Haunting of the Queen Mary – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Queen Mary is one of the most famous cruise liners in the world, probably second only to the Titanic. Unlike that ship, the Queen Mary sailed the world for decades, took part in World War II, and eventually retired to become permanently docked in California, where it became a tourist attraction and hotel. What has helped to make the ship famous is the number of ghost stories that surround it, and it has subsequently become one of the most famous haunted locations in the world. It feels fitting then that the ship would become the setting for a horror film.

Haunting of the Queen Mary is a ghost story that sets out to confuse the audience from the very beginning. Starting in the 1930s we see a brutal killing has taken place on the ship whilst passengers are heading towards the lifeboats, the ship apparently in danger. Below decks, a young girl named Jackie (Florrie Wilkinson) frees her blood-covered father from imprisonment, despite him not seeming to know who she is, and calling her by another name. We then hard cut to the present, where historical author Anne (Alice Eve) and her young son Lukas (Lenny Rush) are arriving at the Queen Mary for an important meeting.

Anne is hoping to pitch both a new book about the ship, told from a child’s point of view, and a virtual reality tour to the ship’s captain and custodian, Bittner (Dorian Lough). Whilst she’s in the meeting, Lukas and her estranged partner Patrick (Joel Fry) go on the ship’s ghost tour. However, even before the tour has left Lukas is experiencing strange things, seeing the ghostly apparition of Jackie. Whilst on the tour, Lukas wanders away from the group, and ends up in a part of the ship he shouldn’t be in, a part of the ship where the ghosts of the Queen Mary’s past have plans for him.

One of the things that makes the plot of Haunting of the Queen Mary harder to follow is that the film jumps between two separate narratives, as we go back to 1930, where we see the events surrounding the beginning of the film. These scenes, and those in the present, don’t bear much connection to each other. In some films you find flashbacks having a loose thematic connection to the events in the present, with multiple stories mirroring each other in some way. That isn’t the case here, and instead they feel like mostly unconnected stories.

Another factor that goes against the film’s favour is that it’s overly long, very slow, and feels bloated. The film clocks in at a run time of just over two hours in length, and it really could have been a tight 90 minutes and still managed to tell the same story. Part of this is down to long, slow moving camera shots that show the audience every corner of the rooms that the characters enter, and sequences where we move down the ship’s long corridors, heading around corners, finding more hallways as the camera tilts and sways. Many of these shots feel unnecessary, and there were multiple times when interesting scenes were made frustrating because instead of keeping things moving the film had to keep slowing down to do these kinds of shots.

The story in the past also needs trimming down. The film spends several scenes getting to know Jackie’s family, and a lot of it has no effect on the film. Scenes of them sneaking into the First Class dining room and getting thrown out don’t actually add to the narrative. There’s an entire sequence where the film essentially stops to put on a full dance number as Jackie does a dance with Fred Astaire (Wesley Alfvin), as Ginger Rodgers (Maddison Nixon) and a movie producer watch on. It’s only the latter part of this family’s story that has any bearing on the events of the film, and at least half of these flashbacks could have been cut or heavily trimmed down in order to help the pacing.

As it is, it feels like the editor or director was given free reign to include every second of footage in the film, and was unable or unwilling to cut anything. Good editing is an important parts of turning a vision into a viable product, and here it seems like that was forgotten. That’s not to say the film is completely boring, there are elements of a decent story here, but by the time you’ve gotten to that the film already feels like it has outstayed its welcome. I watched the film with a group of people who are horror fans, and none of us found we actually cared by the time the film got into its slightly better final act.

It’s a shame, as the cast do a decent enough job with the material that they’re given, with Alice Eve especially doing her best to deliver a performance of a mother desperately trying to find her child, wracked with grief. Sadly, the script and direction seem to let the cast down, and some strong performances end up being overshadowed by the film’s many issues.

With the Queen Mary being one of the most famous haunted locations in the world, and this film being able to actually shoot on the historic ship, I was excited to see it brought to life and to tell a chilling story. Sadly, the result is one of the least frightening horror films that I’ve seen in a long while; a bloated movie that tries to do too much and loses its way long before the credits finally roll. One of the key themes of the film is the ship not allowing people to leave, for escape to be impossible, and unfortunately that ended up bleeding into reality, as it felt like I couldn’t escape it either.

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After the Forest by Kell Woods - Book Review

 

'Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour. A drop of blood to bind its power.

'1650: The Black Forest, Wurttemberg. Fifteen years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people recovering in the aftermath of a brutal war. Greta has a secret, the witch's grimoire, secreted away and whispering in her ear, and the recipe inside that makes the most sinfully delicious - and addictive - gingerbread.

'As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat. But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her intoxicating gingerbread is a source of ever-growing suspicion and vicious gossip. And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta's own powers - magic she is still trying to understand - may be the only thing that can save her ... If it doesn't kill her first.'

We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel, even if we can't remember when we first heard it. The story of a pair of young siblings who find themselves at the mercy of an evil witch who wants to make Gretel a slave whilst fattening Hansel up to eat. It's kind of horrific that such a story is told to children, but you've got to get them into horror young I guess. Kell Woods isn't retelling that story though, instead she's asking a question that rarely gets brought up; what happened after?

After the Forest answers this question, as we follow a now adult Greta as she and her brother, Hans, live their lives in a small town in the Black Forest, staying in a small cottage just outside of the small town of Lindenfeld. Whilst Greta is happy to live away from everyone else, gathering food in the forest, baking her special gingerbread, and keeping a low profile, her brother is not. Hans spends most of his time in the local tavern, drinking and gambling, borrowing and losing money as he does so, all in an attempt to drown out the trauma of what he and his sister went through years before.

When Greta finds out that her brother owes too much money, and that the two of them will be losing their home come the end of the month, she does what she can to earn enough to stay, preparing as much gingerbread from the stolen spell book in her care to sell during the Walpurgis celebrations. However, when a mysterious man arrives in the woods and snags her attention, along with a childhood friend returning home from war, and a mysterious band of mercenaries all coming to town at the same time, things begin to spin out of control and Greta will have to face some of the magic and darkness.

One of the most impressive things about After the Forest is that this is a debut novel. The way that Kell Woods writes her prose is nothing short of extraordinary. It has a lyrical, almost magical flow to it that slowly draws you into this world that feels like the work of someone who has honed their craft over many years, with many other titles under their belt. But now, this is a first book; and what a book to begin a career with.

After the Forest doesn't just feel like a simple narrative, as Woods fills this world with multiple characters that all have unique flavours to them, and a setting that draws upon some historical inspiration and her own creations to make a very realised and lived in setting. It takes a decent while into the book for things to really start happening, and the first several chapters are spent getting to know the characters and their lives; but it's done so in a way that feels very natural, and you almost forget that you're here for the story of Hansel and Gretel, and instead just slip into the day to day of these peoples lives.

That being said, this is a big book, at almost five hundred pages, and that might prove to be something of a test for some readers. There were times where I felt more engrossed in the book than others, times where I didn't want to put it down, and a few where I had to push myself to keep going. It has ups and downs, and that is perhaps the downside of creating such and in-depth world, that not everything is always to going to appeal to every reader. If you like long, winding narratives that don't rush towards the end then this is a book that will absolutely appeal to you, and you can really get lost within its pages; but on the flip side, if you like a faster flowing narrative you may struggle to get to the point where the main crux of the story really reveals itself.

Another slight criticism of the book that I have is that it contains a scene of explicit animal cruelty towards the end (Chapter 25: Baiting), in which the graphic depiction of bear hunting and violence towards animals is included. The book contained no trigger warning for this, and it's a shame as it's something that did upset the flow for me somewhat, as I am not a fan of animal cruelty at all. It took me out of the book, and I ended up having to skip ahead of some parts as I was unable to read them. A note at the start of the book about this could have helped to avoid this moment. This is also something I've seen brought up in other reviews, and so I hope that future publications will try to address this.

The hardcover version of the book is also very lovely to look at. I know you're not supposed to judge a book on appearance, but I couldn't help but do that with After the Forest. The cover art is gorgeous, and the bright, shining bronze stands out beautifully on the dark, deep greens chosen for the cover. The book looks like it belongs in the autumnal season, and the remote woodland setting really helped with this too. It's the perfect kind of book to sit in front of a fire reading, and it feels great in your hands. If you are going to pick up a copy and were holding out for a paperback release, do yourself a favour and at least check out the hardcover, as I think it's likely the best version of the book you could get.

Overall, I had a great experience reading After the Forest. It's a fantastic debut novel, one that shows off the skills of a new but very talented author, one who is likely going to go on to craft some truly memorable stories. 

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Blade #4 - Comic Review

 

The previous three issues of the new Blade series have been going well. The first issue introduced a cool new villain for the vampire hunter to face, one that he was partly responsible for unleashing onto the world. The next two issues spent their time introducing new allies for Blade, and furthering the villains plot. It's been decently paced and has been unfolding in a satisfying way. This issue, however, almost feels like the writer realised that he needed to wrap things up quick as the pace ramps up and readers get a lot happen this time round.

After dropping in on Blade and his allies last issue, Doctor Strange spends some time telling Blade off for releasing the Adana, and confirms the information that we were given last issue, that the Sword of Lucifer is the only weapon that can kill her. He does at least lend the team a small hand though, as he teleports them onto the train they need to break into in order to get the sword. Whilst that is a big help in their infiltration, it does mean that they're now on a train populated by vampires.

Thus begins an almost issue length action sequence as Blade and his crew slice and stake their way through dozens of vampires in order to get to the weapon they need. And there is something of a small anti-climax when instead of fighting the head vampire, he simply offs himself, allowing Blade to take the weapon unchallenged. However, Strange pops back up to reveal that Blade can't use the weapon well enough, and that The Adana wants the sword too. Despite these warnings he does send Blade and his team straight to the Adana for the final showdown. 

If it feels like I rushed through the description of the book that's in part because the book itself rushes through things. Stuff happens at a pretty rapid fire pace this issue, and where in the previous three we're given time to absorb information, to see how the characters react, and to appreciate the story that Bryan Hill has been crafting, this issue almost drags you from one thing to another. It's fast, things happen quick, and it does feel like a rush to get to the end.

I'm sure that there are some that will appreciate this faster pace, but as someone who was really enjoying the flow of the series so far it did feel like a jarring change. I even went and double checked to see if this was an ongoing series, or if it was ending next issue as it felt like one of those stories where the writer needed longer, but a run was being cut short. Whilst it's not the end of the series with issue five, it does seem to be the end of the story if what solicitations indicate is correct, so whilst it might not be rushing to end it does feel like it's rushing to wrap up the arc. Possibly being made to write for a five issue trade?

Despite the pacing issues, the book is enjoyable, with some decent action. Whilst the cover is a lie, and Doctor Strange doesn't joint he team on the train to fight vampires, the train segment is pretty good, and everyone has something to do. However, it also never feels like any of the team are in danger. They're all excellent at fighting vampires, and they take them all down with little effort or apparent danger to themselves. A panel or two where Tulip and Rotha struggle with a vamp or two, maybe one having to save the other from getting bitten would help to sell the danger more; plus it was make the upcoming fight against The Adana feel more threatening because it would show that the team aren't un-killable monster hunters.

The art on the issue, by Valentina Pinti and Kike J Diaz, looks good, and the action scenes all have decent flow and energy to them. With the fights taking place in a very small, contained space it can be had to keep things interesting and engaging, but the art team manage to keep it entertaining throughout. 

With the series shaping up to bring this particular story to a close next issue it seems like all of the important players and pieces are ready for a final showdown between Blade and Adana. I'm looking forward to seeing that, even if the faster pace of this issue to get to that point ended up with it being the weakest issue for me so far. 

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A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper - Book Review

 

'When a summer storm sweeps through a sleepy town unleashing a monstrous and otherworldy power that threatens to break reality, Olivia will stop at nothing to find her best friend and get them to safety.

'Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. At least she has her best friend, Sunflower. Olivia figures she’ll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a mind-bending monster in tow.

'If Olivia’s going to escape Chapel Hill and someday reconcile with her parents, she’ll need to dodge residents enslaved by the storm’s otherworldly powers and find Sunflower. But as the night strains friendships and reality itself, Olivia suspects the storm, and its monster, may have its eyes on Sunflower and everything she loves. Including Olivia.'

A Light Most Hateful tells the story of Olivia, a teenage runaway who left home three years ago when she came out to her father and it didn't go well. Having settled in the small town of Chapel Hill, she found a new life for herself, along with her best friend Sunflower. All is good for Olivia, except for one thing, she is harbouring a secret crush on her best friend.

Whilst working the concession stand at the local drive-in cinema one evening, knowing that Sunflower is off up at the local teen parking spot with her latest boyfriend, her night goes from bad to worse. First a mysterious figure called Christmas arrives on the scene, acting all enigmatic and odd, then one of the local boys tries hitting on her for the dozenth time, and a gang of youths start harassing a homeless woman. Enraged by the teen boys glee at harming a poor woman down on her luck, Olivia steps in. But when the woman turns into a horrible monster who quite literally eats one of the gang alive, all hell breaks loose.

As Olivia tries to flee the drive-in a strange storm rolls across the town, and begins to affect people in strange ways. Most of the townspeople have been left as mindless zombies, wandering the streets and standing around doing nothing. Whilst seemingly peaceful, disturbing those affected by the storm turns them into horrific killers who attack and murder anyone they can. With the homeless woman chasing her, a horde of infected townspeople ahead of her, and more strange events happening as the storm continues on, Olivia sets out to find Sunflower. If it is indeed the end of the world, who better to spend it with than the girl she loves.

A Light Most Hateful is a book that runs at maximum speed. The book is barely more than twenty pages in, having only just introduced the readers to Olivia, Sunflower, and their complex relationship, when a homeless woman transforms into some kind of horrible lizard-like monster and swallows someone. It happens so quickly, and so unexpectedly that at first I assumed it was some kind of fake-out, that Olivia was imagining something shocking and impossible that would then be revealed to be fake. But no, just two chapters in and chaos breaks loose and never really stops.

If you like a book that doesn't spend a whole lot of time establishing things, that jumps into the action and makes the reader have to keep up then this is the kind of book that will entertain. It's something of a roller coaster ride, though one with a very short climb before the cart drops off the edge and throws you around wildly. Because things happen so quickly a lot of the background and important information to help flesh out the town and the cast of characters happens during the quiet moments. As Olivia runs from street to street in the overrun town, trying to find Sunflower, her mind casts back to their time together, and we learn about their relationship that way. 

This structure means that you're never quite sure if the next page will be taking you down memory lane, giving you more context for things, or if you're going to be coming across some kind of cosmic horror there in the present. This does mean that the narrative feels a little manic, a little disjointed at times, and you find yourself having to wade through important memories that Olivia is thinking about when your logical side is yelling that it's really not the time to be worrying about such things. But this feels like it fits Olivia as a character, someone who is slightly manic, being dragged from one extreme to the other and just trying to keep her head above water.

A Light Most Hateful isn't a long read, at around two hundred and fifty pages it's shorter than the average novel, and the pace it travels at helps it to feel even shorter too. It's the kind of book that you can pick up and suddenly realise you've gone and read half of without realising because it grabs you and just doesn't let go.

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Witch of Thistle Castle Vol.1 by John Tarachine - Manga Review

 

'Spirits and magic are everywhere in the streets of Edinburgh – if only you dare to see it! Dive into this heartfelt manga about a witch and her apprentice as they try to find their place in a world that hates their very existence.

'The last in a long line of Witches of the Black Wood, Marie Blackwood lives a quiet life in Edinburgh – away from the scrutiny of the Church. But when the Church thrusts 13-year-old Theo into her hands for safekeeping, Marie suddenly gains the responsibility not just of taking care of a teenager – but protecting the world, and Theo himself, from the amazing power that lives inside of him.'

Edinburgh is a place that has become associated with magic and the supernatural over the years. From the various ghost tours and walks, to the creepy underground city, or just the old buildings and wonderfully beautiful architecture, the city has become a place where people expect to find something a little otherworldly; and literature has embraced this. The latest book to make use of the spookiness of Edinburgh is Witch of Thistle Castle, a manga series that follows a witch trying to live a quiet life, but ends up in charge of a teen with immense power.

The story is set in an alternate world, where magic and witches are real, but under the strict control of the church, who have a more active role in world affairs. Marie Blackwood is a witch living a quiet life in Edinburgh, running a magic shop and trying to keep off the church's radar. However, one day a pair of church officials arrive on her doorstep with a teenage boy, shackled and wearing a strange mask. They tell Marie that the boy, Theo, is dangerous, that he contains a powerful and destructive magic called Blood of Righteous Anger. Unable to control or contain Theo's power anymore, the church put him in Marie's care to be trained by her.

Thus begins the end of Marie's quiet, ordered life. Now she must try to find a way to care for this strange, sheltered boy, and teach him about the world of magic and spirits that he knows almost nothing about.

Most of the book is given over to this concept, with the audience learning about this world, the way that magic works, and the rules that govern it, along with Theo. We're given very little context at the beginning as to how anything works, and readers are dropped into the middle of things and expected to catch up. Sometimes this leads to some fun revelations and interesting moments of lore drops, but more often than not it ends up with the reader having to just go along with stuff that has no explanation, hoping that we eventually get one.

The relationship between Marie and Theo gets given a big focus here, with the isolated and set in her ways Marie having to slowly open herself up to not just living with another person, but actually caring for someone else too. For his part, Theo is very much a blank slate. He seems to have next to no experience of the world, as his personality is kind of a blank too. He shuffles through most of the book, just going with the flow, demonstrating very little self determination or drive.

One of the things that this first volume seems to be setting up, which often comes across as feeling slightly gross, is a romance between the two leads. We're never given an age for Marie, but based upon the way she's drawn and how she acts she feels to be at least in her twenties. Theo, however, is only thirteen. There are multiple times when people refer to Marie having 'a man' in her life now, with a bit of a wink and a nudge to imply romance, and Theo is complimented on his beauty multiple times. There's also a scene where Marie bursts in on a fully naked Theo in the shower, and another where Marie leaves her room in underwear that barely hide her ample figure. A few scenes with intimate touching and blushing faces are thrown in too. It's very uncomfortable to read. Even if Marie is as young as eighteen it would still make the relationship paedophilic, and the fact that the book not only seems okay with this romance, but pushes it multiple times makes it feel kind of gross.

Towards the end of the book a story involving the French church is introduced, and it seems like things are being set up to take the story in a fairly interesting direction. A few new characters are thrown into the mix, one of which seems so obviously sinister and shifty that he has to be a villain. Unfortunately, the book kind of just ends. There's no reveal, no cliffhanger, nothing that makes you eager to read the next volume; it just peters out.

The art on the book is decent in places, with some interesting designs and the depictions of Edinburgh feel enough like the city that they're instantly recognisable. The lead character are given a lot of attention, and are nicely detailed, but other characters don't quite get the same treatment; the two church officials who bring Theo to Marie in the beginning look more like rough sketches than finalised characters, and feel odd on the page thanks to the lack of detail on them. The spirits and magical entities that exist in the world have some good designs to them though, and there are some interesting stuff that pops up occasionally that I can't help but feel would make the book more interesting if they were given a bigger focus.

Overall, I found Witch of Thistle Castle to be a strange read. Nothing much of note happens in the book, and whilst there are hints at a bigger world and a more complex tale there's not much here to grab attention. The rules and workings of the world are given only cursory explanations, and there's still a lot of unanswered questions or things that the reader is just expected to go along with. The aforementioned strange romantic sub-plot also ends up leaving something of an unsavoury taste in the mouth too, and made me uncomfortable enough to want to put the book down more than one occasion too. This series may get better in time, and I'm sure there are some who'd enjoy it already, but at the moment there's not enough here to get me excited for volume two. 

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Batman and Robin #2 - Comic Review

 

With the first issue of Batman and Robin making reference to the Gotham War event readers of the series may have come to the second issue worrying that the entire thing might already be ruined, as in the last issue of Batman there seemed to be a split between father and son as Batman left Damian tied up in the street, abandoning him. Luckily, Joshua Williamson seems to have gone 'fuck that' and is acting as if Gotham War isn't even a thing; which is the best approach to take and something that I'd rather the books involved in the event would do too.

This issue picks up where the last left off, with a new bandage clad villain (more on her in a bit) has infected Batman with a chemical that turns his very blood into an attractant for bats. We've seen in the past Batman use bats to harass and disorient his foes, swarming them with the animals, and now it seems like it's his turn to be on the receiving end of such treatment. With some help from Damian he's able to get away from the bats long enough to retreat to the Bat Bunker.

As Bruce deals with this situation Damian gets sent off for his first day of public school. This was a part of the series that a lot of Damian fans were looking forward to. After the events of Lazarus Island, where Damian ended up making a lot of friends with other costumed teens, and even got a girlfriend, folks were excited to see him in a school environment. How will he fit in, will he make new friends, will he have rivals, what will he be like in classes? Unfortunately, all of those questions are left unanswered as Damian is in the building all of ten minutes before blowing it off to go be Robin.

It's something of a disappointment that something that was being used as a selling point for the series was so quickly thrown aside in the second issue. Hopefully this is something that we will get to revisit in future issues, and the school situation actually gets to be explored in more detail as what was potentially the most interesting part of this issue was almost immediately tossed out.

This issue gives us some more info on our new villain. Wrapped in bandages, she's revealed to be Shush, further cementing her connection to the other bandage wrapped villain Hush. She's also revealed to be something of a middleman here, ordering around the animal themed villains, whilst taking orders from an unseen figure from off panel. I'm not sure about Shush so far. First of all the name just feels kind of weak, and seems to be labouring the point that she's female Hush, which was already obvious from the costume. Secondly, she doesn't really do a whole lot here, and being a go-between for an even bigger bad doesn't really cement her as a threat all too bad in herself. 

One of the things that I found didn't help with this issue too was the art. Simone Di Meo provides the art, and colours it himself. The art is really nice, and I've lived Di Meo's work on other stuff in the past, but there's something about this book that I didn't really enjoy whilst reading it, and it wasn't until after I'd thought about it for a while that I realised what it was. It's the colours. Di Meo's colours have this effect on them that uses very stark white highlights a lot of the time, even in scenes at night. This has the effect of it always seeming like a characters has a huge spotlight on them, or is standing in the brightest sunbeam that they can find.

This effect makes me feel like the art is being almost washed out at times, and its giving the book a glowing, almost neon look to it that often times doesn't seem to fit the tone or the setting; at least for me. I can't help but think that perhaps the art would look better with another colourist on it, and that whilst Di Meo is a great artist they're hampering their own work by colouring it themselves. 

Batman and Robin issue two is doing a good thing by ignoring the events of the main Batman title, but seems to be taking its time in moving the plot forward, and is skipping over some of the stuff that could make the title more interesting. It's still early days for the series, so hopefully it's just a few stumbles before things really fall into place.

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The Hunger: A Marvel Zombies Novel by Marsheila Rockwell - Book Review

 

'The Incident has infected the planet, creating zombified Super Heroes who destroy everything they swore to protect. Doctor Strange realises the plague cannot be allowed to spread to other realities, but his Hunger is irresistible…

'Now Earth’s only hope is the Sanctum Sanctorum librarian, Zelma Stanton. She knows every spell in the book, but she’s no fighter. Enter witch Nico Minoru, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, and Deadpool. They plan to trap the zombies in a time loop, but it goes horribly awry (thanks, Deadpool), crushing a million butterflies, and the timeline unravels, making the original Incident look like a cakewalk. It’s going to take magic bullets, bloodstones, and brains to fix this flesh-eating nightmare.'

The original Marvel Zombies books were a very joyless, nasty affair. Not only were beloved characters dying in horrible ways, the nature of the zombie virus meant that even those infected with the disease were still suffering; Spider-Man eating his own family and then being wracked with guilt over it being a prime example. Whilst they might be entertaining books there's little joy to be found in them, and not a whole lot of hope. It's a good thing then that Marsheila Rockewell's new Marvel Zombies novel seems to be set in another universe entirely, and gets to do its own thing without being beholden to the comics that have come before. 

The book begins with something landing on Earth, crashing into downtown New York. Doctor Strange is one of the many heroes who heads out to find out what's happened, along with some Avengers, Spider-Man, and a few other solo heroes. This is New York after all, this could very well be the start of some kind of planet wide invasion, and it's all hands on deck. Captain America is the first to head into the crater to find out what happened, and soon stumbles out of it clutching a wound, before turning into a ravenous zombie and biting his fellow heroes. 

The super hero community quickly falls, with the super powered populace making for the most dangerous zombies you can imagine as they still have access to their powers and abilities. As the heroes begin to infect each other Doctor Strange tries to make it back to his Sanctum, but is captured by a flesh hungry Spider-Man.

In the sanctum, his apprentice, Zelma Stanton, prepares for another day managing Doctor Strange's library for him. However, when she finds a zombified Strange devouring the other residents of the building she learns that the end of the world has come. Thankfully, eating flesh has returned some semblance of control and personality to Strange, and he's able to help prepare Zelma for what has happened, and gets her to lock him away in the basement. Alone now, Zelma begins to try to find a way to repair the damage and put things right. Whilst searching through the world via magic, however, she discovers others like her, and begins to gather allies to help her in her mission.

The Hunger is perhaps the nicest Marvel Zombies story that I've read, the one with the most hope to it, the most heart. A large part of that is down to the fact that the book doesn't revel in the death and terror of the zombie plague, avoiding gratuitous death and dismemberment. The other reason is that the book gives us a central cast who are enjoyable to be around. Zelma is a young woman who has some confidence issues, who worries a lot and likes to shut herself away from things, but she has a good heart and cares about things, making her a surprising, but very likeable leader. 

Our group of heroes also includes Nico Minoru from Runaways, who has a harder edge to her than Zelma, but also brings a lot of heart and emotion with her. Elsa Bloodstone is a sassy, sarcastic monster hunter who acts like the most dangerous and important person in any room she's in, yet never manages to come across as unpleasant. And Deadpool is Deadpool, a bit of lighthearted weirdness thrown into a situation where the team need someone to crack a joke or two, even if they're rolling their eyes at it.

The book is split into some distinct parts, with the first part showing the gathering of the group. Zelma is our main character for this, as she's the only one there from the start, and there are several chapters with her on her own just tying to survive inside the weirdness that is the Sanctum Sanctorum. The gathering of the troops is enjoyable read, and whilst Nico's recruitment is somewhat easy, the two of them going off to try and find Elsa is a lot more complex, and gives readers both action and horror to entertain them.

The latter half of the book, however, sees our team of mismatched protagonists trying to save the world by messing with time, trying to undo the zombie infection. But, as with most time travel stories when you mess with the flow of time it can have unintended consequences, and we get to see our heroes dealing with those consequences and trying to make things right in some unusual circumstances.

The Hunger is an enjoyable take on the Marvel Zombies formula, one that is doing its own thing and at times feels a lot more enjoyable than the comics its drawing from. The characters picked for the group are an odd one, and that oddness works well for the story, with most of the characters you'd normally expect to be the ones to save the world off the table thanks to the spread of the infection. If you're looking for something a bit different in the Marvel Universe, and don't want the same kind of Marvel Zombies stories this book is absolutely worth trying out.

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Alpi the Soul Sender vol. 1 by Rona - Manga Review

 

'In the magical world of Alpi, divine spirits are the source of all life, communities living in harmony under their protection. However, when their lives end, a terrible curse drives them to evil, and these malign spirits must be sent to the afterlife by the Soul Senders. Alpi is one such girl, talented despite her young age, and assisted by her familiar Perenai!'

The Magical Girl genre is a popular one, particularly when it comes to manga. Linked to female empowerment, stories within this genre usually feature young girls with immense magical powers that they use whilst on some kind of adventure or quest. Whilst Alpi the Soul Sender does away with one of the more popular elements of the genre, the transformation into another alter-ego, it is very much a part of the genre, one that takes a more fantastical bent.

Set in a world vastly different to our own, we're introduced to Alpi, a young girl who has the power to help purify the souls of divine spirits, huge, magical animals that bring prosperity to the world. Whilst these creatures are normally benevolent entities that live in harmony with the world and people around them, when they die their souls become corrupted, and a dark sickness starts to infect the land around them. Any who approach the dead spirits is burned by the darkness. Soul Senders, however, have the ability to withstand this dark curse, and can extract the spirits soul, sending in on to the afterlife and ending the curse.

Accompanied by the adult Perenai, who acts as her guardian and assistant, Alpi is trying to follow int he footsteps of her parents, who were also Soul Senders, using old letters that they sent to her whilst travelling the world. Having not seen them in years, and not knowing where they might be, Alpi is hoping that she might be able to find her missing parents, and is more than happy to help any divine spirits that need her skills along the way.

The first volume of the series contains four stories. The first of them, 'The Bright Soul Sender' is a nice introduction to the book and characters. In this story Alpi and Perenai arrive in a small village where a young man has recently encountered a dead divine spirit, and is suffering from the curse it left behind. Alpi helps to cure him of the curse, and then performs her ritual to help send the spirit on. There's not big dramatic moment in this story, no twist or sudden shocking moment, and it's a by the numbers soul sending. However, as it's the first story in the entire series this works perfectly, as it's introducing us to everything we need to know. Not only do we come away understanding the rules of the world, but we also get to know the lead characters a little too.

The second story 'The Lake With The Dark Purple Waters' follows a similar route, in being another story of a village that needs the help of a Soul Sender. What makes this one different from the last, however, is that this time the spirit has died in the middle of a lake. This means that Alpi cannot draw the required magic ring around it, nor can she reach it to extract its soul. Over the course of this story we see Alpi come up with solutions to these problems, as well as her determination to succeed no matter what, even when it looks like there's no way she can. This chapter gives us more of an insight into who Alpi is as a character, and teaches the reader not to underestimate her just because she's a little girl.

The third story is one that gives us a lot more background to what it means to be a Soul Sender. 'The Temple of Purification' sees Alpi and Perenai travel to a town that services various Soul Senders, with shops that can restock their supplies, blacksmiths to help maintain their tools, and a temple that allows them to purify themselves. During the other two chapters we'd seen Alpi being hurt by the curse left behind by the dead spirits, but it's here that we learn that those curses had also been getting inside her, and that her bod had been accumulating the dark energies. By going to the temple she can expel this darkness, though it's a process that causes her great pain. This story gives us a lot of insight into the workings of the Soul Senders, and shows us that it's bigger than just Alpi, with whole systems set up to help the Soul Senders and their mission. It also gives us some insight into Peranai, and how he's more than just a simple guardian/servant to Alpi, but cares deeply for the young girl under his charge.

The final story fills the last two chapters of the book, 'A Wish for the Fire Moth'. This story sees Alpi and Perenai come to a land where a divine spirit couldn't be helped in time, and nature in that area has died out. The local population have instead crafted themselves a great stone city, one fuelled by steam and heat. However, Alpi soon discovers that the city doesn't run on natural sources, but a chained and tortured divine spirit that the local lord has captured beneath the city. The divine spirit is weakening, and the city is struggling because of it. The lord demands that Alpi kill the spirit and send it soul so that a new spirit can come, one that he can once again enslave. This story feels like the first real adventure of the book, a story that has some twists and turns, and puts Alpi in the role of protagonist, able to make choices and affect the story rather than just reacting to events. It's also the darkest story in the book, and has some really great moments.

Overall, the book creates a really interesting and engaging narrative that acts as a great introduction to the series. Even before the end of the book it feels like you have a good understanding of the world, and know most of its rules. The main characters are set up well, and by the end of this volume you know their motivations, and understand why they do what they do. There's also a lot of wonder and magic to discover too, and it feels like this volume is giving us a small peek at an even more fantastical and amazing world that will be revealed in further volumes. 

The art on the book is also fantastic. The cover art reflects the interior art well, and each and every panel is packed with detail. The environments are all well crafted and packed with details and stuff to find, and it feels like a fully fleshed out world. The characters are also really well done too, and characters like Alpi and Perenai come with really detailed and intricate outfits. Where the book really shines, however, is with the divine spirits, huge, mystical creatures that have amazing designs, and look like they're stepped out of the world of legend. Rona makes everything in this book look fantastic, and the level of detail and care given to each and every page is astonishing.

Whilst Alpi the Soul Sender is being marketed as a magical girl book it's also a really interesting and well done fantasy novel, one that crafts a cool new world for readers to get lost in. It's going to appeal to those who love the magical girl genre thanks to the cute but fierce hero at the centre of the story, but it will also appeal to those who may not have tried the genre much, but are fans of fantasy. Whatever it is that draws you to the book, its interesting world, amazing designs, and well crafted story are sure to entertain.

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Green Lantern #4 - Comic Review

 

Things feel like they might finally be picking up a bit with the latest issue of Green Lantern as after three issues of not a lot going on we're finally moving the story forward somewhat. As enjoyable as seeing Hal repeatedly fail at life can be, it's not really what folks come to the series for, and it's the intergalactic action and super heroics that are the main heart of this series. Well, with Sinestro making his presence known last issue, things have started to return to that as he and Hal come face to face once again.

Sinestro wants off Earth, and to do that he needs a power ring. As such, he's come to Hal in order to take his ring and get away. Hal, knowing that it won't work for him, hands the ring over to Sinestro to show this, and it enrages the villain. Just as with John Stewart, who in Green Lantern War Journal issue one showed off that he also has a super special type of ring, it seems like the Earth Lanterns are getting special treatment with unique and wondrous rings. And in Hals case it means no one else can use his ring. 

The angry Sinestro decides to take this as something of an insult from Hal, because he's Sinestro and that's the kind of guy he is, and detonates a series of bombs across the city, allowing him a clean getaway as Hal has to try to stop them. But, they're too much for him alone; so he calls upon a friend for help. Hal and Barry have always been a duo that readers have likes, and Green Lantern and Flash have been a combo that became so iconic that it was replicated multiple times over the decades, with Wally taking Barry's place, and eventually Kyle taking Hals. But, the best of these duo team-ups has been Hal and Barry, and we get to revisit that here.

The two of them work well together, and it's nice to see a story where a hero goes 'this is too much for me on my own, I'll call for some help' rather than just pushing through and doing it all on their own with potentially disastrous results. It also shows that despite his hotshot nature Hal knows when things are dire enough to need some extra help. He might showboat whilst in a jet, but he has a bit more sense when it comes to super heroics.

Barry even gives Hal a hand in investigating into what Sinestro and his mercenaries were doing at Ferris Air, using his CSI investigative skills to check out the scene of the crime. This also gave a nice moment for Barry to catch up with Carol, a pairing that would absolutely know each other well yet we don't really see interact that often. The main downside from this is Barry being another 'but Hal and Carol have to be together' voice in a book that keeps on parroting that sentiment. It's yet another male super hero who doesn't seem to understand or respect the fact that Carol has moved on and has a new partner. It's giving vibes of the angry ex who can't move on and I don't really enjoy this part of the book.

The art, by Xermanico and Romulo Fajardo Jr, looks really nice, and the action in this issue flows well. It's nice to see the art team tackle another hero for a bit too, and the Flash looks really good here, and compliments GL well. Even the quieter character driven moments look really good, and the opening scene of Hal and Sinestro in the diner together is a brilliantly choreographed and planned scene, with the art really helping to boost the tension between the two.

In addition to the main story there's also a back-up feature, introducing Sinson (awful name), an alien boy who believes that he's the son of Sinestro. Surviving on an alien world in an Oliver Twist type scenario where he has to steal for a cruel master, he wants to emulate the man he believes is his father. This seems to be set-up for Tomasi's Super Sons stuff, and is okay enough in itself but feels strangely toned when coupled with the main story.

Overall this was an enjoyable issue that improved the slow pace and shifted the focus away from human drama and love life woes of Hal Jordan and seemed to remember that this is a super hero series. Hopefully this trend will continue.

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Housebound – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The recent horror release M3GAN has brought the name Gerard Johnstone onto people’s radar thanks to the largely positive reviews, and the movie becoming well known across social media. However, this is not the first time that the New Zealand writer/director has tackled horror. His first movie, Housebound,  showed audiences that he was adept at the genre, as well as balancing comedy with it, and was part of the reason why producer James Wan approached him for M3GAN. Finally, after almost a decade, it’s available here in the UK.

The film stars Morgana O’Reilly as Kylie, a young woman with a history of drug problems, who has a massive chip on her shoulder towards the world. When she gets arrested after trying to steal from an ATM, she’s sentenced to spending eight months under house arrest, in her mother’s home. Her mother, Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) is almost the polar opposite of her; always happy, putting on a brave face, willing to chat away for hours with anyone. It soon becomes apparent that being stuck in her childhood home with her mother, with no internet and basic TV, might be a crueller punishment than actually going to prison.

Soon into her stay Kylie overhears her mother calling in to a radio talk show, where she tells a story about how she believes her house is haunted, and how she’s seen things in her home for years. Kylie immediately mocks her mother for believing in ghosts, but soon begins to experience strange events in the house herself, such as odd noises in the walls. When she goes down into the cellar one night, and a hand grabs her, she starts to believe that there might be something strange happening in her childhood home.

With the help of Amos (Glen-Paul Waru), a security contractor assigned to check Kylie’s ankle monitor, who also moonlights as a paranormal investigator, they uncover some startling secrets about her family home, and a dark past containing murder. Unfortunately, Kylie’s growing insistence that there’s something in her house, and that it’s trying to communicate with her in order to solve a decades long murder, soon has her state assigned clinical psychologist, Dennis (Cameron Rhodes), begin to question if Kylie might not be better off in a psychiatric ward. Now Kylie has to find a way to prove that she’s right before her time runs out.

Housebound is filled with moments of horror, and it’s clear that Johnstone knows the genre well. The setting of the remote family home is suitably creepy without straying into the realm of unbelievable, with the appropriate creaks, groans and bumps in the night. And Johnstone seems to know how to direct horror well too, with long, lingering camera shots that have you waiting for something to come looming out of the shadow, and dimly lit locations that feel uneasy despite their normality. And if this was a straight horror film I imagine it would be thoroughly entertaining, and well crafted enough to be a memorable and re-watchable film. But it’s not just a horror, and the comedy elements in the film elevate it to being absolutely fantastic.

From the very first scene of the movie where Kylie and her hapless accomplice fail in their big heist (him getting knocked out almost immediately, and then Kylie trying to make a high speed getaway in an old car that won’t even start) the tone of the movie is set up quickly. Upon arriving at her family home we see that Kylie is going to be the straight-man of the piece, with her anger at the world and nonchalance making her the perfect foil for those around her, like her ever chatty mother who comes out with anything and everything that pops into her head, and the laid back but wonderfully bumbling security contractor Amos popping round every now and then.

There are times when the comedy is subtle, done through some perfectly timed one-liners that almost take a second to land and you start laughing just a moment too late because you realise something ridiculous was just said in the middle of a tense horror scene. Other times, however, the comedy ends up going almost screwball, with some delightfully ridiculous and over the top set pieces and gags that caused everyone watching the film with me to laugh loudly. And all of this is done whilst managing to keep the film suitably scary throughout, with an ever shifting and evolving plot that’s genuinely engaging and will have you trying to figure out what happens next.

The cast are a big part of this, and everyone here feels like they’re on top form. O’Reilly is, as mentioned before, the person who plays the film most straight, almost like her character doesn’t realise she’s in a comedy. The way that she’s able to show disdain and disinterest on her face with the slightest expression makes her perfect for the role, and there are times where you kind of hate her for how much of a childish dick she’s being to her mother. Yet she manages to never stray into hateful, and you can see the vulnerability that her openly hostile exterior is masking. The rest of the cast, in contrast, seem to know that this is a film not to be taken too seriously, and bring a delightful level of charm to every scene they’re in, and bring that wonderful New Zealand comedy charm to the movie.

It seems like horror is something quite different in New Zealand, a genre where comedy is an intrinsic part of it. Films made in New Zealand such as Black Sheep and What We Do In The Shadows show that well, with the latter going on to spawn an entire expanded universe of shows that embrace the wonderfully wacky horror genre. Even when making horror films outside of New Zealand, directors from the country inject comedy into their horror, such as Peter Jackson‘s The Frighteners. Johnstone seems to have been keeping that marriage of genres alive with Housebound, and if you’re a fan of any of those other films and series this is a movie you’re going to want to pick up.

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