Happy Halloween

"El Orfanato"

I don’t know exactly if with the time I become pickier or if the movie industry isn’t anymore what it used to be, but lately it seems that are fewer and fewer movies that make a strong print in my memory. In the recent years one such movie was “El Laberinto del Fauno” (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) and the director, Guillermo del Toro, definitely caught my eye. Seeing his name on the presentation of “El Orfanato” (“The Orphanage”), as producer, was another reason for my desire to see this movie (but not the only one).

After many years, Laura returns to the place of her childhood, the orphanage where she lived for a while. She returns together with her husband and her adopted child, Simón, and she intends to make the place a home for children with disabilities. But on the day of the house presentation and the children’s party her son disappears. Her search for her missing child will face Laura with her childhood memories and old ghosts.

“El Orfanato” is a horror movie and when it comes to this genre it doesn’t bring anything new on the screen. The classical theme of ghosts and of a haunted place is old and used constantly every year. But this movie is unique in its making, the work made by the crew, the setting and the atmosphere make “El Orfanato” one of the best horror movies and one that beats the vast majority of ghost movies.

What I really liked in the first place is the setting. The landscapes are absolutely lovely, the house looks really good and contributes in full to the general atmosphere. I know that in the most of its parts the movie was filmed indoors and on a studio setting, but those outside images were very beautiful. I also liked that little game played in the movie, of treasure hunting. All that excitement behind the child’s play, the rush from one clue to another, the wish which will be granted at the end of the game, reminded me of childhood and the innocence of that period in everybody’s life.

Like I said the story is classic, simple, but it is well constructed, with the tension well built, driven to the higher point steadily and constantly. The end, more exactly the explanation for the Simón’s disappearance, is very good, one that I didn’t think of and didn’t imagine it. It is a simple idea, but that makes it more powerful. But “El Orfanato” doesn’t fall in the general horror line. The tension and the thrill is more on the psychological and emotional level and you will not get grotesque and frightful scenes. But I believe that this makes the movie more powerful.

What I love the most at “El Orfanato” is Belén Rueda’s interpretation. She makes a powerful role and makes from Laura such a strong character. Because of her interpretation I sympathized with the character much more and I was much more involved in the story. She is a very good actress and definitely shows great talent. I will add to this the Geraldine Chaplin’s appearance, short, but powerful.

Although Guillermo del Toro is only the producer of this movie he associates with a good title again and “El Orfanato” is a very interesting movie and one that made a print on my memory.

Index of interviews

Alphabetical index of interviews:

Authors:

- Roundtable - On Halloween, Saint Andrew's Night and Romanian horror & fantastic

- John Joseph Adams
- Peter V. Brett
- Sebastian A. Corn
- Mark S. Deniz
- Steven Erikson
- Peadar Ó Guilín
- Dorothy Hearst
- Chris F. Holm
- Bill Hussey
- Jasper Kent
- Helen Marshall
- Gary McMahon
- David Moody
- Mark Charan Newton
- Mark Charan Newton (coffee break)
- Sarah Pinborough (2010)
- Sarah Pinborough (2013)
- Adam Roberts
- Brian Ruckley
- Manda Scott
- Ekaterina Sedia
- Angela Slatter
- Tim Stretton
- Michael J. Sullivan
- Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Lavie Tidhar
- Kaaron Warren
- Conrad Williams

Artists:

- Vitaly S. Alexius
- Kerem Beyit
- Nicolas "Sparth" Bouvier
- Caniglia
- Lauren K. Cannon
- Nicole Cardiff
- Vincent Chong
- Julie Dillon
- Les Edwards/Edward Miller
- Donato Giancola
- Marek Hlavaty
- Uwe Jarling
- Tomasz Jedruszek
- Tuomas Korpi
- Kekai Kotaki
- Mariusz Kozik
- Maciej Kuciara
- Alan Lathwell
- Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
- Todd Lockwood
- Henning Ludvigsen
- Mats Minnhagen
- David Munoz Velazquez
- Claudia Niculescu
- Alex Popescu
- Dave Rapoza
- Andreas Rocha
- Kirsi Salonen
- Bente Schlick
- Marc Simonetti
- Anne Stokes
- Philip Straub
- Raymond Swanland
- Sandara Tang
- Christophe Vacher
- Jesse van Dijk

Index of reviews

Alphabetical index of reviews:

- *** - Arcane, Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century, Issue 1
- *** - Black Static, Issue 15
- *** - Black Static, Issue 16
- *** - Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine, July 2008
- *** - "Grimm Mistresses"
- *** - "Pumpkins in the Closer - Burials" (Calabazas en el Trastero - Entierros)
- *** - Shimmer Magazine, Issue 22, November 2014

- Abraham, Daniel - "The Dragon's Path"
- Adams, John Joseph - "Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse"
- Andrews, Scott - "School's Out"

- Bakker, R. Scott - "The Darkness That Comes Before"
- Bell, Alden - "The Reapers are the Angels"
- Bergen, Andrez - "Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat"
- Bergen, Andrez - "One Hundred Years of Vicissitude"
- Biancotti, Deborah - "Bad Power"
- Blais, Bill - "Witness"
- Bowling, Drew - "The Tower of Shadows"
- Brett, Peter V. - "The Warded Man"
- Brounéus, Fredrik - "The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse"
- Brozek, Jennifer & Pillar, Amanda - "Grants Pass"
- Brussolo, Serge - "La Meute"

- Carey, Mike - "The Devil You Know"
- Carey, Mike, Linda & Louise - "The House of War and Witness"
- Carlson, Jeff - "Plague Year"
- Coman, Marian - "Nopți Albe, Zile Negre" (White Nights, Black Days)
- Coman, Marian - "Testamentul de ciocolată" (The Chocolate Testament)
- Coman, Marian - "Fingers and Other Fantastic Stories"
- Corn, Sebastian A. - "Adrenergic!"
- Crâznic, Oliviu - "… şi la sfârşit a mai rămas coşmarul" (… and at the end remained the nightmare)

- D'Lacey, Joseph - "Meat"
- D'Lacey, Joseph - "The Kill Crew"
- Daniells, Rowena Cory - "The King's Bastard"
- de Bodard, Aliette - "On a Red Station, Drifting"
- del Toro, Guillermo & Hogan, Chuck - "The Strain"
- Deniz, Mark S. & Pillar, Amanda - "Voices"
- Deniz, Mark S. - "Dead Souls"
- Dick, Philip K. - "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
- Disch, Thomas M. - "Camp Concentration"
- Doboş, Dan - "Abaţia" (The Abbey)
- Downum, Amanda - "The Drowning City"
- Downum, Amanda - "The Bone Palace"
- Dufaux, Jean (script) & Jérémy (artist) - "Barracuda - 1. Slaves"

- Elliott, Kate - "King's Dragon"
- Erikson, Steven - "Gardens of the Moon"
- Esslemont, Ian C. - "Night of Knives"

- Fry, Gary - "Lurker"

- Gardner, Cate - "In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair"
- Garton, Ray - "Ravenous"
- Gevers, Nick - "Extraordinary Engines"
- Golden, Christopher & Lebbon, Tim - "Mind the Gap"
- Gorodischer, Angélica - "Kalpa Imperial"
- Graphic novel - "Indiana Jones Omnibus Volume 1"
- Graphic novel - "The EC Archives: Tales from the Crypt, Volume 1"
- Guilín, Peadar Ó - "The Inferior"
- Gunn, David - "Death's Head"

- Hammond, Warren - "KOP"
- Hanover, M.L.N. - "Unclean Spirits"
- Hayward, L.J. - "Blood Work"
- Hearst, Dorothy - "Promise of the Wolves"
- Henderson, Samantha - "Heaven's Bones"
- Hill, Joe - "Gunpowder"
- Hill, Joe & Rodriguez, Gabriel - "Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft"
- Hill, Joe & Rodriguez, Gabriel - "Locke & Key: Head Games"
- Hinks, Darius - "Razumov's Tomb"
- Hoffman, W.L. - "The Soulstealer War: The First Mother's Fire"
- Holm, Chris F. - "Dead Harvest"
- Holm, Chris F. - "8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror & Suspense"
- Hussey, Bill - "The Absence"
- Hussey, Bill - "Through a Glass, Darkly"
- Hussey, William - "Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide"
- Hutson, Shaun - "Body Count"

- Istin, Jean-Luc (script), Duarte, Kyko (artist), Saïto, Diogo (colors) - "The Blue Elves' Crystal" (Elves, Volume 1) / "Le Crystal des Elfes Bleus"

- Jakubowski, Maxim & Braund, Nathan - "The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper"
- Jarry, Nicolas (script), Maconi, Gianluca (artist), Saïto, Diogo (colors) - "The Sylvan Elves' Honor" (Elves, Volume 2) / "L'Honneur des Elfes Sylvains"
- Jemisin, N.K. - "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms"
- Jones, Stephen - "The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18"

- Kent, Jasper - "Twelve"
- Kent, Jasper - "Thirteen Years Later"
- Kenyon, Nate - "The Reach"
- Kenyon, Nate - "Prime"
- Kyme, Nick - "Grimblades"
- Kurimoto, Kaoru - "The Guin Saga: The Leopard Mask"

- Lanagan, Margo - "Tender Morsels"
- Lanham, Carole - "The Whisper Jar"
- Lebbon, Tim - "30 Days of Night"
- Lebbon, Tim - "The Reach of Children"
- Lebbon, Tim & Moore, Lindy - "Children of the New Disorder"
- Levene, Rebecca - "Kill or Cure"
- Littlewood, Alison - "A Cold Season"
- Lloyd, Tom - "Moon's Artifice"

- Major, Tim - "Carus and Mitch"
- Manieri, Evie - "Blood's Pride"
- Martin, George R.R. - "A Game of Thrones"
- Maxey, James - "Bitterwood"
- McMahon, Gary - "How to Make Monsters"
- McMahon, Gary - "The Harm"
- McMahon, Gary - "What They Hear in the Dark"
- McMahon, Gary - "Nightsiders"
- Miéville, China - "The City & The City"
- Miéville, China - "Kraken"
- Moody, David - "Hater"
- Moody, David - "Dog Blood"

- Nevill, Adam L.G. - "Banquet for the Damned"
- Newton, Mark Charan - "Nights of Villjamur"
- Newton, Mark Charan - "City of Ruin"
- Nix, Garth - "Sabriel"
- Normanton, Peter - "The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics"

- Ojog-Brașoveanu, Rodica - “Death Signs Indecipherable” (“Moartea semnează indescifrabil”)
- Oliver, Reggie - "Madder Mysteries"
- Oyeyemi, Helen - "White is for Witching"

- Parker, K.J. - "The Company"
- Parker, K.J. - "Purple and Black"
- Parker, K.J. - "The Folding Knife"
- Parker, K.J. - "Blue and Gold"
- Pevel, Pierre - "The Cardinal's Blades"
- Pillar, Amanda & Kempshall, Pete - "Scenes from the Second Storey"
- Pillar, Amanda & Taylor, K.V. - "Ishtar"
- Pinborough, Sarah - "Feeding Ground"
- Pinborough, Sarah - "A Matter of Blood"
- Pinborough, Sarah - "Mayhem"
- Prineas, Sarah - "The Magic Thief"
- Prineas, Sarah - "The Magic Thief: Lost"
- Pulver, Sr., Joseph S. - "A Season in Carcosa"

- Remic, Andy - "Kell's Legend"
- Roberts, Adam - "Yellow Blue Tibia"
- Rothfuss, Patrick - "The Name of the Wind"
- Ruckley, Brian - "Winterbirth"
- Ruckley, Brian - "Bloodheir"
- Ruckley, Brian - "Fall of Thanes"
- Ruckley, Brian - "The Edinburgh Dead"
- Russell, R.B. - "Putting the Pieces in Place"

- Salvatore, R.A. - "Promise of the Witch-King"
- Salvatore, R.A. - "Road of the Patriarch"
- Salyards, Jeff - "Scourge of the Betrayer"
- Sandemo, Margit - "Spellbound"
- Sanderson, Brandon - "Elantris"
- Sanderson, Brandon - "Warbreaker"
- Sapkowski, Andrzej - "The Last Wish"
- Sapkowski, Andrzej - "Blood of Elves"
- Scott, Manda - "The Crystal Skull"
- Scull, Luke - "The Grim Company"
- Sedia, Ekaterina - "The Secret History of Moscow"
- Sedia, Ekaterina - "The Alchemy of Stone"
- Severin, Tim - "Corsair"
- Shevdon, Mike - "Sixty-One Nails"
- Stoica, Narcisa - "Taxidermy"
- Stretton, Tim - "The Dog of the North"
- Sullivan, Michael J. - "The Crown Conspiracy"
- Sullivan, Michael J. - "Avempartha"
- Sullivan, Michael J. - "Nyphron Rising"

- Tallerman, David - "The Way of the Leaves"
- Tchaikovsky, Adrian - "Empire in Black and Gold"
- Thorpe, Gav - "The Crown of the Blood"
- Turney, SJA - "Interregnum"

- Vargo, T.J. - "Low Man"

- Waltz, Jason M. - "Rage of the Behemoth"
- Warren, Kaaron - "The Gate Theory"
- Wells, H.G. - "The Island of Doctor Moreau"
- Werner, C.L. - "Grey Seer"
- Werner, C.L. - "Temple of the Serpent"
- Williams, Conrad - "One"
- Williams, Conrad - "Rain"
- Wisoker, Leona - "Secrets of the Sands"

- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz - "The Shadow of the Wind"
- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz - "The Angel's Game"

In the mailbox

Here are the recently received books:

- "The Devil's Labyrinth" by John Saul (through the courtesy of Ballantine Books);

- "Faces of Fear" by John Saul (through the courtesy of Ballantine Books);

- "The Culled" by Simon Spurrier (through the courtesy of Abaddon Books);

- "Kill or Cure" by Rebecca Levene (through the courtesy of Abaddon Books);

- "Arrowhead" by Paul Kane (through the courtesy of Abaddon Books).

Thank you very much for these wonderful treasures.

Free reading

It appears that this year Trick or Treat has already produce a Halloween goodie. Douglas Clegg has one very nice Halloween treat for us, a free reading of his novel, "Afterlife".

"Afterlife" is a gothic thriller about Julie Hutchinson, a woman driven to the edge of sanity when a brutal murder ignites a series of psychic invasions at her home.

Now although I don't like e-books too much (actually at all) I couldn't pass such an interesting offer. You can find the link to Douglas Clegg's "Afterlife" at his webiste along with other interesting information.

Cover art

It looks like this week is dedicated to the cover art. At Tim Lebbon’s website I found the cover for his upcoming novel, “The Island”. Unfortunately I don’t know who the artist is and what the novel is about. But the cover looks pretty interesting and it is quite catchy. As for the novel, I will be definitely interested in it because my last encounters with Tim Lebbon’s works were very pleasant and entertaining. “The Island” is out next year on May, from Bantam Spectra. I already marked this day on the calendar, like many other days of the next year.