More Bits and Pieces…

Yesterday was one of those days where I woke up feeling pretty rough, took myself to the comfy chair, for breakfast, and then dozed until lunchtime. I woke up, still feeling pretty rough, so decided to take the hint and not push it. I left job hunting for the evening and settled down with a little reading, and some TV on the side. Let me tell you about it…

‘Hellraiser Resurrections: The Deep Gospel #1’ – Howard, Cha, Simpson (Boom!)

In which the Female Cenobite finds a new identity, and new companions…

Two issues in, or so I thought… Yesterday, I found out that the series is actually three issues old and I missed the first one. I’ll have to do something about that. 

In the meantime, ‘The Deep Gospel’ has a lot going for it, whether it stands alone or is the start of something longer. I’ll admit that I don’t know a lot about the setting, outside of the ‘Hellraiser’ movies, so Howard’s deep dive into the realm of the Cenobites really filled in those gaps, all grimly drawn by Jenna Cha.

And from what I’d seen from the first two films, at least, the Female Cenobite never got a chance to stand out, apart from some well delivered lines. That said then, it was interesting (and probably long overdue) to see our lead get a name as well as some actual backstory. Even if all her lines are delivered in (small) white font against a black background; just the kind of thing that strains my poor eyes…

Anyway… ‘Hellraiser Resurrections’ looks to be shaping up rather nicely, even if I have missed an issue. Next up, it’s the fat Cenobite, Butterball…

A Few Stories from Richard Matheson’s ‘Button Button’ Collection.

I’m always happy to read more of Matheson’s short stories so when I came across this collection, in Forbidden Planet, it was an easy purchase ;o)

It’s not so easy to write this bit of the post though; nothing to do with the individual tales themselves, more that it’s difficult to say anything that I haven’t said already. You know it already, Richard Matheson was a real master of the short story and yes, he more than ably demonstrated that in the stories that I read here.

Yep, I’m repeating myself but it’s always worth saying; Matheson really makes every word work for him when he tells a tale. ‘Button Button’ and ‘Pattern For Survival’ come across as very straightforward but that’s what Matheson wants you to think. I felt like I should have seen the ending coming, in ‘Button Button’ but Matheson still blindsided me, distracting me with the moral quandary while the inevitable conclusion crept up.

And considering that ‘Pattern For Survival’ is only six pages long… Matheson delivers a real masterclass in ‘hiding everything in plain sight’. There’s no doubt that Richard Allan Shaggley was a superb writer but, the criteria for judgment, damn…

‘The Creeping Terror’ sounded a little ‘pulp horror’ and that appealed so I made it my final stop. That’ll teach me to assume things… Matheson takes a single, innocuous, line and turned it into something that I never saw coming. I suspect my lack of knowledge, around American history, meant that some of the satire went right over my head but… Just watching Matheson take a seemingly daft concept, and turn it into something compelling, made for an entertaining twenty minutes or so. I’ll take that :o)

‘Sam Was Here’ (2016)

In which a travelling salesman begins to question his sanity when a stopover, in a seemingly deserted town, becomes a fight for survival.

I figured out the ending far too close to the beginning, of the movie, for there to be any big surprises here. Having said that though. ‘Sam Was Here’ was surprisingly tense in the meantime, with a silent backdrop really bringing out Sam’s internal struggle and lending real emphasis to the sudden outbreaks of violence. I would probably watch it again for that atmosphere, rather than the actual plot.

What have you been reading and/or watching? Leave a comment and let me know ;o)