This is my first Paul Tremblay book, mostly due to the fact I’d been turned down for the Tremblay ARCs I’d requested in the past. I was so happy when I was granted access to this one, though, because the summary had me reeling. “Cursed film” genre is one of my favorites: As a Gen-Xer the “Poltergeist Curse” and the “Exorcist Curse” were writ large in my brain from my adolescent years.

Horror Movie exceeded expectations. I’ve been wary of thriller and horror novels as of late because they just haven’t been hitting like I’d hoped they would, but this? This slaps. It filled me with nostalgia for those “lost films” of urban lore but also filled my curiosity for today’s Creepy Pasta stories of occult rituals, creature origin stories, and even cryptid lore.

From the start, I was engaged and felt compelled to read and keep reading, knowing nothing was going to stop me until I reached the end of this book. Is it a little predictable? Yes. I liked that, though, because even if a horror film is predictable, part of the fun is waiting for the inevitable to come. The characters in a horror movie–or novel--all have a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. The horror is inevitable–it’s the timing of it that’s the variable.

Horror Movie is told in single POV from the narrator, but in the present and the past (dual timelines). There are sections in the past that are told in third person omniscient: Those are scenes from the film you’re “viewing”. This is an effective storytelling format for this book and a great way to disseminate both the exposition and the backstory without infodumping.

The whole book, without exception, is a great read: for summer, for horror, for fun, for in the dark under the covers, for by a campfire, for on the beach. Loved it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Horror/Occult Horror

Ope! I totally forgot to post my review of this book!

First and foremost, I wanted to thank @netgalley for the advanced copy.

This comes out in a week! But, I finished it back in... March? I think?

But when I say this book stuck with me? It has stuck with me.

Being completely honest, I often forget many parts of the books I read. Especially months later.

But Horror Movie has just...l still think about it!
It had such a unique feel to it and it went places I didn't expect.

It's all in the best way possible.

📖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? 📖

Definitely check this one out on June 11!

Paul Tremblay continues to be an author who knows how to absolutely get underneath my skin and mess with my head. This time he takes on the trope of a 'cursed film' and turns it into an entire meditation about creation, the power of art, and the way people can change into something unrecognizable when they are pursuing artistic perfection. I loved the way he tells it through both an unnamed narrator who experienced the filming an ultimate tragedy of the original movie, but also through the eyes of the script of an ambitions, at times pretentious, and completely innovative horror script that never came to full fruition, but garnered a cult following due to the repeated tragedies and a viral youtube channel. Unyielding and deeply haunting. This is quite possibly top 3 Tremblay for me.

Horror Movie is best enjoyed in audiobook format (the book itself basically tells you that). Many passages are in movie script format, and are better heard.

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.