Book review | Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

In 1993, a group of young filmmakers made Horror Movie, a disturbing horror flick. The film was never released, though it gained a cult following. 30 years later, Hollywood is calling for a reboot. The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He supports the reboot, but as memories of the original filming flood in, the past and present start to blur. He wants the new film done, but at what cost?

A movie is a collection of beautiful lies that somehow add up to being the truth, or a truth.

Horror Movie offers a compelling take on the “cursed film” trope! The story unfolds through three different narratives: the past, during the filming of a horror movie; the original script of that film; and the present, in which the narrator is involved in the process of remaking it.

This book is an interesting exploration of trauma and how it can affect your memories. The past storyline has a coming-of-age feel as a group of students creates their film. Yet immediately, there’s an uneasy feeling throughout the production. Why does the filming get increasingly uncomfortable? Why does it seem like the students’ performance isn’t really an act? This plot becomes even more suspenseful knowing the film was never released. So it made me wonder if something terrible had happened.

I found the script segment both creepy and affecting; it made me feel as if I was actually watching the movie! There’s a particular section featuring a static five-minute scene that will stay with me for a long time. While the present storyline seems less disturbing at first, it gradually begins to spiral, where I can’t tell what is real and what is not. Is there a haunted film prop involved? Did someone experience a mental break? It’s not a stretch to say that the narrator is unreliable, and there is also doubt about whether the other characters are accurately portrayed on the page.

Unsettling and ambiguous, Horror Movie might be polarising, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

About the author: Paul Tremblay

Photo by Natalie Parham