
Author: Paul Tremblay
Publication: June 11, 2024 by HarperAudio
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Find it on: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell’s | Google Play | Kobo | Waterstones
Rating: 4/5★
A chilling twist on the “cursed film” genre from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club and The Cabin at the End of the World.
In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.
The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.
The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned.
But at what cost?
Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film” that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.
I almost have no idea how to put Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay into words. It’s unlike anything I’ve read. It was also my first book by this author so I didn’t really know what to expect and went into it blind. But I’m so glad that I did because I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it as audiobook and I was highly recommend this format because the performances were simply excellent. It had a great cast of narrators that made it a fantastic experience.
The story is told through “then” and “now” chapters, while also narrating some of the screenplay of the horror movie that it’s all about. We meet a cast of young filmmakers who are making a film in 1993 known as Horror Movie, where only three scenes ever made it to the public. Decades later, when a big reboot is about to happen, the man who played “The Thin Kid” and the only one who’s still alive, recounts his memories about those consuming weeks.
The synopsis calls Horror Movie ‘mind-bending’ and that’s exactly the perfect description for it. It was also peculiar, horrifying, oddly unnerving, as well as a bit of a mindfuck. The book was very much a slowburn that builds and builds while you just know something terrible is going to happen but you don’t know what. This book is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I feel like readers are pretty divided about the story but it was very much to my liking. And now I definitely want to read more by this author.
About the author:
Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of Survivor Song, The Cabin at the End of the World, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland, and the short story collection, Growing Things and Other Stories.
His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family.
I’m glad you enjoyed this. I bought a copy but haven’t read it yet, and your description of “mindfuck” is making me even more excited to read it😁
Ooh, this sounds so weird and creepy!
This definitely sounds unique and I’m kind of intrigued but also not ready for this kind of horrifying mindfuck 🙂
I love the cover and concept of this one – glad you enjoyed it!