A Thrilling Horror Novel that Plays with Form

This super creepy book takes readers through two timelines. Back in 1993, a group of young filmmakers spent four weeks making an art-house horror film that would become a cult classic. Not because everyone watched it and loved it—in fact, the movie was never released to the public. But the weird events that occurred during the filming of the movie became infamous. And years later, a few scenes from the movie were released on YouTube, only fueling the public’s obsession with the film that never was.

Now, three decades later, a major Hollywood reboot is in the works, and one person from the original film is back to help recreate the “magic” of the original. The man who once starred in the film as “The Thin Kid” has vivid memories of just how strange the filming process was. And just how dangerous. As he attempts to help the big-budget remake get underway, memories of the original filming and all of its mysteries and secrets come flooding back. What was real? What was the stuff of urban legends? And does he even remember the difference?

If you’ve read Paul Tremblay before, then you might have noticed that the author is not afraid of experimenting with form. For example, just look at The Pallbearer’s Club, which was fully annotated. In Horror Movie, we get to read about the filming of both horror movies (the original and the flashy remake). But we also get what appears to be the FULL SCRIPT of the original horror movie. Does the script read the way an actual screenplay would? Absolutely not, and that’s kind of the point. Instead, reading the script made me feel like I was actually watching the notorious horror movie that has everyone talking. And I really got it. There are images from that movie that truly terrified and disturbed me. By the time I got to the end of it, I felt like just maybe I’d actually watched the movie. And maybe it was one of the top five horror movies of all time.

This book was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and it did not disappoint. This horror novel gave me nightmares. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop thinking about it for quite some time. As of right now, it’s my favorite book of the year, and I’m so excited it’s out now so that all of you can experience it for yourself!