Review: Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

Author: Paul Tremblay
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication: June 2024

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions — demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost? 

I had to sit on this one for a while.  Horror Movie is told from the perspective of the guy who played the "thin kid"  in an indy horror movie shot in years before. A remake of the film is in progress and he recalls what happened on the set of the original.  He is a consultant on the remake and as he recounts his story, things become more and more bizarre.

I definitely thought this was a creepy book.  There were also some gory parts that I usually like in my horror.  So, I did overall enjoy the book.  The ending was a great twisty ending. My main issue with it was, I'm not sure I fully understand what was going on.  I don't feel like the "lore" was fully explained. That left me wanting more from the story.  Overall,  would recommend this one.  It was creepy enough to keep me interested in seeing how it would end.