The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

This is a newer book that I discovered on accident because a pair of my favorite authors, Preston and Child, had a blurb on the cover. Most of the time I put very little faith in such things since many popular authors are bullied or cajoled into doing this. But the plot synopsis sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot.

Nolan Moore is a YouTube “star” and host of his own show named the Anomaly Files that looks into the mysteries of the universe. He is on the verge of moving to a real network with the aid of a mysterious benefactor, the Palinhem Foundation, and their representative a crazy hippie chick named Feather. Yes, her name is actually Feather! Along with his producer and crew they head out into the Grand Canyon looking for a missing archaeological site that might prove the existence of a lost civilization. They do find the caves they are looking for and a whole lot more in the bargain. By the end of the trip some people are dead and some mysteries are solved. Though the answers create a lot more questions.

I sort of liked this book. The opening is brisk as we are introduced to the characters quickly and dumped right into the action. I also thought that the last couple chapters of the book were well done and build an interesting world where we could see more adventures of Nolan Moore. It is pretty obvious that Rutger is hoping that this becomes a series and sets The Anomaly up for sequels. If that happens I hope that there is a little more meat on the bones of future books. Our characters get trapped in a cave and we get page after page of how they have little water and food. It is also clear that they are disorientated by the dark. While I’m sure all of these things are true it doesn’t make for a great read.

I won’t say I was bored, but the book does get to be a grind before picking up towards the finale. Part of the issue is the monster or lack thereof. While things are hinted at we don’t get anything to sink our teeth into. Mostly they are generic threats that don’t really feel that dangerous. In fact the people and their poor decisions are more destructive to each other than any of the “creatures” in the story. I also found what was supposed to be the big finale and “shocking” twist to be boring. Especially since Rutger goes for the trope of the “Dead but not really Dead” character showing up to save the day.

To be certain I’ve read far worse books. And to be honest I liked this well enough that given a chance I would check out a sequel just to see if the author has progressed in his storytelling. Rutger has potential to be very good, but unlike Preston and Child’s first book The Relic he didn’t come out of the gate strong. If you can find this one cheap or get it from your local public library give it a chance. But I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to run out and buy a full priced copy.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer

The Hearse (1980)

I love ghost stories and had always heard about The Hearse. It was supposed to be a hybrid between a haunting flick and a devil worshiping one, which was another staple of the seventies and early eighties. As an added bonus this one stars Trish Van Devere who was also in The Changeling, an amazing haunted house movie. It was time for me to give it a try.

Van Devere plays Jane, a recently divorced woman who is going thru some emotional problems. She decides that the best course of action is to move to the house she recently inherited. Has that ever worked in any movie ever? The house belong to her long dead aunt and the locals aren’t happy that someone from the family is back to inhabit it. Seems that they think her aunt and her boyfriend Robert were Devil Worshippers. You would think the hostile locals and the fact that a creepy old hearse tries to run her off the road over and over again would make Trish move back to the city. But it doesn’t.

There are some nice folks like the local boy who helps her fix up the house and has a huge crush on her. There is also the local minister who is kind, and best of all is Tom who shows up to rescue her after one of the hearse incidents and ends up “courting” her. He is very old fashioned and formal in an odd way. Oh yeah because that isn’t going to lead to something! Things go sideways when Trish starts to read her aunts diary that she finds in the house. After a couple of pages of hearing how her boyfriend Robert wanted to worship the devil I would have jumped in the car and left.

This movie is a mess. The acting is good and there is a kernel of an interesting story here, but it gets lost in a movie that is so damn slow. The movie is more than ninety minutes long and nothing happens for most of it. It tries to create some atmosphere and scares like the much better entries in the genre, like the before mentioned Changeling also starring Van Devere, but it doesn’t work. There aren’t any scares or tension in this movie. It’s just really painfully boring.

HELP LET ME OUT OF THIS CRAPPY MOVIE!

If the pacing weren’t enough the plot is all over the place and makes zero sense. How is it that our main character Trish is so dense that she doesn’t see that Tom is creepy as hell and is mirroring the devil worshiping boyfriend from her aunt’s diary? It is so obvious that Tom and Robert are one and the same! No mystery there and the big reveal means absolutely nothing. If you are going to make the audience sit thru more than ninety minutes of inane dialogue and people wandering around in the dark you had better have a decent payoff. The Hearse doesn’t have that going for it.

I’m not sure if it is the writing or the editing but characters do stupid stuff. Let me give you one giant example of this. Trish is traumatized by having someone break into her house and scaring her. To the point she ends up in hysterics. The very next night she jumps into the shower to get ready for her date with Tom/Robert. She leaves the front door open… It’s not the house or a ghost because when she strolls down to let her date in she doesn’t mention the fact that the door is wide open! Shit like this happens from start to finish in the Hearse. Even the ending doesn’t make sense. Is he dead? If so why was he smiling? And what happened to the minister who came to help her? To hell with this movie! Watch the Changeling instead. Same actress, plus George C. Scott, and a heck of a lot more fun.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer