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Author Spotlight: Interview with Nick Cutter, Author of The Troop

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troop

Nick Cutter is a hot name in the horror literature world right now (rumor has it…that might not even be his real name.Shhh…). Why you may ask? Becasue of this freaking freaky novel called, The Troop.

The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.” —Stephen KingOnce every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there—which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier. But for some reason, he can’t shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this year. Something waiting in the darkness. Something wicked…It comes to them in the night. An unexpected intruder, stumbling upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—a man in unspeakable torment who exposes Tim and the boys to something far more frightening than any ghost story. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine.And so it begins. An agonizing weekend in the wilderness. A harrowing struggle for survival. No possible escape from the elements, the infected…or one another.

Part Lord of the Flies, part 28 Days Later—and all-consuming—this tightly written, edge-of-your-seat thriller takes you deep into the heart of darkness, where fear feeds on sanity…and terror hungers for more.
Yeah, did you notice that nice little blurb from Stephen Freaking King???   Yeah, this Nock Cutter guy is pretty good.
So I decided to hike up from my home in Maine to find this Canadian-born man with a twisted mind. I grabbed my leather jacket and boots and realized how cold it was outside. I took my coat off and fired up the old interweb. Much easier, and much, much warmer.
Nick-Cutter-main
We got to chit-chat about his big smash, his new release (The Deep), and a few other things….

 

Glenn Rolfe: One of my #1 fears growing up was the idea of having a tapeworm. Was this a paranoia of yours?

Nick Cutter: Hmmm, not really. Not precisely anyway. I was more afraid of external threats. Sharks, cockroaches. But the idea of having an enemy inside you, under your skin, seemed pretty icky so I decided to run with it.

GR: How much research did you have to do into this nasty parasite and did that research give you nightmares?

NC: A fair bit. The standard amount so that I felt good about moving forward with the story with a sense I probably knew a little bit more than my readers would, which is often how far ahead you NEED to be: just a few steps, so that what you write seems like it could happen even if, in fact, it’s pretty much an implausibility.

GR: I read somewhere that you were in fact a Scout leader…Were you also a Scout yourself growing up? And what was the most horrific or interesting thing you ever witnessed as a scout or scout leader?

NC: I was only a Scout, actually. I didn’t have an acoustic guitar or the habit of carrying a pocketknife on my belt or a desire to stay in the woods with boys for weekends, so I decided that just being a Scout was good enough. My life as a Scout was pretty easygoing, really. We met in a gymnasium most nights, so maybe the worst I ever saw was the janitor drunkenly cleaning the floor with his doodlebug or something. I got off easy I guess.

GR: The story has that “The Body” feel in regards to the group of kids. Were any of these guys people you grew up with?

NC: All those characters are, like the characters in all my books, a synthesis of me—myself, my own memories—and people I know. Of course for the really off-the-beaten-track elements of some of those characters, the psychoses and cruelties—those are just elements I made up entirely. But yeah, at this point in my career I rarely write fiction, in that I’m rarely cobbling together a narrative that doesn’t draw on my own life and the people in it in some way . . . as absurd as the concept may be, there are nuggets of real-life experience studded throughout.

GR: Have you been approached about doing The Troop as a film?

NC: It’s been optioned. For quite awhile actually. I can’t mention the studio or producers because they’re a little picky about that kind of thing. But most people would know the names involved, especially if they are horror buffs.

GR: Awesome! Congrats. You also have a brand new horror book out– The Deep. What can we expect in this one? Any cool things you want to mention or promote about it?

NC: Well, it takes place at the deepest point of the ocean. The title kinda implies that, I guess. I’ve always found that part of our world deeply terrifying, what with the darkness and pressure and whatever might be sweeping the bottom of the sea.

deep

GR: The King influence is obvious in The Troop. Was Horror your first love?

NC: Yeah, for sure. I grew up reading King, Koontz, Barker, McCammon, Lansdale, you name it.

GR: Can you give me three of your favorite King pieces…any of his short stories/novels/movies…not necessarily your top three, but three that made an impact on you as a writer.

1. The Body

2. It

3. The Boogeyman

GR: Nice! Outside of King, who are some of your other Horror go-to’s?

NC: Clive Barker’s always a solid bet. Really stoked to read his new one this year. Josh Malerman is great. Joe Hill. Benjamin Percy’s doing great work. There are tons of really solid horror writers out there right now.

bp

GR: Are you planning on attending any Cons down here in the States in 2015?

NC: It’s unlikely, I’d say. I’ve got a full slate of writing obligations, a degree to finish, and a young tot at home. Tough to get out much. But if so you can check out my website www.craigdavidson.net and see if I’m going to be touring anywhere in the States coming up.

GR: What can we expect next from the screwy mind of Nick Cutter?

NC: After The Deep is The Acolyte, from Chizine Press. That’s only a couple of months off. Then, around this time next year if all things go according to plan it’ll be Little Heaven, from Gallery/S&S. After that I take a nap for five years, maybe.

TheAcolyte-NickCutter

GR: Last question: What would Nick Cutter do if he were trapped on an island and infected with the Troop tapeworm?

NC: Jeez, who knows? He would probably make his last few hours count. Throw a party for the seagulls and tortoises and try not to eat them (he’d probably eat them).

 

 

MORE NICK CUTTER:

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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