Film Sweetheart Review (Film, 2019) Jenn wakes upon the beach after surviving a shipwreck. The only other survivor has fatal injuries and passes before she can save him. She is alone on a deserted island and the only signs of life she can find are evidence of her deadly circumstances—a molded cooler, a bag with expired medicine, and r
On Wed. We Write Fiction Jamie-boy, a Short Story This week in On Wednesdays, We Write Fiction, I revisited one of my favorite unpublished short stories. The original form of Jamie-boy was at that perfectly awkward length too be both too long and too short for most horror journals/magazines to want to publish. It was too dark swing
Film The App Review (Film, 2019) The App is an Italian sci-fi/drama/romance/thriller hybrid from writer/director Elisa Fuksas. The title of the film is not a metaphor or some grand symbolic play; it is the substance of the film. Fuksas commits to a story about a new kind of dating app and her vision is quite fascinating.
Film The Silenced Review (Film, 2015) The Archives The Silenced is a South Korean horror film inspired by the Japanese control of Korea during World War II. Shizuko (really Joo-ran) is forced into a boarding school for unwell teenage girls in Seoul by her father and stepmother as they leave for Tokyo in 1938. The headmistress promises to help Shizuk
Film The Collector Review (Film, 2009) Take Two The Collector is one of the tamer horror entries in this time period. Arkin, a handyman, gets caught up in a murderer’s deadly game when he tries to rob his newest employer’s house. The family is about to go on vacation and someone has set up the house with deadly traps. The Collector leaves a red t
On Wed. We Write Fiction for you, a Short Story Here’s the second entry in On Wednesdays, We Write Fiction. I started in fantasy and thoroughly crossed over to its twin city, horror. As always, all credit goes to me: writing, editing, narrating, scoring. Enjoy.
Film The Silence, A Quiet Place, and the Subtle Art of Coincidence My focus today is on shared inspiration in creative fields. The biggest story when A Quiet Place came out was its similarities to Tim Lebbon’s novel The Silence. People who read Lebbon’s book (or even the dust-cover summary) could see a lot of unlikely coincidences in the narrative.
Film The Fury Review (Film, 1978) The Archives I don’t know why, but I’ve yet to see what I would consider a particularly successful genre film about government forces attempting to weaponize psychic abilities. It seems like a small niche, but quite a few horror and science fiction films have played with this concept for decades. It’s just a har
Reviews Making the Cut Review (TV Series, 2020) Klum and Gunn both left the series after the 16th season, but they did not give up on working together. The result is the new Amazon Prime reality show Making the Cut. 12 designers from around the world compete in a globe-trotting competition for a $1,000,000 cash prize and a business partnership wi
On Wed. We Write Fiction Blessed, a Short Story I’m starting a new feature at Sketching Details this week. On Wednesdays, We Write Fiction. You’ll get a new short story adapted for video each week. I mean, I have all these flash fiction stories that I could never find a market for. I played around with some
Film Ghost Stories Review (Film, 2018) Ghost Stories is the rare stage play adapted to film by the original playwrights. Directors/screenwriters Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman adapt their own stage play into a feature length film and it works beautifully. The entire conceit of the play is very cinematic, an 80 minute horror show with jump s
Film The Torment of Laurie Ann Cullom Review (Film, 2014) The Archives The Torment of Laurie Ann Cullom likes to play with genre expectations. The opening credit scroll is reminiscent of the recent wave of found footage/this is a true story films that overtook horror for quite a few years. The throwback 80’s period styling and sense of humor feels like the rise of meta
Film Rattlesnake Review (Film, 2019) Katrina and her daughter Clara are starting a new life with a cross-country move. Katrina has to stop to fix a flat tire in the desert. Clara wanders away from the car and is bitten by a rattlesnake. Fortunately, there is a trailer right off the road. The woman inside promises to help Clara while Ka
Reviews Don't F With Cats Review (TV Series, 2019) Don’t F With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer is a three-part documentary series that delivers exactly what the title says. A group of people who only know each other through Facebook find a disturbing video of an anonymous man murdering two kittens. They begin working together to identify the man t
Film American Mary Review (Film, 2013) The Archives American Mary is a wild film. It’s a quiet character study of a poor medical student turned extreme body modifier. It’s a modern spin on Frankenstein with multiple Doctor/Monster connections. It’s a revenge/exploitation film from a distinctly feminist perspective with only one clear villain turned i
Film Deadcon Review (Film, 2019) In the early days of the Internet, a struggling inventor makes a deal with an independent personality in his computer program to make his work a success. He needs to bring real life friends over so the computer program can make itself a success. Jump to the present and a social media convention is h
Reviews Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness Review (TV Series, 2020) Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is a true-crime documentary series on Netflix. The central figure is Joe Exotic, a convicted felon who ran an exotic animal zoo and illegal breeding program for tigers and other wild cats out of Oklahoma. The series meanders through a lot of other stories that
Film The Platform Review (Film, 2020) In The Platform, Goreng wakes up in a vertical prison. Each floor has two inmates and a giant hole in the floor and the ceiling. Once a day, a platform descends and stops on each floor for the prisoners to eat for two minutes. However, the food is only loaded in at the top of the prison tower. After
Film Onward Review (Film, 2020) Onward opens with a montage of historical high fantasy epics in the town. Flash forward to the present, and the town is still populated with high fantasy creatures. They just live like us in modern society. Ian, a shy elf, is celebrating his sixteenth birthday. He wants to be like his dad, who sadly
Film Pure Review (Film, 2019) Shay has recently reconnected with her birth father Steve and agreed to join him and her half-sister Jo on a religious retreat. It is a Father/Daughter celebration of purity led by Pastor Seth. He preaches the responsibility of girls to follow the rules set out by their earthly and heavenly fathers
Film Little Monsters Review (Film, 2019) At the end of the second act of Little Monsters, David is having a quiet conversation with Audrey about her work. She is a kindergarten teacher, and she is good at her job. He’s taken aback when she actually speaks like a normal adult for the first time in front of him. The audience has already seen
Film The Autopsy of Jane Doe Review (Film, 2016) The Autopsy of Jane Doe is medical/body horror, haunted house, home invasion, and thriller combined in one effective horror story. Austin works for his father Tommy in the family morgue. He’s about to leave for a night out with his girlfriend Emma when Sheriff Burke wheels a body into the facility.
Games Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review (Game, 2020) Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the newer Nintendo franchises, first appearing in the transition period between the N64 and the GameCube. You play as a villager, who moves into a new town and is quickly put in charge. You catch fish and insects, gather fruit, dig for fossils, and collect sup
Film Bird Box Review (Film, 2018) Bird Box is the kind of horror film that happens when horror is not used as an excuse to ignore good filmmaking techniques. Critically acclaimed filmmaker Susanne Bier steps into the director seat for an apocalyptic horror film with a concept requiring a subtle, sensitive approach to the subject mat
Film Frozen II Review (Film, 2019) I will say that I enjoyed Frozen II in spite of myself. The quality of the animation is great. The music is so much more adventurous and tuned into the strengths of the returning voice cast. The expanded mythology has some fascinating elements that can surely pay off when the inevitable Frozen III i
