Sunday, January 9, 2022

A REVISIT WITH SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS

Years ago, I posted about one of my favorite genres: the supernatural thriller.  As many of you know, I have had two thrillers air on Lifetime TV: Stolen from the Womb and My Mother's Killer Boyfriend (original title The Narcissist), neither of which were supernatural.  I thought that with my latest novel, a thriller entitled Girl Obsessed (also not supernatural), about to be released at the end of the month, it was time I re-posted the following article, which details the supernatural thriller.  Though I have, until now, always written straightforward thrillers or mysteries, I'd like to try my hand at including a supernatural element in a story at some point.  

                                            THE SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

Like most of us who enjoy being frightened by things that go bump in the night, I appreciate a good ghost story. When I was young, my Uncle Hank used to bring my cousins and me together while he told us 'scary stories.' I don't recall much about the stories themselves other than that they served their purpose and probably scared us half to death.

          Do kids still enjoy being frightened in that way? I think so. Books like R.L. Stine's Goosebumps are popular for good reason. Adults often forget that there is a magic to be found in reading these stories and having someone read them to you.

           I used to bring a book of scary stories into my son's fifth-grade classroom on Friday afternoons. I'd turn out the lights, and accompanied by a lit candle, proceed to read spooky stories. Years later, a young man approached me and told me that he was in that class and that those stories encouraged him to read. (Some suggestions of which spooky books kids enjoy?  I'd offer up any of the collection of 'true ghost stories' or a classic like Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes."  On Halloween, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is always a favorite.)

          It stands to reason then that one of my favorite movie genres is the supernatural thriller. I'm not speaking now of the ones that fall into the category of horror films, such as The Omen, but rather those in which the supernatural elements are often tied to a mystery and, frequently, a murder. 


Listed below are some of my all-time favorite supernatural thrillers, in no particular order of preference:

 

1.    THE UNINVITED (1944)  Starring Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Gail Russell, this is about a good a ghost story as you're going to get. A composer and his sister purchase an old house dirt cheap along the English coast. The reason it's such a bargain, of course, is that it's haunted. What makes this movie so unique is that it was the first film to treat the subject of ghosts in a non-comical way and it does not have a copout ending.

2.    GHOST (1990) This film had so many elements going for it. A good, suspenseful story, a love so strong, it survived death (Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore portraying Sam and Molly), a brilliant comic performance by Whoopy Goldberg, all backed by the haunting song, Unchained Melody.

3.    THE GIFT (2000) Not only was this a quiet gem for this genre, it boasts an incredibly talented ensemble: Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Michael Jeter, and Gary Cole. Well worth getting a hold of.

4.    WHAT LIES BENEATH (2000) The wife (Michele Pfeiffer) of a university professor (Harrison Ford) thinks that she is either going insane or that her Vermont home is haunted. Something sinister is definitely going on – and she doesn't know the half of it!

5.    THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) Famous line to come out of this movie, "I see dead people." A movie many viewers went to see twice, though saying why would spoil it for those who haven't seen it. I don't think M. Night Shyamalan's subsequent movies ever came close to this one.

6.    GHOST STORY (1981) Based on Peter Straub's novel, Ghost Story tells the tale of the ramifications of having covered up a 50-year-old murder.

7.    SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) This Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio was set in 1954. Solid story with, I think, a good twist ending though some found it to be confusing.

8.    THE DEAD ZONE (1983) Based on the Stephen King novel, The Dead Zone stars Christopher Walkin and Brooke Adams. Like all Stephen King stories, the plot is carefully developed. An especially creepy performance by Martin Sheen as a corrupt politician.

9.    STIR OF ECHOES (1999) Written by master storyteller, Richard Matheson, Stir of Echoes tells the story of Tom Witzke (Kevin Bacon) a man who, having been hypnotized, begins to get disturbing flashes of an unsolved murder).

10. FALLEN (1998) Starring Denzel Washington and John Goodman and directed by Gregory Hoblit (I knew Greg back in the days when he worked on Hill Street Blues). A terrific story about the transference of evil and a very effective and eerie use of the Rolling Stones' "Time is on My Side."

11. FREQUENCY (2000) Another film directed by Greg Hoblit, Frequency, starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, is often described as a sci-fi thriller. I suppose this is because it involves time travel. I feel that this in itself and that fact that it incorporates a murder, qualifies it as a supernatural thriller.

Thanks for joining me on Rhodes Less Traveled, and I invite you to pick up a copy of Girl Obsessed when it is released. (Amazon January 2022) In the mean time you might want to check out ---

Holiday Spirits (short story: The Greatest Christmas Gift of All)

https://www.amazon.com/Holiday-Spirits-Anthology-Stories-International/dp/B09M552G78/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2KXXCSHEOT30M&keywords=holiday+spirits+book&qid=1639626212&sprefix=holiday+spirits+boo%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-6

If You Should Read This, Mother

https://www.amazon.com/You-Should-Read-This-Mother-ebook/dp/B07214BLW5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=11TUORMOC9LO9&dchild=1&keywords=if+you+should+read+this+mother+rhodes&qid=1635989428&qsid=147-6474256-



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