Horror Book Trailers, the good and the bad…
Posted by Ms Harker | Filed under Horror Reading
Greetings and Salutations.
I need to discuss something with you all, that I have been finding a little perplexing. An emerging trend in the book world, leading up to a new release, has been the evolution of a promotional toll known as the ‘book trailer’. I’m sure this isn’t limited to the horror genre, however it seems to have been embraced by some of the horror writing community. Two recent offerings of this phenomena are ‘Audrey’s Door‘ by Sarah Lanagan and ‘Dracula the Un-dead‘ by Ian Holt and direct descendant of Bram Stoker himself Dacre Stoker.
I’m honestly unsure how I feel about the trend towards using these trailers to promote books, however I definitely know one thing they can be really good or really bad! A brilliant example was the campaign attached to ‘The Strain‘ by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. This campaign had a fabulous website and the trailers were well linked to the novel itself, well produced and definitely made you want to read the book.
Equally the recently featured trailer for ‘Audrey’s Door’ on Shock Til You Drop is well produced, gives you a couple of good scares and again has me very keen to read the novel.
“Audrey’s Door is the tale of Audrey Lucas, a young woman who moves into an Upper West Side apartment in which a terrible tragedy recently occurred. Audrey’s not scared, however, because she’s undergone her own share of tragedy.
But, is it something otherworldly or Audrey’s own increasing instability that’s to blame for the dark visions that haunt her . . . and for the voice that demands that she build a door? A door it would be true madness to open . . .” (Shock Til You Drop)
On the more negative side of the coffin we have the trailer for ‘Dracula The Un-Dead’, granted I may be a bit pissy at the entire prospect of this book being written in the first place. But hey, Dacre Stoker is a direct descendant of the mighty Bram Stoker, so if he wants to trash his family’s literary legacy then far be it from me to question… However if the trailer is anything to go by, the gothic Irishman will be spinning in his grave! The novel has been written (obviously) with the blessing of the Stoker family and takes place twenty five years post Dracula turning to dust:
“Van Helsing’s protégé, Dr. Jack Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school for the London stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of “Dracula,” directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.
The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents’ terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is their another force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?” (Shock Til You Drop)
In the age of multi media advertising, blogging, twittering etc in some ways I think it was inevitable that the printed word had to do something in order to keep up with the flow of worldwide information. However the continuum between good and bad execution of this marketing strategy is vast, I hope that for some authors it does not result in their work being overlooked.
Ms Harker
Tags: Horror, Horror Novels, Vampire
Hammer Glamour… can you handle the heat?
Posted by Ms Harker | Filed under Horror Collectibles, Horror Reading
Greetings and salutations. Recently I was contacted by a charming gent at Titan Publishing asking if I would mind having a look at their pending release ‘Hammer Glamour‘ by Marcus Hearn. As I am nowhere near an aficionado on the Hammer Stables I was delighted by the opportunity to read about the horror femme fatale’s and heroines that graced the infamous films.
The book is a collectors item for all horror fans, full of glossy well presented steamy pics and detailed information on the set of stunners and temptresses that graced the silver screen in the name of Hammer Horror. Like I said, I am not hugely familiar with the suite of Hammer films so I flicked through the book looking for a name a recognised and low and behold there she was… Joanna Lumley!
Lumley starred in ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula‘ as Jessica Van Helsing, replacing the actress Stephanie Beacham who played Jessica in the preceding film ‘Dracula A.D 1972‘. Lumley’s film picks up where Dracula A.D 1972 leves off, Jessica Van Helsing is in quite a predicament investigating a vampire infestation within a cellar in Pelham House. She unfortunately gets trapped and needs to be rescued by some sarcastic cops who prior to her entrapment had not believed her story. According to ‘Hammer Glamour’ Lumley features in one of the most memorable scenes in the film providing the centre piece sacrifice for Dracula’s final ritual, before being rescued.
‘Hammer Glamour’ is full of gorgeous pictures of the Hammer glamour pusses (Meow!) and interesting information as to their part in an enduring chapter of horror history and present, spanning from the 1930’s and starting to make its come back in the current day. The book is well worth a look. Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks as I intend to share with you more of these luscious ladies of crypts, coffins and cauldrons!
Ms Harker
Tags: Horror, Horror Films, Horror Novels
Necronomicon Award: Horror Blogs that rock my coffin!
Posted by Ms Harker | Filed under Horror Reading
Recently Musings Across a Continuum was bestowed an ‘Honest Scrap’ award by the fabulous blog penned by Cortez the Killer ‘Planet of Terror‘; today Musings was given the ‘Necronomicon Award’ for Outstanding Blogs of Horror by the lovely Monster Scholar at ‘Monster Land‘. Both had delightful things to say about the goings on here:
“Ms. Harker writes about anything horror related that tickles her fancy and does so with great eloquence and grace. And sometimes with a tad bit of ickiness. The best Australian export since Crocodile Dundee.” (Planet of Terror)
“The always classy Ms. Harker provides witty repartee on horror from her home base down under. A fan of Anita Blake and TrueBlood on HBO, she provides her sophisticated perspective on books, films and even events of real life horror. Always a joy to read, Musings across a Continuum goes down smooth like a warm sip of AB negative.” (Monster Land)
These are peer given awards, and the deal with both is that you pick your top ten pass the award on and then disclose ten things people don’t know about you… Kind of like a chain letter, which normally I would unsubscribe or raise my dainty middle finger to, but I feel like giving some love, so here we go!
In no specific order:
Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire: Tenebrous Kate rolls out her sharp wit and lascivious material, exposing us to saucy trends in horror, porn and pop culture. A blogging heroine of the raunch in horror, articulating with class and at times titillating with arse.
The Vault of Horror: B_Sol at The Vault of Horror brings a plethora of horror knowledge to the web and shares it with a dry wit and sometimes, when deserved, a forked tongue! His writing spans the horror sphere from classic to modern, he is known for compiling brilliant lists and posts that inspire healthy debate in the horror community.
Day of the Woman: BJ-C, ingenue to B_Sol, has well and truly made herself known as an independent voice for women within the horror blogging community. This sassy lass does not tolerate fools lightly and has waged an all out campaign against the glittering evils of Twilight or Twatlight as she would say.
I Love Horror: Brad over at I Love Horror writes with eloquence and vengeance. Not one to gush over films he provides a strong critique and serves those who irrationally disagree with a bruising intellectual, brash rebuttal.
And Now the Screaming Starts: CRwMN hosts this horror blog which I find provides more than just your run of the mill movies and trailer reviews. CRwMN’s analysis of literature, his reflections on history and horror phenomenon are insightful and expose readers to wild and supernatural theory and happenings.
Zombos’ Closet of Horror: This was one of the first horror blogs I started reading. Zombo is across a wide range of horror topics and genre’s, film, literature and the industry. Informative and quirky, this blog gives you an insight to horror happenings with interviews (the man has contacts!) and reviews.
Monster Land: I have to flick some love back to my girl Monster Scholar. This woman can write and her knowledge of classic horror beasties knows no bounds.
The Groovy Age of Horror: Curt never fails to expose readers to comic wonders both new and old. His knowledge of comic history and his critique of current day trends and re-imaginings often spark heated debate on the site.
Freddy In Space: A fellow True Blood fan, Johnny Boots encourages discussion and interaction on his blog. From pick the Zombie to his latest Stephen King obsession Johnny knows his horror and writes abut it with scathing hilarity.
The Lightning Bugs Lair: I am relatively new to the bug’s site. However his knowledge of horror is wide from Hitchcock to the House of Wax to a folk ballad dedicated to Teen Wolf, I am thoroughly enjoying what I read.
So there are my top ten blogs who have now had bestowed on them both awards and if people think I cheated, well suck it. Now for the ten things you may not know about Ms Harker:
1: I am mad for Mac ‘n’ Cheese and always add some fried off bacon, onion and peas.
2: I one day hope to own a replica pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz.
3: I may look of Italian or Greek descent, but am in fact half Scottish.
4: I have an irrational fear of moths.
5: I own two English Staffordshire Bull Terriers and a cat.
6: I recently tried my first glass of Dom Perignon and I fear it has ruined any other champagne drinking in my life.
7. I am a WOW (World of Warcraft) widow.
8. I love So You Think You Can Dance.
9. I cook a mean Beef Ragu with penne.
10. My favourite band is Fleetwood Mac.
Awards bestowed, disclosures made. Tomorrow back to Asian Horror.
Ms Harker
Tags: Horror
