Shivers of Horror – Horror Book & Movie Reviews

Sinister (2012)

Published February 21, 2013 | By Kat

After moving to a new town, a true-crime writer discovers a cache of videotapes depicting brutal murders that took place in the very house (among others) he just bought. As he tries to solve the mystery behind the crimes, a sinister force threatens his own family.

Going into this movie I had two expectations. One, that the movie would end up being about a demon. And two, that I wasn’t going to like it because it was going to be about a demon. I was partially right. I actually enjoyed the movie a lot…until about the last 15 minutes... Continue reading →

Posted in Demon, Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller | Leave a comment

The Dare (Fear Street #21) by R. L. Stine (Book Review)

Published February 19, 2013 | By Kat

Johanna Wise has always longed to be part of Dennis Arthur's rich, popular crowd, and she can't believe it when he finally asks her out. She'll do anything to keep Dennis but when he dares her to kill their teacher she is not so sure. Will she really kill for love?

The way teenagers are conveyed in Stine’s works have always amazed me. Because he captures them well. Or at least what I remember teens in the 90s being like and this book is really no different. Heck, these days kids are a LOT worse... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Thriller, Young Adult | 1 Comment

First Date (Fear Street #16) by R.L. Stine (Book Review)

Published February 10, 2013 | By Kat

Chelsea is the typical shy girl. Always home on a Saturday night, she would give anything to have her first date. Finally, Chelsea's luck begins to change when two new guys move into town and both ask her out. Too bad that one of Chelsea's new boys has a terrible hobby -- murder. Now Chelsea may be looking for love, but he's looking for a new victim.

As a teenager in Jr. High, I LOVED R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books. I was a huge horror fan, but I wasn’t into reading at all until I picked up R.L. Stine’s “Hit & Run” book back when I was 12 or 13 years old. From that point on I was hooked... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Thriller, Young Adult | 1 Comment

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Published February 9, 2013 | By Kat

A Nevada family that includes teen daughter Alex and her younger brother, Wyatt, takes in Robbie, a young neighbor, after his mother is rushed to the hospital. When strange things begin to happen, Alex can't help but link the ominous happenings to Robbie's presence.

I've semi-enjoyed the previous entries to this series. That’s not to say that I've loved them or hated them. You can find my reviews for PA2 & PA3 by following those links. I never got around to reviewing the first film though, so you won’t find a review for that one, although I do touch base on it in my PA2 review... Continue reading →

Posted in Demon, Sequel, Supernatural | 1 Comment

Ghoul (2012)

Published February 8, 2013 | By Kat

When a couple goes missing among the gravestones of the local cemetery, the legend of a horrific ghoul begins to seem more like reality than myth. Timmy and his friends are forced to confront their worst fears when they unearth long-buried secrets.

I picked this movie up from Redbox based on the description. I had a couple free movie rentals and figured what the heck, if it was bad I got it for free so it was no big deal. I honestly thought it would be fun because it sounded to me like a mix between Stand By Me and IT. It wasn’t... Continue reading →

Posted in Revenge | Leave a comment

Replica: Your Greatest Fear Lives by David Warren (Book Review)

Published January 30, 2013 | By Kat

Gary Harmon is known as the class nerd. He's often bullied and finds comfort in his hobby of watching old horror movies and building models of their characters, which decorate his bedroom. Gary discovers a camera that had belonged to his father—who is incarcerated in a mental institution for Murder. The camera gradually becomes an obsession with Gary, who can’t seem to resist its unique powers as they are revealed to him—even when they become sinister.

Replica opens with the tale of Gary Sr. and his wife in 1993. Gary has an old fashioned camera that appears to talk to him somehow... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Requested Review, Revenge, Supernatural, Young Adult | 1 Comment

Crack in the Glass by Jonathan Carter (Book Review)

Published December 30, 2012 | By Kat

Gina Sanders thought she would be proudly representing Gamma Beta on the popular ghost hunting-reality game show Graveyard Shift and net herself a comfy little nest egg for her segue from college to the real world. It should have been a piece of cake — do a little ghost hunting, fulfill the dares put in front of her, and walk away with a cool $20,000 after giving up a few screams for television. It should have been a piece of cake.

This short story runs about 10 actual pages, and started off like so many ghost hunting shows I’ve seen over the years. It most specifically reminded me of MTV’s Fear… Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Ghosts, Supernatural | Leave a comment

The Mutilation Machination by Shaun Jeffery (Book Review)

Published December 16, 2012 | By Kat

A collection of eight tales that delve into the darker side of human nature. What happens when a sex doll malfunctions? Sit back and listen to an orchestra with a difference. Sometimes self help can work too well. A boy who brings dead things back to life. And what happens when the devil moves in next door? Now sit back and enter a world of nightmare and illusion.

This book contains 8 short stories. Each one felt as though it was written by a completely different author, which I suppose is a good thing because it shows the that the author is capable of more then just one type of story... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Sci-Fi, Supernatural | Leave a comment

All Hallow’s Eve: The One Day it’s BAD to be Good by Carolyn McCray (Book Review)

Published December 4, 2012 | By Kat

People are being martyred but not for their faith. Instead the deaths are part of a serial killer's sick game as he chooses his victim by their name... then kills them in that Saint's grisly manner.

After finally finishing this book, I’m not quite sure what to think of it. In the end it was a mix of an adult book (with the police aspect) and a young adult slasher novel (with most of the character development between... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Slasher, Thriller | Leave a comment

Piranha 3DD (2012)

Published December 3, 2012 | By Kat

There's blood in the water when a hungry pack of piranhas set their sights on scoring tasty morsels from a bustling water park. The all-star cast of potential victims includes David Hasselhoff, Christopher Lloyd, Gary Busey and Ving Rhames.

After viewing this last night, quite frankly I don’t have much to say about this movie other then I didn‘t like it. So I’ll keep this rather short... Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Creature, Low Budget, Sequel | Leave a comment

The Body Farm by Marissa Farrar (Book Review)

Published October 30, 2012 | By Kat

Eleanor studies the life-cycles of insect on decomposing bodies at the Forensic Anthropology Center--an acre of ground where bodies are left in various conditions to decompose for science. Working late one night with her colleague Robert Dane, they discover a couple of the bodies in the grounds have been disturbed. When they head out to try to figure out who has been tampering with the bodies, one of the dead begins to move. Trapped in a high-security research center, enclosed by ten feet, razor-wire topped walls, they find themselves surrounded by the living dead.

This was semi-interesting. I was expecting more from it given the fact that amazon.com has it listed as being 140 pages long. Being that it is a kindle book it actually ends at ... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Zombie | Leave a comment

Road Trip by J. Tanner (Book Review)

Published October 30, 2012 | By Kat

In exchange for a burger and a chocolate shake, Shan’s elderly neighbor, Mr. Parker, lures him away from a day of video games with talk of seeing zombies on television and going to kill them. As they get further from home, Shan becomes more and more concerned that Mr. Parker has gone from amusingly eccentric to crazy...

When I originally purchased this (for free) I was under the impression that it was horror. I read a couple reviews after I purchased it that cleared up the fact that no, it was not really horror... Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Comedy, Zombie | 1 Comment