October is always a great month for horror writers to find extra spooky inspiration. Horror movies and books are at the forefront of every platform, making them more accessible. It’s also a very weird time as the month comes to an end, as the opposite types of media are released. Everything switches from blood-thirsty creatures and haunted mysteries to feel-good holiday movies and light rom-coms.
No matter. I will continue my lifelong education in all types of genres.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I favour Canadian media. CBC is my jam. Murdoch Mysteries will always be a top choice in our home for mystery TV. Republic of Doyle is a comfort watch. WolfCop is chef’s kiss for campy horror. Canadian-based novels are extra fun. This past month I consumed two great Canadian contributions: Bronco Buster, a novel by AJ Devlin and Who’s Yer Father, a film by Jeremy Larter.
Bronco Buster is the fourth installment in the Hammerhead Jed mystery novel series. After the third book really amped up the stakes, I was looking forward to seeing what was next for our protagonist. This book had a lot more silliness than the previous one, which I feel was needed. The third book was exciting, but it was also the darkest out of the series. I was not disappointed with book four and I learned a lot on how to be campy without it being hard to believe or eye-roll inducing.
AJ Devlin, the author, based it out of the Cloverdale Rodeo, something I am very familiar with, having lived a block away for a couple of years. It was so fun to see the characters romp through recognizable grounds, and I got a lot of inspiration and even validation that choosing an existing, local place can be fun to write. My upcoming debut novel is based near Whistler, and while I created the town and gave it a fictional name, a lot of Pemberton and Whistler ring true in it.
Who’s Yer Father, a 2023 film based out of PEI also taught me a lot. The comedy was dry and heavily east coast, yet was still relatable to a west coaster like me. It did a great job of throwing in a lot of PEI jokes without alienating its audience.
In my weekly horror movie watch group, we watched some terrible picks (Meth Gator, very self-explanatory) and some interesting choices. The last one we watched was a new Netflix movie called Don’t Move.
Don’t Move had some plot holes. It didn’t have a lot of story depth. It felt long and short at the same time. But it oozed character substance. The main character, the film’s final girl, and the bad guy had amazing chemistry. It was a cat and mouse trope, but the dialogue, the emotions, the character development, all came out calmly and rationally, as though the characters were simply negotiating with each other despite the ongoing fear of bad things. For me it was reminiscent of Red Eye with Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams. Very cat and mouse as well, but it worked so well because of their chemistry.
Lastly, I read Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen. Such greatness, much love. This book had everything. It was a comedy, a romance, a thriller, a drama, and most importantly, it had horror. Some may find this book slow, as the horror didn’t really show until about 60% of the way through, but that’s what I loved about it. I personally love books and movies that completely flip the script halfway and change genres, like Psycho or From Dusk Till Dawn. I’m attempting to write something like this myself, although it is very difficult. I haven’t seen it happen in books as often as movies, so this book was a great study for me.
As always, please comment with any recommendations for November! Anything that stood out for you, no matter the genre. I’ll try anything once.
Thanks for the update! I have a recco that I'm very hesitate to share. I'm hesitant for a few reasons: Not only is it a mainstream read but it's also a romance with grade A smut. The gore component is pure camp imo. Do with that information as you will. Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver.