Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (2022)

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Part horror movie and part war movie, the first German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s best-selling novel, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, is a devastating portrait of warfare in the Great War, in the process making a definitive antiwar statement.

The movie begins with an incredible sequence showing how the war has become a meat grinder, endlessly cycling young men through it. Back home, Paul, a student, hears the strident call to defend the fatherland from annihilation and eagerly signs up along with his friends. Soon, their romantic ideals about the war are shattered as they are forced to fight in muddy, rat-infested trenches and endless seesawing battles that employed new horrific weapons including tanks, howitzers, flamethrowers, and machine guns. As the war winds down, so does Paul’s circle, and we see him going from fighting to win to merely survive and then finally because there is nothing else, a hollowed-out man who lost faith he is ever going home.

The battle sequences are just incredible in this, more horror than war film. You can feel the hopeless resignation even before the whistles blow to charge, and then when things get going, it’s one horror after another until men are slashing each other hand to hand with trenching tools, showing a war in which industrialization stripped away the last vestiges of humanity in it, while also making it incredibly intimate–men killing each other looking into their eyes, feeling horror and remorse while they do it. This a war movie where the gore isn’t horrifying, it’s the meaning invested in it. How pointless it all was.

As an anti-war statement, it’s all here. The old goading the young into battle with romantic notions, the young losing their innocence in horror. The hubris of commanders who fail to see the soldiers as men but instead chess pieces exchanged for a final bit of national honor. The national humiliation at the end that some historians believe seeded the next war. The breakdown of hope and humanity to a level where the soldiers don’t feel like they will ever get home or will know how to go on living with themselves even if they do.

Overall, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is a distinct, powerful, and utterly savage movie providing a fresh reminder that war is hell.

THE NIGHT HOUSE (2020)

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In THE NIGHT HOUSE, a grieving woman suspects something is haunting her, maybe her dead husband, maybe something very sinister. Overall, I liked the execution a lot, though I enjoyed it more for its intriguing possibilities than where the story ended up going.

Beth is grieving the loss of her husband Owen. She appears to be in control, though hollowed out by coping. At night, strange occurrences begin to add up around the lakeside home he built for them. A suggestion of another house, another life. As she explores it, she begins to wonder what exactly is haunting her and what it wants.

Overall, there’s a skillful slow-burn execution to the story; the pacing is slow but doesn’t drag, at least it didn’t for me. The acting is solid, notably Rebecca Hall (whom I liked in THE LOOP) who is well cast as Beth, with a shout-out for Sarah Goldberg (who plays Sally in BARRY). Goldberg’s role is small and one note, essentially the friend who offers a sounding board and somebody for the lonely protagonist to talk to, but she gives the otherwise flat character as much life as she can breathe into it.

As the story builds, the horror element is well done, startling and occasionally eerie but not particularly overtly scary, as this is more psychological horror. Another factor here is Beth is rarely terrified, and this has an excellent explanation for why she reacts the way she does and doesn’t flee the house screaming: Grief has sucked almost every bit of emotion out of her, and she is completely out of f**ks to give. She doesn’t care about anything except answers about her husband. The “other house” stands more as metaphor as meaning anything else, and the monster is okay for me and probably good for many, particularly in some really well-done artistic effects to make it both something and nothing. While it’s all solid in this film, I just couldn’t help but wish the story of the other house ended up more complex the way it’s suggested in the trailer, leaving me a bit hungry.

So overall, THE NIGHT HOUSE is a solid horror film, recommended for those okay with a slower burn and seeking something that is deeper and that isn’t the usual fare.

NOPE (2022)

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Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, NOPE (2022), tells a UFO story in a clever and engaging mashup of sci-fi, horror, and Western tropes. I’ve really grown to admire Peele’s contributions to the horror genre. The man has something to say, and he always explores new territory.

In this film, OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Em (Keke Palmer) struggle to maintain their father’s ranch and business training and handling horses for film and TV productions. They make quite a pair, as OJ is taciturn and introverted while Em is flamboyant and outgoing. When they see signs of a strange flying object in the area, Em hatches a plan to capture it on film and make a financial killing. While this is going on, Jupe Park (the always delightful Steven Yeun), who grew up a child actor and was a survivor of a tragedy in which an ape goes on a rampage on set, going on to set up his own Wild West entertainment center, seems to know something about it. The object, however, is hungry and hunting, and it isn’t something to be trifled with.

What I liked: the general weirdness with odd touches of humor throughout, the ape losing it during a TV shoot, the landscapes at the ranch, and the fun characters, who when confronted by threat often say “nope” and go in the opposite direction. I liked seeing Keith David and Michael Winscott again, doing what they do best. The characters are all pretty likable, and there is a nice dynamic between OJ and Em. The climax is compelling. Immediately, you get the sense this is a Jordan Peele production, not your average horror film, and as usual he presents his material that is economical about taking itself seriously.

That being said, I felt like I would have cared a whole lot more about what happened and who it happened to if Jupe had been the main character. His backstory of the TV show that ended in tragedy is really compelling and offered a great deal of depth to a character who doesn’t have much of a role to play in this movie. Of all the characters, he had the closest thing to a character arc, only it went unfinished, and the main protagonists, who again are likable enough, don’t really have a character arc at all. If the story had been told from his point of view, I think NOPE would have been truly great.

Overall, I liked NOPE one as a polished horror film that offered something new to the genre and was a lot of fun to watch.

HorrorBound on EPISODE THIRTEEN: “I Highly Recommend This”

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HorrorBound recently reviewed EPISODE THIRTEEN, which released earlier this week, advising readers, “I highly recommend this.”

A snippet:

“Wow wow WOW I LOVED this! Absolutely Craig DiLouie’s best and strongest novel so far… Great for found footage fans, for fans of shows like Ghost Adventures, and for fans of cleverly told ghost stories.”

Check out the complete review here. Thank you for the kind words, HorrorBound!

And click here to learn more about my new horror novel published by Hachette.

EPISODE THIRTEEN Releases!

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I could not be more excited today as the long-awaited publication of EPISODE THIRTEEN, my new horror novel from Hachette, releases to become available in bookstores, libraries, and online sellers everywhere.

You can get the book at Amazon here.

Thank you for reading!

Here’s the synopsis:

Fade to Black: Led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin, it’s the new hit ghost-hunting reality TV show.

Episode 13 will take their investigative team to the former site of the Paranormal Research Foundation in Virginia. In this brooding, derelict mansion, they hope to use their scientific methods and high-tech gear to crack an infamous haunting while uncovering clues about the bizarre experiments that went on there in the 1970s.

But as Foundation House begins to unravel its mysteries, Matt and Claire discover it wants something in return.

Revealed in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, and correspondence, this is the story of Episode 13—and how an entertaining show about hunting ghosts became a nightmarish documentary of obsession, madness, and human terror.

Here’s the advance praise for EPISODE THIRTEEN:

“The newest from DiLouie follows a found-footage narrative before veering into gloriously mind-bending terror… VERDICT: In this subversion of the classic haunted-house/found-footage story, DiLouie demonstrates his ability to toy with and eventually upend readers’ expectations. What could have been a story full of the typical tropes becomes an unsettling exploration into what lies beyond life, death, and reality itself.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“With well-developed characters, a swiftly paced narrative, and mounting dread, this new twist on the ghost story will delight horror readers.” —Booklist (American Library Association)

“Craig DiLouie is no stranger to strong writing and intriguing tales… Easily destined to be an award nominee, and hopefully a film (if it’s possible to capture the material well), this is the first highly recommended novel of 2023.” —Cemetery Dance

“Episode Thirteen was a fun and gripping read that’s sure to leave a lasting impression. Craig DiLouie masterfully builds an atmosphere of dread and unease throughout the book while also developing his characters into fully fleshed and relatable figures. I really can’t believe it’s taken me this long to finally read one of his books! If you are a horror fan and you love haunted house stories and don’t mind epistolary novels, I highly recommend picking this up.” —BiblioSanctum

“A beautiful Russian doll of a story… Episode Thirteen hooks you, creeps you out, and then it overwhelms you. It’s House of Leaves meets Haunting of Hill House, in all the best possible ways.” —Peter Clines, NYT Bestselling Author of The Broken Room

“One warning only: once you pick up Episode Thirteen, set aside some quality time to read it, and be aware that once you start the book it will be next to impossible to put it down for more than the few moments you will need to catch your breath – because you will need to remember to breathe, trust me…” —Space and Sorcery

“An epistolary descent into a living nightmare … well-written and genuinely unsettling. Fans of paranormal documentaries, ghost-hunting shows, and found-footage horror will lose their minds over this one.” —Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Kin and Sour Candy

“DiLouie’s tale was completely captivating, and one of those novels you just don’t want to put down, you want to read just a little more, even as some of the ideas and occurrences leave you a little shaken… I loved this one, it was creepy, twists expectations, and delivers a thought-provoking ending that may make you reconsider the whole paranormal realm.” —The Mind Reels

“It’s the literary equivalent of a found footage movie, and it works beautifully. Part ghost story, part metaphysical horror, total nightmare—Episode Thirteen is a must read.” —David Moody, author of Hater and the Autumn series

“DiLouie masterfully subverts everything you expect a haunted house story to be, and I loved every minute of it.” –Books, Bones & Buffy

“Episode Thirteen does not go where you think it will… Instead it offers bizarre twists, devious reveals, and unexpected shocks. Deeply satisfying and a hell of a lot of weird fun!” —Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of Patient Zero and Kagen the Damned

“Episode Thirteen is a suspenseful and engaging Rubik’s cube of a novel. The reader has great perverse fun twisting the pieces back and forth, facet after facet, until Craig DiLouie’s grand design stands revealed in all its febrile splendor.” —James Morrow, author of The Last Witchfinder and The Asylum of Dr. Caligari

“A dark mosaic of reality TV and occult physics, Episode Thirteen reels you in with a found-footage mystery that spirals into a labyrinth of madness. Craig DiLouie dissects his all-too-human characters’ needs and ambitions with clinical precision as we race toward a series of stunningly beautiful—and horrifying—revelations.” —Andy Marino, author of It Rides a Pale Horse and The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess

“In this transcendent ghost story for the 21st century, Craig DiLouie charts the mystery where science meets the supernatural then dives in headfirst to deliver a haunted house story so heartbreaking and profoundly unsettling it ranks alongside the classics of the genre.” –James Chambers, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of On the Hierophant Road and On the Night Border

“If you enjoy haunted house horror, found footage, strange scientific/paranormal experiments, and unexplained paranormal discoveries, you will enjoy this book.” –Mother Horror

“This story goes to places you’ll never expect … I loved how this one started, where it went and how it ended. It was a perfect 1-2-3 punch.” –Steve Stred, author of Mastodon

“This book is bursting with creativity… Creepy and trippy, and a fun epistolary tale with some unique storytelling devices, Episode Thirteen is a solid new entry into the found materials genre.” –The Library Ladies

“It’s one of those trips–a terrifying descent into darkness and madness, where supernatural and metaphysical blend and distort all reality. A classic case of abyss gazing back … pure wow. Nearly impossible to put down, electric ride of a story. Bravo, author.” –Advance the Plot

“The author masterfully writes … different perspectives throughout the story… The way the hauntings begin promises to send chills and make you keep your light on at night… The ending was freaking awesome.” –Pirate Twinkie Reads

BiblioSanctum on EPISODE THIRTEEN: “Masterfully Builds an Atmosphere of Dread”

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BiblioSanctum recently reviewed EPISODE THIRTEEN coming out January 24, 2023, advising readers, “I highly recommend picking this up.”

A snippet:

“EPISODE THIRTEEN was a fun and gripping read that’s sure to leave a lasting impression. Craig DiLouie masterfully builds an atmosphere of dread and unease throughout the book while also developing his characters into fully fleshed and relatable figures. I really can’t believe it’s taken me this long to finally read one of his books! If you are a horror fan and you love haunted house stories and don’t mind epistolary novels, I highly recommend picking this up.”

Check out the complete review here. Thank you for the kind words, BiblioSanctum!

And click here to learn more about my new horror novel published by Hachette.