There seems to be a groundswell of Horror novels with Horror movies as a major plot element (Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay, Curse of the Reaper by Brian McAuley, The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry) over the past couple of years. Craig DiLouie brings his writerly savvy with How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive.
From Bram Stoker Award‑nominated author Craig DiLouie comes a darkly humorous horror novel that sees a famous 80s slasher director set out to shoot the most terrifying horror movie ever made using an occult camera that might be (and probably is) demonic.
Horror isn’t horror unless it’s real.
Max Maurey should be on top of the world. He’s a famous horror director. Actors love him. Hollywood needs him. He’s making money hand over fist. But it’s the 80s, and he’s directing cheap slashers for audiences who only crave more blood, not real art. Not real horror. And Max’s slimy producer refuses to fund any of his new ideas.
Sally Priest dreams of being the Final Girl. She knows she’s got what it takes to score the lead role, even if she’s only been cast in small parts so far. When Sally meets Max at his latest wrap party, she sets out to impress him and prove her scream queen prowess.
But when Max discovers an old camera that filmed a very real Hollywood horror, he knows that he has to use this camera for his next movie. The only problem is that it came with a cryptic warning and sometimes wails.
By the time Max discovers the true evil lying within, he’s already dead set on finishing the scariest movie ever put to film, and like it or not, it’s Sally’s time to shine as the Final Girl.
Max Maury is a top horror director, his “Jack the Knife” slasher films are very popular, the third of which was released early in the novel. But Max becomes disillusioned with his own creation, sitting in a theater he sees and hears people laughing at elements in the movie. This is a horror movie, not a comedy and Max wants to recapture the terrifying feeling he feels is now missing from his movies and horror movies in general. It is the 1980s, a decade many consider a golden age of horror, particularly slasher films.
But something has piqued his interest, has given Max the drive to inject something horrifying into the genre he loves so much. There’s a cursed film called Mary’s Birthdays from director Arthur Golden that never saw the light of day, largely because nearly everybody involved was filmed dying at the end of the film’s production. When Max acquires the camera used to film that movie, he becomes even more obsessed with crafting a film that will recharge horror film.
While this novel fits the “cursed film” trope/theme, Dilouie’s approach makes for a refreshing, raw horror novel. Max is an obsessed, self-absorbed storyteller whose childhood trauma (the death of his father) is something he has never been able to resolve. It was buried for years, but that dark moment becomes a defining and driving force in his quest to terrify audiences especially because Max is getting close to the age his father died. With the seemingly cursed camera in his possession, Max is even more focused and obsessed with the film. His impatience and frustration leads to some snarky humor, which nicely balances some of the gruesome imagery of the death scenes.
DiLouie also tells the story through the point of view of Sally Priest, a young actress who has had bit parts in some lower-tier horror movies but has aspirations of being the next big Final Girl. Although her mother is still alive, Sally has a very complex relationship with her. Sally and Max cross paths when Max is casting his next horror film, If Wishes Could Kill, based on a short story he came across.
I thought DiLouie’s extrapolation of the cursed object was very clever and made for some engaging scenes throughout the narrative. DiLouie fills out the novel with some interesting side/background characters. Max’s producer filled the role of smarmy producer quite nicely, though he had a dark edge as well. I loved, LOVED the writer of the story on which If Wishes Could Kill is based. They provided a free and easy balance to the walking ball of tension that was Max. Max’s sleuthing to discover the writer was a fun little side quest early in the novel. What is one of the most obvious things about the novel is DiLouie’s love of horror film and that exuberance translates very well to this particular reader.
Although the pacing was a little uneven, How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive is a fun, engaging horror novel. Playing with the cursed object/cursed film trope, DiLiouie crafted a story that should find a place on all horror-loving readers shelves.
© 2024 Rob H. Bedford
Red Hook | Paperback
June 2024 | 400 Pages
https://craigdilouie.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
