Locke & Key

Joe Hill is one of my favourite new horror writers. His work is always so original and manages to meld fantasy and terror as well as Neil Gaiman. He writes characters you care for and the plots keep you guessing right up till the last page.

So I was thrilled when I heard that Fox were adapting his comic-book series Locke & Key for TV.  I was even more thrilled when I heard that the cast would include the much underused Nick Stahl and Ireland’s own Sarah Bolger and that it would be directed by Mark Romenek (‘Never Let Me Go’, Johnny Cash ‘Hurt’ video, etc).

But then Fox, in their infinite wisdom, have decided not to screen the episode. At all.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s real.

So, as you can guess from the post below, I got the first copy of my first book in the post the other day.

It’s a strange feeling, finally holding it. It’s real. I can flick through the pages, I can smell the ink, I can even crack the spine if I was so inclined. The words aren’t on a screen anymore; the characters aren’t running around my head. They’re there – on the pages of a real life book for all to read. Read the rest of this entry »

Books I Like: Point Horror

Somewhere at home, in my parents’ house, under my old bed or under stacks of broken toys in one of the wardrobes or under Christmas decorations in the attic is a box of books. There are, I would guess, 40 or 50 of these paperbacks, all the spines broken, the pages dog-eared and the covers worn. Most of them cost £3.99 at the time although as the years went by, this rose to a staggering £4.99. They all have gaudy, illustrated covers reminiscent of seventies and eighties cheap slasher films. These books are Point Horrors.

The first book I read in the series was The Babysitter by RL Stine. I don’t know what age I was – (although I’d make a guess at 10) – but the books were all about 15 and 16 year olds being stalked by serial killers or murderous ghosts and I was probably too young. From the moment I picked up The Babysitter, the Point Horror books were a constant companion for the next few years. Read the rest of this entry »

Film Review: Super 8

Allow me to preface this review by stating categorically that I have never liked any JJ Abrams film. To me, Mission: Impossible 3 is little more than a generic action film, Cloverfield is a failed experiment and Star Trek is just plain boring.

But now, with Super 8, Abrams has finally lived up to his hype.

The film tells the story of thirteen year old Joe who, along with some filmmaking buddies, are at the site of a train crash and accidentally record some blurry beast stepping from the wreckage. When the Air Force show up and put the town under lock-down, only the group of friends can work out what’s going on.

Read the rest of this entry »