The Genre Bucket

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A gaggle of school children on the cusp of puberty in the 1960's try to find out what happened to a missing fellow kid during the summer only to become embroiled in supernaturally tinged horrors in their small town. No this is not Stephen King's 1986 doorstop It I'm instead describing Dan Simmons 1991 doorstop Summer of Night . Dan Simmons has recently re-entered humanity's consciousness with the AMC adaption of his novel The Terror  and if like me, you devoured the far superior source novel you would have found out about Summer of Night with a quick search for a list of Simmon's back catalogue. Although many people's initial response would be to punt this 600 page paperback into the cash grab King knock off bin if you stop and give it a chance you'll find a story although similar in some beats far more affecting and rich in presentation. Taking place in fictional Elm Haven, Illinois we follow a group of boys from...

Almost everyone knows The Amityville Horror. Whether from the countless spoofs done by the likes of The Simpsons  or the highly successful 1979 film, that it almost feels ad nauseum to discuss the plot of this work that has become such a pop culture behemoth. What I will discuss instead is how mind-numbingly boring the source novel is. Like most people I watched the 1979 film and aside from the eye candy of James Brolin and Margot Kidder the movie itself is a decent little late 70's horror treat. It's not especially scary by today's standards but it has a few solid set pieces and is genuinely creepy in parts. That creepiness is enhanced by the fact that this is a likable family, you feel bad they are experiencing this when all they want is their part of the American dream. Then there's the book. Written by Jay Anson it's his first of only two novels he wrote in his lifetime and you can tell. The writing itself is simplistic, almost written for young adults and the b...