Alfred Hitchcock's A Hangman's Dozen, by various authors

 

(pb; 1962, 1966: crime anthology)

Overall review:

Excellent murder and crime anthology, worth owning.


Standout stories:

1.)  "The Children of Noah" - Richard Matheson:  A cross-country, speeding motorist (Mr. Ketchum) gets pulled over in Zachry, Maine and finds that leaving this strange town may be more difficult than he first thought.  Fun story, with a Twilight Zone-esque feel.



2.)  "Fair Game" - John Cortez:  Plot-twisty, excellent story about a hunting guide (Sam Ludlow) whose attraction to his client's wife leads to some dark revelations.  I especially love the ending to this one.



3.)  "The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution" - Richard Stark:  A man (Freddie) and his mistress (Karen) plot the demise of his materialistic wife (Janice) and encounter unforeseen complications.  Darkly humorous and increasingly intense tale.



4.)  "Your Witness" - Helen Nielsen:  Fun, well-written story about a woman (Naomi Shawn) whose husband's vicious lawyerly tactics inspire her own revenge on him.



5.)  "Blackout" - Richard Deming:  A drunk man's murder confession turns out to be more complicated than it initially seems.  The ending isn't a surprise, but the story is well-written.



6.)  "The October Game" - Ray Bradbury:  Memorable, nasty (in a dark notions way) and Halloween-atmospheric tale about a man and his family who host a horrifying holiday party.  This is one of my favorite stories in this collection.  The ending is especially effective.



7.)  "The Last Escape" - Jay Street:  An escape artist (Joe Ferlini) has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone - including his wife (Wanda) - suspects.  Great finish to this one.



8.)  "Most Agreeably Poisoned" - Fletcher Flora:  Urbane and "civilized" work about a cuckolded husband who suggests to his wife and her lover a unique port-wine-and-poison solution to resolve their sudden-change situation.



9.)  "The Best-Friend Murder" - Donald E. Westlake:  Police procedural tale about a polite poisoner's immediate confession to the cops, and how his confession rings odd to one of the investigating officers (Abraham Levine).  Great, reader-hooking writing in this work, with palpable, effective themes of youth and mortality.  Love the ending to this one.

The Night Eternal, by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

(hb; 2011: Book Three of The Strain trilogy)


From the inside flap:

"It's been two years since the vampiric virus was unleashed in The Strain, and the entire world now lies on the brink of annihilation.  There is only night as nuclear winter blankets the land, the sun filtering through the poisoned atmosphere for two hours each day - the perfect environment for the propagation of vampires.

"There has been a mass extermination of humans, the best and the brightest, the wealthy and the influential, orchestrated by the Master - an ancient vampire possessed of unparalleled powers - who selects survivors based on compliance.  Those humans who remain are entirely subjugated, interred in camps, and  separated by status: those who breed more humans, and those who are bled for the sustenance of the Master's vast army.

"The future of humankind lies in the hands of a rag-tag freedom fighters - Dr. Eph Goodweather, former head of the Centers for Disease Control's biological threat team; Nora Martinez, a fellow doctor with a talent for dispatching the undead; Vasiliy Fet, the colorful Russian exterminator; and Mr. Quinlan, the half-breed offspring of the Master who is bent on revenge.  It's their job to rescue Eph's son, Zack, and overturn this devastating new world order.  But good and evil are malleable terms now, and the Master is the most skilled at preying on the weaknesses of humans. . ."


Review:

This second sequel to The Strain starts off well enough: it's dramatic, it's apocalyptic and it's ambitious in its storyline scope.  However, Night quickly succumbs to the same bullcrap writing elements that marred the first sequel, The Fall: at least one of its key characters - Dr. Eph Goodweather - is so unlikeable, hypocritical and willing to sell out the human race, I kept wondering why he was in the story at all. 

I have nothing against unlikeable or complex characters, but Eph's alienating aspects go beyond the pale, as if the authors were using Eph as a shout-out to the (justifiably) cautious, asocial Robert Neville, the lead character in Richard Matheson's novella I Am Legend.  If the latter is true, del Toro and Hogan have bungled it by making Eph so unlikeable and erratic he's practically useless - something Neville never was in Matheson's landmark work.

Not only that, the action scenes - normally an element I would applaud in such genre work - quickly begin to all read the same, with unnecessary, bordering-on-soap-operatic complications stalling out much of the momentum that this briefly promising work might have had.

This latter criticism wouldn't be an issue (for this reader) if del Toro and Hogan hadn't written Fall, and instead made Night the second and final book in the series, utilizing abbreviated key points featured in Fall - i.e., the Occido Lumen (the book needed to kill the Master), the vampiric takeover and the ensuing nuclear winter - and incorporated them into Strain and Night.  But they didn't, and readers are left with this deeply flawed and drawn out series.

If you must read it - I only read Night to finish the series - borrow it from the library, or a friend.  That way, if you like it, great!  You just read a wonderful book for free!  And if you dislike it, at least you were only robbed of a few hours of your time.

Earthbound, by Richard Matheson

(pb; 1989)

From the back cover:

"David and Ellen came to the lonely beachside cottage in hopes of rekindling their troubled marriage. Yet they are not alone on their second honeymoon. Marianna, a beautiful and enigmatic stranger, comes to visit when Ellen is away. But who is Marianna, and where is she from?

"Even as he succumbs to her seductive charms, David realizes that Marianna is far more than a threat to his marriage, for her secrets lie deep in the past and beyond the grave. And her unholy desires endanger the lives and souls of everyone she touches."

Review:

This is one of Matheson's lesser novels. Even Matheson's sharp prose fails to elevate this predictable ghost story above its clichés.

If there's a bright spot in this novel (aside from Matheson's crisp writing), it's the philosophical musings of his protagonist, David, who ponders the shapes marriage takes over time. These sections are wonderful, touching, and wise, and made up for my boredom during the other parts. (Fortunately, Earthbound is relatively short, less than three hundred pages.)

Not entirely bad, I'd hesitate to recommend this one. Better to read Matheson's earlier, short fiction if you want a Matheson fix.

My Favorite Horror Story edited by Mike Baker & Martin H. Greenberg

(pb; 2000: story anthology)

From the back cover

"Who do today's top horror writers read -- and why?

"This was the question posed to some of the most influential authors in the field toady. This book is their answer. Here are fifteen of the most memorable stories in the genre, each one personally selected by a well-known writer, and each prefaced by that writer's explanation of his and her choice. Here's your chance to enjoy familiar favorites, and perhaps discover some wonderful treasures. In each case, you'll have the opportunity to see the story from the perspective of a master of the field."


Overall review

Wonderful collection of horror stories, some famous, others off-beat and (somewhat) obscure -- overall, the story introductions, written by the authors who selected these stories, are interesting and engaging. Worth owning, this anthology.


Review, story by story

1.) "Sweets to the Sweet" - Robert Bloch: An abusive father unwittingly convinces his daughter that she's a "little witch." Predictable, taut-prosed, excellent (nonetheless), with a memorable finish. (Selected by Stephen King)


2.) "The Father-Thing" - Phillip K. Dick: Effective chiller about a ten-year old boy who discovers that his father, who's been killed, has spawned an alien twin. Classic; relatable, with its terrifying echoes of childhood. You probably won't forget this one for a long time -- if at all. (Selected by Ed Gorman)


3.) "The Distributor" - Richard Matheson: A seemingly-friendly man (Theodore Gordon), just moved into a surburban neighborhood, surreptitiously begins stirring up barely-buried resentments between his neighbors. Excellent for its adjective-restrained tone, scary in its real-world implications. (Selected by F. Paul Wilson)


4.) "A Warning to the Curious" - M.R. James: Loquacious, later creepy, tale about a man (Paxton) who foolishly unearths a seaside relic protecting a town against "invasion". An elevated sense of horror is displayed here, not spelled out for the reader, but effectively suggestive. (Selected by Ramsey Campbell)

"A Warning to the Curious" became a television short-film, airing in the UK on December 24, 1972. Peter Vaughn played Mr. Paxton. Clive Swift played Dr. Black. John Kearney played Ager/Ghost (the cinematic counterpart to William Ager). Lawrence Gordon Clark scripted, with no director listed.

5.) "Opening the Door" - Arthur Machen: A scholarly man, after having a "prophetic vision," goes missing and later reappears, with no memory of where he was. Long-winded, philosophical, sometimes funny, with carefully clarified words, it's an admirable piece -- Machen's skill is not to be denied -- but the ending is predictable and shockingly limp... so much so that when it did end, I went huh? (Selected by Peter Atkins)


6.) "The Colour Out of Space" - H.P. Lovecraft: A strangely-heated and rainbow-tinted meteorite lands on an Arkham, New England farm; wild, corrosive things (physical and mental) begin happening there. One of Lovecraft's best stories -- a miasmic, vivid nightmare of bright odd hues and blighting madness. It's also one of my favorite selections in this anthology. (Selected by Richard Laymon)

"The Colour Out of Space" became the source material for two movies.

The first film, Die, Monster, Die!, was released in the United States on October 27, 1965. (It also is titled Monster of Terror.) Boris Karloff starred as Nahum Witley (the cinematic counterpart to Nahum Gardner). Nick Adams played Steven Reinhart. Freda Jackson played Letitia Witley. Suzan Farmer played Susan Witley. Daniel Haller directed, from a script by Jerry Sohl. 

The second film, The Curse, was released in the United States on September 11, 1987. Wil Wheaton played Zack. Claude Akins played Nathan. Malcolm Danare played Cyrus. John Schneider played Willis. Amy Wheaton (sister of actor Wil) played Alice. Actor David Keith, making his directorial debut, directed. Written by David Chaskin, Lovecraft's "Colour" is the uncredited source for Chaskin's script.

7.) "The Inner Room" - Robert Aickman: Long-winded, but solid tale about a little girl (Lene) who gets a forboding doll house, which later disappears. But is it really gone? The last third of the story is especially chilling, with a visually-memorable ending. (Selected by Peter Straub)


8.) "Young Goodman Brown" - Nathaniel Hawthorne: A young man takes a late-night stroll with the Devil, and witnesses some horrible truths about his fellow villagers. Classic, memorable. (Selected by Rick Hautala)

This story inspired two films.

The first film, La Nuit de Tom Brown, aired on French television on March 24, 1959. Michel Piccoli played "Tom, jeune". Jean-Marc Tennberg played Mephisto. Roger Carel played L'abbe Jefferson. Jean-Pierre Cassel played Toby. Claude Barma directed.

Young Goodman Brown was released in 1993. Tom Shell played Goodman Brown. Matt Adler played William Stacey. Mary Grace Canfield played Goody Cloyse. Melinda Clark played Faith Brown. John P. Ryan played The Devil. Peter George scripted and directed.

9.) "The Rats in the Walls" - H.P. Lovecraft: July 16, 1923 -- Anchester, England. A middle-aged, grieving man (Delapore), who's recently lost his son to war, begins renovating an ancient temple-house that once belonged to his family, many years before. Unswayed by local rumors of mysterious disappearances, bizarre cult worship, and murder by his ancestors, Delapore moves in.

However, when Delapore begins having recurring, intensity-escalating nightmares, and his cats (all eight of them, led by the unfortunately-named "Nigger-Man") start acting restless, sniffing and tearing at the ancient walls (which occasionally seem to bulge with the movements of rats), Delapore decides to explore the lower rooms of the architectural mish-mash that is his new home. He's helped by Captain Norrys (a wartime friend of Delapore's dead son) and his cats.

Creepy, atmospheric, historically-aware and -researched work: all trademarks of a Lovecraftian piece -- excellent, of course. (Selected by Michael Slade)

"The Rats in the Walls" made up part of the three-story cinematic horror anthology, Necronomicon, which was released on July 29, 1994 in the UK, after being shown at a few international film festivals in 1993. (The two other stories included in the anthology were "Cool Air" and "The Whisperer in the Darkness" -- it also had a wrap-around story, in which Jeffrey Combs played Lovecraft.)

In the "Rats" segment (Part/story 1, renamed "The Drawned"), Bruce Payne played Edward De Lapoer (old spelling of "Delapore"). Belinda Bauer played Nancy Gallmore. Richard Lynch played Jethro De Lapoer. Maria Ford played Clara. Christophe Gans directed and co-scripted this movie section, with help from co-scriptor Brent V. Friedman.

10.) "The Dog Park" - Dennis Etchison: Subliminal terror work where the fear of professional failure is as pervasive and dire as the threat of bloody death (it's set in Los Angeles). This is the kind of story that I wish I'd been able to read in my high school English classes and write an essay on, as it has nothing that would be deemed offensive (except to Hollywood-types), but leaves a lot to reader-interpretation... Etchison doesn't spoon-feed the story to his readers, but leaves a lot to his readers' imagination (especially at the end). Excellent, unsettling piece. (Selected by Richard Christian Matheson)


11.) "The Animal Fair" - Robert Bloch: A hitchhiker (Dave) catches a ride with a carny (Captain Ryder), who tells him about his tragic, startling life. Dark, different, fun. (Selected by Joe R. Lansdale)


12.) "The Pattern" - Ramsey Campbell: A painter (Tony) and his writer wife (Di) are enjoying their rented, quiet, back-country cottage when they start hearing afternoon screams from a nearby, empty field. When Tony looks into the possible source(s) of the screams, thing get really weird. Unpredictable, original, classic. (Selected by Poppy Z. Brite)


13.) "The Tell-Tale Heart" - Edgar Allan Poe: A murderer, wracked with mad guilt, waits for arrest -- or death. Famous, intense, wow-worthy.. of course, it's Poe. (Selected by Joyce Carol Oates)

This story has been filmed twenty-four times, for theatrical and video movies, as well as television shows. The first version was lensed in 1928; currently, two new versions are due to be released, the first in 2008, the second in 2009.


14.) "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" - Ambrose Bierce: Famous story about a Civil War-era Federal scout who's about to be hanged. Shocking at the time of its publication (1891), its incredible end-twist has been done to death by countless hacks since then. Still, an effective story. (Selected by Dennis Etchison)

This story has been filmed five times. The first time was in 1929 (The Bridge); the most recent version, in 2005.


15.) "The Human Chair" - Edogawa Rampo: Odd, fascinating tale about a man who makes an oversized plush chair, large enough to comfortably house a man within it, and takes up part-time residence in it after it's shipped to a distant hotel. Crazily memorable, with an off-beat finish. (Selected by Harlan Ellison)

Ningen-isu (the Japanese translation of the story's title) was filmed in 2007 in Japan. Keisako Sato co-scripted and directed, with help from co-scriptor Aya Takei.

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

(pb; 1954: novella)

From the back cover:

"Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood.

"By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

"How long can one man survive like this?"

Review:

This is Matheson at his best. Neville is one of fiction's greatest anti-heroes. He vacillates between emotional extremes, sometimes tender, often brutal and gruff, as he struggles to survive, and ultimately understand, the whys of his situation.

Grim, black-humored and sometimes ironic, this is a must-read for any science fiction fan: one of my all-time favorite books.

Check this out.

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The novella has been filmed three times.

The Last Man on Earth was released stateside on March 8, 1964.

Vincent Price played Dr. Robert Morgan, the film equivalent of Robert Neville. Giacomo Rossi-Stuart played Ben Cortland.

Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow shared directing duties, co-scripting the film with William F. Leicester and book author Richard Matheson (billed as Logan Swanson).

•

The second version, retitled The Omega Man, was released stateside on August 1, 1971.

Charlton Heston played Robert Neville. Anthony Zerbe played Matthias, the film equivalent of the novel's Ben Cortland. Rosalind Cash played Lisa.

Boris Sagal directed the film, from a script by John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington (billed as Joyce H. Corrington).

•

The third version, titled I Am Legend, is scheduled for stateside release on December 14, 2007.

Will Smith plays Neville. Salli Richardson plays Ginny. Paradox Pollack plays Alpha. Willow Smith, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, plays Marley.

Francis Lawrence directs, from a script by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman.

Hell House by Richard Matheson

(hb; 1971)

From the inside flap

"For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. A venerable mansion with shadowed walls, it has witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate met with complete disaster, as the participants were destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity.

"Now a new investigation has been mounted, bring four strangers to the ominous house. Each has their own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?"


Review

This is one of the most shivery haunted house novels I've ever read. Matheson's prose is, as usual, straightforward, with chilling, oozing and often sexual going-ons plaguing the four researchers who take up residence in the notorious abode. Philosophical, psychological, metaphysical, religious and sexual dialogue make up much of this fun, atmospheric read.

Wow-worthy twists also highlight Hell House, as do Matheson's fully-developed characters, whose neuroses decide what forms the hauntings, individual and collective, take.

One nit: near the end, the characters sum up what they think is troubling the mansion, based on what they've experienced. (Is it psychic manifestations, born of the living neuroses of those who enter the house? Is it Emeric Belasco, the Aleister Crowley-like previous owner of the house, whose body was never found? Or are there other ghosts in the mansion?)

These character summations are fine the first time around; but the characters restate their beliefs two, even three times, bogging down the action for a short (approximately twenty page) stretch.

That said, this is a landmark haunted house book, with an ending that's sad, light and ironic.

#

This was released stateside as a film, The Legend of Hell House, on June 15, 1973.

Pamela Franklin played Florence Tanner. Roddy McDowall played Benjamin Franklin Fischer. Clive Revill played Mr. (Lionel) Barrett. Gayle Hunnicutt played Ann Barrett.

John Hough directed, from a script by book author Matheson.