Khushbu Shah with J. Kenji López-Alt
Culture & Cuisine
One Ticket For Terror
Note: Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.
In his newest novel Horror Movie, acclaimed author Paul Tremblay embarks on a clever and chilling exploration of the “cursed film” genre. Tremblay crafts a story that lives in the constantly blurring boundaries of unsettled thought- past or present, real or fictitous, self-aware or wholly uncertain. Through suspenseful storytelling and murky definitions of who the monsters really are, Tremblay invites readers on a cerebral, cinematic trip to hell and back to see what’s actually creeping behind the scenes.
Underground art-house horror — something shocking, disturbing, unfiltered, unsettling, and raw around the edges. These were the goals that a group of young guerilla filmmakers had in 1993 when they set out on a four-week free-for-all to make Horror Movie. Despite only three scenes seeing the light of day, a cult following for the film grew under the shadow of night. Now it’s thirty years later and the rabid fanbase has Hollywood angling for a big-budget reboot. But the creature cravings of the industry are overlooking an untold darkness that lurks in the film’s history.
For the only survivor of the premiere production — the man who played “The Thin Kid” in the original cast – revisiting Horror Movie evokes a surreal landscape of secrets buried in the screenplay and bizarre tragic mishaps on set. And without any other living witnesses to the events that played out beyond the page, he only has the scripts and the dubious truth of his own word to fall back on. Despite the dizzying dread of his memories and the uncertainty of the cynical, egomaniacal world of Hollywood in his future, he’s committed to this remake- demons of the past be damned. But is following this project to the grave worth it?
Paul Tremblay is a best-selling horror author, editor, and essayist. His previously published works include the Bram Stoker award-winning A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin At the End of the World, as well as the novels Disappearance at Devil’s Rock and Survivor Song and the short story collection The Beast You Are. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies.
Sadie Hartmann aka Mother Horror is the co-owner of the monthly horror fiction subscription company, Night Worms and the Bram Stoker Awards® winning author of 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered from Page Street Publishing. She lives in the PNW with her husband of 20+ years where they stare at Mt Rainier, eat street tacos, and hang out with their 3 kids. They have a Frenchie named Owen.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle.
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