Lost Films

Perpetual Motion Machine’s Technological Horror #2

by Max Booth III (Editor), Lori Michelle (Editor), Brian Evenson

From the editors of Lost Signals comes the new volume in technological horror. Nineteen authors, both respected and new to the genre, team up to deliver a collection of terrifying, eclectic stories guaranteed to unsettle its readers. In Lost Films, a deranged group of lunatics hold an annual film festival, the lost series finale of The Simpsons corrupts a young boy’s sanity, and a VCR threatens to destroy reality. All of that and much more, with fiction from Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, Kelby Losack, Bob Pastorella, Brian Asman, Leigh Harlen, Dustin Katz, Andrew Novak, Betty Rocksteady, John C. Foster, Ashlee Scheuerman, Eugenia M. Triantafyllou, Kev Harrison, Thomas Joyce, Jessica McHugh, Kristi DeMeester, Izzy Lee, Chad Stroup, and David James Keaton.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Horror Thriller, Film, Fantasy

350 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2018

About the author

Max Booth III doesn't exist, and neither do you.

Reviews

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of horror stories based on VHS tapes and films. Most of the stories were pretty good. I recognized the majority of the writers and found a few new ones to follow. Overall, a good read.

🐱🐱🐱

[Phillip Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid anthology hosting a lot of talented writers. My favorites included The Church in the Mountains, A Festival of Fiends, Elephants that Aren't, The Thing in the Side Room, Archibald Leech, the Many-Storied Man, Stag, and The Fabulous Life of a Serial Extra. Good stuff in here!

[Mike D · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.signalhorizon.com/single-...
Click here to read my full review at Signal Horizon Easily one of the strongest horror anthologies of the year, Lost Films benefits from an excellent theme of technological horror and powerful storytelling from some of the best up and coming horror authors. A must read for fans of short horror and a great introduction for horror cinema fans who aren't yet familiar with the wonders of the short horror format.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can I resist an anthology that starts with a new Brian Evenson story? No.

The humorous title ("Lather of Flies", haha) hints that this might be a light-hearted affair. The familiar "looking for a lost film" frame (John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns, anyone?) is mostly an excuse for sly Evenson-ian scenes of social discomfort degenerating into dire outcomes. Highly entertaining.

Update: I can't recommend any of the other stories.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars--I really liked it. I love lost media in horror, so this story collection was right up my alley. I especially enjoyed the stories by Gemma Files (the queen of lost media horror), Leigh Harlen, Kev Harrison, and Kristi DeMeester.

Lather of Flies: Brian Evenson. Love this title. 3 stars.
The Church in the Mountains: Gemma Files. Gemma is so good at lost media fiction--one of my favorites. 4 stars.
Daddy's in a Snuff Film: Kelby Losack. I liked the backwards storytelling, but the "film" part seemed incidental, not important to the story. 2 stars.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8-Track: Bob Pastorella. Unusual use of filmtape. 3 stars.
A Festival of Fiends: Brian Asman. Never read anything like this! I liked the complete casual nature of the "audience." 4 stars.
I Hate All That is Mine: Leigh Harlen. Really sinister. 4 stars.
The Thing in the Side Room: Dustin Katz. I liked this, but it seemed unfinished. 3 stars.
This Cosmic Atrocity: Andrew Novak. Very dark, but not sure it belongs in this collection. 2 stars.
Elephants That Aren't: Betty Rocksteady. Cosmic horror cartoons. 3 stars.
Archibald Leech, the Many-Storied Man: John C. Foster. Shenanigans in the backwoods. 3 stars.
Teeth and Teeth and Teeth: Ashlee Scheuerman. A monster story. 2 stars.
Ghost Mapping: Eugenia Triantafyllou. A story about grief. 3 stars.
The Fourth Wall: Kev Harrison. Spooky conceit to this story. 4 stars.
Don't Turn Around: Thomas Joyce. YouTubers eaten by ghosts. 3 stars.
Things She Left in the Woods: Jessica McHugh. Nasty twist to this. 3 stars.
Stag: Kristi DeMeester. Love this tale of religious and sexual oppression (similar to the other DeMeester works I've read, actually). 4 stars.
Famous Last Words Izzy Lee. Another back-to-front story. 3 stars.
The Fabulous and Tormented Life of a Serial Extra: Chad Stroup. I've read this premise before. Maybe there are only so many movie-horror-story plots to go around? 3 stars.
The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads: David James Keaton. I don't think I understood this fully, but I enjoyed the exploration of alternate worlds. 3 stars.

[ashley 👻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing collection of stories. My favorites being The Church in the Mountains, A Festival of Fiends, I Hate All That is Mine, This Cosmic Atrocity, The Fourth Wall, Don’t Turn Around, Things She Left in the Woods, but that last one… The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads was the diamond in this book of gems. Really fed my Mandela Effect love SO much.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.67 avg which mean my rating is actually a 2.5 but I did round up to 3 since Goodreads doesn't do half stars. Honestly would have DNFed this whole thing if I wasn't in a challenge right now but I felt like it had been ages since I'd done an anthology and decided to try this one out since the premise sounded intriguing. There were a few good stories in here but as with most short horror stories most of them are either utterly nonsensical or entirely too predictable.

★★☆☆☆ The Church in the Mountains Gemma Files
★★☆☆☆ Daddy’s in a Snuff Film Kelby Losack
★★☆☆☆ I Hate All That is Mine Leigh Harlen
★★☆☆☆ The Thing in the Side Room Dustin Katz
★★☆☆☆ This Cosmic Atrocity Andrew Novak
★★☆☆☆ Archibald Leech, the Many-Storied Man John C. Foster
★★☆☆☆ Teeth and Teeth and Teeth Ashlee Scheuerman
★★☆☆☆ Things She Left in the Woods Jessica McHugh
★★☆☆☆ Famous Last Words Izzy Lee

★★★☆☆ Lather of Flies Brian Evenson
★★★☆☆ Elephants That Aren’t Betty Rocksteady
★★★☆☆ Ghost Mapping Eugenia Triantafyllou
★★★☆☆ Don’t Turn Around Thomas Joyce
★★★☆☆ The Fabulous and Tormented Life of a Serial Extra Chad Stroup
★★★☆☆ The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads David James Keaton

★★★★☆ In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8track Bob Pastorella
★★★★☆ A Festival of Fiends Brian Asman
★★★★☆ Stag Kristi DeMeester

Skipped - The Fourth Wall Kev Harrison [I only skipped this because I wasn't really in a good head space to read something where the main character is a sex worker so don't take this as any indication of the quality of the story because I probably read about two paragraphs of it]

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good stories in the first half but goes downhill rather sharply in the second with some exceptions. Worth it for the few that really work though.

[Bob Comparda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Evenson - Lather of Flies ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gemma Files - The Church in the Mountains ⭐⭐⭐
Kelby Losack - Daddy's in a Snuff Film ⭐⭐⭐
Bob Pastorella - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8 Track ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brian Asman - A Festival of Fiends ⭐⭐⭐
Leigh Harlen - I Hate All That Is Mine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dustin Katz - The Thing in the Side Room ⭐⭐⭐
Andrew Novak - This Cosmic Atrocity ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Betty Rocksteady - Elephants That Aren't ⭐⭐⭐
John C. Foster - Archibald Leech, The Many-Storied Man ⭐⭐
Ashlee Scheuerman - Teeth and Teeth and Teeth ⭐⭐
Eugenia Triantafyllou - Ghost Mapping ⭐
Kev Harrison - The Fourth Wall ⭐⭐⭐
Thomas Joyce - Don't Turn Around ⭐⭐
Jessica McHugh - Things She Left In the Woods ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kristi DeMeester - Stag ⭐
Izzy Lee - Famous Last Words ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chad Stroup - The Fabulous and Tormented Life of a Serial Extra ⭐⭐⭐
David James Keaton - The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads ⭐⭐

[Leland Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection! Great idea and all the stories are different enough to keep it interesting. All the stories are strong but here is a list of my favorites:

“Daddy’s in a Snuff Film” by Kelby Losack
“A Festival of Fiends” by Brian Asman
“I Hate All That Is Mine” by Leigh Harlen
“The Thing in the Side Room” by Dustin Katz
“The Cosmic Atrocity” by Andrew Novak
“Elephants that Aren’t” by Betty Rocksteady
“Teeth and Teeth and Teeth” by Ashlee Scheuerman
“The Fourth Wall” by Kev Harrison
“Things She Left in the Woods” by Jessica McHugh
“Stag” by Kristi DeMeester

I choose that many stories really shows how much I loved this collection. I highly recommend!

[Melly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some stories a lot, some stories a bit, and some stories not at all. I was very into the concept regardless, though.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good, some not so good, all pretty entertaining! My absolute favorite: The Flying Eraserheads story by Keaton. It's the last one, and man what a trip!

[Adam Selby-Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite tropes in the Horror genre is the notion of the ‘haunted film’ or ‘possessed television episode or special’, some kind of cinematic or televisual content that, if viewed, will inevitably lead the unfortunate soul who watched it into some kind of mortal peril, usually resulting in the death of themselves and their loved ones. It’s been done in a number of films, perhaps most famously Ringu and the American adaption, The Ring, and it’s also quite prevalent in web-fiction, particularly long-form fiction to be found on various Creepy Pasta websites and forums. If it’s done well it can be an incredibly effective structure for a piece of horror writing, and also an unusual narrative device; and because I haven’t seen it used very often in horror fiction, when I saw that Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing had recently published an anthology with stories based around that theme, Lost Films, I was more than happy to accept an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) in return for a fair and honest review.

Lost Films immediately went to the top of my reading pile, and not just because it makes use of one of my favourite tropes. I was also interested because one of the editors was Max Booth III, who has rapidly risen to become one of my favourite Horror writers. I’ve read several pieces of Horror fiction by Mr Booth, most recently in the Welcome to the Show anthology published by Crystal Lake Publishing, where his story True Starmen provides a perfect example of his skill as a writer. Artfully written and with a keen eye for characterisation and atmosphere, it also contains what I’ve quickly come to recognise as his particular trademark: sharp, witty black comedy which, in this particular case, had me laughing out loud in public at a wickedly abrupt and blood-soaked ending. So I was looking forward to seeing what an anthology edited by Mr Booth (and Ms. Michelle) might look like – and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The cover to the anthology is a fantastic piece of art by illustrator George Cotronis, a red and black illustration of what looks like a ruined cinema or TV studio, a figure framed in a distant doorway, looming menacingly, framed by some gorgeous art-deco style font for the title and editors. It’s a subtle and rather chilling piece of cover art that readily conveys the theme of the anthology, and certainly draws the attention of potential readers.

The anthology consists of nineteen stories in total, the title page of each one being accompanied by a small piece of interior art in the style of a pencil portrait, illustrating a key scene or character featured in the story. Though I’m certainly aware that the expense means only a small number of publishers can afford to do so, I’m a huge advocate for interior art because, when done effectively, they can really enhance the atmosphere of a piece of fiction. The interior illustrations in Lost Films are a perfect example, as artist Luke Spooner has obviously done his research and read the anthology before starting drawing; each piece is a perfect accompaniment to its associated story, Spooner’s loose, pencil-sketch style readily matching the overarching theme in the anthology of the imperfect nature of memory and the manner in which films (and memories) can be degraded by repeated viewing.

The opening story in the collection, Lather of Flies by Brian Evenson is a brilliant opening tale that really strikes the tone for the rest of the anthology; a cult director, a mysterious film made by the director that no-one has ever heard of, and the obsessive curiosity of a completionist film fan combine with disturbing results. It’s an atmospheric and often unsettling story, as the protagonist is sent on increasingly bizarre leads to try and find a copy of the film, and Evenson creates some memorable characters, particularly the director, Lahr, whose eerily charming and subtly manipulative nature evokes Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz. The following story, a full-length novella from Gemma Files entitled The Church in the Mountain, is by far the stand-out tale in the anthology, and readily warrants the purchase price alone. Ostensibly following a young woman as she attempts to locate an old film that she remembers watching when she was a child, itself about a woman returning to her hometown to attend the funeral of her distant mother, it rapidly becomes clear that is it so much more than that. As I read through the novella, I realised it was like an onion, layer after layer slowly peeling away as Files increases the pace and heightens the tension, finally merging the two elements of the story like an editor splicing together two different pieces of footage. It is a haunting and masterful piece of horror fiction that readily makes use of the anthology’s theme, but also weaves in so many different elements – the nature of family, what it means to belong, how sorrow and cultural alienation can cleave families and isolated communities apart, so many other issues – that it demands multiple readings just to understand everything it is saying. In fact, although the novella has clear occult and cosmic horror elements, it is also entirely possible to see them as metaphorical subtext for various forms of radicalisation in persecuted minorities, whether religious, cultural or otherwise. If The Church in the Mountain does not appear in the various ‘Best of Horror’ anthologies for 2018 then it will be a genuine crime, for it deserves an appreciation by a much, much wider audience.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8Track by Bob Pastorella is one of the most mind-bending and nightmarish pieces of short horror fiction I think I’ve ever come across – and I absolutely mean nightmarish in the best possible sense. Although it uses a haunted or reality-altering 8-track video cassette as its focal point, the story has this strange ethereal, almost disorientating feel to it; even after finishing it, I couldn’t quite be clear what had caused the chain of events depicted in the story to start, or even to finish (if it truly could be said to finish) and it kind of burrowed into my brain. It’s brilliantly written, and has such a disturbing ending, featuring the titular 8-track tape, that I’m left feeling distinctly ill-at-ease with the odd VHS tape still lying around my house. The tale that follows on, A Festival of Fiends by Brian Asman, is perhaps more clear-cut (pun intended) in its narrative structure, but is just as horrifying: the notion of a film festival held by a small group of serial killers and other terrifying individuals is a genius idea that I’m surprised hasn’t been used more in the genre, and Asman has created a group of characters that are incredibly well fleshed-out and distinctive for a short story. The atmosphere is so tense that you could cut it with a knife at times, and the characterisation so spot-on to be disquieting, as is the rather uniquemanner in which the films are transported and shown.

Moving through the collection, I Hate All That Is Mine from the pen of Leigh Harlen is a mind-bending and reality-bending story about an indie horror film that reminded me of a particularly horrific and disturbing version of Groundhog Day, as the protagonist encounters her roommate’s film again and again, each time changing for the worse – initially subtly, but then in more and more distressing ways. The looping nature of the film is a fantastic device for subtly heightening the inherent tension, leading to an ending that simultaneously makes me want to see more, and yet terrified of what that additional material might lead to within the story. Elephant’s That Aren’t is another great story, this time by Betty Rocksteady that uses the anthology’s theme to take a look at the nature of inspiration, and how families can simultaneously inspire and stifle; as art student Lindsay becomes more and more desperate to find inspiration for her flagging art project, to try and prove that she could be as good an artist as her mother, her obsession and depression seem to begin to affect reality itself, aided by fragmentary memories of an old childhood film.

Another highlight of the anthology for me was Archibald Leech, The Many-Storied Man by John C. Foster. It’s difficult, in a way, to properly describe Foster’s contribution to Lost Filmsbecause it seems to cross into so many sub-genres at once – psychological horror, body horror, cosmic horror – and yet manages to blend them all superbly into a fantastic piece of horror fiction. The titular Leech, some kind of agent for one of the many three-letter intelligence agencies that dot the globe, is sent to a remote village to investigate why a top-secret government facility has fallen off of the map. The realities of what he finds in the town are horrifying enough, and the abrupt, noir-style ending is brilliant, but the character of Archibald Leech is the star attraction of the story, and one of the most memorable characters I’ve come across in horror fiction. The character-building is fantastic, bringing to mind things like Twin Peaks as Foster forces the reader to question who or what, exactly, Leech is and what his goals are; memories fragment, bizarre supporting characters appear, and there are more than a few hints that this might not actually be the ‘true’ reality for Leech at all. Superbly written, and I look forward to seeing what Foster does with the character in the future, and what he writes in general. The Fourth Wall by Kev Harrison certainly takes an interesting, and contemporaneous, angle to the theme of the anthology, looking at the simultaneously intimate and isolated work of an adult webcam worker; as Valentina begins to have disturbing dreams about a man assaulting her, she finds that videos are being recorded by her webcam without her knowing, and they may have a connection with a client.

Coming towards the end of the anthology, Things She Left In The Woodis a brilliantly tense and claustrophobic tale of familial conflict, isolation and abuse by Jessica McHugh that has a heart-breaking and chilling ending that I really enjoyed. If a horror tale can leave me feeling uncomfortable and challenged after reading it, then I know it’s been especially effective, and that was exactly the case with Kristi DeMeester’s Stag. Interweaving a fractured nuclear family, the nature of obsessive devotion to religion in a way that is really only lip-service, and a young girl growing towards puberty, DeMeester paints a picture of her protagonist, Carol-Ann, trying to come to terms with a family that is slowly falling apart, becoming obsessively focused on a stuffed Stag’s head mounted in her living room. It’s a brilliantly incisive portrait, unrelentingly personal at times and with a wicked edge, and was easily unsettling enough even without the addition of its ending. Finally, The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads by David James Keaton is a great story to end with; the idea to set a horror story within one of the last remaining video-rental stores in America meshes perfectly with the theme of the anthology, and there’s a huge amount of potential in the setting, and characters, that Keaton effectively mines to provide a strange and thought-provoking story that brought to mind the many times I had watched Donnie Darko and then spent countless hours afterwards, late at night, fruitlessly trying to track all of the implications and inferences in the plot.

If Lost Films represents the general quality of horror fiction that Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing are submitting to the marketplace, then I believe they have a very bright future in front of them. Lost Films is a brilliant horror anthology, containing well-written, highly engaging and often intensely horrifying and disturbing stories, all based around a theme that has yet to be well-mined by the genre. Accompanied by fantastic cover art and superb interior illustrations, editors Max Booth III and Lori Michelle have produced an anthology that should sit on the shelf of any discerning fan of the horror genre. In addition, the anthology contains Gemma Files’ The Church in the Mountain which absolutely needs to be read by everyone even remotely interested in the Horror genre. I look forward to seeing what Perpetual Motion Machine publish next; and whatever it is, I can guarantee it will be at the very top of my reading pile.

[Michael Louis Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this anthology! This is a perfect example of the great work coming out from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. Stellar fiction, all the time!
I’ve selected the ones that I liked the most:
LATHER OF FLIES by Brian Evenson. A great story to kick off this anthology. It really establishes the setting. With my appetite whetted, I'm ready to sink my teeth into this book.
THE CHURCH IN THE MOUNTAINS by Gemma Files. This was a rather long story but so worth it. I love Gemma's work. I want to see her work made into films. This story takes the premise of Lost Films and masters it. Bravo! Gemma Files is an amazing talent. I highly recommend reading her novel: EXPERIMENTAL FILM. It’s a novel length work that fits the premise of this anthology. Great stuff!
IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA ON 8TRACK by Bob Pastorella. This story is fantastic. Dude is an amazing writer! I actually first heard this when he read it at KillerCon Austin. I highly recommend reading his novel: MOJO RISING. Also from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing.
A FESTIVAL OF FIENDS by Brian Asman. Another great addition to this book's theme. Brian delivers a story that would make a great episode of a Creepshow/Black Mirror hybrid. It was even extra special when I first heard this story during a live reading at KillerCon Austin. Things got intense with Max Booth III playing Brian's hype-man.
THIS COSMIC ATROCITY by Andrew Novak. OMFG! That was one F-ing scary story!
ELEPHANTS THAT AREN'T by Betty Rocksteady. This story sucked me in with its totally identifiable main character. I could relate to her experience. And then... Sh*t gets Weird.
ARCHIBALD LEECH, THE MANY-STORIED MAN by John C. Foster. When scientists break reality and things are starting to go insane, you send in someone who's just crazy enough to fix it.
DON'T TURN AROUND by Thomas Joyce. A fun short story that plays with the second person POV and the Reality TV/Found Footage trope.
THINGS SHE LEFT IN THE WOODS by Jessica McHugh. A very creepy tale.
STAG by Kristi DeMeester. All I can say is just, WOW! Kristi’s work never ceases to amaze me. If you haven’t read her novel BENEATH, you should.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Izzy Lee. A compelling Horror tale told in a similar style as Memento. Oh my god, that ending! Or, I mean, beginning! Good stuff.
THE FABULOUS AND TORMENTED LIFE OF A SERIAL EXTRA by Chad Stroup. A rare case of second person POV that manages to be captivating and compelling. Nicely done Weird Horror.
THE FANTASTIC FLYING ERASER HEADS by David James Keaton. A rather long story, probably considered a novelette. I can see why this came at the very end of the anthology. It's long and it sums up the theme's premise magnificently. It involves mindf**kery. I don't want to say any more than that. Read it!

[Horror Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lather of Flies by Brian Evenson - 5/5
A film student becomes obsessed with tracking down an obscure film. Evenson’s story maintains a creepy mood throughout. The story has that whole nightmare logic feel to it, where events happen in sequence but somehow things just don’t make one hundred percent sense. The ending is great.

The Church In The Mountains by Gemma Files - 5/5
A young woman with strange memories tries to write them down. She’s not sure if it’s a memory something she saw on tv a long time ago, or just something she dreamed up. This is definitely the standout tale in this anthology. The way Files writes is amazing. That fourth wall obliterating ending is amazing.

Daddy’s In A Snuff Film by Kelby Losack - 3/5
I liked that the progress of the story was structured like a VHS tape being rewound and fast-forwarded, but the ending just didn’t work for me. The concept of a weird surveillance video driving all the action is promising. The ending didn’t seem connected to the story at all. It was surprising not in a “I did not see that coming” way, but more like it came from a completely different story.

In A Gadda Da Vida On 8-Track by Bob Pastorella - 4/5
A story inspired by the real-life Budd Dwyer incident, this tale uses a VHS recording as the source of unnatural obsession and destruction. While I liked Pastorella’s writing, I thought the characters felt just a little underdeveloped. If you like found footage movies (like the Ring franchise for example), you’ll love this. Plus, you have to admit that the title is amazing.

A Festival Of Fiends by Brian Asman - 1/5
The whole premise (killers meeting in a remote location to screen films of their murders for a competition) is SO promising. The thing that doesn’t work is the writing style, it just feels very clunky to me. Almost every single character is given one defining characteristic and that is repeated over and over again to the audience (like one character having greasy hair, one having bad body odor, another one described as fat).

I Hate All That Is Mine by Leigh Harlen - 3/5
Centers around an amateur film maker, who has made a creepy short that has an effect on everyone who watches it (people see it once, and are compelled to watch it again and again). The story is great up until the very end. Without spoiling too much, I feel like the cliffhanger style ending was intended to be clever, but just felt unfinished.

The Thing in The Side Room by Dustin Katz - 1/5
A small group of YouTubers film their pranks, and use that for online exposure and fame. As the small company gets more successful, the pranks escalate. Except for some minor characters, no one in this story was likeable. Like in Kelby Losack’s story, I felt that the ending came out of nowhere and did not fit with the rest of the story. It’s like the author gave up at the end.

The Cosmic Atrocity by Andrew Novak - 3/5
A little boy sees a strange clown near his school playground, and becomes obsessed with telling this story to his friends, teachers, and parents. No one seems to believe him. This started out as a standard ‘no one believes a young kid when he sees creepy stuff’ story, but evolved to something more in scope. The escalation of events seemed uneven, with the last few paragraphs not matching the slow burn pace earlier.

Elephants That Aren’t by Betty Rocksteady - 5/5
A young artist is struggling with creating work that would match that of her mother. She compares herself to others in her art class, and is told she should find inspiration from within herself. Lines between dreams and reality blur, and…. well, don’t want to spoil that ending. I loved Rocksteady’s writing in this, it really keeps you reading to find out more.

Archibald Leech, The Many Storied Man by John C Foster - 1/5
A man gets sent to investigate strange goings on in a little town in the middle of nowhere. The closer he gets to the destination, the stranger his surroundings get (both the weather patterns and the people seem unnatural to him somehow). This felt a little like a detective noir movie mashed together with some cosmic horror, and I really wanted to like it. The ending was abrupt, like in a couple other stories in this anthology. That didn’t surprise or shock me as a reader, but felt more like the writer just stopped the story in a random place.

Teeth and Teeth and Teeth by Ashlee Scheuerman – 3/5
This story is structured around odd things seen on surveillance feeds, and focuses on a security guard who becomes more and more unnerved at what is happening around him. The end was a little disappointing (the build up to it was greater than the end result), and I thought the story would be more effective if it was just a little shorter (some sections felt like they dragged on).

Ghost Mapping by Eugenia Triantafyllou – 5/5
A story about loss and missed possibilities. And ghosts. I could say so much more, but really don’t want to spoil this for other readers. I was surprised by how much I loved this odd little story with its dreamlike writing.

The Fourth Wall by Kev Harrison – 4/5
Injuries start to cross over into the real world, and a cam girl tries desperately to understand what is going on. This story has a neat little mystery at the start, but I felt a little let down by the ending. Yes, it made sense within the context of what was happening, but it was so cliché! Plus, the title of the story is misleading. There is no fourth wall shattering in here.

Don’t Turn Around by Thomas Joyce – 4/5
A trio of amateur ghost hunters enter a creepy sanatorium (is there any other kind?), and quickly find themselves trapped. I liked this, and the humor was balanced well with the creepy stuff. Have to mention though, that this had a scene towards the end that was heavily inspired by one from the 1999 House on Haunted Hill movie (the part where a camcorder catches a ghostly operation).

Things She Left In The Woods by Jessica McHugh – 3/5
A lost boy, a failed search party. Two bickering siblings enter the wintry woods to try and find the child.
This had a very creepy atmosphere and used an urban legend to build tension between characters. I was kind of disappointed in the ending, which wasn’t very creepy to me (it just didn’t match the rest of the story in terms of scares).

Stag by Kristi Demeester – 5/5
A story of a girl obsessed with a mounted deer head in her family’s old house. The writing and world building in this is amazing, and there are some disturbing moments as the girl’s obsessiveness grows and grows. This was great, and the weird ending really worked.

Famous Last Words by Izzy Lee – 3/5
Told in reverse, this story feels like a mix of Blair Witch and The Descent. It’s about two film makers who go into a forest for some location scouting, and find something they didn’t expect. I think it could have been more effective with the scares if it was a little shorter. Some parts ran longer than they needed to be.

The Fabulous And Tormented Life Of A Serial Extra by Chad Stroup – 4/5
A man becomes obsessed with an extra in a movie, and starts to notice this strange man in the background of many other films. This story was very well written and there were plenty of fourth wall breaking moments. The ending was confusing, and I had no idea what actually happened to the main character.

The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads by David James Keaton – 5/5
Two bored store clerks. A strange VHS tape. They start to slowly notice that memories are changing, events being rewritten. This was a heck of a way to close out the anthology. This is the strangest love letter to video stores, retro technology, and other such sources of nostalgia.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had some talent and originality to it, and it tickled my lost/found media horror OCD. There are two other books in a series I’m looking forward to now.

[Sally]

If a Krusty the Klown crappypasta was among the best submissions, I shudder to think what was among the worst.

[Kevin L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection with some truly scary stories.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Overall, this is a pretty damned decent collection of short stories. I’m pleased I stumbled across it.

I loved the theme of lost films—it’s got so much potential and so many different directions to go in. I gotta give credit to a collection that brings inspiration along with it. The stories vary enough in levels of horror and weird that the balance is quite satisfying.

As with most collections, there are hits and misses—and those are going to vary from reader to reader. There were one or two that I was ultimately neutral about. One I thought was weak mostly because it relied on lazy stereotypes (automatic deduction for butterball as descriptor) and didn’t really hang together. A couple I don’t really remember.

My favorites:

Gemma Files’ “The Church in the Mountains” for character, atmosphere, and tension. Cool use of the theme.

“Elephants That Aren’t” by Betty Rocksteady. Wonderfully weird and unsettling with a great hook for the main character. Extra points for the illustration!

“Things She Left in the Woods” by Jessica McHugh kept me reading.

“The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads” by David James Keaton got off to a slow start. It’s worth getting through the beginning because once it gets rolling it’s really satisfying. There are some excellent ideas and I enjoyed seeing them play out. Also, as a former video store clerk I have to applaud.

Bonus: The Introduction by Max Booth III was particularly well done.

[Aniya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately most of these stories are nonsense and the endings are unsatisfying and lazy.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me a little longer to read than other anthologies. The first two stories didn't draw me in well. Because I very much liked only about half of the stories presented, I am unable to give it higher than a 3/5. However, the ones I liked, I really liked.

The ones I liked:
"This Cosmic Atrocity" by Andrew Novak
"Elephants That Aren't" by Betty Rocksteady
"Archibald Leech, the Many-Storied Man" by John C. Foster
"The Fabulous and Tormented Life of a Serial Extra" by Chad Stroup

The ones I really liked:
"Festival of Fiends" by Brian Asman
"Ghost Mapping" by Eugenia Triantafyllou
"Things She Left in the Woods" by Jessica
McHugh
"Stag" by Kristi DeMeester

My favourites:
"The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads" by David James Keaton
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8Track" by Bob Pastorella

[Zachary Ashford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic anthology

Man, this book is awesome. So many creative riffs on the theme that a lower review just doesn't do it justice. It's a real page-turner. There's a bunch of top authors in here and the stories are gripping as hell. Great stuff.

[Sara Kay (free.saratonin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was a lot more hit or miss than "Found". I was on a bit of a roll with anthologies for a hot minute, especially this Found Footage/late 90s nostalgia type story feel. I finished "Found" and thought it was really excellent, so I moved right into Lost Films and just struggled a little more with this one. It wasn't bad by any means, but some stories were clearly more superior to others and as a whole collection it felt lacking. Overall this anthology didn't really hold my attention as well as I would have liked.

[Jans Holstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies. Am I right?

Like all anthologies there are good and bad stories. Dips and twists and ups and downs. Most of the stories confined within these pages will at least give you pause (pun intended), while others will leave you wondering how they ever escaped the early draft stage in a 14 year old's notebook. Overall a great time with a few curation missteps.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as Lost Signals, but still a solid collection of stories. "Magic Flying Eraser Heads" was a particularly good, as was the story about a film festival with very strict rules.

[J.W. Donley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a solid horror anthology. Each story deals with the film theme of the collection in its own original way. There isn't a bad story in the bunch.
Highlights for me were:
* In-a-godda-da-vida On 8Track - by Bob Pastorella
* A Festival of Fiends - by Brian Asman
* This Cosmic Atrocity - by Andrew Novak
* Teeth and Teeth and Teeth - by Ashlee Scheuerman
* The Fourth Wall - by Kev Harrison
* Things She Left in the Woods - by Jessica McHugh
* Stag - by Kristi DeMeester
* The Fantastic Flying Eraser Heads - by David James Keaton

Things She Left in the Woods was my very favorite of the entire collection. I did not see that ending coming!

There is something for every horror reader in here, so be sure to give it a try.

[8Percent Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like it, I really did. I loved the concept and a couple of the stories were really good but overall it's kinda the embodiment of a shrug.

[Aaron Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection of horror shorts all based on lost films.

[Heather Mccall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great selection of stories! I enjoyed them all.

[Myan]

Favourites:
- Lather of Flies by Brian Evenson
- The Church in the Mountain by Gemma Files
- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida on 8Track by Bob Pastorella
- A Festival of Fiends by Brian Asman
- I Hate All That is Mine by Leigh Harlen
- This Cosmic Atrocity by Andrew Novak
- Archibald Leech, The Many-Storied Man by John C. Foster
- Stag by Kristi DeMeester