Synopsis
A woman, haunted by the disappearance of her sister and best friend thirty years ago uncovers the terrifying urban legend behind the last film they watched together, in this chilling riff on the cursed film subgenre by the Bram Stoker award-winning author of Queen of Teeth.
Perfect for fans of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Andrew Joseph White.
In November 1994, three girls visit their local movie theater to see an obscure film. Only one of them is ever seen again.
Thirty years later, Val McQueen has never forgotten the day she lost her little sister and best friend, but she’s closed the curtain on it, certain she’s moved on despite her parents’ resentment and hounding by true crime enthusiasts.
That is until a stranger’s murder brings it all screaming back-a terror she’s tried to tell herself is only a movie. Enlisting the help of cinephile and former classmate Roxie de la Fontaine to find the film, Val soon realizes that hers is not the only pursuit. Someone, or something involved with the movie is on the hunt, too…
… For the girl who got away all those years ago.
Review
THIS MOVIE DOESN’T END THE WAY WE WANT – HAILEY PIPER
BEWARE THE TOAD MAN! THE MOST EVIL AND DIABOLICAL CREATURE TO EVER CRAWL OUT OF AN OBSCURE 80’s B-MOVIE!
The cursed film is a staple of the horror genre, and in THIS MOVIE DOESN’T END THE WAY WE WANT, by A Game In Yellow author Hailey Piper, we are faced with an obscure and elusive low-budget horror movie that makes its viewers disappear without a trace. Val McQueen’s sister and best friend fell victim to this movie 30 years ago, with Val only narrowly escaping its clutches. Now, a strange murder brings the past screaming back, and it’s up to Val – with the help of former classmate Roxie – to stop this cursed movie and the entity that follows in its wake… before it kills again!
Val is dogged by this trench coat and trilby wearing, pond-smelling entity, as memories of her past that she has fought to hide from herself for years finally start to spill over. Val’s 30 years of post-sister-and-friend-disappearance have been fraught with traumas and emotional (and physical) abuse at the hands of her mother and father, amongst others. This abusive and disruptive family life even started well before that fateful day, which is what led them to seek sanctuary in the magic of cinema. Val herself is a survivor; she is stand-offish, brutal, and a fighter in the face of injustices. But her own personal fears consume her, and it is interesting to see this juxtaposition of a woman who can swing her fists at homophobes, but quakes at the memory of a snippet of the toad man’s song. The cursed movie is a vehicle to explore the complicated family dynamics, the survivors trauma and guilt that poisons Val, and the nature of escapism The films silliness is done to feel unsettling in its humour and for me it works. A side note: I always imagined the entity to look like Resident Evil 2’s Mr X.
This Movie Doesn’t End The Way We Want is an exciting fistfight through dark hidden memories, personified trauma rising from the depths of your mind, and a treatise on why cinema popcorn is the best kind of popcorn! Hailey Piper knocks it out of the theatre with this one!
Thanks to Titan Books for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! THIS MOVIE DOESN’T END THE WAY WE WANT releases on Sept 15!
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