I like watching movies on my phone while at the gym—not because it’s a great way to watch movies (it’s terrible!) but because it makes gym time go faster. Unless you’re watching a stinker of a film, in which case five miles on a treadmill have never gone by slower.
Last week, I was watching a horror movie on my phone while on the elliptical at the YMCA when, suddenly, the characters in the film started watching literal gay porn. Surprise! I tried to cover the screen with my hand until the scene was over, but I probably drew more attention to what I was watching. Anyway, shout out to the dude next to me who, when he saw what was on my screen, offered me a fist bump and a “Nice!”
I’ve been slowly tweaking my home office to ensure maximum productivity as I finish working on THE CURSE OF WHERE WOLF (and start brainstorming ideas for the third book in the series), I’ve put up some visual motivators and started sorting out my graphic novel collection. This is, hopefully, the environment that I need to do my day job during the, um, day and write my ass off at night. Fingers crossed! At the very least, if things ever get too stressful, I’ll just put on Hellboy’s red right hand of doom and punch a wall or something.
Speaking of THE CURSE OF THE WHERE WOLF, I wanted to present a preview of what I’ve been working on with Debora Lancianese and Jack Morelli. I’m not a professional editor by any means, so this is more of a fan cam for the first half of the book more than anything else. Also, note that this video features heavy spoilers for the first book, so - if you haven’t read WHERE WOLF for any reason, get on that! You can request a copy from your local library or buy a personal copy directly from the publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Ghoulish Books in San Antonio, or Whose Books in Dallas. If you've read WHERE WOLF, please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon, Goodreads, The StoryGraph, or wherever you discover new books.
I haven’t talked too much about the story for THE CURSE OF THE WHERE WOLF because it’s hard to do so without spoiling WHERE WOLF, but the book follows Larry Chaney as he deals with his newfound lycanthropic curse. Much like how Larry was a lousy reporter and a lousy friend, he’s also a lousy werewolf. I want to explore the idea of a bad person going on a journey toward becoming somebody good - and I thought it would be interesting if the personal growth catalyst came with that person becoming a literal monster.
Anyway, THE CURSE OF THE WHERE WOLF is coming. I can’t wait to share more with you in the coming weeks and months.
I’m hosting two events this week at the Alamo Drafthouse - LaCenterra. Up first, on Wednesday, is THREE COLORS: WHITE - the second installment in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s THREE COLORS trilogy. Zbigniew Zamachowski stars as a Polish immigrant living in France who embarks on an elaborate revenge plot after his wife (Julie Delpy) leaves him and takes everything with her. Buy tickets to this dark comedy here.
On Friday, I’m hosting INVASION OF THE ASTRO-MONSTER, a Showa-era Godzilla jam that sees Godzilla and Rodan kidnapped by aliens from Planet X to help defeat King Ghidorah. Turns out the aliens aren’t telling the entire truth, though. Buy tickets here.
News came out last week that the Sundance Film Festival is considering moving from Park City, Utah, to a new city after its current contract ends in 2027. A part of me misses attending Sundance. I like the cold and saw some great movies while attending Sundance. It was a great way to start the year with a week of wonderful movies. Whether it was struggling to breathe in the high elevation or struggling not to slip on ice while crossing the street, my favorite part about attending Sundance in Park City was the almost dying everyday part. I hope the city they pick is similarly hellbent on killing its attendees.
I revisited Gregory Widen’s THE PROPHECY last week, and I’m happy to report that the film remains stellar. The movie stars Christopher Walken as the archangel Gabriel. However, this isn’t TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, as Walken’s heavenly creature hates humanity and seeks mankind’s destruction. Buried in the film, Viggo Mortensen's Lucifer is one of the all-time greatest depictions of the Devil. It’s just a tip-to-toe evil aurora oozing from every ounce of the actor’s performance. Mortensen, maw dripping with angel blood, telling Elias Koteas that he'd "love him more than Jesus" is pure horror gold and almost enough to make me consider attending church again on Sundays. Almost. For those physical media nerds, the new 4K from Vinegar Syndrome is stunning. I will never get over the cognitive dissonance that comes with watching something in HD that I grew up watching on crappy VHS transfers. It’s like having the scales removed from one’s eyes, to borrow a biblical metaphor.
Speaking of angels and demons, I’m finally caught up with EVIL. I put off watching the show - about a group of investigators who work for the Catholic Church to prove or disprove supernatural occurrences - because the first season aired on CBS. My only familiarity with CBS had previously been reality shows, cop propaganda, and lame sitcoms, so I was doubtful that any show on the network would be worth my time. EVIL was worth my time. It’s a funny and frequently bizarre show with incredible practical effects and some weird attempts to explain pop culture trends with demonic influences. TikTok, memes, and Andrew Bird songs are all the devil's work. Who knew? The show’s final season begins next month, and I already know I will miss this weird lil’ show and all its weird lil’ monsters with all my heart.
Do you think modern-day fascists watch stuff like THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE with any shred of self-awareness? Do they see Superman killing Nazis and think, “Wait a minute…” or are they too busy trying to snuff out the liberties of the downtrodden to make it to the theater?
I’ve been reading through the newly released GREATEST HITS collection of Harlan Ellison. This posthumous assembly of stories is supposed to represent the best of his fiction. I’ve never read any of Ellison’s work, so I figured it’d be a great place to start. This weekend, I read “Mefisto in Onyx,” and it's an incredible story with some fantastic twists—a black psychic visits a white serial killer in prison to determine whether or not he's innocent. The story enthralled me, but I can't imagine modern audiences embracing Ellison's character's voices. The collection I read it in had a disclaimer about some of the word choices Ellison used in the story, and even with it, I felt uncomfortable with some of the over-the-top slang used. It felt like reading a Quentin Tarantino script from the ‘90s or - more appropriately -somebody trying their best to write like Tarantino from the ‘90s. Just full-tilt jive slang. Historically accurate? Historically stereotypical? I can't say.
The story is a fun read, though! Is it weird to read something and acknowledge it’s racist while also being entertaining? I previously felt these same conflicted emotions while reading Sax Rohmer’s THE MYSTERY OF DR. FU-MANCHU, an incredibly thrilling pulp adventure that is also 100 percent complete and utter racist trash. Ellison’s short story is perhaps more misguided than outright racist. No, the real racism came when I listened to some of the audiobook in which Ellison dons his best “black voice” to read the short story. Insert a mental image of me grabbing my shirt collar with one finger while I make an “erm” sound with the back of my throat.
This is probably old news, but I finished the newest season of LOVE, DEATH AND ROBOTS, and it’s fantastic. Of particular appeal is the thirty-minute David Fincher-directed aquatic horror episode. The show, on Netflix, is an anthology program featuring short animated films that explore the sci-fi, horror, and fantasy genres. The animation style ranges wildly, but most of it seems inspired by European comics. Almost a decade ago, James Cameron, Tim Miller, David Fincher, and Robert Rodriguez were supposed to collaborate on a HEAVY METAL movie. That never happened, but LD&R (produced by Fincher and Miller) is definitely the next best thing.
That’s it for this week. In the meantime, beware the moon!