📼 Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay 📼 First I would like to thank @harpercollinsca for providing me an e-copy through @netgalley and as always all opinions are mine and mine alone. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay left me feeling all sorts of emotions but let’s explore what our novel is about. Our main character is approached by a girl whom he kind of knew at one time in his life and her friend, they are making a horror movie and want him to be the pivotal “Thin Kid” but this isn’t any kind of horror movie your used to. With the story being told through the Script, Then, and Now, Tremblay weaves a masterful story together as the mystery of the past quickly catches up to the present. What I found interesting in and of itself is our main character whom I didn’t like throughout the whole of the novel but that does not mean I didn’t get a thrill of what a unique, terrifying and disturbing character he is. Throughout this whole novel I felt such a cocktail of emotions but if I had to pick only a few to share with all of you it would have to be disturbed, terrified and a vague sense of being alone as I couldn’t help but imagine myself in the script as one of the characters coming face to face with the Thin Kid. The novel also makes one think on what people are truly capable of, the darkness of violence and one’s capacity or inclination towards it. With the line between reality and the movie forever blurred thanks to our Thin Kid narrator, the script mirroring, or rather becoming entwined, with reality only heightened my fear as I read Horror Movie every night with only the glow of my laptop to keep the darkness at bay. When I reached the end of Horror Movie I couldn’t believe what I was reading, how Tremblay blew away what I believed, what I thought, was going to happen. But, you’ll just have to read Horror Movie and discover it for yourself my spooky friends.

The formatting of the book was interesting with the switching between past, present, and the movie. Some parts felt like it dragged on a bit, but towards the end, I felt like it picked up a bit. Overall, this was an interesting book and the ending leaves me with so many questions. 3.5/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the pre-release copy. Below is my honest review.

This one was a real treat. I am really impressed by Paul Tremblay in this one. I've previously only read one - The Cabin at the End of the World - and enjoyed it, but this one was a major step up. I'd go so far as to call it a Master Class in horror. It's got the perfect amount of slow burn tension buildup, hints dropping left and right about what happened in the past and intermingled in between stuff going on in the present.

I loved the format - there were "Now" sections and "Then" sections, and some of the passages were scenes cut out of the screenplay for the titular Horror Movie. I loved that you're left wondering throughout the book what's happened, what is the driving force, and I loved that the end really nailed the landing.

Highly recommended for fans of horror, horror movies, slow burns with the perfect amount of tension, and really compelling vibes. 5 stars.

Having read Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, and loving everything about it, I'm always up against that bench mark of great story telling from Paul Tremblay. Horror Movie was a slow burn, for me, but the juice was worth the squeeze. The books summary has it exactly correct, '....chilling, and suspenseful...an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.' This mind-bending conclusion was what made this book worth the squeeze.

Having read a fair amount of Paul Tremblay's work, he always throws something different at the reader. His range and ability to create something horrifying and gripping is easy to see. From the apocalyptic world in Survivor Song to a straight up horror story as in Disappearance at Devil’s Rock to a crafty and layered tale in Horror Movie. The reader is always shown something different.

Horror Movie was told in multiple layers, through the script of the movie itself, the story about making it then, and the story of the reboot now. Horror Movie is told from 'The Thin Kid's' perspective. How much we can rely on his memory from then is up for speculation as he is the only member from the film still alive. It took ready a good portion of this book to get in the groove, this being why I say it is a slow burn. I wasn't sure what the hell I was reading for a long while. The horror in Horror Movie is not just gore, it's on a psychological level. Elevated as some call it. Horror Movie exists on a plane closest to Cabin at the End of the Woods. If you enjoyed that book from Paul Tremblay I'd say you will enjoy this as well.

3.5/5 ⭐️
The book brings that off-putting, snuff film type feeling, while describing a cult classic "movie that never was." The book was a short, quick read, with much of the book in a weird format, placing you into the thought process of being in a film. The issue was the book both felt as fast as I was able to read it, but also very slow. Some chapters I felt could have been more explained, while others dragged on. I felt indifferent about most of the story, until we were getting closer to 70%.

I do wish we learned even more about what actually happened in the movie. What was the motivation? What was purposeful? An epilogue with the director or script writer as the point of view I think would have taken this to the next level.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this ebook.

The format made for a very fast read, as it jumped back & forth between past and present. It also included part of the script of the movie that the story is focused on. I absolutely love when an author can effectively weave together different timelines/formats into one cohesive story.

I don’t even know how to explain this book and emphasize how engaging it was. It was just an entire mood and I was here for it. There was an overlying eeriness that shrouded the story and it exuded seriously ominous vibes. It’s not that the story was outright scary, because it wasn’t. It was just intriguing. And propulsive. And that ending!!!

The book took a bit too long to get going and the characters weren't particularly engaging. This is the first Paul Tremblay book that I've picked up. The premises for his books always seem pretty interesting so I'd still be interested in reading this author's future works.

What. Did. I. Just. Read.

Holy sh*t. I’m still reeling from the end. What a horror masterpiece. I went in blind thinking this would be a story about a haunted movie set but it was much more terrifying than that. The story was told in dual timelines and easy to follow. Some scenes were so gruesome OMG! Not that I expected at all. If I’m honestly speaking I would be too gored out to actually see this film if it were made. Gored out but I would begrudgingly watch it.

Just wow! Despite all the gore I really enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC.

I love horror novels, horror movies, and horror novels about horror movies, but I didn’t love this. This is my first Paul Tremblay read and although I was super into the premise, I found the story to be incredibly slow moving and the characters unbearable. There were some genuinely creepy moments in the middle during the flashbacks in the classroom, but not enough to sustain the story for me.

This book delivers on the creep factor, and some nostalgia of the early 90s, and makes you look over your shoulder and under your bed. I'm a huge fan of horror fiction and the cover of the book is beautifully nostalgic. I definitely want it in full view on my bookshelf. It also somewhat reminds me of the horrors that happened on the set of Poltergeist and makes me wonder if there was a bit of inspiration there.

The only reason I am giving less than 5 stars is because, for a horror story, this book is incredibly slow-rolling versus the slasher type that I thought it might be. This is totally fine, but it doesn't really pick up pace until the last couple of chapters. So as long as you know it is slow-paced instead of the fast you anticipated, all is well. This is the first book I have read by this author and I would like to add that I was a bit thrown by how he presents dialogue. This may just be a ME issue, but when I read, the 'he said, she said' usually falls off in my brain somewhere and I feel like I don't even really read them anymore, leaving me to be immersed in the story. This author, however, tends to stick the 'said' right at the beginning of a sentence which tends to break my immersion a bit. This is just preference, I know.

The characters weren't totally likable, but you still tend to want to know how it ends regardless. I did find a lot of similarities in this book and another book, " The Remaking." This is a solid book that I will recommend to my horror-loving friends.

This book really sets the unsettling tone right away, it felt like there was no escape from the horrors of its reality. I didn't want to stop reading it but it left me with such an 'off' feeling I had to take a break to just think about the things happening, wonder why they might be happening and where it's leading to, and then just getting engrossed in reading it again because I had to know what happens.

It's not my favorite kind of book to read, and some of the paragraphs dragged on a little too long. But it wasn't bad, and the ending sure did leave an impression on me.

What a fun book - I enjoy horror, and I enjoy Paul Tremblay. The story of Horror Movie is told in a way that kept me engaged, with both the past and the present moving ever forward. The unreliable narrator, the questions that slowly get answered - it’s fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! I was excited to be approved for this; the premise and cover drew me in. I wanted to like this but ended up disappointed.

Horror Movie alternates timelines between the 90s when a young group of filmmakers are making the cult classic Horror Movie and the present following the lone survivor of the cast, “The Thin Kid” who is narrating an audiobook about his experiences and his involvement in a reboot of the film. Also, interspersed are portions of the original screenplay.

While I’ve heard of this author, I haven’t read anything by him before. This was well written but incredibly slow paced. The characters are all pretentious and unlikeable. The synopsis promises a “mind-bending conclusion,” but after most of the book where not much happens the ending was just meh.

3 Star
I started this and I wasn't sure what to expect. I liked the Cabin at the End of the World and I was excited to see his new book. The issue for me is the jumping back and forth and getting lost in the film script and narration was a bit to much for me. As well there is a lot of big fancy words used in this novel
The novel does pick up once filming starts on the original and I was hooked wanting to know more about the tall thin kid and the horrors of the novel. I felt during reading confused at times as we jumped and get jumbled into the world of on screen and off, which I think was what was wanting by the author. Over all the book is a quick read and entertaining but for me was jumbled and confusing at times. I did like the wrap up and everything coming together and if you have ever read a paul Trembly book the ending and how he does things. It didn't disappoint but I feel fried after finishing it haha.
I want to thank netgallary for letting me read ARC of this novel and as well as William Morrow publishing. Thank you so much for the adventure and the mind scramble

“My heart weeps at the thought that we were ever that young.”

okay i get it, i do, what was, what could have been, the small things we don’t appreciate, the moments we miss between us and another

i feel like Paul is becoming more experimental with his writing
i almost don’t even know what i just read but i also like to think i get it
i understood Cleo’s character.

I was a bit hesitant about this one because my only other experience reading Paul Tremblay was a short story that I did not like, but the premise of this was interesting enough for me to want to pick this up. This isn’t one that hits the ground running because it took me a while to get into it, and I found myself having trouble picking it back up. It takes a while for it to get scary, and I wasn’t sure where this was going. I kind of was just….waiting for it to get scary lol.

I prefer my horror novels to be scary from the start, and this wasn’t one of those. I guess I’m just not a fan of a slow burn type book because I’m too impatient. A good chunk of the beginning is just showing him on the set of the film and the day to day of that, and what it’s like being on the set of a reboot of Horror Movie. Aside from the flashbacks, not much else happens aside from that. The only remotely interesting parts are the parts with the thin man in the screenplays. Things did start picking up around the 40% mark though, but it was a struggle getting through it before that.

Its not badly written at all. It’s just….not much happens. It’s one of those books where pretty much the main plot and details can be summed up in a paragraph. I also feel like most of this book was just the screenplay and flashbacks and hardly any took place in present day, and the parts that did take place in present day, nothing really happened until the end.

Overall, this book was just ok. Slow burn just wasn’t my thing I guess. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

As soon as I laid eyes on the cover, I knew I had to at least try to get an ARC! As an avid horror film lover, former film student (don’t @ me), and former for-exposure production designer, this book is like my holy grail. Before I really get into this, a very sincere thank you for approving me for this ARC!
 
By far my favorite book that I’ve read this year. Tremblay expertly drops a breadcrumb trail for us to follow through the past, the present, and the screenplay that links the two together. Is the horror man-made: a killer born of method acting and isolation? Is it supernatural: an evil born of spell and tortured set? The slow degradation of the boundary between the screenplay and reality was perfectly timed. The ending is exhilaratingly mysterious. Like a toad in a hot pot, we slowly realize that the Thin Kid's aloof awkwardness might actually be resentment that his best years, his best weeks, are behind him while others are only just beginning theirs.
 
One of my favorite reveals is that what we’re reading is the Thin Kid’s audiobook. Particularly because when paired with the final chapter it leaves us wondering. Was it just a well-written and scary final chapter for him too? Did he write it before he truly killed the reboot-Thin Kid and take his place? I also didn’t notice that the Thin Kid’s name was never mentioned for an embarrassingly long time. Kudos.
 
I have absolutely no criticism. Tremblay captured the exhausting and youthful transgressions of an indie horror set immaculately. I can’t wait to see the hardcover of Horror Movie on my bookshelf in June!

Thanks to #netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for an ARC of this book! I went into this one pretty blind and it did not let me down. It started off a little slow but once the plot started picking up, I couldn’t put it down. This is such a unique concept and I really enjoyed the meta moments that reflected on the real world. This book had a very cinematic feel to it and it’s definitely a new cult classic. Because the book centers around a fictional movie, I can easily picture it getting a film adaptation, which I would also really enjoy. I really recommend reading this one when it comes out!
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@paperbackdanny on instagram

I had such a great time reading this one! It was hard to put down. I would definitely watch this horror movie

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book!

This is my second Paul Tremblay read (the other being The Pallbearers Club), and I enjoyed this one just as much as the first one. This is the story of the making of a "cursed" horror movie as told by the actor who played the big bad. It flips between the 90's during the making of the movie and the present where the actor is making the rounds on the horror convention circuit and participating in the movie's reboot. It also sprinkles in lots of pages from the script, which is a neat touch because you essentially get to see the horror movie play out.

Why the movie is cursed is the big reveal of the book and it doesn't fully play out until the final pages. If you've read a million horror novels/movies you can probably see the ending coming but it was still satisfying. This book will also appeal to movie nerds as it gets into a lot of the nitty gritty that takes place when making a movie, especially on a shoestring budget.

I wasn't completely blown away by this one, but it was an entertaining read and I will continue to check out Mr. Tremblay's works as the 2 I have read have both been a great time.