My first-ever column for the horror news and reviews website MalevolentDark.com was released. I review the film He Comes to Kill, a slasher shot on a $2,000 budget. I enjoyed its mix of horror and humor as well as the new masked killer named Stanley Elk. You can read my review HERE. Director August Aguilar did a phenomenal... Continue Reading →
SHORT SHOTS | ‘They Say the Sky Is Full of Snakewolves’
(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) I almost cut myself on the satirical edge of Lucy Leitner's standout short story "They Say the Sky Is Full of Snakewolves." The author wastes no time in dropping the reader into the action as we follow... Continue Reading →
Jeff Strand+Bigfoot’s Little Donuts=Perfect Day
So, here’s the dream. I’m sitting at a table in Bigfoot’s Little Donuts, my favorite shop for the sweet treats. Sitting across from me are one of my literary heroes, Jeff Strand, and his wife, the wonderful horror book cover artist Lynne Hansen. (L to R) Lynne Hansen, Jeff Strand, Bridgett Nelson, Bigfoot, and me. Sitting... Continue Reading →
SHORT SHOTS | ‘Vampire of the Midnight Sun’
(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) I like my horror fiction with a darker tone, but I'm always impressed when an author effectively adds the right amount of dark humor to the mix. I'm also surprised by how much I enjoy it. "Vampire... Continue Reading →
Horror Book Review: DEMONIC
The first word I thought after reading Demonic, the newest novel by Jeff Strand, is bonkers. However, bonkers seems a bit inappropriate since Demonic is about a Satanic cult whose members kill without mercy. Actually, the book is about a guy named Corey who decides to rescue his co-worker Quinn by killing her abusive husband,... Continue Reading →
Splatterpunk Awards accepting nominations through January 29th
The Night Stockers by Kristopher Triana and Ryan Harding won Best Novel at the 2022 Splatterpunk Awards. Nominations for the 2023 Splatterpunk Awards are being extended through January 29th, according to a post by co-founders Brian Keene and Wrath James White at briankeene.com. Only works published in 2022 are eligible for the sixth annual awards... Continue Reading →
Horror Movie Review: SICK
Sick is everything I want in a slasher film. A plot grounded in reality, furiously fast pacing, multiple twists, and protagonists you can root for all clocking in at a perfectly lean 83 minutes. Released Jan. 13 on the streaming platform Peacock, Sick is set in April 2020 during the uncertain early weeks of the... Continue Reading →
One-Sentence Reviews: My 4th Quarter 2022 Reads
(Editor's note: Once again horror author Priscilla Bettis delivers another awesome quarterly reading list ... this time of works by authors whose blogs she follows. I counted 72 reviews. Thank you, Priscilla, for supporting so many Indy Authors, and thank you for including "Scarecrow Road" on your reading list.)
SHORT SHOTS | ‘Wreckers’
(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) In her short story “Wreckers,” Florida author Kenzie Jennings delivers one of the most chilling horror moments of 2022. The standout opener in her 12-story collection titled Always Listen To Her Hurt, "Wreckers" is the dispiriting tale of... Continue Reading →
SHORT SHOTS | ‘The Wolf Hunters’
(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) "The Wolf Hunters" by New Mexico author Jennifer Lynn Krohn is a fierce piece of folk horror flash fiction about a woman who challenges the traditions of a male-dominated society. The story appears in Volume 13, Issue... Continue Reading →