This post might contain spoilers about the novel The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and the movie Dread. Don't say I didn't warn you :)
I had an idea today as I folded laundry,
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane playing on my mp3 player. I read a lot of books and watch a lot of movie, majority of which are lamespice beyond words, that and my friend Laurie and I trade movie and books, letting each other know what was good, what was bad and what might be worth reading or watching. So for starters, we'll begin with a book I've been listening to a little each night, and a movie I watched today.
First up is
Dread. I am a great lover of horror movies, that being said this movie wasn't "scary" per se. It says it was one of the "8 films to die for after dark horrofest." Horrorfest? No. Gory? You bet your ass it was - in certain parts. Nothing on the level of
Saw or
Hostel, but gross nonetheless. It stars Twilight hunk, Jackson Rathbone as Stephen Grace, the film's main character (well one of them). I know some might be put off because he was in
Twilight, but let me tell you something - the
Twilight movies do not do this kid justice. He is a better actor than the
Twilight movies make him out to be. I was surprised. But moving on...
This is not a movie to watch with the kids around...it has nudity and lots of cursing. And the grody factor as well...
The whole jist of the movie is this guy wants to do a fear study, to find out what scares people...he recruits Rathbone and another girl, luring them in with the possibility of using the study for their thesis. They are film students and jump on the opportunity and the trio set out to interview people about what scares them.
Rathbone reveals what scares him, his female counterpart reveals a terrifying childhood and the guy who wanted to do the study reveals what happend to him.
At the conclusion of the study, the third guy goes a little batty, does some crazy stuff...etcetera, etcetera...don't want to give too much away.
The ending however, OMG! The ending shocked the sin out of me. I think it might have been the films one redeeming quality. It was a good concept, the movie, but somewhere something got lost in translation. The acting was good, the soundtrack was horrible and there was too much boob for me. There were also a couple of plot holes, things the crazy guy did that confused me and the only explanation I could come up with to reason why he did the things he did was because he was crazy. And that's not a good explanation.
So I give it three stars out of five. If you like sorta lamespice horror movies that aren't really scary you'll totally dig this. You'll also dig this if you think Jackson Rathbone is hot. I did not consider myself a rider of the Jackson-is-hot bandwagon, but this movie converted me.
Just saying.
lol.
Okay now onto the book part of this here post. A while back I was perusing the
New York Times best-seller list, looking for an interesting book for one of my book characters to read and I happened along this book. The title grabbed my interest, so I googled and read the synopsis of the book.
Curiousity piqued!
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (also known as
The Lost Book of Salem) is an engaging tale of a young woman, Connie Goodwin, who heads to her late grandmother's home to prepare it for sale. Once there she finds a mysterious key and an even more mysterious slip of paper bearing the name Deliverance Dane. One thing leads to another and Connie finds herself delving into centuries long gone in search of answers.
I don't want to give too much away, but when I read more reviews of the book my interest started to wane. I did not think it would interest me at all, but when I found it at the library in an audio book I thought, eh why not. I can put it on my mp3 player and listen to it while I clean and if I don't like it, no harm done.
I was intrigued from the start. The book switches points of view, going from Connie's point of view in 1991 to various points of view over various years from the late 1600's up. The novel is essentially about the Salem Witch Trials and events that spawned after that, but it's more intricate than that, a little bit of mystery, a dash of spookiness, a pinch of intrigue, and a sprinkle of romance.
I love it, and I haven't yet finished, but I'm sure the ending won't disappoint, but if it does I will be sure to pass it on. Rating it, I give it a five out of five. It's a definite must read, especially if the subject of witches and mystery intrigue you.
So have you read this book or seen this movie? Share your thoughts. Did you love it? Hate it? How come?
Next week:
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
and
Duplicity starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen
