Editorials
[BEST & WORST ’12] Top 10 Horror Novels of the Year!
First off, I’m not sure I’m completely comfortable labeling the following novels “the best of 2012”. When compiling a list of top 10 horror films of the year, it’s easy to narrow the selection group down to 50 or so candidates. Not so with horror novels. In the wake of the e-reader, the number of horror fiction titles released each year has swelled into the thousands. And while most of those novels aren’t necessarily good, there are dozens that are. Considering the varying marketing and distribution methods, it’s literally impossible to catch up with all the greatness out there.
But in my defense, I am a voracious reader, and a longtime fan of horror fiction. If anything, let the following 10 entries serve as a list of humble recommendations from a man who has sampled the goods in 2012. I’m certain many of our readers have read more books than I have, and better books than I have. And I’d especially like to thank you guys, the readers who read and discuss the book and comic reviews. Drop your favorite fiction titles of the year in the comments if you get a chance. It’s gift card season and daddy needs a new pair of hardbounds.
Posters (Best/Worst) | Trailers (Best/Worst)
10. 14, by Peter Clines (May 7; Permuted Press)
Like a cross between The Burbs and an episode of Scooby Doo, Clines’ dialogue-driven tale follows the exploits of a handful of building residents investigating the mysterious happenings in their inner-city highrise. Flirty neighbors and mutant cockroaches abound in 14, resulting in a novel that’s more suspense than horror––at least until it’s Lovecraftian closing act. This is the book that Dean Koontz’s 77 Shadow Street wanted to be.
9. Zombie, by J.R. Angelella (June 5; Soho Press)
This coming of age tale doesn’t really qualify as horror, but the genre roots run so deep, it’s begging for a spot. Angelella’s story of a nerdy teenager using his love of zombie films to cope with an increasingly depressing reality manages to tap into the collective subconscious of horror geeks worldwide. An impressive debut.
8. Them or Us, by David Moody (November 8, 2011; Thomas Dunne Books)
I realize this was released in hardbound late last year, but what the hell, I‘m including it anyway. A genuine internet success story, Moody’s apocalyptic Hater series is addictively bleak, and while the trilogy as a whole may have its flaws, Them or Us wraps everything up in a satisfyingly gruesome bow.
7. Kill You Twice, by Chelsea Cain (August 7; Minotaur Books)
Cain is one of those authors who can really get your stomach churning, but the fourth entry in her Sheridan/Lowell series, The Night Season, was disappointingly tame. Fans will be pleased to know that she brings her gory “A” game back to Kill You Twice.
6. Penpal, by Dathan Auerbach (July 11; 1000Vultures)
When considering our place in this world, our memory is one of the greatest tools we have. But as Dathan Auerbach so eloquently reminds us in his riveting debut novel, memory is not to be trusted. In a series of six vignettes, an unreliable narrator reflects on the mysterious memories of his childhood, and with each passing page, a bigger, more harrowing picture is revealed. Auerbach manages to turn passive childhood memories–– like walkie-talkie friends and balloon penpals––into the stuff of godawful nightmares. This one sneaks up on you.
5. This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It!, by David Wong (October 2; Thomas Dunne Books)
I liked John Dies at the End. I really did. But This Book is Full of Spiders is such a vast improvement, it’s not even funny. Or rather, it’s very funny. Far funnier than John Dies at the End could ever hope to be. The continuing adventures of John and David––two hardcore slackers occasionally pressed to investigate inter-dimensional breaches in their unnamed hometown––hit action-packed heights as the duo fights a full-on zombie outbreak following an infestation of mutant spiders the size of beer-cans. It’s hard to explain. Just read the book.
4. Pines, by Blake Crouch (August 21; Thomas & Mercer)
This trippy, mind-bone of a novel reads like an episode of the Twilight Zone set in Twin Peaks, presumably directed by a wicker man. After a head-thumping car accident, a Secret Service agent wakes in Wayward Pines, Idaho, without a car, I.D., or a phone. And while Wayward Pines is quaint and inviting on the surface, something mysterious is lurking beneath the plastic smiles and dodged questions. Pines cruises with the breathless power of forward momentum, the story seams bulging with the agonizing futility of a bad dream. The final chapters are guaranteed to punch you in the throat.
3. The Twelve, by Justin Cronin (October 16; Ballantine Books)
While 2010’s insanely popular The Passage wasn’t loved by all, it’s impossible to deny Justin Cronin’s ability to tell a good story. Yes, this is a series about vampires, but not the bullshit glittery kind. Cronin’s vamps are feral, predatory monsters that have forced humanity to near extinction. The Twelve follows several surviving characters from The Passage as they attempt to fight back against the “infected”. More than anything else, Cronin is a spinner of yarns, a teller of tales, an author who isn’t afraid to back-burner his primary plot in order to fill in some character details. And even his minor tangents, like one involving a midday massacre at a picnic, are as enrapturing as any good campfire story. By deliberately doling out his narrative, expanding his already expansive chronology, and introducing a host of new characters, Cronin reminds us that he is crafting something truly epic here.
2. The Last Final Girl, by Stephen Graham Jones (September 16; Lazy Fascist Press)
Reading Jones’ post-modern take on the American slasher film is like watching a really clever horror movie. And I mean that as the best possible compliment. His novel, about the hometown return of a once-vanquished slasher villain, both milks and mocks the subgenre––while simultaneously bear-hugging it close. When Billie Jean––a mindless killer in a Michael Jackson mask––threatens to crash the Homecoming Dance with a host of murders, the catty nominees for homecoming queen are forced to step up and determine once and for all….who will be the last Final Girl? Jones has got an eye for even the most subtle of horror film cliches, and his clever winks at slasher tropes will leave genre fans cackling with knowing glee.
1. Little Star, by John Ajvide Lindqvist (October 2; Thomas Dunne Books)
While it’s true that I’m a sucker for any Carrie-esqe tale about empowered outcasts, there’s no denying the lasting impact of Little Star. Lindqvist’s story––about an abandoned infant raised to become a star on the Swedish version of American Idol––pulls off a mind-blowing twist at the end of the first act before mounting a slow-burn build to a magnificently violent crescendo. Shocking, ambiguous and haunting, this is the stuff that great horror fiction is made of. Each novel from Lindquist (Let Me In) has been better than the last. This is his best yet.
Best Anthology:
A Book of Horrors, ed. Stephen Jones (September 18; St. Martin’s Griffin)
Editor Stephen Jones takes a break from his occasionally stuffy Mammoth Book of New Horror series to helm this gloriously diverse anthology. Lacking an overall theme, each new tale comes as a somewhat startling surprise. Including heavy hitters like Stephen King, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Brian Hodge, and Michael Marshall Smith, this one is a veritable treasure trove of exceeded expectations.
Most Disappointing Follow Up:
Home, by Matthew Costello (October 30; Thomas Dunne Books)
Last year’s Vacation, the first entry in Costello’s not-quite-zombies apocalypse series, was a textbook example of pacing done right. That thing moved. His sequel is the complete opposite, a downright drag. Self-reflection dominates, while action and plotting are a mere afterthought. Good luck staying awake during this one.
Best Picture Book:
Prometheus: The Art of the Film (June 12; Titan Books)
There are movie tie-ins and then there are movie tie-ins, and this gloriously lavish coffee table book belongs in the latter category. Rich in photos and behind-the-scenes mythology, this is one well-conceived piece of work from “visual companion” specialist Mark Salisbury.
Scariest Non-Horror:
Stay Awake, by Dan Chaon (February 7; Ballantine Books)
Dan Chaon is not a horror writer, but a few of the stories in his anthology rank among the most haunting I’ve ever read. Horror fans need to check out “The Bees“, “I Wake Up“, and “Slowly We Open Our Eyes“. You can thank me later.
Worst cover:
Hexcommunicated, by Rafael Chandler (July 12, 2012; CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
My apologies to Rafael Chandler, a solid writer and a hell of a role-playing game designer (Dread, Spite), but the cover of his vampire-action novel is silly as shit. I feel guilty picking on something self-published, but not since 50 Shades of Grey have Americans been so embarrassed to be seen reading a book on public transit.
Finally, I’d like to offer my abject apologies to the dozens of sweet-ass books I desperately wanted to read, but somehow missed. Here are a few:
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
The Haunted, Bentley Little
Nocturnal, Scott Sigler
Haunt, Laura Lee Bahr
The Devil in Silver, Victor LaValle
The Hollow City, Dan Wells
Editorials
11 Years Later: The Horrific Cycles of Violence in ‘Only God Forgives’ Starring Ryan Gosling
Traditionally, movie theater walkouts are usually associated with the horror genre, with infamous cases ranging from 1973’s The Exorcist (particularly during the crucifix masturbation scene) and even Lars Von Trier’s controversial serial killer memoir, The House That Jack Built.
That being said, there are exceptions to this rule, as some movies manage to terrorize audiences into leaving the theater regardless of genre. One memorable example of this is Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2013 revenge thriller Only God Forgives, a film so brutal and inaccessible that quite a few critics ended up treating it like a snuff film from hell back when it was first released. However, I’ve come to learn that horror fans have a knack for seeing beyond the blood and guts when judging the value of a story, and that’s why I’d like to make a case for Winding’s near-impenetrable experiment as an excellent horror-adjacent experience.
Refn originally came up with the idea for Only God Forgives immediately after completing 2009’s Valhalla Rising and becoming confused by feelings of anger and existential dread during his wife’s second pregnancy. It was during this time that he found himself imagining a literal fistfight with God, with this concept leading him to envision a fairy-tale western set in the far east that would deal with some of the same primal emotions present in his Viking revenge story.
It was actually Ryan Gosling who convinced the director to tackle the more commercially viable Drive first, as he wanted to cement his partnership with the filmmaker in a more traditional movie before tackling a deeply strange project. This would pay off during the production of Only God Forgives, as the filmmaking duo was forced to use their notoriety to scrounge up money at a Thai film festival when local authorities began demanding bribes in order to allow shooting to continue.
In the finished film, Gosling plays Julian, an American ex-pat running a Muay-Thai boxing club alongside his sociopathic brother Billy (Tom Burke). When Billy gets himself killed after sexually assaulting and murdering a teenager, Julian is tasked by his disturbed mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) with tracking down those responsible for the death of her first-born child. What follows is a surreal dive into the seedy underbelly of Bangkok as the cycle of revenge escalates and violence leads to even more violence.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
There’s no right or wrong way to engage with art, but there are some films that clearly require more effort from the audience side in order to be effective. And while you can’t blame cinemagoers for just wanting to enjoy some passive entertainment, I think it’s always worth trying to meet a work of art on its own terms before judging it.
Despite being a huge fan of Drive, I avoided Only God Forgives for a long time because of its poor critical reception and excessively esoteric presentation. It was only years later that I gave the flick a chance when a friend of mine described the experience as “David Lynch on cocaine.” It was then that I realized that nearly everything critics had complained about in the film are precisely what made it so interesting.
If you can stomach the deliberate pacing, you’ll likely be fascinated by this stylish nightmare about morally questionable people becoming trapped in a needless cycle of violence and retaliation. Not only is the photography impeccable, turning the rain-slicked streets of Bangkok into a neo-noir playground, but the bizarre characters and performances also help to make this an undeniably memorable movie. And while Gosling deserves praise as the unhinged Julian, I’d argue that Vithaya Pansringarm steals the show here as “The Angel of Vengeance,” even if his untranslated dialogue is likely to be unintelligible for most viewers.
However, I think the lack of subtitles ends up enhancing the mood here (even though some editions of the film ended up including them against the director’s wishes), adding to the feeling that Julian is a stranger in a strange land while also allowing viewers to project their own motivations onto some of the “antagonists.”
And while Only God Forgives is frequently accused of burying its narrative underneath a pile of artsy excess, I think the heart of the film is rather straightforward despite its obtuse presentation. I mean, the moral here is basically “revenge isn’t fun,” which I think is made clear by the horrific use of violence (though we’ll discuss that further in the next section).
To be clear, I’m still not sure whether or not I enjoyed this movie, I just know that I’m glad I watched it.
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
There are two different kinds of gore effects. One of them is meant to entertain viewers with exaggerated wounds and excessive blood as you admire the craftsmanship behind the filmmaking. The other kind is simply a tool meant to simulate what actually happens when you injure a human body. Like I mentioned before, Only God Forgives isn’t trying to be “fun,” so you can guess what kind gore is in this one…
From realistic maimings to brutal fist fights that feel more painful than thrilling, the “action” label on this flick seems downright questionable when the majority of the experience has you wincing at genuinely scary acts of grisly violence. I mean, the story begins with an unmotivated rampage through the streets of late-night Bangkok and ends with the implication of even more pointless violence, so it’s pretty clear that you’re not really meant to root for an “action hero” here.
I can’t even say that the deaths resemble those from slasher flicks because the movie never attempts to sensationalize these horrific acts, with Refn preferring to depict them as straightforward consequences of violent people going through the motions – which is somehow even scarier than if this had just been yet another hyper-violent revenge movie.
Not only that, but the characters’ overall lack of moral principles makes this story even more disturbing, with the main antagonist being the closest thing to a decent person among the main cast despite also being a brutal vigilante.
Only God Forgives doesn’t care if you like it or not (and actually takes measures to make sure that the viewing experience is often unpleasant), but if you’re willing to step up to this cinematic challenge and engage with the narrative and visuals on their own terms, I think you’ll find an unforgettable nightmare waiting for you on the other side.
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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