I wanted to return to the town of Elm Haven, having enjoyed my experience there in Dan Simmons’ Summer of Night, so I picked up the sequel he penned to it, and dove into a but of a spooky tale. We join Dale Stewart, from the original novel, but he’s older now, in his fifties,…
Tag: ghost story
Heart-Shaped Box (2007) – Joe Hill
After enjoying Hill’s short story collection a couple of weeks ago, as well as his fantastic work on Locke & Key, I decided to give a full novel a try, and the result ends up being a very satisfying ghost story, as we dive into a world of sex, violence and rock’n’roll. Judas Coyne (not…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994) – Homeward, and Sub Rosa
Captain’s log: stardate 47423.9 Surprise! Worf (Michael Dorn) has another brother, a foster one, Nikolai Rozhenko (Paul Sorvino) – and he is violating the Prime Directive! This episode was written by Naren Shankar from a story by Spike Steingasser. It first aired on 17 January, 1994. And for the first time, we see Dorn in…
The Twilight Zone (1964) – The Encounter, Mr. Garrity and the Graves, and The Brain Center at Whipple’s
Our penultimate trip to the Twilight Zone gets underway this week, with The Encounter as I draw to the end of The Complete Series on blu-ray from Paramount Pictures. Written by Martin Goldsmith, this episode first debuted on 1 May, 1964. It stars George Takei and Neville Brand. After World War II, prejudices and hatred…
Mother! (2017) – Darren Aronofsky
The cult of celebrity, the ‘ownership’ of fans, the price of love, and the need for peace, privacy, and solace from the madness that is the modern world. Aronofsky’s divisive film, Mother!, comes home on DVD and blu-ray today. Vaguely Lynchian there is the semblance of a ghost story at the heart of the film…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky and The Tholian Web
Captain’s log: stardate 5476.3 I’ve always loved the title of this episode and the imagery it conjures in my head. Written by Hendrik Vollaerts under a pseudonym this ends up being a solid, if slightly flawed episode, that aired on 8 November, 1968. Things get underway when Dr. McCoy (DeFrorest Kelley) is diagnosed with a…
We Go On (2016) -Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton
Premiering on Shudder TV today is this tightly paced, solidly acted supernatural drama that pursues the life long question of what happens after we die. Written and directed by Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton, the story revisits oft-explored ideas and themes, but does it in a solid way. At the film’s centre is Miles Grissom…
Lost Girls (1999) – Andrew Pyper
Every one has been suggesting that if I liked all the other Andrew Pyper books I’ve read to date (and I have) that I desperately need to read his first novel, Lost Girls. Well I finally did! And like his other novels, I enjoyed this one as well. I love how he balances the…
Toronto After Dark: Backtrack (2015) – Michael Petroni
Last night, the 10th Annual Toronto After Dark film festival took us Down Under for a spooky, and well-crafted ghost story starring Adrien Brody and Sam Neill. And for the first time all festival, a jump scare got me! Brody plays psychologist Peter Bower, who finds himself in strange circumstances as he still mourns…
Last Shift (2014) – Anthony DiBlasi
Don’t let the cover art of this Anchor Bay release full you. Despite looking like a bit of a low-rent horror film, this one actually comes across as a fairly damn enjoyable ghost story. It promotes itself as Assault on Precinct 13, the classic John Carpenter film, but with a supernatural twist. Jessica Loren…
The Mind Reels 