This past year I’ve been finding myself being more intentional over what media I consume. Sure, I have still been enjoying my usual fluffy shows and movies (new Emily in Paris dropped in September, whaddya gonna do) but I’ve also been paying attention to things that might inspire something I’m working on.
Last month I mentioned that I’ve been thinking about a couple of western short stories that I want to write. In September I finally got one of them down. It ended up being a bit different than I anticipated, but I’m happy with the direction it went in. Now I’m trying to decide whether to submit it to CBC’s fiction contest or simply publish it on here.
Anyway, I continued my dive into western-themed work. My favourite western movie that I watched last month was titled Surrounded. It was based around an ex-Buffalo Soldier (who was secretly female disguised as a male) as she made her way west to a land claim she had. The stagecoach she’s on gets surrounded by baddies and she gets deserted in the frontier with one of them. Chaos ensues. The movie did really well with its pacing, character development, and building of tension, especially given it was only 90 minutes. While it was a relatively simple storyline, I had no idea what choices the protagonist would make as it went along. It was fascinating to see how so much could be done with the right emotions and motives.
For books, I finished What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. It’s a horror novella based around the short The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. Coincidentally, it had a similar main character to Surrounded, an ex-soldier who is not male, and the struggles they dealt with because of it. I didn’t find it to be overly scary, but more of a mystery thriller with some spooky scenes. It was a cozy read as the weather is turning colder and the writing was very atmospheric, allowing me to get sucked into the character’s world. Apparently it’s the first in a series, so I will continue on with the next!
In my horror movie club we watched two bangers: Milk & Serial and Don’t Say Its Name.
Milk & Serial is a YouTube movie made by Curry Baker. It’s a found footage horror movie that was created on an $800 budget, which alone is impressive, but the movie is good. There’s enough twists that it’s fun for the audience without getting confusing. The acting was decent, much better than the last couple of found footage movies we’ve watched. It’s amazing what can be produced with a strong script and ambition.
Don’t Say Its Name is a horror based around a small town indigenous community. I don’t want to give away too much of the premise as I’ll likely spoil it. I’ll say that it had a solid premise which was why we wanted to watch it. It started out strong but it got clunkier as it went. It could have been really good, but the writing needed to be cleaned up and the acting could have been better. Some of the bad acting pulled me out of the scary scenes. Overall I’d still recommend it as it had a unique story. I found it a good study in understanding where the plot got too thick or confusing, for my own horror writing.
If anyone has suggestions for October, whether it’s books, movies, TV shows, or podcasts, feel free to comment below or message me!
I watched Surrounded, based on your recommendation. It was very well done with many emotional ups and downs as the movie progressed. Strong characters. I have mentioned this movie to others as a must see…even if you are not a western fan.
Just in time for spooky season, I read Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend it. All the spoilers are in the title. Enjoy!