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Book Review: Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Trepidatio Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 1947654181

Available:  Paperback, Kindle, Nook

Spectral Evidence is a short story collection that has a bit of something for everyone: old gods, vampires, witchcraft, and even a few stories about monster hunters saving ordinary humans from the deadly extraordinary. The stories, with the exception of “Spectral Evidence”, flow smoothly together, anchored well by short stories about an antagonistic alliance between a mountain witch and two female hunters that are scattered throughout the work.

It is clear in the dialogue of her characters that Ms. Files does extensive research in each story’s subject matter, from a doomed archaeologist describing the architectural structure of an ancient temple in “A Wish from a Bone”, to the incident report-like format of “Spectral Evidence”, to the medically specific ways a zombie-turning drug affects the protagonists in “Imaginary Beauties.” This attention to small details gives a vivid credibility to each storyline.

There are no wholesome protagonists in these stories: even the hunters are significantly flawed, which actually creates a more realistic portrayal of the archetype than in other works. While Sam and Dean’s illegal activities are opaquely glossed over in Supernatural (e.g., stolen credit cards, fake IDs, trails of bodies), for example, Ms. Files’ hunters embrace them, even flaunt them. The opening story of the witch Allfair Chatwin and the hunters Samaire and Dionne (!) Cornish begins in the maximum security unit of a female penitentiary.  “Crossing the River” is about the planning of a prison break, and, while there are no heroes here, the character development was compelling enough that I was excited when I realized “Black Bush”, placed two stories later, picked up where “Crossing the River” left off.

“Spectral Evidence” is a unique short story. As mentioned, it is in an incident report format, describing photographs and other evidence of an investigation gone horribly wrong. Descriptions do leave more to the imagination, but this choice over actual pictures resulted in a few re-readings to get a complete understanding of what was going on. I admire the attempt of the experimental storytelling, but its format made the story feel out of place with the rest of the selections. It may have been better served in another collection.

Spectral Evidence is recommended for all horror fans. There are many strong female protagonists in these stories, which may appeal to specific audiences.

Contains: gore, graphic sex, violence, witchcraft

 

Reviewed by Wendy Zazo-Phillips

 

Editor’s note: Spectral Evidence is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Award in the cagegory of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. 

Posted on May 5, 2019 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Moonshine Volume 2: Misery Train by Brian Azzarello, art by Eduardo Risso

Moonshine Volume 2: Misery Train by Brian Azzarello, art by Eduardo Risso

Image Comics, 2018

ISBN: 9781534308275

Available: Paperback, Kindle and comiXology editions

 

I need to be up front about a few things in this volume. There is racist language, and physical and threatened sexual violence against PoC.

The second volume finds gangster Lou Pirlo, Delia, and some of her family in a train car, running from the police. With Hiram Holt missing or dead, with his family wanting revenge, and the gangsters back in New York City equally wanting his head on a pike, Lou  finds himself clapped in chains and thrown in a different type of gang altogether. He also has another problem; he was bitten by a werewolf. When a cottonmouth snake strikes him, and doesn’t end up killing him, his fellow prisoners know something is not quite right. The gangsters are also wise to the werewolf menace in Appalachia, and have sent a deadly monster hunter on their trails.

 

Volume 2 is better than the first, with a more cohesive story and intense action. One of the gangsters from volume 1, L’Ago, is much more front and center dealing with the Holt family. However, the story is still missing something. I still can’t get invested in the characters, perhaps because they are too flawed and stereotypical. I had high hopes, since it is a 2018 Stoker nominee, but I don’t feel invested in any of the characterss. As much as I enjoy reading about flawed characters, there needs to be something redeemable, or at least worthy of respect, for me to engage with the text. I don’t get that here. If you want a good noir crime series by this team, pick up 100 Bullets. Recommended, with reservation.

 

Contains: blood, nudity, racism, threatened rape violence

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Editor’s note: Moonshine Volume 2: Misery Train is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel.

Posted on May 5, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror by Howard David Ingham, illustrated by Steven Horry

We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror by Howard David Ingham, illustrated by Steven Horry

Room 207 Press, 2018

ISBN: 9781722748814

Available: Kindle, paperback

Full disclosure: We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror is Ingham’s authoritative (although he would probably cringe at me using that term) look at folk horror. Pagan conspiracies, witchfinders, dark fairy tales, and cult activity are only a few of the themes of the movies he presents.

Ingham lays out some guidelines to how he wrote this book. Entries are arranged by theme and not chronologically. He states that this is not meant to be used as a reference book, and there are plenty of spoilers throughout. The author uses various icons, designed and illustrated by Steven Horry, to indicate specific information for readers (a bony thumbs up indicates he enjoyed the film, a bloody knife indicates gore, a stop sign warns readers of more sensitive material such as rape, abuse, etc.). Ingham specifies that he makes use of content warnings as a means to inform the viewer and help them make an informed decision before they watch a film. The author also provides a synopsis of each film with autobiographical information, as a means to break down the piece at hand. Similar to Kier-La Janisse’s autobiographical topography, House of Psychotic Women, Ingham includes personal information in each section. So much content blended with the autobiographical information makes for a very long read, but also an interesting one. While he states in his introduction that his purpose is not to review the films, he does provide many of his personal opinions of the works discussed.

There are 16 total chapters in this book. Ingham covers folk horror from the Silent Era to modern film, and has an international scope. I won’t go into every chapter in this review, as it would be a weighty endeavor on both myself and the reader to parse out. However, I do have some favorite chapters. Ingham begins with what he calls “The Unholy Trinity (Plus One)”, which includes Curse of the Demon (based on an absolutely beautiful tale by M.R. James, whom the author discusses in multiple chapters), Witchfinder General (a favorite of mine, given that I adore Vincent Price), and The Wicker Man (starring another favourite of mine, Christopher Lee). The “plus one” Ingham includes in the chapter is Blood on Satan’s Claw, another film based on the work of M.R. James. In the second chapter, Ingham discusses folk horror on British television from the 1970s, such as Against the Crowd, selections from the Play for Today series (Robin Redbreast, Penda’s Fen, A Photograph, and Red Shift), Ghost Stories for Christmas, The Stone Tapes, and others. Particularly interesting in this chapter is the discussion of his own experience with class hierarchy and how he felt like an outsider.

For those of us who like our horror comedies (especially of the British variety), the author presents solid reasoning as to why shows like Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, The League of Gentlemen, Look Around You, and Detectorists belong firmly in the folk horror genre. If you haven’t seen Inside No. 9, developed by the creative team behind The League of Gentlemen, go check it out. You won’t be disappointed. The last chapter, “The Revived”, discusses films such as The Wicker Tree, Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England, The Witch: A New England Folk Tale, and others that have been created in the last decade.

The author includes an extensive index of films referred to in the text, which makes my horror film must-see list much longer. If you are new to folk horror, or just want to brush up on your favorite horror subgenre, I recommend picking this book up. I think the major criticism I have with this book is (and again, I read the advanced readers’ copy so some of this may have been picked up upon final edits), there is an excessive use of “and” at the beginning of many sentences, and a few sections could use a tighter edit. Otherwise I think this is a solid addition to a horror film collection. Recommended.

Contains: a lot of spoilers

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Editor’s note: We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction.

Posted on May 4, 2019 by , 1 comment
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