| So Saturday I'll be hunkered down behind a folding table at Crypticon Seattle (the Northwest's first horror convention, yay!). If you'd like to swing by, it's... Saturday, May 24th - 12:00 noon - The Year in Horror That's all I have to go on. Just that topic. No news on who'll be on there with me. Or maybe it's just me. I mean, seriously, who else would choose to do a panel during lunchtime? So that brings me to my topic, which is really more of a plea. What defined horror this year? Was it film? I can only think of a few big horror movies. Diary of the Dead sort of fizzled before it began. Most of the shocking stuff was independent or foreign (The Signal, Funny Games, The Host). Though this looks promising... Despite some of the films being shlocky and poorly executed, the After Dark Horrorfest, 8 Films to Die For, has been a shot in the arm to a genre that was drowning in Asia Extreme remakes and, to some extent, still is--some notable breakouts were Borderlands and Mulberry St. 2008 and 2009 will bring us reboots of Hellraiser, Evil Dead (without Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell) and Friday the 13th. It's almost too much to take. How about fiction? Joe Hill and Max Brooks seem to think so. Actually the last two years have been the surface of the new horror iceberg. Word on the street is that publishers are actively acquiring horror manuscripts in the event that 2009-2010 will mark a return to the gold rush days of the 70s and early 80s. I know my pal Joe's got a breakout book in The Black Wing that is going to fry people's brains all to shit. A ton of good horror is coming from the internet, as serial fiction is getting the attention of publishers. Not surprisingly, a lot of it is zombie-related. So...where does that leave us? I'm going to say gaming. This was probably one of the best years for horror gaming and it's not over yet. 2007 gave us--what?--Bioshock, F.E.A.R and 2008 is lining up survival horror like it's the only game in town. Coming up: Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill 5, Dead Space, Dead Rising2, Alan Wake, Dead Island, Left-4-Dead, Alone in the Dark and Condemned 2. Holy crap the gamers are going to give themselves heart palpitations. Of course, what I'm leaving out is the fact that the real horrors of the past year have taken precendent. It's impossible to compete with earthquakes, wars, and tropical cyclones, let alone parenting so terrible that it results in teen suicide and the promotion of assault. Damn. Sorry about that lapse into seriousness. Does anyone have anything to add? Saturday's coming quick and I hate to sound like a moron. |
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the flick does look promising, but it's always the best parts that get to be trailers...
the only prob with games: you have to play the damn things, and i'm too old to learn :(
thx for this :)
ew. ick. horror movies. no thanks. I'm a cowering sissy.
This certainly has been a year for interesting breakthroughs in horror fiction:
SHARP TEETH by Toby Barlow is the first horror novel in verse that I can think of in recent memory. It seems to be quite popular too.
INFECTED by Scott Sigler marks the first time I've seen a podcaster break into the horror genre and do so in a huge way. He's got well over a hundred five star reviews on Amazon.
On the gaming side of things, WhizKid games, the guys who make HeroClix branched out into HorrorClix even more with franchised set expansions to their collectible miniature combat game featuring the like of Hellboy and the BPRD versus Cthulhu, Jason, Freddy Krueger... even Aliens and Predators, but that overlaps into last year too.
I can't really help you out on the movie side of things though.
Yeah, I'm with sadieloree... I run. I hide. I duck. And that's in my own home watchng the Lord of the Rings. I don't do horror. You're book is the closest I've ever gotten. Oh, and I watched all the Resident Evil's this year... with the windows open, full daylight, and Sam to dig my nails into.
I think you have it more than covered... Good luck!
Thanks Jeremy. That helps out quite a bit.
How about I Am Legend?
Hi Jaye - I'm afraid the hardcore horror fans would disembowel me for even bringing that one up.
I might just do it anyway. I've found so many remakes headed our way it makes me wonder if we writers are actually being killed off in some warehouse.
I'm ascareded.
A remake of Friday 13th? *cries* Why? WHY? Why mess with perfection?
Hi Naomi - They're remaking it so that Supernatural fans can get there Padalecki fix.
That's the same reason they're remaking My Bloody Valentine with Jensen Ackles.
Seriously.