I am a huge fan of Paul Tremblay and Horror Movie, although not his best is still very entertaining. I feel like there are a few too many tropes I've been seeing recently in the past couple years that I'm already starting to get tired of. But overall the sense of dread that Tremblay is able to create is excellent. And his use of an unreliable narrator is superb. 3.5/5

Reminiscent of Clay McLeod Chapman's "The Remaking" "Horror Movie" sets the stage of an indie horror film that developed a cult identity after many learned of the tragic story that was the ending and all the things that had gone wrong and continue to go wrong. We never find out the name of our narrator, just Weird Guy or Thin Kid which adds an aloofness to his character. Do we ever really know him? Is this story real? Is it all just promotion for the remaking of Horror Movie? Told between the original time line, filming of the movie, the inbetween of after the film and now, and now, you really feel disjointed as you're not sure if he is just having feelings of nostalgia, or if these parts really happened. We learn that something terrible happened on the set, but it isn't until the final chapter we learn what really happened, or what was supposed to have happened. The best part is that as the narrator plays Thin Kid, he's never allowed to speak, and that silence allows the narrator to really become Thin Kid. None of the legend behind who Thin Kid is or how he changes is really ever explained, but like most of Tremblay's books, in the end you're not sure if this is some ancient horror or a true psychotic break. The interspersed section of the movie script add so much to this story. A slow ramble of unease the builds with each subsequent table reading. An uncomfortable but entertaining story.

Horror Movie is pure, dark, visceral horror. I have to be honest - even as a horror fan, at times I had difficulty getting through this and had to set it down - not for lack of quality, but for how brutal and unrelenting it can be. The violence was not obscenely gory or gratuitous, but its senselessness, consensuality, and inevitability was jarring. As has come to be expected from Paul Tremblay, the novel was beautifully and cleverly written, and the story moving between past and present and the screenplay kept things engaging and clearly served a narrative purpose. If anyone is willing to delve into a darker, more nihilistic side of the horror genre, I’d highly recommend Horror Movie. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the digital ARC!

A stunning novel. As a fan of horror movies, especially indie ones, this was right up my alley and it did not disappoint. Highly recommended.

This was absolutely a book that was so outside of the realm of genres that I typically read. More along the line of films or film adaptations that I'm willing to watch. This was so different for me and I was not expecting it to get as dark as it did. Maybe the only thing that could've been better was the pacing since at times it felt kind of slow but it was still such an interesting story that was so different than my usual go-to. Maybe there were other things that could've been done to keep it fresh but still, it was really fun!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I think the concepts in this book were interesting, but the execution left something to be desired for me. Maybe, much like the movie itself, it’s simply not for me, but I couldn’t help but feel like Cleo’s movie was just kind of poorly written and wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense lol. The book starts off interesting, but feels maybe too slow in its plot, and I couldn’t really find myself invested in any of the characters.

The final chapter really wrecked things for me in particular. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to take it as is or assume our narrator is unwell (which is probably the point!) but either way, I just wasn’t really a fan of it.

Thank you to William Morrow, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the eGalley to review!

If you like the really cool writing format of making a fiction novel look like nonfiction, then you're going to like this book. It's written as though the man who played "The Thin Kid" in a Blair Witch-style guerilla movie from 1993 called Horror Movie is narrating his audiobook memoir about making the film. He is the only one left of the original cast to tell the tale about its disastrous, cursed production and he wants to make sure that it is told properly. It's also laced with the movie's script, making it even cooler.

Unfortunately, it's just not that creepy or scary. It's more "well these are some ignorant kids" and a lot of edgy cheese. The ending is too goofy for my taste and and took me out of the whole narration. More than anything the story reminds me of the "cursed film" lore we get from real-life examples, but then dialed up with a weird ending that is attempting to go for a shocking twist but just falls flat.

That said, I still enjoyed my time reading it and if you're a fan of Paul Tremblay's work or like a little cheese with your gore, then pick this one up!

I will love anything this man writes apparently. This was funny, obnoxious, touching, cringe [I'm talking about the multiple finger chopping scenes], thrilling, and slow paced. I love getting a very detailed account of an event or of someone's life, so even though our Thin Kid was unlikeable I could not get enough. I also love being a little confused while I read and details being mysteriously sprinkled throughout the story until things fit together. But lol I am still a little confused [wonderfully so]. I think the only thing stopping this from being a 5 star is that I don't love movie sets in books so that is entirely my fault [sorry mr. Tremblay, I'll try to do better next time *salute emoji*]. But I may just be salty that Mercy couldn't edit this one too.

Where do I even start with this review? The obvious, I suppose, is many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my ARC copy of this one.

Now, the review.

FADE IN

INT. HOUSE - DAY

The reviewer finishes the last page of the book on their ereader. Is it a kindle? Is it a book? Does it matter which device was used to complete HORROR MOVIE? For the sake of this review, the reviewer wants the reader of this review to come up with their own assumptions.

The reviewer PAUSES, wondering just how to sum up their feelings. Do other reviewers feel this way? The immediate five stars was an obvious answer. The novel was solid, crisp and critical of the consumption of lore surrounding the genre. But what about the human condition?

The reviewer thinks the novel nails that too. That passage, you know the one, the one PAUL TREMBLAY said viewers would all remember this scene, that scene is the penultimate scene that pulls the entirety of the plot together. It is tense, and it is crucial, to make us wait and wait and wait while detailing how we respond to the tension. How our humanity, our morals, our perception on life, the universe, and everything, can bring out many a visceral reaction, internal and external. HORROR MOVIE, in all its glory, is a masterclass in the way books should garner your reaction, in the way writers should explore their form to invoke your response.

The reviewer is grateful for having read this book. The reviewer thinks everyone should read this book. The reviewer hopes this review is as unconventional as the novel itself, knows that this review cannot match the beauty that is the novel, but tries anyway. The reviewer, after typing and typing, hopes this review will convince you to jump on this wild ride of a book now.

FADE OUT

I love Paul Tremblay and his latest did not disappoint! This book was not at all what I was expecting but in a good way. It’s one of those that builds and is suspenseful, almost like you’re watching a movie.

As Horror Movie progresses you’re wondering what in the world is going on and what is the point of this book? By the end you know why. I was surprised by the ending but now realize I shouldn’t have been.

Thanks NetGalley!

I tried listening to the audiobook initially, but I was so lost and it sounded like there was something wrong with the quality so I stopped. Now I realize they were trying to distinguish between the character's dialogue and the screenplay, between the past and the present. It was much easier to read it here on NetGalley.

This book felt really slow to me and I wasn't fully invested in it until it picked up the pace towards the end— and what an ending it was!

“Horror Movie” by Paul Tremblay - 4 stars (Pub Date: Out Now!) is an atmospheric lookback on 90’s horror movie culture with low budget special effects and all. With youth angst, monster movie makeup (or is it?) and a ‘which end is up’ Blair Witch feel to it, this novel feels like I’m back in my moody early 90’s “Pump Up the Volume” days.

Good Things: The uncertainty and lack of focus feels very much like the video quality from self-produced films of the time. I’m never really sure if what’s being recounted really happened, if part of the movie production, or if it’s in the main character's head. That makes it interesting, albeit confusing. The book is not over-long so that feeling of confusion doesn’t require a huge time investment.

Opportunities: Fair Warning. Ambiguous Ending alert! Of all the things in all the world of reading, my second biggest pet peeve is an ambiguous ending. It actually might be a tie between that feeling of “what the hell, just tell me already?!” and my other major pet peeve, which is to start and read the first book in a series or trilogy NOT KNOWING IT’S the FIRST … and the others aren’t published yet. I hate that too. I THINK I know how this ended, if read literally, then I am certain that all the pages that come before the end take on a whole new meaning. Which is also very 90’s Horror actually, so…maybe that WTF moment is intentionally period-accurate. GRR.

Final Thoughts: This was fun. Just fun. I was going to say it wasn’t amazing, but then I waited to write this for a few weeks, and I can’t stop randomly thinking about different scenes, parts, or styles of this story which might be bumping it from a 3.5 to a 4. What the hell, I’ll up it because dammit, I just can’t stop thinking about the whole damn thing. Bravo Mr. Tremblay…you are living rent free in my head now.

I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read of this story by netgalley and William Morrow. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #horrormovie #paultremblay #horror #netgalleyreviewer #arc #arcs

Details
Review Shared on Goodreads - www.goodreads.com/leah_cyphert_butidigressbookclub
Publishing Review 7/13/2024

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Unfortunately, this was not a novel that resonated with me. I'm a fan of mystery or suspense, but I guess horror is not for me. This book is told in alternating viewpoints, from the surviving castmate of an independent horror film and from the script of the movie itself. The script parts felt slow and boring, and I wasn't ever really frightened. I preferred the modern day narration, but by that ending...I'm not sure what I was supposed to have gotten out of this book.

When it's not just a cursed "tape," but the movie itself...a movie where things have gone terribly wrong, and they want to remake it? With the enigmatic 'star' of the film? Excellent use of form, with the script, dual timelines, and so many subtle touches, it's a masterpiece, and it won't get out of my head. Bravo.

Excuse me? This book is something else. First, the audio is fantastic. I love how much nuance they put into it. Aside from that this book is wild. It's not fast or gratuitous, but is so well thought out. It does everything with intention, and has some great metaphors while also being deliciously creepy. I loved it.

Paul Tremblay writes epic horror that's almost understated as it is impactful and unnerving. A gripping read and a great story. Spooky and entertaining

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Honestly...I really liked it. I'm guilty of reading some other people's thoughts on the book before I wrote down my own, and noticed that a lot of readers really didn't care for the screenplay portions of this book- but those were the scenes that really hooked me. The story was weird and vague in an "I'm not really sure exactly what's going on here" kind of way, which sometimes works for me (Cabin at the End of the World, Head Full of Ghosts) and sometimes doesn't (The Pallbearer's Club)- but I do think that Tremblay has a knack for writing books that leave you wondering what's real and what isn't. The ending of this book rocked, and it was totally different from where I thought it was going. I'm glad it ended up there, because I was really starting to wonder what the point of the present narration was when we could have spent the time in the much more interesting past when they were making the movie, but the ending mostly made up for it.

Twisty, disturbing, and suspenseful- I would watch this movie.

Horror Movie was unlike anything I have read. The story combines the past, current time as well as the screenplay from the movie the 4 friends were making. From the get go parts of the story are withheld as the movie is filmed, especially the parts about Paul and his character “the thin kid”. As we move further into the story we wonder about Paul’s retelling and what is real and what is fiction. While everyone else that worked on the movie is dead, is Pau’s fate even worse? The book does a great job making him sympathetic until the very end and then WTF!!!

I went back and forth with this book. It's hands down my favorite Paul Tremblay novel. It was interesting, moved fast, and I found it to be a rather mean--yet new concept. So mean in fact that I had to put the book down for a while. The author pushed this story right to a breaking point, but thankfully did not push it over. I'm not sure I could stomach some of the possibilities he pointed out as potential future storyline. Thank you, Paul Tremblay, for going soft on us readers with this. The ending felt inevitable to me, but also as a reader I hung on wondering if and when and how. I was the fish in the river following the fisherman's fly as it bounced and twirled through meandering gentle rapids. Cheers and 4 stars.

Title: Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
Publication Date- 07/09/24
Publisher- William Morrow
Overall Rating- 6 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
Woah, this was not what I was expecting in the best way possible. I know early reviews are pretty mixed, let me through my ideas in the hat.

I think one of the things that’s causing a stir is that this is really literary horror. It’s not very thrilling, it’s not very suspenseful, it doesn’t do a lot different. I think the synopsis sets you up for exactly what you’re going to get… for the most part. Some things I wish were done differently are it says “Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film” that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.” I wish instead it said “Horror Movie is an obsessive, atmospheric, nostalgic, haunting story about friendship, the weird one and growing up.”

Some things that I loved about this story was the “vibe” as the young kids say. It was very atmospheric and kept me wanting more, I actually didn’t want this book to end. I thoroughly enjoyed how unsettling and disturbingly intimate some of the scenes were. They confront a lot of humanity, human nature and friendships.

As far as the horror movie aspects, I felt like they were done really well. We get parts of the script in almost every chapter, I did feel like I was on the set of a movie that was being put on by very emo, emotionally immature teens. Which sounds awful but we’ve all been there and I felt that in this story.
Not everyone is going to like this ending, it’s not thrilling or shocking and is rather left open. This book is slow paced and then it just kind of ends. I don’t know what’s with my brain these days but it felt perfect to me. It felt like I went on an awful, sometimes horrifying journey then the story ended, just like life.