Praise for Twisted Tales Events

'In the past few years Twisted Tales has become a major force in the promotion and appreciation of horror fiction. As well as putting on author readings and signings at bookshops it has expanded into organising larger events, bringing authors and critics together for discussions of the field. I've been involved in quite a few of both and have found them hugely enjoyable and stimulating - I believe the audiences did as well. May Twisted Tales continue to grow and prosper! If you love the field, support them! I do.' - Ramsey Campbell

‘Twisted Tales consistently produce well-organised events for writers and readers of horror. What really distinguishes Twisted Tales for me is the intelligent themes and investigations they pursue, and the high quality of the discussions they always stimulate. As an author I've been invited to three of their events and have been pleasantly startled, to near shocked, by the attendance levels - two out of three were even sold out. I salute anyone who contributes so much to the literary and cultural life of horror fiction.’- Adam Nevill

'Twisted Tales events are wonderful... a great way of promoting 21st century horror fiction. Supported by Waterstone's Liverpool One and really well organised, Twisted Tales brings together established names in the genre as well as new voices and of course readers. Looking forward to much more to come...' - Alison J. Littlewood

Sunday 28 November 2010

Antichrist reviewed by David Hering



Antichrist
Directed by Lars von Trier
Released in 2009
Certificate: 18

It takes a lot to truly scare a film critic. In July 2009, there was an audible rustle emerging from the British press about a film that - having just undergone (as is traditional in this country) a moral barracking from certain newspaper columnists who hadn’t actually seen it - had been presented to them for apparently more discerning critical analysis. From the subsequent reviews, it soon became evident that here was a film that disturbed these critics by striking at the very heart of their greatest insecurity: they couldn’t tell if the director was being serious. Lars Von Trier, Danish filmmaker and a notorious trickster figure principally associated with the founding of the infamous Dogme 95 movement, had returned from a period of self-imposed exile with a film so apparently outrageous and horrific that opinion was split over whether he could possibly be conducting an almighty stunt. Critical bets were duly hedged.


I’m going to lay my cards unambiguously on the table, and if I’m wrong I don’t care. Antichrist is not a stunt, a joke or a trick. It is, instead, one of the most sincerely and horrifically rendered depictions of depression and the attendant problems of curing said condition ever crafted for the cinema. It is also a brutal examination of the sexual politics of control, one that spares neither viewer nor director. One critic likened the film to ‘a punch in the face of respectability’, perhaps noticing the connection between the climactic they-won’t-show-that-oh-wait-they-just-did scene of genital mutilation and the razored eyeball in Dali and Bunuel’s genuinely trickster-like Un Chien Andalou. For me, the atmosphere of horror in Antichrist is far closer to the intense claustrophobia of Polanski’s Repulsion or Bergman’s Cries and Whispers, less a cinematic practical joke and more of an unflinching exploration of what it is to truly, deeply hate or fear oneself or the one you love.

A couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) grieving over the accidental death of their toddler retreat to a forest cottage to soothe her sense of guilt and grief but in the process of healing (he is a psychiatrist) release some horrendous violence that seems to emerge as much from themselves as the natural landscape around them. Upon this plot is hung an alternating series of increasingly unsettling sequences, some of them entirely without dialogue, others crammed with screams of grief and agony and desperate psychiatric words of comfort, and Von Trier (mirroring this structure visually) alternates the use of extreme macro-close ups of objects – grubby flower stems in a murky vase, the base of Gainsbourg’s neck – with broad, cool forest vistas.

It begins to emerge that the relationship between Dafoe and Gainsbourg is suffering, though Von Trier deliberately makes obscure whether this results from their bereavement, his attempts at psychological control, their denial of the horror of human and animal nature or, latterly, what appears to be her mental derangement. The viewer is consistently unsure whether evidence of Gainsbourg’s instability is in fact being perceived through the filter of Dafoe’s concern or desire for control over his wife, or in fact whether it is Dafoe who is suffering from delusions. His now-infamous encounter with a wild fox, who speaks the words ‘chaos reigns’ (an image far more disturbing on the screen than on the page) is an important moment; is Dafoe learning to relinquish control, or is he in fact more unstable than his wife?

The horrors of the final reel – which rightly elicited audible gasps from the cinema audience when I saw the film – have, perhaps inevitably, come to dominate discussion of the film (it is these scenes that our self-appointed moral guardians heard about – as opposed to saw). However, placed within the context of what has come before, the terrible acts committed by both Dafoe and Gainsbourg are absolutely located within the structure Von Trier has been employing. These violent scenes deliberately reduce the relationship to a basic, archetypal sexual struggle as well as a grotesque elaboration (in much the same manner as Takashi Miike’s masterful Audition) of the misogynist fear of the ‘natural’ urges of womankind that pervades the film. Some have suggested that this means that the film itself is misogynist. I would entirely disagree (and direct said complainants to the films of say, Michael Bay if they want to see real, undisguised female objectification). A film about misogyny is not the same as a misogynist film.

Antichrist is strongly reminiscent of Andrej Zulawski’s absolutely demented 1981 film Possession (for which the word ‘unclassifiable’ could have been invented). Indeed, the male and female roles – taken in Zulawski’s film by Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani – follow similarly (borderline supernatural) trajectories of hysteria and desperate attempts at control. Both directors claim that their respective films emerged following traumatic incidents – in Von Trier’s case depression, in Zulawski’s case an acrimonious divorce. However, Zulawski plays his heavily allegorical tentacled creatures and set-piece marital arguments more deliberately broadly than Von Trier, and with an explicitly political nod to the partition of 1970s Europe. Von Trier, it seems, is reaching for something more archetypal and mythological – control employed by men towards women, and of the destructive, uncaring power of a natural world ‘red in tooth and claw’.

Not enough has been said about Antichrist’s visual and aural techniques. Von Trier and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle immerse the viewer, through deserted or mist-strewn landscapes, in a sense of dread and foreboding. Von Trier also employs some extreme slow-motion camerawork, most notably during the prologue depicting the death of the couple’s child. This extraordinary five-minute sequence, entirely in slow-motion, lensed in a luminous black-and-white and set to Handel’s ‘Lascia Ch'io Pianga’, exemplifies the combination of beauty and unbearable horror that will follow. It finds its equally horrifying counterpoint in the film’s epilogue (also in slow-motion black and white), in which hundreds of faceless women march, ghost-like, through a woodland clearing, a scene easily as disquieting as any act of mutilation that has gone before. Von Trier also employs an extraordinary sound design to aurally relate the devastating effects of grief and depression. Recalling the work of David Lynch (particularly the score for Eraserhead) and more recently Gaspar Noe, physically unsettling heavy bass-tones mingle with piercing frequencies and rumbling, industrial grinding underscores, acting both as a rendering of the aural hallucinations of some states of depression and also a visceral tool for immersing the audience in the film’s oppressive atmosphere.

The film is dedicated to the memory of the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, and this often undiscussed gesture reveals much about Von Trier’s ambition. In addition to a strong physical resemblance between the chaotic forests of this film and the blasted ‘zone’ of Tarkovsky’s Stalker, Von Trier is also invoking the allegorical landscapes and deliberate composition of Tarkovsky’s films. Most importantly – and this is where, for me, the allegations of Von Trier’s trickery fall down – this is a very sincere dedication for such an allegedly glib filmmaker to make. One could hardly call Antichrist the culmination of Von Trier’s career in the way that, say, Inland Empire seems the culmination of David Lynch’s – his output is too varied and scattershot for any one film to act in such a way, and in fact Von Trier has tackled horror before in his excellent 1994 TV series The Kingdom, though that was a story with a heavily satirical and often broadly comedic edge. In fact, Antichrist bears a stronger relationship to the relentless melodrama of Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark, a film whose reputation – derailed by the publicity surrounding the director’s fights with star Bjork – will surely recover in the years to come. Many critics feared a stunt on that film’s release too, and muttered through their notices. As here, their loss.


- - - -


David Hering is writing his PhD thesis on American Literature at the University of Liverpool. His reviews have appeared in the Journal of American Studies, Movable Type and venetianvase.co.uk. He is the editor of the essay collection Consider David Foster Wallace: Critical Essays (2010).

David Hering has co-written a new independent horror film called 'Holmewood' with Richard Hughes, directed by Jonathan Hall. The film will have a special screening at Crosby Plaza Cinema on Thursday 2nd December at 5.30pm, cast and crew will be present.

Saturday 27 November 2010

Twisted Tales #2

Friday 26th November was our second Twisted Tales event. Obviously we knew that we had a hard act to follow with the great show and attendance of the last event. However, we were not to be disappointed. We had great attendance which is a brilliant result given that the first one had the advantage of being associated with Halloween. As for the performance, we can't praise our three authors (Simon Kurt Unsworth, Paul Finch, and Graham Joyce) enough - they provided the varied, entertaining and spirited readings we want to show off at Twisted Tales and were a joy to have in Liverpool. Initial feedback from the audience was also overwhelmingly positive and TTA Press seemed to get a good night of it too with a reasonable number of magazine sales and subscriptions taken out.

Overall it went really well and we'd  love to get your feedback on the night. Below are some of the photos taken:


Simon Kurt Unsworth reading his pirate horror tale "An Afternoon with Danny"

Simon Kurt Unsworth

Paul Finch reading "Elderly Lady, Lives Alone"

Paul Finch who got the best post story "Ooooo" from the audience

Graham Joyce at work

Graham Joyce

Graham Joyce reading a very moving section of new novel The Silent Land

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Nightmare Visions


We at Twisted Tales are passionate about promoting great horror across a variety of media. To complement the horror story readings we will be promoting the best in 21st century cinematic horror through the Nightmare Visions page. We have compiled a list of what we consider to be the best horror films since the year 2000:

Tomas Alfredson Let the Right One In (2008), Antti-Jussi Annila Sauna (2008), Darren Aronofsky Requiem for a Dream (2000), Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza [Rec] (2007), [Rec]2 (2009), Juan Antonio Bayona The Orphanage (2007), Bryan Bertino The Strangers (2008), Joon-ho Bong The Host (2006), Danny Boyle 28 Days Later (2002) and Sunshine (2007), Nacho Cerda The Abandoned (2006), Oxide Pang Chung and Danny Pang The Eye (2002), Frank Darabont The Mist (2007), Anthony DiBlasi Dread (2009), Kinji Fukasaku Battle Royale (2000), John Harrison Book of Blood (2009), Mary Harron American Psycho (2000), Mikael Hafstrom 1408 (2007), Ji-woon Kim A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), Ryuhei Kitamura Midnight Meat Train (2008), Pascal Laugier House of Voices (2004) and Martyrs (2008), Andrew Leman The Call of Cthulhu (2005), Takashi Miike Ichi the Killer (2001), Hideo Nakata Dark Water (2002), Philip Ridley Heartless (2010), David Slade Hard Candy (2005) and 30 Days of Night (2007), Christopher Smith Triangle (2009), Guillermo del Torro The Devil's Backbone (2001) and Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Lars von Trier's Antichrist (2009), James Wan Saw (2004)

This list will be expanded over time, as brilliant new horror films are released and older ones are discovered. Please make suggestions for inclusion below and we will endeavour to watch the films and add them if we agree. Soon we hope to add original reviews of some of the exceptional horror films from this century. We make no claims as to complete coverage- Twisted Tales is a vehicle for promoting great horror and so we have no interest in pointing out bad films. If a film isn't on the list and/or reviewed here it is because either a) we haven't seen it yet or b) because we think it fell short of what we wanted from a great horror film. By all means feel free to disagree with us in your comments,  as we hope to foster debate about and engagement with some of the incredible nightmare visions that are being produced by today's best directors and writers.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Black Static

In Twisted Tales #2 (and incidentally, Twisted Tales #3 - but more on that another time) we are presenting a Black Static showcase. But what is Black Static? In answer to that question publicity director Roy Gray sent us this response:

Black Static #3 by David Gentry
Black Static is where an author, either aspiring or established, who wants to write horror or dark fantasy fiction can publish their short stories. The magazine offers a chance of recognition, an appearance in print, a few thousand readers, influential reviews, a professional sale, good editing, and an exceptional layout for their work. 

It began  life as The Third Alternative, founded by TTA Press in 1994 (hence the letters TTA). When TTA took on the already long running Interzone magazine in 2004 it provided an opportunity to remove the science fiction and fantasy from The Third Alternative, allowing it to focus on the darker side of speculative fiction. The magazine was rechristened as Black Static to emphasise that shift and to give prospective readers a clearer idea of what the magazine was all about.

Black Static has earned praise for its style, bravery, editorial and fiction content. Its stories are innovative and daring, never afraid to shock or disturb, yet always entertaining.

Black Static #10 by David Gentry
After only three years into what will hopefully be a long and successful life, the magazine has already published work by some of the finest horror writers working today, including: Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle, Nicholas Royle, Conrad Williams, Tony Richards, Scott Nicholson, Steve Rasnic Tem, Cody Goodfellow, Mélanie Fazi, Michael Marshall Smith, Simon Clark, Graham Joyce, Gary McMahon, Paul Finch, and Joel Lane, to name just a few. Meanwhile, upcoming authors such as Simon Kurt Unsworth, Aliette de Bodard, Daniel Kaysen, Shannon Page, Roz Clarke, Ray Cluley, Sarah Totton, James Cooper, Nina Allan, and Eric Gregory are starting careers within its pages.

A unique fiction magazine requires unique presentation which Black Static duly delivers with the extraordinary original artwork in every issue (samples of which can be seen on this page) and a design that delights in breaking rules.

Every issue contains "White Noise": horror and dark fantasy news compiled by Peter Tennant. Peter also provides all the book reviews in his "Case Notes" column. Tony Lee reviews DVD/Blu-ray releases in his "Blood Spectrum" Column. Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk and Mike O'Driscoll write thought-provoking comment columns, and every issue presents an opportunity for the reader to win a selection of great horror-related prizes.

Black Static is published bimonthly (in alternate months to Interzone). You can subscribe to the print version (with discounted joint subscription to both magazines) at the TTA Press website shop, or buy e-editions at Fictionwise. Free mp3 audio readings of some stories are also available to download at Transmissions From Beyond.
Black Static #14 Front and Rear Covers by Dave Senecal

Tuesday 9 November 2010

New Promo Art For Twisted Tales #2

Those industrious fellows at TTA Press have put together a new poster/flyer to publicise the second Twisted Tales which is after all a Black Static showcase. If you're not familiar with Black Static we'll be doing in infomercial in a future post but for now just know that it's an awesome horror magazine which publishes short fiction and all of our Twisted Tales #2 authors have appeared in it (or in its precursor: The Third Alternative). All three authors will be reading short fiction and have agreed to a question and answer session, as well as signing books. Now, without further preamble, enjoy the flyer:


Feel free to copy the poster and repost it wherever you  like. Hell, you can even print it off and hand it out to all your friends. If reposting online just be sure to credit both Twisted Tales and TTA Press. Thanks all, hope to see you there!

Friday 5 November 2010

Raffle Prizes

It's not enough that we're giving you an amazing evening of short horror fiction, every person who buys a ticket (for a mere £2) also gets a chance to win one of four amazing prizes.
The Silent Land

We'll draw the winners on the night and you could be the proud winner of either a year's subscription to Black Static, a copy of Graham Joyce's new hardback The Silent Land (which I'm sure he'll sign for you), a copy of The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, or the current issue of Black Static.

Hell, its worth buying a ticket just for the chance of winning such great prizes. Let alone what promised to be superb fiction from Simon Kurt Unsworth, Paul Finch and Graham Joyce.

When you factor in that if you buy a book on the night your ticket gives you a £2 discount (and so is essentially free!) you really would have to be mad not to think this sounds like a bargain!

Call 0151 7099820 or pop into the shop to get a ticket. What are you waiting for?


Twisted Tales #2
Friday 26th November 2010
6pm - 8pm
Waterstone's Liverpool One
12 College Lane, L1 3DL
Tickets £2 - On Sale Now!

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Twisted Tales #2 Coming Soon

On the 26th November we are proud to be able to bring you the follow up to the recent smash hit Twisted Tales event.

Twisted Tales #2 will take place at the same venue, Waterstone's Liverpool One, at the same time, 6pm, and it will bring you the same high quality short fiction from published authors. We're co-hosting this event with TTA Press's Black Static, which celebrated editor Ellen Datlow describes as 'the most consistently excellent horror magazine published'. All of the authors have appeared in either Black Static or its precursor The Third Alternative. This time we'll be hearing stories from Paul Finch, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and Graham Joyce.

Paul's latest novel Stronghold has recently attracted a movie option, and his festive horror novella, Sparrowhawk, will be published by Pendragon Press in time for Christmas. Paul has a short story in Zombie Apocalypse, recently praised in The Financial Times. To date, he's had ten books and nearly 300 stories and novellas published on both sides of the Atlantic, and has won International Horror Guild and British Fantasy Awards.
  
Simon is a World Fantasy Award-Nominated author who has a collection of stories, "Lost Places", in print with Ash Tree Press, a second collection is on its way from PS Publishing. He has also been widely anthologised in publications such as The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Horror, Lovecraft Unbound, and Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes.
 
Graham is the Multi-Award-Winning author of The Tooth Fairy, Memoirs of a Master Forger (under the pseudonym William Heaney), The Devil's Ladder, Smoking Poppy, and upcoming The Silent Land, He's also working as part of the writing team for the eagerly awaited horror video game sequel Doom 4.


Friday 26th November 2010
6pm - 8pm
Waterstone's Liverpool One
12 College Lane, L1 3DL
Tickets £2 - On Sale Now
(£2 redeemable against any horror book bought on the night, 
plus it enters you into a draw to win one of four amazing prizes)
To book tickets call 0151 709 9820