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Flicker: An Extreme Horror Novel
What if there was a movie that had the power to drive any who watches it insane? What if it was only shown once? What if whoever held that movie had the power to change the world in their hands?
For Private Eye Don English finding this very movie is just another in a long line of peculiar jobs. He's getting paid well enough and needs the money, so why not?
But as he gets closer to finding the lost movie he soon realises that everything is not as it seems. And that sometimes lost things should never ever be found.
For Private Eye Don English finding this very movie is just another in a long line of peculiar jobs. He's getting paid well enough and needs the money, so why not?
But as he gets closer to finding the lost movie he soon realises that everything is not as it seems. And that sometimes lost things should never ever be found.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 12, 2019
What am interesting story. An ancient trinket called Luppi's Brain. What men do for this, what happens to them when they find it. Could it really be just a empty box, a paper bag. who knows, not saying.
This story will have you on the edge of your seat. It has everything a compelling thriller needs and more. Mr. English may be in for more then he bargained for. Then again men in his line of work usually are.
Well rounded story. It was amazing.
This story will have you on the edge of your seat. It has everything a compelling thriller needs and more. Mr. English may be in for more then he bargained for. Then again men in his line of work usually are.
Well rounded story. It was amazing.
May 23, 2020
Lemme tell you, I read the bulk of this novella over the course of a few lunch breaks at my day job, and I would not recommend that method for most people. But if you, too, are a weirdo whose appetite stays intact while reading about grisly murders and eviscerated fetuses, then you’ll probably be fine. Just do so knowing this: R.F. Blackstone is a writer who does not hold back.
In fact, he likes to remind his audience that his horror leans extreme. Every new vignette of grotesque violence seems to declare, “Hold my chalice of virgin’s blood!” as Blackstone attempts to out-gross the previous pages. Which he frequently manages to do, disturbingly adeptly.
For more, check out my full review: https://www.fearsomequeer.net/blog/8k...
In fact, he likes to remind his audience that his horror leans extreme. Every new vignette of grotesque violence seems to declare, “Hold my chalice of virgin’s blood!” as Blackstone attempts to out-gross the previous pages. Which he frequently manages to do, disturbingly adeptly.
For more, check out my full review: https://www.fearsomequeer.net/blog/8k...
April 30, 2019
Review first posted on scifiandscary.com - copy provided by the publisher for review consideration
I’m a sucker for stories about cursed art. There’s something about the idea of a book or movie or piece of music with the ability to kill or drive its audience insane that appeals to my black little heart.
I picked up ‘Flicker’ with some relish, but unfortunately it largely disappointed me.
It’s about a gruff British private eye, Don English, travelling to Mexico to track down the last film of a brilliant but insane Mexican director. The film, ‘Fin de Los Tiempos’ is silent, in black and white and rumoured to turn anyone who watches it violently insane.
The premise will be familiar to anyone who has seen John Carpenter’s brilliant ‘Masters of Horror’ episode, ‘Cigarette Burns’. Unfortunately, RF Blackstone’s take on the topic isn’t nearly as effective. It ends up mixing ribald and clumsy humour with horrifically graphic scenes of extreme violence into a cocktail that’s slightly nauseating. The fact that so many of the victims are does nothing to make the book any more palatable.
There’s a good book in here somewhere, despite the familiarity of the central concept. The plot rattles along at a good pace and watching English investigate can be entertaining. The problem is that the balance between atmosphere and gore is way off. The notion of an artistically produced, silent snuff movie that drives its audiences to commit murder has the potential to be deeply creepy. But rather than gradually teasing out the mystery and ramping up the tension, Blackstone just keeps on trying to outdo himself by making the violence more and more extreme. Given that the first horrific scene involves the discovery of a mutilated foetus that’s some feat.
The abundance of gore and the English protagonist reminded me of Shaun Hutson’s work, but the book lacks the narrative drive and overwhelming darkness that characterise Hutson’s best work. Instead, ‘Flicker’ ends up feeling somewhat lazy. The characters are broad and uninteresting stereotypes (often drawn along racial lines), the horror is more sickening than horrifying and there’s an absence of any originality. As a result, it’s hard to recommend, even if the subject is an intriguing one.
I’m a sucker for stories about cursed art. There’s something about the idea of a book or movie or piece of music with the ability to kill or drive its audience insane that appeals to my black little heart.
I picked up ‘Flicker’ with some relish, but unfortunately it largely disappointed me.
It’s about a gruff British private eye, Don English, travelling to Mexico to track down the last film of a brilliant but insane Mexican director. The film, ‘Fin de Los Tiempos’ is silent, in black and white and rumoured to turn anyone who watches it violently insane.
The premise will be familiar to anyone who has seen John Carpenter’s brilliant ‘Masters of Horror’ episode, ‘Cigarette Burns’. Unfortunately, RF Blackstone’s take on the topic isn’t nearly as effective. It ends up mixing ribald and clumsy humour with horrifically graphic scenes of extreme violence into a cocktail that’s slightly nauseating. The fact that so many of the victims are does nothing to make the book any more palatable.
There’s a good book in here somewhere, despite the familiarity of the central concept. The plot rattles along at a good pace and watching English investigate can be entertaining. The problem is that the balance between atmosphere and gore is way off. The notion of an artistically produced, silent snuff movie that drives its audiences to commit murder has the potential to be deeply creepy. But rather than gradually teasing out the mystery and ramping up the tension, Blackstone just keeps on trying to outdo himself by making the violence more and more extreme. Given that the first horrific scene involves the discovery of a mutilated foetus that’s some feat.
The abundance of gore and the English protagonist reminded me of Shaun Hutson’s work, but the book lacks the narrative drive and overwhelming darkness that characterise Hutson’s best work. Instead, ‘Flicker’ ends up feeling somewhat lazy. The characters are broad and uninteresting stereotypes (often drawn along racial lines), the horror is more sickening than horrifying and there’s an absence of any originality. As a result, it’s hard to recommend, even if the subject is an intriguing one.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews