Liberated woman suspects foul play after moving to Connecticut town where nearly all her peers are or are becoming strangely contented housewives. And, she realizes, she's next. Short, subtle, and tightly plotted horror thriller is also a not-entirely-one-sided satire of American gender roles. The prescient blurb for the first edition mentions "Stepford Wife" as a potential cultural buzzword. Filmed twice, seriously in 1975, farcically in 2004.
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Liberated woman suspects foul play after moving to Connecticut town where nearly all her peers are or are becoming strangely contented housewives. And, she realizes, she's next. Short, subtle, and tightly plotted horror thriller is also a not-entirely-one-sided satire of American gender roles. The prescient blurb for the first edition mentions "Stepford Wife" as a potential cultural buzzword. Filmed twice, seriously in 1975, farcically in 2004.
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**** Imperfect yet superior thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill as a married couple who take to the sea to heal after the death of their only child, finding their own lives threatened when they take aboard the sole survivor (Billy Zane) from a derelict schooner. Sort of the big-budget Hollywood version of Roman Polanski's low-key Knife in the Water and, in its own way, just as good. Expertly directed, with a few nicely evocative moments amid all the suspenseful action, and well acted by all. Does, however, include a regrettable denouement. Based on the book by Charles Williams. **** Olsen's riveting account of how Dean Corll killed at least 28 boys between the ages of 13 and 19 from 1970-1973, aided and abetted by two teenaged accomplices and the city of Houston, Texas. While it's possible that later works on the case provide more detail (Olsen doesn't appear to have bothered to wait for the trials of Corll's accomplices, one of whom killed Corll before he could dispatch his latest victim), it's unlikely any are informed by the same passion. And it is Olsen's passion, though myopic and arguably elitist, that gives this work its driving force. It's about a hellhole called Houston that is inhabited by worn out, uneducated hicks and policed by overworked cops who have coined their own category of homicide, "misdemeanor murder," so as to be able to focus on the really important crimes -- or to take the weekend off. One gets the sense that Olsen wouldn't have minded much if Houston itself were wiped off the map, instead of just a relatively few children. Not that he doesn't appreciate the children; more that he cannot abide the idea that Houstonians themselves seem to care so little about them. The whole thing would be offensive if it weren't in some respects quite true. The case itself is fascinating in its scope and diabolical incestousness (so many of the victims were located, along with the killers, in the same small area of Houston, and interacted with each other), and even Olsen's recounting of Corll's history late in the book makes for interesting reading (which is not often the case). Unbiased? No. But forcefully written. **** Lem's evocation of the eerie, the odd, and the mysterious highlights this novel of an English police inspector investigating a strange case of corpses seemingly coming back to life. The mystery itself is less important here than the theories advanced to explain it, which together create a world in which perception becomes its own reality. The terrific ending includes a particularly creepy scene set in the English countryside. At night. In deep fog. **** Classic horror film of American skeptic investigating British Satanist who predicts the Yank has only three days to live. Unusual for showing the murderous demon up front, a decision made by executive producer Hal E. Chester and condemned by Tourneur and screenwriter Charles Bennett, who argued for a more ambiguous approach. (Chester got it right.) Fast-paced, intelligently plotted, and full of supernatural goings-on. A must for fans of the genre. Also known as Curse of the Demon, and based on the M. R. James story "Casting the Runes." **** Introverted academic swears to get even when an alcoholic neighbor runs over his beloved cat. Psychological crime novel with complex characters (these are recognizable people with real problems), a genre defying plot (the mystery here isn't in the crime but in the way it will all play out), and loads of perceptive humor (most of which goes unappreciated by the melancholy main character). Regrettably, the ending isn't as inventive as the rest of the novel, but the rest -- full of intelligence, wit, and charm -- is a pure delight. Vin Packer is one of several pen names used by Marijane Meaker. Public Service Note: If you have the Prologue Books paperback edition, do not read the grabber on the opening page: it gives away a major plot point. **** Fine character study, even if the author himself doesn't appear to understand him. Meursault is a young Algerian man who never quite does anything the way society expects him to, including murder. He drifts through life entirely in the present, without regrets, without deep attachments, without empathy, and without a conscience. He is, in a word, pathological. The character is both beautifully consistent and remarkably true to life, and because Camus himself introduced murder into the equation, it might be said that this book provides excellent insight into a type of real life murderer, showing us that they aren't Jekyll and Hydes at all but how instead, for them, horror and normality spring from the same source and are connected by indifference. Nothing really frightening happens in this book, yet it is one of the scariest books you will ever read. Yet Camus later wrote of Meursault that he is a man "condemned because he does not play the game," which makes the poor guy sound like a victim himself. In fact, he is, just not for the reason Camus offers. At one point in the story, Meursault muses that he could have done things differently had he chosen to, and Camus seems to believe this. Yet the portrait he draws proves just the opposite: that Meursault is a man who is what he is, a victim of the genetic lottery, even less likely to act against his nature than the rest of us, being somewhat simpler than everyone else for the lack of certain basic human characteristics. This lack makes him fascinating, but we might all be better off if we reserved the bulk of our sympathy for his victim. **** Sophisticated romantic mystery narrated by three different characters, each of whom is dealing with the murder of a young woman in their own way. One of them, a police detective, has to figure out who is lying, and why -- while meanwhile unraveling a bizarre love quadrangle. Beautifully constructed, introspective and moody, with only enough nuts and bolts detective work to keep things moving. Not hardboiled, but fully on par with with other noir greats from the likes of Hammett, Chandler, and Cain. First published in 1942 as a serial in Collier's, where it ran under the Cain-inspired (yet awful) title Ring Twice for Laura. Made into a film in 1944, starring Gene Tierney. **** Superior mystery, winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, introduces the character of Irwin Maurice Fletcher. Here, he's a hot-shot reporter working undercover to expose drug operations on a California beach when a rich industrialist makes him an offer he can't refuse: he'll pay Fletch fifty thousand dollars to kill him. Macdonald relies predominately on dialogue without adornment (James M. Cain-style) to reveal both the mystery and Fletch himself, who is funny, sarcastic, clever, and oddly romantic (a clear precursor to Nelson De Mille's John Corey). Not the "master of disguise" played so well by Chevy Chase in the movie adaptation, Fletch here is just as amusing as an accomplished manipulator of social intercourse, playing off people's expectations to get them to open up to a complete stranger. A fast and thoroughly entertaining read. Followed by Confess, Fletch. **** Couple takes student hitchhiker sailing. Understated Polish drama, beautifully photographed (in black and white) by Jerzy Lipman. Ought to be boring, but isn't, as Polanski artfully draws suspense by mixing the mundane with the mysterious (the unknown quantity of the hitchhiker). Builds to a satsifying and unexpected conclusion. With excellent performances by its cast of three: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz. Polanski's first feature length film. |
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