionally found myself skipping sections of description to get to the action again. Technophiles will find the details enjoyable, howver. It’s clear that Wyche has done his research.

When the book does gets going, it really revs up the action. There are scenes straight out of a spy thriller with John, Katie and their group dodging enemy agents by a hairsbreadth to gather vital and incriminating evidence. Things get especially tight when the team realizes how deep they’ve gotten themselves. There are narrow escapes, split-second decisions, shoot-outs and more. And then, of course, there’s the fallout when John’s family discovers that he’s not in Arizona on a simple internship.

Element is a detailed thriller good for those who love techno-talk.

[b-movieenema]

Brainscan is a gem of the mid-90s techno thrillers. It's a movie that I definitely remember the box at video stores but, for whatever reason, never watched it until I reviewed it in the summer of 2016. I'm sorry it took 22 years for me to discover this flick.

[therealimintobooks]

M.E.D.U.S.A by Janet & Chris Morris @Perseid_Press @SDBookTours

  If you thought the Cold War was over, think again. M.E.D.U.S.A by Janet & Chris Morris Genre: Action, Suspense, Techno Thriller Pushing the Envelope In West Berlin, Amy Brecker, an American intelligence officer, takes a chance on a walk-in informant who says that the Soviets are going to simulate an “accident” that will cripple America’s space-based defense program. From a Soviet silo on the…

[chantireviews]

THE SPILL by Keith Abbott - Terrorism Thriller, Techno-Thriller, International Crime

  In Keith Abbott’s thriller, The Spill, an intelligent, well-funded, politically connected organization of Arab Terrorists precipitates an environmental catastrophe meant to have world-shattering consequences – in their favor, of course. But the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Their plans are uncovered, giving their opposition a chance to mobilize all of its forces. Those terrible…

[pattytempleton]

Rad techno thriller with a social commentary undercurrent that vibes to the tune of fuck-the-1%.

[thebookcountess]

FA Confidential by Riko Radojcic

Techno Thriller Date Published: 02-10-2023 Publisher: Open Books   Three people doing their jobs and making decisions that may lead to a conflict between the world’s powers.  After all, the US must respond to an attack on its flagship project to build home-grown ‘fabs’, especially as it is linked to the reputation of the President. And People’s Republic cannot possibly ignore…

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Psalms For The End Of The World by Cole Haddon

Today I’m sharing my thoughts on Psalms For The End Of The World by Cole Haddon @colehaddon @headlinepg #books #booktwitter #psalmsfortheendoftheworld #booktwt

Today I am sharing my thoughts on Psalms For The End Of The World by Cole Haddon. It’s a book that I had recommended to me whilst at Harrogate, and having seen a fellow reader’s reaction to the book, I was excited to get started. My thanks to publisher Headline for the advance copy via NetGalley. Here’s what it’s all about: Source: NetgalleyRelease Date: 01 September 2022Publisher:…

[schlock-luster-video]

On December 22, 1983, Brainstorm debuted in Brazil.

[shanannigansthebibliophile]

Book Blitz: Rationality Zero by J.M. Guillen – Genre: Sci-Fi/ Techno Thriller @JM_Guillen @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #Scifi #Thriller

If you enjoy your thrillers with a sci-fi edge, you’re going to want to check out Rationality Zero by J.M. Guillen! Now available on Amazon! Rationality Zero (The Archon Conundrum #1) Publication Date: April 28th, 2022 Genre: Sci-Fi/ Techno Thriller A living weapon. An attack on the laws of reality. One chance to save the world. Michael Bishop is a man who never dreams, who never gets ill. He…

[erikmcmanusinc]

Book Spotlight: Rationality Zero

Book Spotlight: Rationality Zero @JM_Guillen @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #Scifi #Thriller

If you enjoy your thrillers with a sci-fi edge, you’re going to want to check out Rationality Zero by J.M. Guillen! Now available on Amazon! Rationality Zero (The Archon Conundrum #1) Publication Date: April 28th, 2022 Genre: Sci-Fi/ Techno Thriller A living weapon. An attack on the laws of reality. One chance to save the world. Michael Bishop is a man who never dreams, who never gets ill. He…

[theminecraftbee]

man incidentally recently I’ve found myself imagining the joe of cogsmede au that exists in my head again. the one where the crossover is a lot longer, joe is a little more resentful, and there’s a lot of bonding about not really fitting in the way you’re supposed to. also maybe they’re the villains of someone else’s story. that one. just. thinking about it again. rotating the concept. perhaps. one day,

[thetruearchmagos]

New OC(s) Idea(s)

Heads up, @theprissythumbelina , GRR Martin's at it again.

So, I was having my dinner and watching the latest Drachinifel, when suddenly he mentioned something that caught my eye; namely, signals intelligence.

Being an absolute fucking nerd, I've had and exercised far more interest in signals / military intelligence than is probably happy, but as topics go it's a hard one to apply in any writing. Worldbuilding-wise, though, I've had a lot of fun with it.

Anyhow, as usual, my answer to the question of how to show off some niche worldbuilding topic is to create an entirely new character and supporting cast around it. In this case, without even being certain which of my WIP's I'd like it them to exist in. [Though I am leaning towards Terror Immortal, or perhaps The Commonwealth Calls.]

The idea is, interspersed between 'normal' scenes / POVs covering the rest of the conflict, I'll cut to scenes lasting a few paragraphs at most which will feature our 'SIGINT POV' character going over some brief, message, piece of intel., etc., and explaining its significance. Importantly, whatever they're going over's going to have some relevance to the specific events I'm developing in the 'fighting' text, and in some cases a keen reader will recognise their intelligence feeding into the higher-up decisions which eventually trickle down to affect the lives and battles of the members of the cast doing the fighting and dying.

Over the course of the WIP / Narrative in question, it's my hope that the reader will gain a sort of trust in SIGINT guy and his observations, and indeed I hope gradual and drawn own exposition on his character and personality might even make them like him. All this serves as a lead up to a big ol' Plot Twist.tm that I'm thinking will play out towards the end of whatever specific 'Book' this character will debut in. Basically, they'll get it wrong. In some small way, in some crucial way, this most skilled analyst of intelligence will make the wrong call at the wrong time, and decisions will be made off of this evidence, and without even knowing it someone, somewhere will die because of this singular slip up.

Can you tell how much I like this guy already?

[almostlookedhuman]

04/31.

[mariocki]

Black Moon Rising (1986)

"Mr. Quint and I go back a ways. We used to be... what, in competition?"

"I never considered you competition, Marvin."

"Aw, that's not nice, Quint. We had our moments."

"You must've had yours in private."