Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

UNDERCARD by David Albertyn

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UNDERCARD, a debut novel by David Albertyn, follows the lives of four old friends who reunite in Las Vegas and, over 24 hours, have their lives completely upended. Slightly noirish and set against the backdrop of the War on Terror, Black Lives Matter, Las Vegas corruption, and professional boxing, it’s a powerfully written, in-your-face read. It’s missing a strong moral that makes noirish fiction work–at least I missed it–but overall I liked it as a simple story that packs a punch.

The novel focuses on four people who grew up in Sin City. There’s Antoine, a professional boxer three years out of prison with a personal vendetta; Tyron, a Marine returning home after a decade of war overseas; Keenan, a cop who shot an unarmed teenager and is the subject of BLM protests; and Naomi, a professional basketball player retired to turn coach, loved by each of them. Tonight, Antoine will fight a renowned boxer, a prizefight he must win to earn his name and possibly his vengeance, which will set them each on a path to right old wrongs and hopefully survive.

The writing has a nice energy to it, a hard noirish tone, and heavily developed characters, each of whom is flawed but likeable and somewhat larger than life due to their rich (if a little improbable in combination) backgrounds. The violence and passion of the prizefight serves as the novel’s centerpiece that ties the old friends back together, and it’s delivered with a terrific power. The ending brings it all home nicely, though after the fight the novel loses some energy and never regains it, not even in the climax, and I was left wondering what the point was in bringing all the backdrop issues–BLM, War on Terror, etc.–into the story other than purely to flavor and titillate.

Overall, I liked UNDERCARD a lot. It’s a fun read that delivers a solid punch for its strong characters and style.

I STILL SEE YOU (2018)

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Based upon the novel BREAK MY HEART 1000 TIMES by Daniel Waters, I STILL SEE YOU (2018) is a spooky sort of post-apoc, sort of horror film that delivers a terrific setup, only to sap its energy in a narrow, conventional plot whose resolution isn’t very surprising. (This review covers the movie, not the book, which I haven’t read.)

After a physics experiment goes wrong in Chicago, resulting in an explosion of strange energy, countless thousands are dead, and the survivors deal with the aftermath of loss. Making things worse and far weirder is the fact that ghosts of the event’s victims now haunt the world as remnants, blindly acting out parts of their day in a seemingly endless loop.

Growing up in this world–and dealing with the ghost of her father appearing every day at the dining room table to join his family for breakfast–high school student Veronica Calder struggles to cope. When a new ghost appears in her bathroom bearing a cryptic message, she turns to the spooky new kid, Kirk, for help. Together, they discover an unsettling truth–some ghosts can interact with the physical world, and one of them seemingly wants to murder Veronica. This leads them into the evacuated ruin of Chicago and the truth about who wants her dead and why.

As I said, the setup is terrific. The idea of a major city and its suburbs being haunted is pretty awesome. The idea that the ghosts may be changing, gaining power. The characters are fairly stock, good-looking YA types but that was okay. I was happy to see Dermot Mulroney, who is rocking his age (55 back in 2018), in the film. There are some great set pieces, such as when they go to Chicago.

Unfortunately, after the setup, the film became pretty predictable and, well, lifeless for me. (I hate easy puns that use a work of art’s subject against it, so sorry about “lifeless,” but it’s the only word that really nails it for me.) I didn’t like the characters enough to become really invested, and once the plot narrowed from its incredible possibilities to rote fare and became predictable, rolling forward at a low energy level, there wasn’t a whole lot to stick around for.

I STILL SEE YOU has gotten slammed on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites. I don’t think it’s that bad, not at all. It’s just not as good as its terrific setup might have had it.

THE MEDIUM (2021)

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THE MEDIUM (2021) is a Thai horror film that presents a Southeast Asian take on possession. Culturally fresh and featuring likeable characters, the film had me riveted until the last act, when character arcs and story are set aside for kitchen-sinked horror tropes.

Directed by Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun (SHUTTER) and produced by Korean director Na Hong-jin (THE WAILING), the film rolls out as a mockumentary documenting Nim, a female shaman practicing in rural Thailand. Her family has been shamans for generations, the product of possession by a local goddess named Ba Yan. Nim’s sister Noi was originally chosen by Ba Yan but rejected her, opting to become Christian and marrying a man whose own family may be cursed. When Noi’s daughter Mink displays signs of being possessed by vindictive spirits, the stage is set for a spiritual battle.

The film has a terrific build to the climax. I loved the look at the local culture, shamanism, and the characters themselves, who are all likeable. The story takes its time until you thoroughly get to know the spiritual mechanics at play and the family dynamics. Everything feels authentic and lived in. The casting of exorcism as a spiritual battle between Ba Yan and other forces of good against dark, vengeful spirits enacting a curse is terrific. I was really rooting for these people to win. The found footage aspect neither adds nor detracts from the storytelling, though there were a few times when the difficulties of found footage filmmaking made me aware of the conceit and interrupted willing suspension of disbelief.

In the last act, all hell breaks loose in the same vein as Na Hong-jin’s THE WAILING. Loads of scary stuff and nicely done, though it goes on way too long with way too little hope, which brings me to a criticism of films like THE WAILING and a similar American film, THE DARK AND THE WICKED. In my view, it’s perfectly wonderful to brutalize characters in a story as long as there’s hope and the chance for a fair fight. Take away the hope (or sense of justice common in horror), and it just seems mean and a bit nihilistic.

Overall, though, I loved it the way I loved THE WAILING, for the very likeable characters finding themselves at the center of a cosmic battle and the rich, interesting culture.

THE SECOND HISTORY by Rebecca Silver Slayter

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Rebecca Silver Slayter’s THE SECOND HISTORY tells the story of a young couple struggling to survive in the Appalachians after the world has irrevocably suffered due to climate change. I found it quite interesting and powerful, though the last act slows the pace considerably with secondhand conflict.

It’s sometime in the future, and humanity is much smaller than it was after decades of drought and tsunamis and pollution producing a widespread genetic defect. Now most of America lives in cities, while the rest stubbornly try to survive in the rural areas, which have grown increasingly wild. Living on their own, Eban and Judy, a young couple, eke out a living, though Judy is restless: Raised on stories about the cities and living among the ruins of the old world, she wants to discover that world for herself. Content with his life but unwilling to lose the partner he adores, Eban joins her in a journey of discovery. Along the way, they face increasing challenges that tests their humanity and their relationship.

It’s more of a literary read, with intense emotional detail, as this isn’t so much a story about environmental catastrophe as what that catastrophe does to human relationships, and an emotional journey between seeking out the old world and making a new one. In some ways, I was reminded of STATION ELEVEN, which meandered sometimes seemingly without goal between past and a post-apocalyptic pandemic future, though the meandering didn’t bother me much because of the beauty of the writing and the sense of nostalgia and melancholia it produced. While THE SECOND HISTORY has a tighter narrative focus, its last act felt diluted to me and not the best kind of meandering, as the protagonists are stripped of most of what little agency they had left, we’re told a lengthy historical conflict, and while some answers are revealed, they aren’t quite powerful enough to bring it all home, at least for me.

So overall, I liked Slayter’s novel. While it didn’t come together in a very satisfactory way for me as a reader, I have a feeling my appreciation for it may grow as I digest it.

DOOM PATROL, Season 1

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Based on the DC comic series, DOOM PATROL (HBO) follows a team of misfit superheroes shunned and heavily traumatized for the “gift” of powers they received and that carry a great personal cost. The show strikes an almost perfect balance between strong characterization, great acting across the board, excellent dialogue, and just enough weirdness to make things unpredictable. I just finished Season 1 and loved it as something cerebral and refreshing in the superhero genre.

The characters we’re introduced early on include Cliff Steele (the always lovable Brendan Fraser), a racing driver turned into Robotman after a tragic accident; Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), a test pilot who lives with an energy being inside him; Rita Farr (April Bowlby), a vintage movie actress who under stress turns into a gelatinous blob; and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), who has split personality disorder, with each personality having its own superpower. They live in a house under the protection of Niles (Timothy Dalton). When Niles is captured by the nefarious Mr. Nobody (excellently played by Alan Tudyk), a villain who reminds me a bit of Q from STAR TREK, the team must confront their problems and become the heroes they were destined to be, aided by the superhero Cyborg (Joivan Wade).

This is a weird show, combining serious drama with comedy with wacky oddities and a strong dash of meta self awareness. All these elements come together in a nice balance to make it likeable, surprising, and filled with interesting ideas. If any of its elements were overplayed, DOOM PATROL wouldn’t have worked nearly as well for me, but the show balances them almost perfectly with a high degree of integrity. But be warned: This is not even close to being a conventional superhero show. The story doesn’t so much roll out linearly as spin like a washing machine, a lot of the problems our heroes face are self-created by their powers, and there are numerous digressions and back stories.

Overall, I loved it and will be heading into Season 2 soon. I was happy to hear the series was just renewed by HBO for a Season 4.