I tried twice to get into this book but I just couldn't. It was so odd and I disliked the writing style. I finally gave up. I am still giving it 3 stars as so many people loved everything about it. It wasn't for me but I am one person! I'd still recommend it to other Horror Fans though. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a weird book. I always like how tremblay plays with the format of his books. This book has pieces of the script throughout. I don’t know. It was good. It was ok. It wasn’t great. It was missing chunks. It felt unfinished, but I also feel like that is on purpose.

This creepy novel is told from the main POV of the actor who played the “Thin Man” in an unreleased horror movie from the ‘90s. The storyline skips around quite a bit, from the past to current time, and even from real life to the movie script.

I really loved the premise of this book, but I got bogged down in the movie production details. I also felt that so much was left unexplained. I really didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters, either.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tremblay is a master and this may be his best yet. Cult horror is not a subject for the squeamish, but layer in the concept of not/belonging, and making art, and the end product is a nuanced and terrifying work. This is a strong addition to the "cursed film" subgenre of horror that feels much more personal and painful, and less strictly plot-driven, than other recent "cursed film" books like Silver Nitrate or Burn the Negative. This is a great answer to "What would you do for art?"

I didn't normally read horror, but this book has me reacting to see what would happen next. This horror novel is fast paced and the characters are interesting enough to keep you engaged. I loved the story within the story and I really appreciated the different firms that the book took on. It's part audiobook, part screenplay, part poem, and it's all engaging. It was definitely a great read. Thank you, #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for honest opinion. #HorrorMovie 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Honestly, this book is arduous. It took SO LONG for me to finish this little 213 page books when I can finish a novel 2-3 times that size in just a couple sittings if I am into it. I wasn't into this one. It's my own fault, though, because I went into thinking it would be a different kind of book. I wanted it to be a completely different story. It is a slow burn, but also predictable. I'm giving it 3 stars because it is very well written and probably a great horror story for some.... Just not the right horror story for me.

Tremblay is one of my favorite authors and this latest book of his reminds me if Scream became a movie, and the BG of what it takes to make a horror movie. Such a fun ride.

This is a mashup of a cursed movie trope and a take on monstrosity. The cursed movie didn't feel all that cursed, mostly from the format where there is a remake and the story of the original that was never finished. I found the take on monstrosity a bit confusing - think method acting like Heath Ledger and the Joker plus some magical realism body horror? I've been struggling with how to explain it, and this is where I've landed. It was interesting, but never felt resolved, possibly because the "big reveal" wasn't a revelation? It was where that train was headed the whole time and so just came with an "oh, we're there" feeling.

That said, the ride was a fun slasher / monster flick and perfect for a not scary but campy, somewhat light read.

One of the more haunting books I've read in a long time! In the early '90s, a small group of budding filmmakers came together to make a the aptly titled Horror Movie. Thirty years later, its a *almost-complete* project that lives on in infamy due with just a few clips, images, the screenplay and a singular member of the group remaining. He returns to the project that shaped his life as a remake is underway, revisiting the story, his experience making the movie and the tragedy that cemented the unfinished film's cult status. This structure of the book is so well-done—really lending itself to the sinister, twisty nature of the story. Definitely one that will sit with me for a while.

I received an ARC from my auto read King of Horror author in exchange for my honest review. With that being said Paul Tremblay is an auto read because even though I haven’t enjoyed all his books when he writes one that knocks it out of the park reading the others that aren’t so great is worth it. Horror Movie is creepy and delivers a can’t put this book down speed read.

Going into this book I knew it had to do with a Horror Movie set and that was about the extent of my knowledge, and I'm glad I didn't seek out more information as it really helped me to go in and just enjoy the ride. I was so intensely creeped out by some of the Thin Kid scenes and the evolution of fictional monsters to real life ones, and would've loved even more of the movie transcript elements. Fans of Tremblay's previous work will really enjoy this one! Huge thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for my early review copy.

Loved this so much. One of the best horror books of this decade easily. Perfect for slasher fans, monster fans, and movie fans.

What a complete mindfuck of a book. I was completely gripped to the story while going through a range of emotions from rattled, tense, spooked to deeply disturbed. Regardless of that, the book will stay with me for awhile as it gives you a very personal look at the human condition and the monsters that hide beneath the surface. This was a slow burn and unlike anything I’ve read this year. Definitely recommend.

I'm not going to even pretend that I understood what was going on or going to happen in this one for about the first two-thirds of the story. I mean, I knew it wasn't going to be good. But--maybe it's a testament to how my mind isn't... broken in a way Tremblay's seems to be. I kid... Kind of. 

This is one of those, that you want to go in completely blind. Having any of it spoiled would just ruin the shock. The... Horror. It's name is absolutely appropriate. The horror of this story goes beyond simple monsters hiding in a proverbial closet. No, this story encapsulates horror in a way that any true great horror writer does--in the exposing the horror that can be humanity. People are what true evil can look like. 

This wasn't the kind of story that kept me from sleeping at night. It was more the kind of story that, as I was reading, was just... Jarring. Appalling. And artistic in its own right. 

My first Tremblay novel and I'm not sure I've got the measure of his stories. A definite enjoyable read, if you can call it that. I'm excited to try another.

This was easily one of the most disturbing books I have read recently. It wasn't "scary", but it was deeply unsettling. Then the end came and IT WAS scary. Very scary.
Basic plot points: The "thin kid", an only survivor of a cursed movie is invited to join in on a remake.
Things get weird, then they get weirder, then they get super weird.

Tremblay does an excellent job at creating a very unsettling atmosphere for the reader, as well as all the characters. No jump scares in this book, but a profound sense of unease that creeps its way to the ending crescendo.

Would recommend to anyone that is tired of light horror or thriller and ready to feel unsettled in a way they have never felt before.

This is one weird book, the kind that deserves a bit of serious contemplation after all is said and done, a true example of what some people like to call elevated horror. Horror Movie is only my second Paul Tremblay book, the first being The Pallbearer's Club, and this story has similar vibes. It cleverly tells the story of a young group of post college age adults who set out to make a low budget horror film, and our narrator is the man behind the movie monster mask thirty years later. He's only known to us as The Thin Kid.

The Thin Kid is our narrator for reasons. He's about to embark on a journey to make a "reboot" of a film that was never officially completed but had become a cult hit from leaked footage online. So what we get is three different narratives; our kid retelling the past during the shoot, then him revealing bits of the present and where the major players of the movie are now (including himself), then finally the horror movie itself as written in the form of the screenplay.

It's a slow and creepy unraveling of events as told by an unreliable narrator, and it's full of triggering topics including suicide, body horror (as in Pallbearers Club), bullying and ostracizing. Thematically, it touches on identifying the monster behind the mask, how those monsters just might be a reflection of ourselves in some ways, or how we as a society just might be responsible for creating the things that we fear.

It can get confusing with all the story jumping from the Then to the Now, plus a screenplay that feels like it would get thrown in the DNF heap if it was an actual real live submission (I've read a lot of screenplays, so I'm a little biased on this point). BUT this was a low budget horror shoot from a young writer character, so in that context, I need to give the script part of it some leeway. The plot twists show up through the last half of the book, and man are they some crazy, confounding and heartbreaking plot twists.

I want to thank Mr. Tremblay and Harper Collins for approving ARC access via NetGalley

This is a weird horror story that goes back and forth between the past and the present to tell the story of a group of young adults filming a horror movie about "the Thin Man." The story is odd, violent, gruesome, and surprising, but I didn't find it terribly scary. Still, it is an entertaining read.

My review is linked below. Listen to me discuss it on this week's Little Cuts episode of Scarred for Life. Loved how dark and nasty the book was. It truly felt like a book about a cursed object; one in which we're watching a train wreck happening in real time. It's probably Tremblay's darkest novel and it was a joy to read.

A unique perspective and a creepy cast. This one will linger. I enjoyed the choppy nature of the format once I figured out how the timelines were working. It became a fascinating glimpse into art house films and horror development. The trick is the underlying, real life horror also occurring. The story wasn’t necessarily frightening, but rather contemplative and creepy.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and author Paul Tremblay for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After reading this book I think I can confidently say I am not a fan of Paul Tremblay. This was my first book I've read by him and will more than likely be my last. I'm so glad this was a moderately short book because I was bored throughout the entire thing. I don't think I have an aversion to books that revolve around movies and scripts but I just might after reading this. The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because the last chapter did peak my interest, just in time for the book to end. Could be because it meant the book was over for me or it could be because it was actually interesting, who knows but I really didn't like this at all.