five skulls

[scaleofskulls]

Book: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Spooky Scale: 💀💀💀

Star Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

Genre(s): horror, mystery, thriller, supernatural, romance

Year Released: 2022

Comments: a good, well-written story that is gripping right up to the ending. not only was it a well orchestrated horror story, it also contains poignant social commentary. my only critiques concern some details that seemed heavy handed to the underlying point. theres a thread in the weaving of the story which is commentary critiquing self-righteous “progressives” and while overall it’s well done there are moments where it feels tied up in other sentiment. in some ways, this could be an accolade for this kind of book - it certainly succeeded in making me uncomfortable in moments, due to characters’ farcical cruelty and the justifications and explanations thereof.

⬇️ Quotes & Content Warnings ⬇️

Quotes:

“We don’t know how much our bodies can endure until we make cruel demands of them.”

“One of hardest things about recovery is coming to terms with the fact that you can’t trust your brain.”

“Overnight, like flipping a switch, I feel as if something magical has been lost.”

“People in South Philly don’t spend a lot of time talking about French royalty. Still, I don’t want to look like an idiot, so I shovel on more lies.”

Content Warnings: drug use, unreality, grief, child death, sibling death, themes of racism, religious themes, child abuse, abduction, involuntary drugging, assault, fatal car accident

[scaleofskulls]

Movie: Old

Spooky Scale: 💀💀💀

Star Rating: 2.5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

Genre(s): horror, thriller, sci-fi(?)

Year Released: 2021

Comments: theres a half-baked attempt at making this a science-fiction story, and personally it took me out of it. it really served no purpose to try to explain the unnatural phenomenon affecting our cast of characters to the audience, other than to get the audience thinking critically about a premise that’s innately absurd. that said, i did enjoy seeing the terrifying concepts that arise from such a premise actualized on screen. the acting is alright but some of the casting choices are poor (and i’m not talking about the m. night shyamalan self-insert/cameo). the ending seemed half-hearted. however, it is generally well done (production value, story execution), effectively uncomfortable to watch at points, and contains some creative scares.

⬇️ Quotes and Content Warnings ⬇️

Quotes:

“Stop wishing away this moment.”

Content Warnings: nudity, sexual themes, pregnancy and birth, infant death, depiction of seizures, knife violence, depictions of schizophrenia, depictions of drowning, falling and crushing injuries, body horror, conspiracy, medical experimentation.

[scaleofskulls]

Movie: Hostel

Spooky Scale: 💀💀💀💀

Star Rating: 3.5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

Genre(s): horror, thriller, drama, action

Year Released: 2005

Comments: it leaves an impression, contains artful and interesting storytelling, and it is - as darker horror movies intend to be - hard to watch at moments. however, the protagonist(s) aren’t really worth rooting for, so investment in the outcome was personally quite low. it’s a film that can be easily misinterpreted and validly critiqued. what the movie is trying to say and the way that the story unfolds, however, made an enjoyable experience. solid four skulls for the gratuitous sex and ultra-violence.

⬇️ Quotes & Content Warnings ⬇️

Quotes:

“Well, I’m human, and it’s not my nature.”

“I get a lot of money for you. That makes you my bitch.”

“No one is paying me. In fact, I’m the one paying them.”

Content Warnings: full-frontal nudity and graphic depictions of sex, graphic depictions of torture and other ultra-violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, drug use

[scaleofskulls]

Book: The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

Spooky Scale: 💀💀💀💀

Star Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

Genre(s): body horror, science fiction, psychological horror, thriller, suspense

Year Released: 2006

Comments:

the situation our main characters find themselves in is somehow ridiculous, outplayed, and horribly bleak, all at once, but what really makes this 5 star page-turner is the writing. even in the exposition, where the story is predictable and the characters initially feeling shallow if not hollow, Smith’s writing is gripping. the story quickly leaves the tracks and becomes something truly terrifying, inventive even in it’s imagination and its cruelty, and with that these characters are thoroughly broken to reveal - and lead them to question - their basest natures.

⬇️ Quotes & Content Warnings ⬇️

“All he knew was that he felt terrible, as if he’d absentmindedly stepped on an infant.”

“But he made no attempt to move. He was pouting, he realized, punishing Mathias for not embracing his plan. He disliked himself for this, and disliked Mathias for witnessing it; he wished he could stop. But he couldn’t.”

“And this was just another thing for Stacy to hate herself for knowing.”

Content Warnings: sexual assault, sexual themes, self mutilation, suicide, graphic depictions of violence/death (i.e. gore), emesis, parasites/body invasion.

[scaleofskulls]

Spooky Scale

💀 - pro-spooky for prospective horror fans. pg/pg-13. atmospheric more than explicit, or directly targeted towards children/YA. no or few content warnings necessary & little to no body horror or gore.

💀💀 - pre-spooky. pg-13. few content warnings necessary. may be thought-provoking and genre-bending or explicitly scary, but does not contain graphic imagery or profound unreality/psychological horror.

💀💀💀 - spooky. pg-13/NC-17. mild content warnings. explicit horror with room for psychological, body, and bloody horror moments, but the themes aren’t existential. could be described as “fun” by the horror fan.

💀💀💀💀 - scary. NC-17/X/R. body horror-and-gore forward or evokes a significant sense of unreality. may be sexually explicit at points. not for the light-hearted, weak-stomached, etc.

💀💀💀💀💀 - terrifying. R. evokes a sense of cosmic and/or existential terror. approach with the right mindset.