Slow-burn, atmospheric, well-paced tension, subtle scares…if only the ending didn’t feel so cheesy to me. I liked it up until then though.

 

Energy: Adaptable. Convivial. Malicious. 

 

🐕 Howls Ending was bit of a letdown with cheesy explanation and I missed the previous creepy energy. I don’t love religious horror and good-vs-evil tropes but that’s just me. 

 

🐩 Tail Wags Eerie slow-building thriller vibes. Creeping sense of dread. Nightmares added to the story and didn’t feel drawn out. Deliberate pacing. Immersive, cinematic feelings. Gradual character development. Getting invested in the characters’ fates. (Mostly) grounded plot with attention to detail. Integration of grief themes. Each town and setting had distinct energy. Red flags piling up. 

 

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in various Appalachian (Pennsylvania) towns.

Perspectives: Our main character as they head out with their college communications groupmates to document roadside memorials.  

Snippets of video showing when freezes or rewinds/fast forwards like we are watching it. 

Excerpts from books on local legends and Satanism

Timeline: 1983-1984. 🍃☀️ May (but summery).

🔥 Fuel: Why are there women missing from all these towns? What are the symbols etched on all the memorials? Who or what seems to be stalking them? Can they trust the police? Their family? 

📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief

 

Volvo van. Road trip. Vapour trail. Tent. Heat wave. Watermelon. Coors. Campfire. Photocopier paper. Library. Gas stations. Distant thunder. Fast food wrappers. 

 

Content Heads-Up: Loss of parents (as child; as teen). Loss of sibling (as child). Loss of child. Gun violence (brief recall; drive-by, fatal). Nicotine (cigarettes, chewing tobacco). Driving while intoxicated (brief recalls). Weather event (severe storm, tornado; damage; brief). Abusive, controlling relationship (very brief recall). Animal cruelty, death (very brief recall; rumoured; cats, dogs, cows). Racism (microaggressions, prejudice, hatred, White privilege). Blood. Sexual content (descriptive, brief; on page imaginings). Bullying (childhood; physical assault). Satanism (rituals, beliefs). Murder (on page; blood, injury, violence). Fire (on page; fatal burns). Car crashes (recall; fatal). 

 

Rep: American. Third generation Puerto Rican. Cis. Dark, olive, freckled, and ambiguous skin tones.

 

📚 Format: Library Digital