Book Review. From A Buick 8 by Stephen King. *** out of *****

(c) Gallery Books.

First published in 2002, From A Buick 8, is midrange Stephen King, which means his irresistible voice and mastery of style are there, drawing the reader and moving the story along. But it also means that, like other King midrange novels, think Firestarter, The Dark Half, and Gerald’s Game, the plot is thin, the characters not very memorable, and the ending problematic.

The story. members of Troop Dee, a Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Western Pennsylvania, come across an abandoned Buick that resembles a vintage blue 1953 Buick Roadmaster. Slowly, they start to realise that it isn’t a car at all, but something other.

The story is told as a series of recollections by different troopers, and their experiences range from the nerve-wracking to the horrific. The book is at its best during these episodes, which are like tightly-written vignettes of imaginative weird fiction. But when King focuses on the characters and their inner thoughts, the book stumbles, as none of the characters are very interesting, and the plot is nothing less than a concept stretched to its breaking point. This is most apparent during the book’s climax, an unimaginative and predictable sequence that is short on thrills and catharsis.

Light on plot but highly readable, From A Buick 8 is King-lite, and one of the first books where King started to show signs of leaning too heavily on sentimentality instead of on structure and genuine emotions. But King is King, and one usually knows what they are getting when they pick up one of his books, an entertaining page-turner, which From A Buick 8 surely is.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2022.

New Podcast Episode Now Live

In this episode:

- Your host, A. K., talks with collector and independent researcher Simon Dunant, about Hugh Walpole, a

near-forgotten author from the early 20th century, whose body of work (which includes everything from Gothic Horror to Historical Fiction) is ripe for rediscovery. We delve into Walpole's fascinating life, his best novels, and Dunant's fantastic website, The Walpole Chronicles.

You can listen to the episode here: Listen to "Episode 16: A Darkness Beautiful: The World of Hugh Walpole. Guest: Simon Dunant" on Spreaker.

© The Dark Fantastic Network. 2022.

Book Review: THE DARK FOREST by Hugh Walpole. *** and a 1\2 out of *****

The Dark Forest is considered by many one of Hugh Walpole’s best novels. On the surface, it’s easy to see why. It deals with the always relevant subject matter of the effects of war on life, society, and the human soul. Walpole, ever the sentimentalist, would seem to be the ideal choice to write a tear-jerker about life in the trenches of battle, in war-torn Russia during the First World War. But Walpole as a person and as an author, was hard to pin down, and his take on the anti-war novel is somewhat different than one would expect.

The book tells the story of John Durward and John Trenchard, two Englishmen who join a company of Russian doctors working on the Russian side of the Eastern Front during World War I. Durward, the narrator, is practical and open-minded, and is arguably a stand-in for Walpole himself, while Trenchard is a dreamy, clumsy, and naïve man, who Durward at first dislikes, then slowly starts to grow fond of, foibles and all.

Part war journal, part love-story between Trenchard and his enigmatic fiancé, Marie Ivanova, part meditation on the nature of friendship and sacrifice, The Dark Forest is one of Walpole’s darkest and least accessible books, at least during its first half, with Walpole indulging himself, with excessive detail and a too deliberate a pace. But once the myriad elements of psychological drama, harrowingly realistic war scenes, and Walpole’s mastery of setting and atmosphere, start to gel, the novel turns into something bordering on the sublime.

Although Walpole proves himself more than capable of depicting the grim reality of war, it’s not his main focus here, as he seems more interested in the psychology of his characters - especially Trenchard - and why they do the things they do. He delves into concepts of valor, motivation, and the effect of love, both romantic and platonic, on the unimaginative man. And as the story builds and the horror mounts, the book slowly transforms into a sort of existential dark dream that ends on a devastating note.

It’s not a perfect book, and, in my humble opinion, not even one of Walpole’s best, with the main character, Durward, coming off as cold and forgettable, and, as usual with Walpole, the psychology can get a little too simplistic and clumsy. But as is also usual with Walpole, there are passages, images, and truths that transcend time and place, and the writing is occasionally so heartfelt, so honest, that one has no option but to surrender to its beauty.

The Dark Forest is a flawed and fascinating book, and one which signaled Walpole’s growing fascination with Russia, about which he would write several books, all fueled by his harrowing experiences as a volunteer for the Russian Red Cross in the First World War.

Watch/Listen to review here:

 

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2022.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Review: THE SHADOW: THE SILVER SCOURGE by Walter B. Gibson *** out of *****

Diverting The Shadow story, with twists aplenty, about a lavish money counterfeiting scheme, political maneuvering, and the dead coming back to life! It's mid-range Gibson, which means that it's never boring but pretty forgettable, with The Shadow playing a somewhat minor role.

Watch/Listen to review here:    

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2022.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Film Review: THE BATMAN (2022) *** out of *****

Listen to the review:

Listen to "Movie Review: The Batman (2022)" on Spreaker.

(C) WB.

The history of the Batman on the big screen is a tale of ups and downs. And depending on who’s watching, the perception of the character itself is as diverse as the many versions portrayed in comic books and on screen. From the terrible campiness of Batman and Robin, released in 1997, to the haunting final scenes of The Dark Night Returns, released in 2008, Batman has gone through it all.

Then there is 2022’s The Batman, a triumph to some, an epic failure to others.

Following on the heels of Christopher Nolan’s superb The Dark Knight trilogy, any filmmaker would have struggled to find an angle, an attitude with which to deal with the character of Batman that would feel stylish and fresh. Co-writer/director Matt Reeves, a master of visual style and big canvass cinematic storytelling, tries to do just that, choosing to start his version in year two of the Batman’s adventures. It’s a risky but potentially rewarding move, giving the film an urgency and a freshness that could pat off.

But the problem with The Batman is apparent from the get-go. It is the film’s tone. From the first few minutes, the ominous music and Robert Pattinson’s heavy-handed voice over, there’s something off about this approach. And it becomes clear as the story progresses and the minutes, and then the hours, pile up, the filmmakers behind this tale take more wrong steps than right ones.

With a convoluted and tired plot involving everything from a serial killer, to crime bosses The Penguin and Carmine Falcone, to a vengeful Catwoman, to Bruce Wayne’s struggles with his own past, nothing here feels new or compelling. Under layers of special make-up, Colin Farrell as The Penguin is little more than a rehash of Robert DeNiro’s Al Capone from 1987’s The Untouchables, and Paul Dano’s portrayal of The Riddler is a terrible miscalculation on every level, coming off as annoying, laughable, and deeply embarrassing to watch. Zoe Kravitz is serviceable as Selina Kyle a.k.a Catwoman, but the fault lies mostly with the writing, taking one of DC Comics’ most fascinating anti-heroines and turning her into a resentful, psychologically bland character who is basically little more than a victim.

Then there’s Robert Pattinson as The Batman. Pattinson, a charismatic and photogenic actor, isn’t really the right choice for Bruce Wayne/The Batman. He has the good looks, but lacks the physicality and the nuance needed for such a psychologically complex character. His performance is good but ultimately unremarkable, and again the confused script doesn’t help. Of the main cast, only Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone acquit themselves.

Which brings us to the main problem with The Batman. Matt Reeves. As co-writer and director, Reeves is wholly to blame for why the movie doesn’t work. It is obvious that Reeves tries to present Batman in a new light, one that is timely, politically correct, and, at the same time, admirable. It is a near-impossible task, and Reeves’s approach, an off-putting combination of po-faced seriousness and emotional manipulation, works against a story that needs all the help it can get.

Arguably, Reeves and company seem to be making some sort of statement against mob rule, violence, and sentiment overruling reason, but, at the same time, the approach is emotionally manipulative, and the script’s attempts at rationalizing victimhood, terrorism, and thievery as the last resort of the so-called oppressed, is problematic to say the least. Reeves also seems intent on deflating and demythologizing Batman, depicting him as a rash, occasionally violent vigilante who is in many ways responsible for inspiring violent, resentful, and mentally unbalanced individuals, an inversion of everything the character of Batman has ever stood for. This narrative choice might have come off much better if Bruce Wayne’s motives and psychology were delved into with any semblance of depth, which is not the case here. This seems to stem from Reeves himself not having much love for the character of Batman. In a Time magazine interview, he calls The Batman, “completely sheltered and has this moral superiority… He encounters Catwoman in the underworld and assumes she’s morally corrupt. And he’s entirely wrong about her because he didn’t have to struggle.”

The movie does end on a thought-provoking note, with a humbled and contemplative Batman rethinking his approach, and trying harder to set a better example. But it is a downbeat ending to a downbeat film, which commits the cardinal sin of being the least entertaining Batman film ever made, and one which fails where it really counts: presenting Batman as a hero who is flawed, but, in the end, an inspiration.

Overall, The Batman is a morose and bloated film. At its best, it is visually stylish. At its worst, it comes off as a mediocre crime drama which happens to feature Batman.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2022.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer