Movie Review- Heir of the Witch

 

Heir of the Witch is a chilling folk horror full of unnerving surprises. All is not as it appears. In fact, the things that you see may not be what is truly going on at all. Anna is plagued by traumatic memories and haunted by the angry spirit of her grandmother, the witch who is even more dangerous in death than she was in life. Through Ana's memories, we are shown in flashbacks how she came to be cursed.

Starring Victoria U  Bell as Anna, a seamstress caring for her sickly aunt and supporting herself by making beautiful dresses for wealthy snobs who flock together like a bunch of "mean girls" with all the maturity of a high school clique. Anna floats along on the periphery of their lives, never really being part of the in crowd.   The movie does not rely on typical jump scares but adds an element of psychological fear that kept me glued to my screen. My only minor complaint would be that it does occasionally make use of distorted demonic-sounding voices which although they can be scary it sometimes makes the dialogue tough to understand. What is scary, is the ever-increasing dread as the witch infests every aspect of Anna's life in order to get what she wants. The effects are better than I have seen in recent indie movies and many of the scenes are visually striking.

Deanna Rashell shines in the role of Chloe the leader of the clique who takes advantage of Anna's good nature and financial problems.  Ben Holtzmuller was perfect as Chloe's unhappy husband with a wandering eye. 

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys psychological horror in addition to folk horror.

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Too Scared to Sleep by Andrew Duplessie

 

From debut author Andrew Duplessie, a terrifying collection of teen short horror stories--and accompanying videos--that will keep you up long into the night! Perfect for fans of Five Nights at Freddy's.

A garbage disposal that feeds on flesh . . .

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents . . .

Roses that require human blood to bloom . . .

From blood-chilling horror to supernatural scares, this collection of short stories from debut author Andrew Duplessie offers something to stoke anyone's fear factor. But that's only the beginning. In a first-ever twist, each story also comes with a pulse-pounding video that deepens the horror. Point your phone at the QR code and be prepared to scream! Maybe even share it with your friends, if you dare.

Ready or not, Too Scared to Sleep will answer the question: How brave are you, really?

Too Scared To Sleep is a fun collection of spooky stories geared towards teens and tweens. The majority of the stories revolve around main characters who are fourteen years old, getting into weird and spooky situations.

Cell phones and futuristic technology, along with the dangers of AI are also the main themes here, with cautionary tales of why you should never steal, the dangers of social media, and why you should live each day as it comes because life is too short to even wish away the bad times.

There were a few stories that just didn't work for me, but I enjoyed most of them, and I think the modern themes will resonate with kids of today.

A unique feature of this book, is that a short video accompanies each story. I've read many collections that would include an illustration to go with each story but this is the first time I've ever seen a book that provides a video via a link in a QR code. It was a clever idea that added to the fun.

4 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Clarion Books.

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The Last Haunt by Max Booth III

 

On the one-year anniversary of a young woman’s tragic death, an extreme haunted house attraction reopened its doors to the public. What happened next would forever traumatize a small Texas town. The Last Haunt is an attempt to make sense of the mysterious brutality that occurred on that fateful Halloween night. Constructed from interviews with the survivors, this oral history is the closest anyone has ever come to documenting the truth behind the McKinley Manor massacre.

This novella is written in a true crime/mockumentary style. The Last Haunt tells the story of the life and death of Gus Mckinley, a man whose love of horror and Halloween grew into an obsession with extreme haunt attractions, and the people whose lives were affected by McKinley Manor. Much like an extreme haunt that actually exists, you can enter Mckinley Manor for the mere cost of a bag of dog food. But can you get out?

Told from multiple points of view, as an oral interview by those who knew or worked for Gus, including his family, neighbors, and the brother of the young woman who died while trying to reach the end of Gus's haunt, gives the story a realistic feel. I loved the build-up and suspense as each piece of the interview came together for the final reveal, culminating in a horror that brought a clever and satisfying conclusion. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Max Booth III for the review copy.

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About the author

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror Edited by Jordan Peele

 The visionary writer and director of Get Out Us and  Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.

A cop begins seeing huge, blinking eyes where the headlights of cars should be that tell him who to pull over. Two freedom riders take a bus ride that leaves them stranded on a lonely road in Alabama where several unsettling somethings await them. A young girl dives into the depths of the Earth in search of the demon that killed her parents. These are just a few of the worlds of  Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele’s anthology of all-new horror stories by Black writers. Featuring an introduction by Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a master class in horror, and—like his spine-chilling films—its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world . . . and redefine what it means to be afraid.

Featuring stories by: Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L. D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.

To be honest the only thing that caught my eye on this cover was the name Jordan Peele. As far as book covers go it's kind of bland for the horror genre.

 Being a huge fan of Jordan Peele movies I had hoped that the stories here would be as "spine-chilling" as his films. (As claimed in the synopsis)

Unfortunately, it's an inconsistent mixed bag more like his hit-or-miss Twilight Zone episodes were.

Stories worth a mention were Eye and Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse, about monster hunting siblings.

 Lasiren by Erin E Adams about children who have been warned to never trust a woman alone in the water.

The Rider by Tananarive Due in which two sisters take an unexpected detour on their way to join the freedom riders in Montgomery. and Hide and Seek by P. Djeli Clark about children being raised by a mother with a strange addiction.

You may enjoy it more than I did. For me it was just an OK read.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Random House.

Available for Pre-order