Two very different types of horror stories, the novellas are linked by female protagonists who struggle to survive the difficult situations of their lives and maintain control and choice in directing their futures.
Daniel: Somehow I went into this not realizing it was an anthology film. Aside from the title and knowing it was labeled horror and would have some kind of supernatural element, I knew nothing. The opening shot of the countryside is gorgeous and the music by Benjamin Symons I think is fantastic from that very start. From those vibes I figured this would be some sort of folk horror. And as the credits rolled over the opening scene/dialogue there was nothing obvious to say “this is the start of an anthology wraparound”… Shaun: I also found myself surprised by the setup. The anthology format is hardly new to horror, as I’m sure you (and our mutual Skiffy friend David) well know. The film that Lore immediately brought to mind was Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), but unlike that somewhat controversial anthology film, Lore‘s setup is a story unto itself. Our band of young thrill seekers believe they’re on a new and unique horror adventure into the woods not realizing they might be part of something else. What that is could be a creepy old man’s story, a cleverly craft bit, or possibly a horror unto itself. This is probably my favorite part of the film: its frame narrative. And that frame – a group of thrill seekers telling ghost stories around the campfire – made me think of another horror anthology in TV form: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1992-2000; 2019-2022). However, turning that frame into something more than just people telling stories is, I think, where this film offers an interesting deviation. Wholly original? No idea. But interesting nonetheless. Daniel: I completely agree with that all, and that’s another thing that surprised me about Lore, that I loved the frame story wrap-around. Normally it’s the structural part of anthology films that I find not holding up on its own, of being forgettable in place of holding up the main stories featured. Like you say, here it becomes an interesting link to all the stories, and nostalgically creepy/enjoyable in its own right. A good chunk of that success also comes from Welsh actor Richard Brake, a horror staple who will be familiar to fans of Rob Zombie’s horror movies. Here he is playing Darwin, that old man who runs this mysterious haunted experience in the woods, “a once-in-a-lifetime experience [that] will stay with [those thrill-seekers] for a lifetime.” He gets some great lines. With his sinister smile and chuckle he introduces the characters – and we the audience – to what will go on at this haunted experience. The tour has a custom within these woods, land where over three thousand ancient bodies of unknown origin were found buried by archaeologists. Each member of the tour takes a wooden totem from Darwin, burns it within a fire, and tells their ghost story, a fable that haunts them, a tale to feed the dead, the evil. This opening, the intervening segments, and the conclusion just perfectly capture a spooky atmosphere for this time of year. With the first totem tossed in, the first tour attendee begins his tale: “Shadows”. Shaun: I think the more interesting thing about Richard Brake’s performance is not that sinister smile he is known for but the atmosphere he creates before and after each of the tales. For me, the film was most compelling in these moments because we, the audience, are on a similar journey as the characters. Is he for real? Or is this just an act? I figured out the answer before the end, but it was fun feeling like I was on the same thrill experience as everyone else. As for the first of the stories, “Shadows,” I thought it was an interesting way to set the tone and form of our stories. These are reflective of what you’d experience around the campfire: stories that have a theme or plot but might be a bit rough around the edges. We don’t tell perfect tales in oral storytelling, after all. “Shadows” is probably the most complete and tonally consistent of the four for me. Here we get Daniel (hey, it’s you) played by Primeval alum Andrew Lee Potts (who remains adorable) who is being chased by a pair of gang muscles (Steven Blades as Terry, and Daniel-John Williams as Barry). While hiding in a warehouse, he is seemingly rescued by some kind of twisted, monstrous creature. What follows is your typical horror monster survival story, but one that I thought was particularly well acted by Potts, who is believably terrified and desperate. I won’t ruin the ending – the twist is genuinely interesting – but I will say that I enjoyed this tale the most. Daniel: The brief disappointment that I felt for leaving the campfire story gave way to my being drawn into “Shadows.” I think it’s because it starts mid-action with a simple setup, and, as you say, the acting is really compelling. As the story is revealed to be a monster or ‘creature feature’, I was glad to see they weren’t shying away from a bit of gore and balancing the seeing of the horror/monster with moments where that is merely glimpsed or implied. The other chapters that follow continue that balance well also. I did find the ending of this story to be the most compelling, and so I would agree with “Shadows” being the most complete of all the stories in Lore. However, I think that each of them are equally tonally consistent within themselves. It’s just that each story has a unique tone and draws of course from a particular sub-genre or trope of horror. The second story, “The Hidden Woman,” switches things to the Haunted House corner of horror. From the opening shot of the house, we’re clear on the basic story and tropes we should expect here. Hannah (Jennifer K. Preston) and her son Charlie (Theo Preston) move into this creepy home that they’ve inherited from her mother. They soon find they aren’t alone
The word-pictures she paints of Astrid’s childhood memories and the forest journey are immersive, the creatures encountered along the way are creepily described and often quite chilling, and conversations feel convincing.
Joke column: “In recent years, several critics have argued that there would surely have been no Princess Bride or Secrets (Trials) of Mana if it weren’t for the pioneering neo-realist folk fantasy of Cather and Cummings combining as Tolkien.”
The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry is an intriguing, engaging journey of enigmas, as much of this world has been an enigma to its inhabitants. Some kind of cataclysmic trauma has struck the world with collective amnesia, or transformed it beyond recognition, so that the words for all things have been lost. Now, diviners of the Names committee dream up words for people, objects, activities, and other concepts, and couriers deliver these Names; in so doing, they define and solidify the Named. The Named find it difficult to clearly perceive the nameless and their ways. So the only courier who is nameless, who is the protagonist of this book, is unique, merely tolerated for her utility under the protection of Book, the chair of the names committee. She rides the Number 12 train and delivers words to people in towns along the route. “She delivered stowaway. … The watchers were happy to have a word for those people. Easier to catch them that way.” There are also Sayers who say the laws that the Named must follow, and there is a Deletion Committee who decide when words are no longer appropriate, and must be unnamed; this includes Names of people, who are never seen again after that. Not all welcome this shaping of the world through defining it with names. The nameless, including people and monsters, have been attacking the Named – or is it the other way around? War is brewing. Meanwhile, the unnamed courier is lonely, missing her long-absent sister, Ticket, so she finds companionship with a patchwork ghost who draws and keeps records, with a small, furry beast who drops in on her occasionally, and with her lover, the diviner Beryl. But some time after she is attacked by a group of masked nameless people, and barely makes it back to the train, she is joined by a new companion: a monster who resembles her sister. The courier herself is put under investigation and flees. She and some of her companions join the Black Square Show, a traveling troupe of players who reenact the stories of how the world was made, and she keeps getting into trouble and finding out things. Eventually, that war that has been brewing comes to a head, and she has to choose sides. I loved this book. It’s very much its own thing, but it reminded me of some great books I’ve read (see below). The third-person prose is fairly simple and direct, even when describing the nebulous, but it expresses complex concepts well, as the courier begins to understand more and more of the world, its history, and the forces that move it. This helps make the courier very easy to empathize with in her questionings and evolution. I really enjoyed following the courier’s journey in this book, both physical and mental, through mysteries, through self-knowledge and growth, and through understanding of her world. It has interesting ideas, and it’s a really good read with a very satisfying conclusion. The Naming Song will be released Tuesday, Sept. 24, and can be preordered here. Content warnings: Violence, death, oppression, memories of childhood trauma. Also, there are some fairly horrific concepts in this book, such as calibration, what’s done to ghosts so that they become obedient servants, and even worse things that are done to ghosts and monsters. But it’s not a horror novel; it’s an adventure of travel and mysteries. Comps:Wheel of the Infinite, by Martha Wells: the traveling troupe, the puppet, and the regular redrawing and renewal of the worldA Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin: having power over someone or something by knowing its true nameNinefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee: Calendrical redefinitions of reality Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
Let me tell you about my four favorite stories from July and August. … Have you read these stories? What did you like about them? What were your favorite stories from the last couple months?
