Status Updates From Studio of Screams

I have finished the second “movie” and interview, about a sinister circus. I feel my attention being drawn to certain clues… no I shan’t say more…

I am captivated so far. The first “movie” (told as a novelization) has Peter Cushing and a yaoguai; what more could I ask for? The interviews and footnotes are also giving me some real movies to add to my horror watchlist!

Lebbon ramps things up with ‘Castle of the Lost’, wherein Jack brings his wife and young son back to the ancestral home... a castle where his parents and sister, leaders of an orgiastic death cult, apparently perished years earlier. Really enjoyed this one and actually wish it could have been longer, or a standalone novel, but it packs a helluva punch in its ‘film length’ running time.

So far Mark Morris is nailing the Hammer Horror vibe, with a setup specifically reminiscent of The Mummy, and I’m loving every second of it. I think I’ve mentally cast all the characters with Hammer regulars, with the curious exception of Sir Clyde... onward!