How to Sell a Haunted House
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: January 17, 2023

If this book had a title like Coming Home Again, I’d probably be starting this review by saying something like, after her parents die in a car accident, Louise reluctantly returns to her South Carolina hometown to sell her parents’ house and must face the childhood memories that have haunted her for years and some she’s forgotten about… till now. But since the title is How To Sell A Haunted House, what haunts Louise aren’t just her memories, but real entities that aren’t too pleased with how she’s handling her parents’ estate. And they’re gonna let her know it.

The Final Girl Support Group
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 13, 2021

“The line between being too careful and not being careful enough is a line you only get to cross once” is a belief Lynnette Tarkington still holds true even 20 years after she survived a Christmas Eve massacre that left her a “Final Girl.” That’s “final girl” as in the last female standing at the end of a serial-killing spree in horror films, but for Lynnette this is no slasher flick… this is her reality.

In The Final Girls Support Group, Grady Hendrix explores the mindset of the now middle-aged Lynnette, whose been unable to live a normal life since her traumatic Yule Tide experience as a teenager. She sees danger around every corner and will go to extreme lengths to protect herself, including barricading herself in her booby-trapped apartment, where she can control her surroundings. Or taking different routes and modes of transportation hours out of her way each time she ventures outside, going so far as to ride the airport shuttle so that potential stalkers won’t be able to ascertain her routine.

I can honestly say you have never seen a film like Sator before. More than that, you’ve never heard a story behind a film crazier than that of Sator as well. Sator represents a 7-year journey for Jordan Graham, who did literally everything on this film. He is credited as the writer, director, producer, editor, cinematographer, and even did the music for the film. The long journey was mainly a result of the titular entity who has haunted Graham’s family since the 1960s. His real-life grandmother, the late June Peterson, randomly discussed her “automatic writing” in which the being Sator speaks through her, and this caused Graham to rewrite his film into a darker and more atmospheric horror. Available on VOD now on Prime, VUDU, and Apple TV, Sator is one of the most unique film-viewing experiences you will have and a damn effective horror film even without knowing any of the crazy backstory. I had a chance to speak with Graham about the film, his family’s history with Sator, and more.

Climate of the Hunter is a new twist on the vampire subgenre of horror. Combining arthouse flair, ‘70s vampire mythos, dark humor, and psychological family drama, it was one of my favorites of the year. The film stars Ginger Gilmartin and Mary Buss as sisters Alma and Elizabeth, who begin to compete for the affections of Wesley (Ben Hall), a man from their past who returns to the secluded wooded community they live in.

The film received a limited theatrical run in December and will be available for streaming on January 12, 2021. Director and co-writer Mickey Reece has made over 25 films in the last decade and I got a chance to speak with him about his unique new film and his style of filmmaking.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and quarantine has the potential to suffocate those who crave conversation and discussion, especially about pop culture and movies. Ex-New Yorker and current Texan Peter Marsh felt that strain and used his time off to create his own YouTube channel, AnchorPete, in which he does movie and book reviews and interviews with genre authors. Through a mutual friend, he contacted Chris D’Onofrio and me to do a horror podcast focusing on our favorite director, Mike Flanagan. After two successful shows on his channel, the three of us have created The Lasser Cast, a new channel and horror review video podcast now on YouTube.