Current Events > Horror and horror adjacent fiction is the best it has been in decades.

(+) Yeah! (+)

In movies, we're starting to see the return of directors and crews being more important than franchises. All the major horror franchises are now far less prominent than the works from James Wan, Mike Flanagan, Jordan Peele, Drew Goddard, Ari Aster, Adam Wingard, Robert Eggers, and Jennifer Kent, and those are just some of the ones with great major adaptations to their name, there's too many smaller directors around to count. The genre has been flooded with great original movies, high quality remakes, and adaptations that bring new life to the source material. It's very pleasing and refreshing. We're even getting the first ever big budget, big screen Lovecraft adaptation that I'm aware of, Nic Cage's The Color Out Of Space.

Then there's TV, where what was once an occasional thing that was either very campy or more focused on other things than horror is now replaced by a number of strong, serious horror shows. Campy cable TV horror like Tales from the Crypt has been replaced by shows like Dexter and True Blood, horror adjacent but with actual characters behind them. Anthology horror like Twilight Zone and Are You Afraid of the Dark is still around here and there, particularly with Black Mirror and Masters of Horror, but has largely been replaced by seasonal anthologies like American Horror Story and Haunting of Hill House. There are still some more fun than scary horror series, like Scream TV and Scream Queens, iZombie, Santa Clarita Diet, Stranger Things, and of course Supernatural. There are also some full on serious horror shows in recent years - Walking Dead, Penny Dreadful, Ash Vs The Evil Dead, Castle Rock, Bates Motel, and The Terror. TV is a home for horror like never before.

Then we get to books, which are seeing a number of great authors, way more than I can count. Lovecraftian/Weird Fiction is getting new life breathed into it by Jeff Vandermeer, John Langan, Robert Jackson Bennett, and any number of other authors. New notables seem to be popping up all over with best first novels, like Bird Box and Head Full of Ghosts, as well as amazing translations like Let The Right One In and Hex.

Makes me very, very happy as a horror fan :D

I'm About 300 pages into Lovecrafts complete fiction, and I have to say his good stories are few and far between.
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The witch and hereditary really set a new standard.
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PoopPotato posted...

I'm About 300 pages into Lovecrafts complete fiction, and I have to say his good stories are few and far between.

He has a lot of good stories, but he has tons of stories in general. I personally am not a fan of him or his writing style, but I love the idea, and love Lovecraftian fiction.

I don't watch much horror, but it seems like there has been a push for more fleshed out characters. Would you say that's accurate? Characters to me have to be the strongest part of a story for it to work.
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SmidgeIsntBack posted...

I don't watch much horror, but it seems like there has been a push for more fleshed out characters. Would you say that's accurate? Characters to me have to be the strongest part of a story for it to work.

Fleshed out characters and unique stories. Slashers have really gone out of style in favor of horror that touches on real issues.

BobanMarjanovic posted...

The witch and hereditary really set a new standard.

I liked the Witch but disliked Hereditary. I found the little girl comical when I know I wasn't supposed to.
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PoopPotato posted...

BobanMarjanovic posted...

The witch and hereditary really set a new standard.

I liked the Witch but disliked Hereditary. I found the little girl comical when I know I wasn't supposed to.

Honestly I was the opposite. I loved Hereditary, but hated The Witch. I thought it had great atmosphere and buildup, but didn't go anywhere satisfying.

OctilIery posted...

but didn't go anywhere satisfying.

Damn. That ending was perfect to me.
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Also, if you like horror books, check out Grady Hendrix. Guy is doing a lot of cool work reviving both old genres and old authors by getting them back in print.

Ill check out some of those authors.
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PoopPotato posted...

I'm About 300 pages into Lovecrafts complete fiction, and I have to say his good stories are few and far between.

I have the same and Im struggling. I feel like I am wading through a lot of unenjoyemnt despite being a fan of so much he has inspired.

knutjob posted...

PoopPotato posted...

I'm About 300 pages into Lovecrafts complete fiction, and I have to say his good stories are few and far between.

I have the same and Im struggling. I feel like I am wading through a lot of unenjoyemnt despite being a fan of so much he has inspired.

You aren't alone at all, don't worry.

Depending on the collection, Lovecraft collections start from when he was at his youngest to his oldest, opening with that hilarious one that ends with "HE WAS A MAN!!!!!" punctuation and all.

But 300 pages in, if you don't like it then don't read it. He has a very particular style that either resonates or it doesn't.

Personally I found all the dreaming stuff way more interesting than the cosmic horror, though I suspect that's because the cosmic horror is what made it to the mainstream.
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I have the collection that starts from the beginning. Thinking about just jumping straight To Cthulu and his other famous one and calling it done.
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What's horror adjacent?
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PoopPotato posted...

I have the collection that starts from the beginning. Thinking about just jumping straight To Cthulu and his other famous one and calling it done.

Ehhhh Cthulu is honestly pretty slow until the end. I recommend Colour Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness. The latter is cosmic horror that also functions as a real who's who of the Cthulu mythos, while Colour Out of Space is just a small town meets cosmic horror story.
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Touch posted...

What's horror adjacent?

Stories that are clearly not horror, but have a couple parts here or there that are creepy or disturbing. Jurassic Park is probably my favorite example, because while it's clearly not a horror movie some scenes would be right at home in one.

SmidgeIsntBack posted...

PoopPotato posted...

I have the collection that starts from the beginning. Thinking about just jumping straight To Cthulu and his other famous one and calling it done.

Ehhhh Cthulu is honestly pretty slow until the end. I recommend Colour Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness. The latter is cosmic horror that also functions as a real who's who of the Cthulu mythos, while Colour Out of Space is just a small town meets cosmic horror story.

I'd say Shadow over Innsmouth for something less slow. It's one of the only times he did a real action scene, and it's a great story too.

Hairistotle posted...

dr strange 2 tho

I'm really, really hoping they touch on horror in that. I want Marvel to stretch out into other genres than just action.

I am also hype for Dr. Strange 2. Horror Marvel sounds awesome and Strange is perfect for it.
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Bump!