Creature Feature Reviews: “It Waits In the Woods” by Josh Malerman
If there was an award for the most middle-of-the-road story in this collection, “It Waits in the Woods” would currently win.
By Brandon Scott on Oct 18th, 2023
If there was an award for the most middle-of-the-road story in this collection, “It Waits in the Woods” would currently win.
By Brandon Scott on Oct 16th, 2023
I’m not that easily scared, but “Ankle Snatcher” genuinely freaked me out. The night I read it, I obeyed all the rules outlined about how not to get brutally killed by this monster that lives underneath the bed. It’s been a few days since then, and I am still overly cautious when I’m falling asleep.
By Brandon Scott on Oct 11th, 2023
I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls has two qualities that have continued to stand out to me even after some time since I read it. One: it has an extremely unwieldy name to put into an article. And two: it is one of the scariest, most unnerving, most creative pieces of horror fiction I’ve come across as a reader.
By Brandon Scott on Oct 9th, 2023
As odd as it is for a horror fan to say, “The Pram” is the first thing I’ve read by Joe Hill, the son of the most famous horror writer in the world, Stephen King. But, from what I’ve heard through the grapevine of criticism, they share a fair number of stylistic flourishes.
By Brandon Scott on Sep 20th, 2023
Black Tide was a different sort of book than I expected. The premise of a cosmic horror-style alien invasion was interesting by itself, but Black Tide marks the first “bottle episode” book I’ve ever read.
By Brandon Scott on Sep 6th, 2023
Calling Harrow Lake a disappointment is perhaps too strong a phrase, but the book does fail to deliver in a few key aspects. There was a missing ingredient, a piece withheld, that made it appear mismanaged.
By Brandon Scott on Aug 30th, 2023
Let’s get this out of the way because I’m going to be typing it a lot: The Circle of Ter-ROAR is a silly name for a book. Be Careful What You Wish Fur is at least a clean word change—“The Circle of Terror” would’ve been fine. But, oh well. This is, as far as I can tell, the last in the Disney Chills series, and it may as well end on the worst of the puns.
By Brandon Scott on Jul 26th, 2023
Hi, everyone! We get a lot of requests from artists and creators to review their work, and we want to cover more of those indie projects. To make that easier on our end and on yours, we’ve created a form where you can tell us about your project.
By Brandon Scott on Jul 17th, 2023
I had to wait a long time to get Family Business in hardcover—and I was a little disappointed when I did. Though it still contains some of the stronger elements that drew me to The Magnus Archives, including much-appreciated diversity in its characters, very creepy monsters, and a strong human understanding of its subject matter, Family Business never achieved the same level of scares as even the previous book, Thirteen Storeys.
By Brandon Scott on Jun 21st, 2023
Even after all this time, I’m still impressed by Baymax—and that only proves my point. Good writing and excellent storytelling don’t need hours to wow an audience. Originally Published: September 28th, 2022 Short Art Has A Different Vibe Than Other Projects I love long-form content: epic scope books, five-hour video essays, and sprawling television shows….
By Brandon Scott on Jun 19th, 2023
Once Upon a Scream completes the available Disney Chills books. The Circle of Ter-ROAR is the only one left, and it’s set to release later this year. And it’s been an interesting project to undertake reviewing all of these.
By Brandon Scott on Jun 12th, 2023
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Liar, Liar, Head on Fire is an outlier in the Disney Chills canon. Firstly, because the books have continuously shown their readiness to explore new things and approach the same general themes of wishes gone wrong in different ways, but also because of the villain’s power.