Ghost Rider (2007) – Mark Steven Johnson

Ghost Rider has always been a cool character to me. Someone stuck in a horrific world filled with supernatural beings and violence, demons and angels, not to mention your common criminal, all coming from one man making a choice based on keeping those he loved safe. As a kid, I thought the character just looked…

How to Sell a Haunted House (2023) Grady Hendrix

I have greatly enjoyed Grady Hendrix’s books so far, there are still a couple more for me to track down, and I’m willing to say How to Sell a Haunted House is one of his best. Combining a story of loss with a puppet that seems to be the equal of the clown doll in…

The Black Phone (2021) – Scott Derrickson

Director Scott Derrickson reteams with his Sinister star Ethan Hawke in Derrickson’s adaptation of the Joe Hill story, The Black Phone and Hawke is nothing short of terrifying as a child killer known, in the late 70s era Colorado the story is set in, as The Grabber. The Grabber is stalking a town that lives…

Mexican Gothic (2020) – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic is a wonderfully lush, and haunting novel, embracing all the familiar tropes of the Gothic genre, romance, the old dark house, family secrets, and the hints of something preter- or supernatural all juxtaposed into Mexico of the 1950s. We’re introduced to Noemi, a vivacious, smart, stubborn, flirtatious young woman who is still looking…

End of Watch (2016) – Stephen King

The final novel in the Bill Hodges trilogy, End of Watch, adds a bit of the supernatural flavour that King is known for as Brady Hartsfield, the Mercedes Killer from Mr. Mercedes returns for a final confrontation with retired police detective Hodges, his partner Holly Gibney, and their friend Jerome. The thread of material woven…

The Sun Down Motel (2020) – Simone St. James

The Sun Down Motel is a fantastically creepy and thrilling novel from Simone St. James. The novel follows two storylines concurrently bouncing back and forth between the years 1982 and 2017, culminating in a white-knuckle climax that is satisfying, engaging, and sneaks quite comfortably into Stephen King territory. In November 1982 Vivian arrived in Fell,…

Disquiet (2023) – Michael Winnick

There are some fun and familiar ideas at work in Michael Winnick’s Disquiet which is getting a limited theatrical run, and VOD release tomorrow, but it just isn’t as strong as it could be. At just under an hour and a half I still felt the editing could have been tighter, and the characters could…

The Last Broadcast (1998) – Stefan Avalos, and Lance Weiler

The year before The Blair Witch Project came along and revitalized and re-created the found footage genre, The Last Broadcast told a similar tale of murder, mystery, and possibly the supernatural. And while I have some serious issues with the format change at the film’s climax, not to mention some of the less-than-stellar performances, I…

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022) – John Lee Hancock

John Lee Hancock adapts the Stephen King short story to the screen and gives us a thoughtful rumination on technology, life, forgiveness, and letting go. Jaeden Martell returns to the King-verse this time as young Craig, a student, a young man who is dealing with the death of his mother, navigating the world of high…

Before I Wake (2016) – Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan’s next film, which he co-wrote with Jeff Howard, was Before I Wake. Leaving behind the real-world terrors he visited in Hush, he delves into more supernatural territory and family drama, a realm in which he truly excels. This time out, we are introduced to Jessie (Kate Bosworth) and Mark Hobson (Thomas Jane) a…