I'm a huge Paul Tremblay fan, but this book didn't really work for me. I found Horror Movie (the in-book film) to be pretty lackluster, and the characters fell flat. There are moments of genuine horror, which I really appreciated, but this book didn't live up to my expectations overall.

Wow what an amazing experience this is. I ask myself what am I reading and I don’t find an answer and I’m not sure that I care to. It’s a fun, gory, nightmare-fuel read for all horror fans. It’s just a bit too artsy and hard to engage with at times but look past that and you’ll be glad you did.

I'm blown away, unnerved, shaken, and bewildered by Tremblay's latest novel(I typed movie first!). With moviemaking as metaphor for the quandaries of life, the book is full of allusions to classic horror movie tropes and trivia as well as Tremblay's real-life Hollywood experiences, it melds screenplay, story, and existential reflection. I'm filled with questions and an overwhelming sense of dread though these were sometimes softened by humor and poignant character development.

I requested a copy of the ARC from the publisher, WILLIAM MORROW, on NetGalley and was approved in exchange for an honest review. All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

Paul Tremblay curates anticipation, fear and suspense in every part of the psychological thriller that is HORROR MOVIE.

This is my first time reading anything written by Paul Tremblay. Crazy, right? He never blipped across my radar until I discovered (and became obsessed with) Stephen Graham Jones. When I saw this title available for request on NetGalley, it seemed like a great opportunity to test the waters with this author - especially since this book's description boasted it was a chilling twist on the "cursed film" trope. (Spoiler alert: it delivered.)

It was as though I was sitting in a coffee shop one afternoon and a fellow sitting at the table next to me leans over to peer at the title of the book I'm reading. Upon seeing it's horror, he says, "Have you seen the trailer for the remake of Horror Movie ?" I nod excitedly and he follows it up with, "I'm the original actor who played the Thin Kid." This book is written as though this guy, Thin Kid, is telling his story, with the timeline changing between his memories of thirty years prior, when the original movie was filmed and now, during the current remake.

These recollections and descriptions begin by building anticipation and excitement. The excitement soon leads to confusion and discomfort, tinged with a bit of regret. Soon it's fear you're feeling and dread - but it's too late now, the anticipation has you and you have to see it through.

I really liked some of the characters, even though they weren't very well developed. The majority of the story takes place in the past, when the original movie was being filmed and the main characters were college-aged. At that age, we're all still trying to make sense of life and figure ourselves out - so the choice to leave the characters a bit of a mystery to the reader fit well with the overall enery of the book.

The setting is pretty good, nothing unique, but the effect the setting had on its characters was exceptionally well written. When the past is recounted, a lot of it is the reader being allowed to read the original screenplay for the film. (I've no clue if that's how screenplays are actually written, but the format was a bit weird and took some getting used to.)

Logically, there are a few holes and I was left with a pile of questions - but that's what makes horror so great. It leaves the door open so that when you're laying awake at night, those niggling questions pop back to the forefront and you start to wander down the different "what if" paths.

In closing, I enjoyed my first foray into Paul Tremblay's work and will absolutely be reading more of his titles in the coming weeks!

I have read other Paul Tremblay books and have enjoyed them. I just could not get into this one though. I found the story to be very confusing and hard to get into. I did like the movie scene format at times but otherwise very hard to follow.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy for my honest review.

A big Hollywood reboot of Horror Movie, a 90s indie horror flick, is set to be remade. However, the film only ever released 3 finished scenes from the original. Despite this, there is quite a fanbase. And misfortune has followed almost all of the original cast and crew. 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.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-arc.*

I honestly don't know what I just read, I say that in the best way possible.

This book jumps from past to present, different POVs, and even filming scenes vs BTS... It takes a few pages to figure out what is happening, but when you do you feel like you are in the film, you are part of the cast and these scary things are happening all around you.

As I was reading, I felt like I was watching a real horror movie. I wasn't sure where the very end of the book was heading, but WOW, I did NOT see that coming (I love a book with a great twist ending)

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I am torn on how to talk about this book. It features a lot of things, like cursed movies and a kind of [spoiler] ending, that would normally light up synapses. However, something about it just didn't click with me. I can see an audience for this, and I'm sure a lot of people will just love it. Sadly, though, I just couldn't get there.

I have read and enjoyed Paul Tremblay's novels in the past, so I was ecstatic to start his new one. Unfortunately, the pacing felt off and the story felt a little too predictable.

I wanted to love this book. I loved the idea of it written as a screenplay. But something fell flat. I know others who read it and loved it; said the whole book built up to the ending, but the ending didn't even do it for me. What did? The horror convention scene. I wish there was more of that or more conventions he went to. I've been going to conventions for over 12 years now so that was really nostalgic for me and was portrayed perfectly (with how the actors feel to seeing horror authors to how the actors act.

I wish I could give this one more than 3 stars. But I cant.

creepy and imaginative. It's not always easy to tell what motivations are driving the plot here. I would watch the hell out of whatever deranged movie they were making.

As an avid horror fan, this book sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case.

The book was written from the point of view of someone I'll call the "Narrator" as we never learn his name. He is writing a companion to an audiobook about a 1993 movie that was partially released online and became a cult hit. There are multiple times lines which include present, recent past, 1993, and sections of the movie's script. The Narrator is the only surviving member of the cast of the original movie. Hollywood and The Narrator are trying to make a reboot of the film.

The multiple timelines can be confusing and convoluted at times which makes the book somewhat hard to read. There are also long sections without dialogue that ramble on for what feels like forever. The "horror" aspect of the book was more disturbing than scary. Most of the book was about bullying.

The ending felt rushed and added on for dramatic effect rather than neatly ending the story. It left me staring at my Kindle wondering what the heck I just read. I love a good horror story whether it be film or novel and this book didn't feel like horror at all to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The dark and creepy vibes of this book are out of this world. Absolutely amazing writing and a well written story that blew me away with fear!

Slow to develop and relying too heavily on a tragic "incident" that most will predict well before the payoff, the novel is better than the average mystery thriller but not up to Tremblay's earlier novels. One thread of the novel is weighed down by exposition that is acknowledged/excused in the text as an unorthodox script by a first time writer. I understand the purpose of the lengthy emotional explanations of a character's line or facial expression, but it starts to get tiresome having to read a page of motivation between lines of dialogue. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

This was my first book by Mr. Tremblay and I just don’t particularly think I’m the right audience. I wanted to love this book so badly. I felt like the way the storyline was set up was confusing, with the way it went from now then and back farther. I liked how there were parts of script in it. However, this book was very disturbing and I just didn’t feel like I was the right audience.

Tremblay has done it again, solidifying himself as one of my all-time favorite authors. Unique format, high tension, and a gutting, emotional tug of war that left me breathless.

I was worried that this would be too similar to some other books I’ve read but I was pleasantly surprised by how unique this was. It was a definite page turner and I did not want to put it down. I was a bit confused at times and wish there had been some more clarity on a few plot points but overall this is really enjoyable.

In Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay is about the guy who played the thin man Who I don’t think was ever named in the book so I will call him the thin man or TTM. TTM is trying to get a reboot done of a movie that was made in 1993 but only became popular with the Internet when the director Valentina posted three pics from the movie on Twitter. It has since gained a cult following and throughout the book we go back to the making the movie him trying to get it remade in other aspects of his life during the interim. His whole ego seems to be based on The character despite the shooting of the movie going horribly wrong. Just how invested he is in this character becomes more and more apparent as the story goes along they have some other things I want to say about this book but don’t want to give anything away this is a great book and although it is truly a slow burn it is so worth reading because they have so many different avenues that end with craziness and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not a big fan of slow burn horror but if they all paid off the way this one did I would definitely be down to read it. Not to mention the ending was an OMG moment that made me sit up in bed and be like WTF? Hollywood is crazy add in an egomaniac whose only claim to fame was in a movie no one saw and it makes for an even crazier story but that’s just one part of the plot this book is so good I wish I could say more… I really do because this book is good! I want to thank William Morrow for my free art copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was a good read. I liked the horror set movie aspect. So much happens in this story, but it’s so good!

This book was great! I’ve never read anything by this author, but I loved the horror, creepy vibes of this story. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

This story goes back and forth from present day to the past of a man’s youth years on the set of a horror film set. I gave this book a 4.5 stars.

The hinges SCREAM.......

That'll get your attention.

Paul Tremblay creates a deep, dark panoramic view into what actually causes those clawed little things in the mind to scurry back and forth with no intention of stopping. Late, late at night. Why must we flip on every light in the house just to go to the bathroom while waiting until it reaches the urgent and desperate stage?

Trembly knows. He uses the familiar to light the match of fear. A troop of newbies set their sights on producing the ultimate horror movie in June of 1993. They lean on allowing the raw moment to set the stage. A wavering script is just a backdrop. Reaction, again and again, is key.

And at the core of it all is the main character: The Thin Kid. He's played so appropriately by the teenage "Weird Guy" who brings all his misfit persona to the screen. And, almost from a call from casting, is the mask that the script writer claimed to have found carelessly tossed out by someone with its gargoyle features that fit the bill and beyond.

Tremblay reaches back, once again, for familiarity as the horror setting is chosen in a condemned school abandoned by the public. A flashlight skims across features known only too well in the daylight: the empty desks, the books on shelves, the archaic blackboard, and the closet door not opened in ages. But, oh Baby at night, it all speaks with an actual voice. Creaking sounds. Scratching sounds. An opera orchestrated by fear.

And now a remake of Horror Movie is in the mix thirty years later. Can it ever recapture the same terror volume as on the original Creep-O-Meter? Stay tuned, kiddies, and find out.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to HarperCollins Publishing and to Paul Tremblay for the opportunity.