Book review 'Horror Film' by Paul Tremblay: NPR

Paul Tremblay's Horror movie is a quirky horror novel that takes a refreshing look at the spooky film subgenre while also eliminating the line between novels and movie scripts.

Dark, surprisingly violent and incredibly layered, this story is a great addition to Tremblay's already impressive oeuvre, showing that he can convey the elements fans love while continually pushing the boundaries and exploring new ways of telling stories .

In June 1993, a small group of young people got together and spent a month making a bizarre horror film titled Horror movie. With one camera, a skeleton crew, a script that broke many rules, and virtually no budget, they managed to make their film after a few setbacks and a lot of blood and accidents. Although the film was never released, three scenes and a few stills were made available online, and they became legendary over the years, garnering a cult following and sparking a frenzy of speculation, online debate and conspiracy theories.

Now, thirty years after the original unreleased film was made and after all the drama – psychological, emotional and legal – that ensued, Hollywood wants to make and release a big-budget version. The man who played “The Thin Kid,” perhaps the most iconic and mysterious character from the original film, is the only remaining cast member and they want him to reprise his role. He still has the mask he used in the film, as well as the scars left by the filming process. He remembers the strange things that happened on set, the brutality that quickly became normalized as they shot dark scenes, and the chaos and destruction the film brought to them all. Still, he agrees to help with the reboot. As things develop and he has to deal with directors and film people, the past comes back to haunt him, but 'The Thin Kid' moves forward as always.

To read a Tremblay novel is to enter a universe where confusion and ambiguity – 'My answer was not no. I didn't say the word 'yes' – dominate. Horror movie is no different. In fact, this may be Tremblay's most Tremblay novel yet. For starters, the author once again eschews the traditional novel format, this time in favor of a mix of novel and screenplay in which one regularly flows into the other, changing chapters and effortlessly taking readers from past to present and back again. Furthermore, the screenplay itself is unique in format and makes the reader part of what is happening, constantly breaking the fourth wall and recognizing that the events are in common, that we are there, witnessing what the characters are witnessing and feeling the same sense of fear and anxiety. expectation they feel.

While the structure of this novel is unique, the story itself is very easy to follow – until it isn't. The story is there, but with many purposeful gaps. We know bad things happened during filming – accidents, injuries, extreme violence that took place with consent – ​​and the whole thing ended up in court, but we don't know how or why. And the author keeps these secrets until the end, which, like any other Tremblay novel, contains a few surprising twists.

Most importantly, this is a story that questions the motivation behind evil actions. During the filming, The Thin Kid is terribly tortured: the children who hold him hostage throw things at him, put out cigarettes on his body and cut off part of his little finger. Some of that happens in real life, some of it to make it look convincing on screen and some of it for reasons that aren't too clear. There are several disturbing moments in this novel, and at the heart of each of these moments are people behaving terribly just because they can. Tremblay's work has often questioned the nature of horror and bad behavior, but never so clearly and he does so here.

While Horror movie is the kind of creepy story you can enjoy without much thought, it's also a layered novel that almost requires intellectual engagement. In addition to the author's examination of terrible behavior, the story also explores the unreliable nature of memory. The Thin Kid, now the adult narrating the novel, is self-deprecating and unreliable. He remembers things a certain way, but knows his memories may not be accurate: “We laughed. I think we laughed, or I choose to remember that we laughed. I think we have more control over what we remember or what we don't do.” I don't know any more than we assume.” This deliberate lack of certainty is intended to confuse readers, and it succeeds.

Horror movie is strange and disturbing in the best possible way. This is a novel that is also a screenplay, but the story all fits together perfectly. Tremblay's unique voice and chameleonic style have made him one of the leading voices in speculative fiction, and this is one of his best novels to date.

Gabino Iglesias is an author, book reviewer and professor living in Austin, Texas. Find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @Gabino_Iglesias.