Something has taken a liking to the children of Mount Vernon, Washington. Its eyes are orange, and glow like fire. Its hissing voice is the autumn wind.
It hovers over them at night, casting snake-like shadows that dance on the walls. It laughs and taunts as they cry in their beds. It says it wants to take them trick-or-treating.
Halloween is in a week.
Kyle McIntosh is hardly aware when the first four kids are abducted, their families slaughtered. Though news-vans litter the streets, his 16-year-old heart has just been broken. Night-after-night, more children are taken. More bodies are left behind.
When Kyle’s little brother claims an orange-eyed monster has been visiting him at night, ignorance ceases to be an option - because their family might just be next.
OH hi. Creepy kids? Yes, please. Probably one of my favorite types of genres to read are CREEPY KIDS. Kill them and then have them come back with glowing eyes, weapons and they must kill their own family? SIGN ME UP!
The opening scene in this book is fantastic and I wanted more and more of this... which probably says a lot about me but um... ahem. Haha. There were certainly some spooky scenes that could absolutely lend to nightmares. The visuals I had in certain moments will definitely stick with me for a while. I will say that I was a little bit disappointed with the love story within. I could've done without it altogether. And at times, it was hard to tell how old any of these kids were based on their actions and/or dialogue, which could be distracting at times. And I found the reasoning behind what was happening a little bit... underwhelming. This story could probably have been shorted by 50-100 pages to be honest. Due to these factors I'm going down the middle in my rating here.
What I did enjoy about this read was the fluidity and the concept... again, killer, creepy kids! At times it gave me little Children of the Corn, NO4A2 creepy kid vibes (but this story is completely different then both.... just go with me here!). If you like this type of horror as much as I do, come and get it. And watch your kids and/or younger siblings closely. 😉
Cinema 7... I honestly don't know where to begin? I suppose I should say thanks for the nightmares about my two current spawn and the one currently in my tummy deciding to off me in the middle of the night. That was fun. If you have ever been pregnant, you know vivid dreams are pretty common, and this book was the perfect nightmare fuel!!
I had a good time overall reading this book, although I will admit it does have a handful of triggers, so I am going to go ahead and list them out for you just in case. Some potential triggers include Parricide, Fratricide, Pedicide, abuse of corpse ( they are zombies but it's still children characters so...ehh..it might ruffle some feathers), sexual assault/ rape, physical assault, abuse, violence and gore. This list probably doesn't cover all triggers, but it gives you a fair estimate on what to expect. I will also add that while these triggers are present, I personally felt like all topics were presented well and in no way gratuitous.
It's a week before Halloween, and suddenly, parents are being murdered in their homes, and the kids begin to go missing! Sounds like your everyday home invasion/ murder/ kidnapping tale, right? While that would be TERRIBLE...if only it was so PG! The truth is a lot more horrifying. It's the damn kids behind it all! Even worse, the kids are dead too, and their reanimated corpses are out for even more blood. They are being driven by a spirit hellbent on revenge who will stop at nothing till the town runs red with the blood of all its residents.
If you love a bloody read but don't want your run of the mill zombie book, I would highly suggest picking this one up! It's also a great grab for those of you who love books about creepy AF kids. This was my first Michael J. Moore's book, but it definitely will not be my last.
I received an E-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you again, Blackthorn Book Tours, for letting me take part in the blog tour.
Kids are being abducted at an alarming rate, their families brutally slaughtered 😱. 16 year old Kyle has seen some of the missing kids but they didn’t look alive. Why were their eyes glowing? When Kyle’s little brother claims to have been visited by an orange- eyed monster at night, could their family be next to die?
This was another new to me author and I’m happy to say that I look forward to reading more of his horror books. This was creepy, entertaining and equally gory. I mean anything with kids is creepy anyways 😳. Overall a great story with the perfect amount of disturbing imagery. Definitely a great choice for horror lovers.
Are you looking for something creepy as hell, with lots of shock and gore. This horror book will have you checking out more by this author. I want to thank @hrpr.blackthorn for inviting me on this great book tour ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I feel it might be slightly controversial to say this, but kids are damn creepy. I don't mean on a whole, generally they're fine little folks even if they're not for me. But as soon as kids start taking part in horror they turn the creep factor right up, and Cinema 7 is no exception; and if anything, it pushes the use of kids in horror into some disturbing directions.
The story follows the residents of the town of Mount Vernon, and the terror that comes to their peaceful lives one October. We begin with a little girl trying her best to stay in her room and sleep whilst her mother entertains her new boyfriend. The girl knows that she can't go and ask her mother for help, nor can she go and find shelter in her bed even though she desperately wants to; because there's a monster in her room. Stuck in her bed, alone and afraid, the girl listens as the monster tells her frightening things, before killing her.
Whilst this would be awful enough, the girl doesn't stay dead. She wakes back up, her body dead, and her eyes glowing with an orange light. Driven by dark urges and evil desires the girl kills her mother before leaving the home. This is a terrible and tragic event in itself, but it's far from the only one. Other children have suffered the same fate across the town, resulting in dead parents and missing children.
We then meet Kyle, a sixteen-year-old boy who's mostly just coasting through his life. He's not excelling in school, his love life has taken a recent hit, and he's spending his time smoking weed with his friend group. He's not a bad kid by any means, he's simply a little lost at the moment. When Kyle spots a group of dead children walking around town, covered in blood and with glowing eyes he tells the police what he's seen. Whilst the cops seem to believe him, they don't treat him too favourably, and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth; especially as it gets him in trouble with his parents for skipping school to score some weed.
Kyle feels like there's something awful happening in his town, something that might be targeting his own little brother, who he hears crying at night. Determined to find out more Kyle ends up getting help from new girl, Marie, who believes Kyle's story, and thinks that something evil is out to destroy the town's children.
Cinema 7 feels like two books in one a lot of the time. There are two main narratives, which are of course connected. The first is the story of the possessed, dead children. These sections are scattered throughout the book, and are definitely some of the darker and most disturbing moments by a big margin. Michael J. Moore doesn't hold back in these parts of the book, and provides graphic descriptions of violence done both to and by children.
These parts of the book reminded me a lot of the books by James Herbert, things like The Fog and The Dark, where people are driven to awful, evil acts of mutilation and murder. The children in this book go after their parents and their extended families with a viciousness that is honestly quite shocking. They don't just kill their family outright, which they easily could as some of them do have guns. Instead, they torture their parents, they take their time with their killings, and they revel in the harm that they cause. It takes a lot to make me feel squeamish whilst reading, but this book managed it a few times with some of the things that were happening here. So if you're adverse to graphic violence, or scary children, this is a book that will test your resolve for sure.
The other story is that of Kyle and Marie. As said earlier, Kyle is a very average kind of kid, just trying to get through life. When he meets Marie he's not too sure about her, she's attractive and fun to be around, but he's just been through a break-up and doesn't want to rush into anything. But through the course of their investigation into the strange events around Mount Vernon the two of them grow closer, and a genuine friendship begins to form between them; and it's no surprise when things turn romantic.
Their story feels like a nice mix of a mystery investigation and a teen romance story, and whilst their entire story and character arcs are connected to the greater events some of the best moments with the two of them were the quite times when they weren't running for their lives and just got to connect and bond. I also appreciated how the book didn't shy away from showing both of them as vulnerable, and that Kyle was allowed to be something more than the 'masculine' teen boy, and actually had times where things got too much for him and he needed to grieve. And I appreciated that Marie was there for him in these moments and was able to comfort him.
Cinema 7 is an intense read at times, one that has some dark and disturbing moments and some violent imagery; but it's also a book with a lot more going on in it than you'd first think. It has some interesting characters, and the themes of how abuse leads to more abuse are pretty out in the open. If you look at this book and just see a violent gore-soaked mess you're probably missing something. Definitely one worth reading, though probably not if your kid is sleeping in their room at the time.
Spoilers: I really thought after all the psychological thrillers and supernatural horrors that I have read and reviewed over the past five years, I thought that surely nothing could scare me. Yes folks, I was immune from nightmares.
Clearly, Michael J. Moore was on a mission to prove me wrong.
Because no sooner than I began reading the first chapter of Moore's gruesome dark disturbing horror novel, Cinema 7 a chapter in which Kim, a little girl stabs her mother and mother's boyfriend at the behest of a monstrous figure in her room than my subconscious became severely affected.
Not only does that lovely image begin the book but three other children do the same to their families leaving six parents dead and four children self made orphans and missing. Oh and right before these not so adorable tykes commit these horrific murders, they go through a change that seems to be a composite of the evil monster sexually abusing them then eating them alive.
Not only do these kids become undead psychopaths but their bodies are altered to make them almost demonic with gravelly deep voices and orange lights in place of eyes. Ah yes, reading this book late at night with the lights off does wonders for an already fragile psyche that imagines killer demon children with glowing eyes. (The description does not do it justice. Trust me, Moore's writing style definitely makes the Reader shiver with unbridled terror.)
Unfortunately this attack is not an isolated incident. Kyle McIntosh, a local high school boy with a tenuous connection to where the murders take place (his former girlfriend, Claudia, lives in the same trailer park where they happened), runs into the children in their demonic glory. Terrified, he tells the police who surprisingly believe him (video camera footage also showed the kids). Unfortunately, attacks are starting to increase as this strange monster possesses more kids and more family members turn up violently murdered leaving Kyle, his friends, family, and his new girlfriend, Marie, to face this seemingly unstoppable army bent on violence, mayhem, and revenge.
The Nightmare Fuel is palpable throughout this book. It's the type of book where a seemingly happy family could one night fall prey to violence by their youngest child who barely understands what they are doing before they pick up a knife and slaughter their parents, older siblings, and pets.
There are some ghoulish images of small infants unable to walk, all of a sudden springing up to commit murder. A toddler whose neck is broken during an escape attempt has a conversation with his older brother with his head leaning over what remains of his neck. And those eyes, the glowing eyes burn from the page into the Reader's souls.
What also makes this situation more monstrous is how it starts and how it continues. I won't reveal too much but the monster is motivated by hatred at someone. Someone human did something horrible to begin this rampage and was never caught. Sometimes as horrible as the supernatural is, the natural, the human can be far worse.
There is also the fear over how unstoppable this attack is. The monster goes throughout the town attacking family after family. Even the protagonists' families are attacked. It is not understated how this attack traumatizes everyone involved. Almost a whole generation of an entire town's childrens are possessed and parents are violently killed. Those that survive are certain to have the worst kind of PTSD imaginable. All because one character did something horrible and another sought revenge by punishing everyone around them.
The fear factor of the monstrous children and their leader's motivations and origins are the most memorable parts of the book. It overshadows some of the downfalls of the book. Kyle's romance with Marie is the stuff of typical teen angst and brings down most of the plot, except when the attacks affect them personally. Also his earlier relationship with Claudia ends up being unnecessary, especially since she herself barely appears in the book and is mostly talked about barely shown. Kyle and Marie also make some questionable decisions that are probably meant to make the Reader suspicious, but since they are proven to not be important. They don't lead to anything except for the Reader's exasperated sighs over how foolish these characters act.
But what can't be forgotten is how terrifying the monsters in this book are. It is the type of book that is best read in the dark for a good scare but only after checking the hallways, through the windows, and the children's bedrooms for pairs of eerie glowing orange eyes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
After having read a lot of psychological thrillers and the goriest of horrors in the years I’ve been a reader I didn’t think there was a book out there that could scare me. I’ve read all of Stephen King’s work who is known as the master of horror and nothing has phased me but I have a feeling that Michael J. Moore just changed that for me. The first chapter alone had me hooked and was similar to the opening scene of Halloween where we witness a little girl called Kim stab her mother and her mother’s boyfriend to death at the command of a figure in her room and this was just the beginning and it only got darker and more gruesome from here.
Kim isn’t the only child affect as three other children do the same thing to their parents leaving six adults dead and four children, orphaned and missing. Even this early on in the book I was on the edge of my seat and wanting more. If the murders weren’t enough the children go through a change that seems to be the result of the evil monster sexually abusing them and then eating them alive. The imagery and writing style Moore uses really hits every nerve that gets your heart racing the same way the best horror movies do. The children become a sort of undead psychopaths which was creepy enough but they go through physical changes causing their voices gravellier and their eyes are replaced with orange lights which reminded of Children of the Corn and the creep factor those children have which sent chills down my spine.
I honestly won’t recommend reading this book late at night with the lights off as it will give you nightmares of killer demon children and fill you with unbridled terror. This book shook me so much that the night I finished it at around two in the morning I slept with a light on for the first time since I was a child, if that doesn’t tempt you to read it, especially if you’re a fan of horror then I don’t know what will. We are then introduced to Kyle, a local high school boy who runs into the demonic children and terrified he goes to the police with the video footage of the kids. At this point the attacks are starting to increase as the monster possess more and more children. This leaves Kyle, his girlfriend, Marie alone to face the seemingly unstoppable army of children hell bent on violence and revenge. The atmosphere throughout the novel is amazing but it will set any parent on edge and make them paranoid of their own children. There are also some disturbing images with small babies not capable of walking yet, springing up to commit gruesome acts of murder. There is even a toddler whose neck is broken during the escape that has a conversation with his older brother with his head bent at an unnatural angle that make me feel ill as I pictured it in my mind.
I don’t want to reveal too much about the novel as it spoils some of the best parts but we learn the monster is motivated by hatred targeted at a particular person. This person did something unforgiveable that sparked this rampage of the undead children and was never caught or punished for it and it makes you realise that the humans in this novel can be far worse that the undead children and the monster controlling them at times. There is no plot armour in this book as the protagonist’s families are even attacked by the children so no one is safe and the fear is building. At this point almost an entire generation of the town’s children have been possessed and many people murdered. Those that have survived are certain to be damaged permanently from it.
The utter fear the book creates in its characters and the reader is the best part of the book and I recommend going into it as blind as possible for the full effect. However, there are some drawbacks, the biggest one for me was Kyle’s relationship with Marie was tropey and full of teen angst which didn’t really fit the feel of the novel as we could have done without the romance altogether. Kyle’s relationship with his ex, despite the amount of time it was discussed wasn’t relevant at all. The decisions of the characters especially Kyle and Marie are very questionable at times and is most likely meant to make the reader suspicious and throw them off but they are proven to not be important at all. Despite this it doesn’t undo how frightening the book can be at time and I would recommend it especially for the Halloween season when you are in the mood to be scared.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Cinema 7 is a horror story about creepy kids. Now, we all know kids can be nightmare fuel for a multitude of reasons if horror movies are to be believed. As a parent myself, I, thankfully, have never experienced anything outside the norm with my two kiddos. But in this book, Kim's mom and her boyfriend (along with some other parents in town) are about to discover that their kids are being hunted and taken over by a demonic entity. In Mount Vernon, kids are going missing, and their parents are turning up dead at the crime scenes. Who is murdering these adults and stealing their kids? That's what the police are trying to figure out. Kyle McIntosh is a 16-year-old boy who only cares about the fact that his girlfriend dumped him and has moved on already. He's dealing with a broken heart in his own way, but that leads him to witnessing the missing children one day. The only problem? There's something wrong with them. Traipsing around town with weapons, wearing nothing but stained night clothes/underwear, these kids are menacing, and their eyes are glowing orange. Kyle isn't sure what's going on, and he doesn't think the police believe him when he explains what he saw. Then, his little brother starts talking about an orange-eyed monster visiting him at night. Now, Kyle is taking things more seriously. His brother might be the next one to get taken, and Kyle knows if he can't uncover the truth, his family just might be next. This is an interesting read. The story starts off with a dark, disturbing scene, and then it slows down a bit. And while the story holds steady, while also throwing in more creepy scenes and some gore for good measure, it never really got under my skin the way I expected it to. I love horror. I've been reading it/watching it since I was a kid (around 6 or 7), and there are actually quite a few things that freak me out. Usually farm animals, but that's a different story. Creepy kids, not so much, unless they're done in a way that really makes me uneasy (like the kids in Children of the Corn, perhaps). Cult-like emotionless children are scary. And these kids had that vibe, but they didn't quite freak me out in the same way. I felt like the story was a little slow at times. I found myself struggling a bit in spots, but overall, I did enjoy Cinema 7 for what it was. It's definitely a different sort of horror story, and I'm glad I took a chance on it and read it. 3.5 stars!
This novel was one of the books I chose to review from the Blackthorn Tour group. This was a novel that I enjoyed reading. This story is, in my opinion, a new take on typical paranormal activity mixed with the kind of slow but steady suspense that keeps you turning page after page. There were a number of nights that stayed up way later than I should have just to keep reading.
There are a few instances where the author gets a little long-winded, very similar to the style of Stephen King in the novel IT. There were more than just a couple of areas where the author repeats the same information multiple times, almost as if it were some sort of reminder or recap, which is fine but, not necessary.
I also felt that the length of the novel was a little long for the actual story content it possesses. I felt that there was a significant portion of the background and filler content that could have simply been omitted and the story would have been just as impactful, if not even more so. Other parts of this kind of content could have been condensed to avoid repeating the information so much. Plus, I found the characters a little, I don’t know, disjointed maybe. They seemed hard to relate to a lot of the time. Even though their personalities where well represented by their dialogue, the rest of the details about the characters seemed kind of faint and eventually seemed to get lost in the body of the plot.
All that being said, I did enjoy the story. I found the descriptive and creative writing completely conveyed the shattering imagery that left vivid and often very eerie pictures in my mind as I read on. This talent alone made the story worth reading. However, I must say that for pure horror lovers I think this novel is a fifty-fifty shot as to whether it will be well received in that audience. I think this would be more popular in the suspense/thriller drama type of genre.
The week before Halloween, in a small town in America, a glowing eyed monster has emerged. With an appetite for young children, it enters their bedrooms at night, whispering to them from the shadows, sharing violent thoughts and wicked promises. The monster slowly burrows it’s way deep inside, taking hold until children are left wanting nothing more than to join it, and to please it.
The opening scene of this book is creepy, twisted and gory - everything that you could want from a good horror story, and more! It continues at tremendous pace as we meet Kyle, a teenage boy with a loose connection to one of the victims. He witnesses an event that he is unable to make sense of, and with a little help he tries to piece together and understand what he has seen, and what is happening to the children of the town.
I’m a hardened horror reader and there isn’t much in the genre that phases me, but this book had me listening out at night, and checking my children’s room for monsters 😅. Cinema 7 is a great psychological horror with a fantastic opening and ending, but I feel that it was a bit too long and the second act dragged a little for me. Three and a half stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up to 4 on GR- thanks very much Blackthorn book tours for having me on this tour. 🖤
This is a creepy slasher horror where a bunch of small children are killed and then possessed, by what I won't say since it would spoil things, and promptly form a zombie mob with which to gruesomely murder their parents. There's a lot of sadistic violence here, which isn't my preferred horror type to be honest, but it moves along fairly quickly. It's helped, too, by an extremely sympathetic and genuinely well-drawn protagonist. Kyle is an average teenager, and he's goodhearted but not perhaps that bright, or that aware, so he's a good choice for this. He flounders a lot, but he feels like a teenager when I'm reading is what I'm saying. He has verisimilitude. Unfortunately, his partner in crime and incipient love interest, Marie, does not. She is far too mature for her age, especially compared to him, so much so that their sex scenes actually made me feel a little uncomfortable, because as much as Marie looks like a seventeen year old girl, she behaves like she could be Kyle's forty year old mother, and the contrast between the very believable Kyle and her completely unbelievable self is noticeable.
Cinema 7 by Michael J. Moore is a chilling horror. A tale of revenge, possession, and the risen dead that also has all the gruesomeness of a zombie story. Cinema 7 is certainly not a novel for those who may be easily offended by the darker aspects of humanity, but certainly an exciting tale if you are a fan of dark horror stories.
It has been a long time since I read a horror story that made me pause and think about what was going on. The detail in which the story is told are wonderful. The characters are certainly relatable, particularly the man characters who are teenagers and certainly feel like they are in all their uncomfortable, self-conscious glory. This is grand because a story with a perfect character gets boring really fast.
As stated, this is a dark story, and certainly not for the faint of heart, however even the most grotesque scenes of this novel have a place and feel as though they are not simply there for the shock value, though they can certainly be shocking.
In short, Cinema 7 is a must read for fans of horror.
Children are going missing from their homes in the town of Mount Vermont. To make matters worse the missing children’s parents are found dead at the crime scene.
Kyle is sure he’s seen the missing children, grouped together with weapons but they don’t look alive. With bright orange eyes it’s clear to Kyle there is something seriously wrong with these children. When Kyle starts hearing his brother screaming at night he is certain the kids are coming for his brother too.
Essentially this horror is a bunch of killer dead kids on the rampage, adding to their numbers on their rounds. I enjoyed this one but there was just something missing. We had gore, which is always a necessity for any good horror but I just didn’t feel that thrill I’d hoped for. There is definitely a lot of shock in this book and at times I felt it was for the shock factor rather than essential to the plot. I am pleased I’ve had the opportunity to read this one, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.
Children disappear. Parents end up dead. Children are the murderers. The beginning scene of the book is hooking as we are introduced to an evil entity controlling children to kill their family. These killings become more vile and monstrous as it grows into the Town as we are introduced to Kyle who must try to protect his loved ones in the midst of this supernatural madness. I loved the horror writing style of Michael and this made me sleep with my lights turned on. This will definitely trigger the subconscious to make you think what you would do when you're an adult in this situation. This book definitely gives a good scare and makes you look back when walking down that dark hallway. I received this book with a request for an honest review. Great job to the author
This was a solid story that follows two teenagers as they attempt to stay one step ahead of a evil, murderous mob of reanimated children's corpses. Lots of creepy kid vibes and fun campy horror.
I did have a few issues with the main characters being 16 and 17 years old, yet not coming across as teenagers at all. In fact one of them was the person most likely to do an info dump on topics that seemed a little far fetched for a young person to have any advanced knowledge of. ( Mostly medical) I was also very frustrated with the main police officer who was a trope of her own. Both these characters were very unlikable in my opinion.
I did like the pacing of this one and the overall concept was excellent.
I was super excited to read this book as I am a big fan of the creepy kid trope like Children of the Corn and Poltergeist!
Kids are going missing. Parents are being murdered. There is a monster on the loose with glowing eyes. This is the stuff nightmares are made of! The horrors element was on point. There was lots of blood and gore. The only reason I knocked the book down a star is because I felt it could have been shorter. I loved the story and it is most definitely one for an horror fan to pick up.
Thank you to Blackthorn book tours for the #gifted copy of the book.
I received a gifted copy of ‘Cinema 7’ by Michael J Moore in return for my honest review.
This book follows Kyle Mcintosh, a 16-year-old boy who has just been dumped and has had his heart broken.
One night four children go missing and at least six people are found dead. Kyle is concerned as his ex-girlfriend lives nearby where the killings happened.
Over the next few days more and more children go missing and their families are all discovered dead.
Kyle becomes worried about his friends and family, especially when his little brother tells him a monster keeps visiting him at night.
Kyle and his new friend Marie start to investigate and try and work out what is going on, so they can try and stop the killings and the kidnappings.
Will they succeed? What is going on in this small town?
This book scared the life out of me, it had me looking behind my shoulder when leaving a dark room.
The further the book develops and the more children that go missing, the darker and scarier the storyline becomes.
I loved the new friendship between Kyle and Marie that starts in the book, as it allowed there to be at least a little bit of humour in between the terrifying horror.
I think this book will stay with me for a while, I have never read anything like it. I really enjoyed reading though and I will be looking for more from this author.
Overall, a terrifying and dark horror that will scare the life out of you.