Hanging Around the Blogs: News & Reviews You May Have Missed (15)

Inspired by "Around the Blogs with Chuckles". There are never enough hours in the day to be a creeper on all the blogs and social media outlets so here's a recap of some great posts, articles and news tidbits you may have missed while you were out living your life.

This will be the mini-review of creepy films edition with a smidge of Ladies Of Horror Fiction news on the side. Sorry everyone, the past few weeks have been a wee bit challenging.

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Ladies of Horror Fiction News

We had a tie this month so we will be hosting two Ladies of Horror Fiction group read discussions. I hope you'll join in! You can find the group here:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/963939-ladies-of-horror-fiction

These are the two books we are currently discussing:

The Blair Witch Project meets Imaginary Girls in this story of codependent sisterhood, the struggle to claim one’s own space, and the power of secrets

Sixteen-year-old Skye is done playing the knight in shining armor for her insufferable younger sister, Deirdre. Moving across the country seems like the perfect chance to start over.

In their isolated new neighborhood, Skye manages to fit in, but Deirdre withdraws from everyone, becoming fixated on the swampy woods behind their house and building monstrous sculptures out of sticks and bones.

Then Deirdre disappears.

And when something awful comes scratching at Skye's window in the middle of the night, claiming she's the only one who can save Deirdre, Skye knows she will stop at nothing to bring her sister home. Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.

You can find all of the discussion threads here:  https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/385108

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Recommended Horror Flicks

Creepshow Episode 1 

This is another Shudder exclusive. Shudder is killing it with the horror content! This episode features two stories; Gray Matter by Stephen King and House of the Head by Josh Malerman. Both were great fun in different ways. Gray Matter is body horror at its grossest and features Adrienne Barbeau. House of the Head is a true creepfest without every getting over the top gory. It's about a little girls dollhouse and a . . . head! I'd give them both 4 stars and I can't wait to watch the next one. Episodes are airing every Thursday night.

Terrifier

Ahhh! This movie, this movie lives up to its name! It's gory, it is wild, it is crazed and it is most definitely terrifying. It takes a lot to get under my skin and this movie managed to do it. It also made me laugh quite a few times so big bonus points for that! 4 Stars to this one too. I watched it streaming on Netflix.

Spring

This one is streaming on Shudder too. It is a romantic horror film and, yes, they ARE a thing and I will always love them. See my Near Dark & Beast reviews for the proof. They always get five stars because I am a sucker for them. Spring is no exception. A young man who has recently lost his mom to a terrible illness leaves his past life behind and travels to another country where he quickly falls in lusty love with the first beauty he meets. It's soon clear that she has secrets. Big bloody, scary ones. Evan doesn't care, he wants her anyway. Love + Horror = 5 Stars, haha

VC Andrews Casteel Saga

There are five of these and I watched them all and I have zero regrets. They are all, of course, over the top and filled with incest, abuse, rape but it's all told in the original V.C. Andrews gloriously lurid fashion that makes it impossible to peel your eyes away from the screen. And Jason Priestley plays the pervy stepdaddy with a wicked glee that is so enjoyable to watch. I wish VC Andrews had managed to write more books before she passed away in 1986. Yes, 1986! Alas, that terrible ghost writer her estate hired way back when is writing the worst kind of trash in her name. Sorry but it's true. Stay away from those books because they are an entirely different beast and a blatant money grab. I watched these movies on Lifetime. You can find out more here and I know you want to, haha.

These films are based on the books below and sadly there will be no more actually written by Andrews so if they start filming the Neiderman books I may have to tap out. I don't want to see movies where grown men wear diapers. Nope. Not for me. 

• Heaven (1985)
• Dark Angel (1986)
• Fallen Hearts (1988) (started by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)
• Gates of Paradise (1989) ("inspired" by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)
• Web of Dreams (1990) ("inspired" by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)

That's all I've got for now. Read some books, watch some bad films and have a relaxing weekend, everyone!