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Rec160 – Bring Her Back

FILM

Title: Bring Her Back, 2025

Directors: Danny and Michael Philippou

Starring: Billy Barrratt, Sora Wong, Sally Hawkins

After absorbing this masterpiece at an advance screening, my wife and I agreed that there is something quite special about a mundane kind of evil. Despite all the gruesomeness and clever use of some horror tropes, the Philippous’ second outing after the superb Talk To Me succeeds due to its grounded performances. In particular, Hawkins, as the social worker cum guardian to orphaned Andy and Piper, nails her role beautifully. I knew very little about the movie going in and see no reason to unveil too much here, as there are some lovely, superbly paced reveals. There’s an isolated, hippie-style home in the hills, a spooky video tape, a spooky kid, all pieces in a game of cunning manipulation. Add some occult rituals and jaw-clenching body horror, anchored on real care, love and desperate loss, and you have one of the strongest horror films since, well, Talk To Me. I can’t wait to see what the Adelaide duo do next.

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Rec160 — Chelsea Wolfe live

Concert

Artist: Chelsea Wolfe (support: Aphir)

Venue: The Forum, 23 May 2025

If you enjoy transportative music and a fabulous light show, consider catching up with Chelsea Wolfe and her three-piece band. They’re a tight unit – drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, keys, synths – elevating Wolfe’s atmospheric songs. The hour-twenty set passed in no time at all – suddenly, it was encore time – with the almost ritualistic quieter tunes complemented by eruptions of guitar and pummelled drum kit. I knew only Wolfe’s Abyss album and recognised two* of its highlight tracks, but didn’t feel the poorer for my ignorance. Wolfe also managed the rare feat of quieting the bar chatter – an attentive (goth-prominent) crowd, with only a couple of exceptions. Whether cruising or rocking, the one constant was Wolfe’s voice, as much instrument as the electric guitar used for effect not solos. And yes, a round of applause to the lighting engineer who enhanced the mood and theatricality of the concert. Off now to look at some albums and lyric sheets.

  • there were three from Abyss – full set list here

>> Want a longer review with tracks mentioned? Tim Bottams at the Music has you covered

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Rec160 — The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, by Alison Goodman

Novel

Title: The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin

Author: Alison Goodman

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia

I devoured the Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, the follow-up to the deliciously titled The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. While having read the first will assist, it probably isn’t necessary to be moving on here, thanks to the careful placement of sufficient back story. The first featured three distinct adventures linked by an overarching plot involving a fallen nobleman with whom our point-of-view heroine, Gus, becomes entangled. This plot becomes the driving force of the Ladies Road Guide, with a secret cabal, a dollop of spies, and hindrances from societal and familial expectations adding healthy measures of intrigue and complication. Gus and her sister, Julia, make a formidable, but not infallible, duo, ably supported by a likeable supporting cast. The command of character and the Regency setting makes it a joy as the action thumps along like a rushing phaeton – mind those potholes, ladies! Just as pleasing is the clear suggestion that there is more to come. C’est magnifique!

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Rec160 — Thunderbolts*

FILM

Title: Thunderbolts*

Director: Jack Schreier

Starring: Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman

It was the combination of Florence Pugh’s performance as Yelena in Black Widow along with this article on ABC that swayed the decision to invest in another Marvel outing. Fortunately, the promise was delivered, in a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the superhero line-up. Yelena is the axis around which her fellow misfit heroes and mercenaries revolve as they are caught up in a plot to fill the overt gap left by the Avengers, with, of course, the generous serve of self-interest. While New York City again lives under a cloud as things go very wrong, the movie manages to keep the stakes at a personal level, forging loners into a team, and managing to strike that ideal balance of drama and humour along the way. While Yelena is the epitome of a dour, pessimistic Russian, her father (aka Red Guardian) sees a chance for resurgence. It was so good to see Hannah John-Kamen (Killjoys) back in action, too. I’d line up for another Thunderbirds.

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Rec160 — Sinners

FILM

Title: Sinners, 2025

Director: Ryan Coogler

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton

There’s an air of From Dusk Till Dawn to this Southern-drenched period piece that strikes me as one of the best battles of the bands ever – everyone is getting down to the blues in a 1930s juke joint, but then the vampires arrive and the jig is up. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their home town after having schooled up as soldiers and criminals. They’re trying to pick up where they left off as a gang of two, encountering the friends and lovers left behind as they muster musicians, including a talented guitarist (Caton), and helpers for the opening of their club. Has anyone tallied the number of tracking shots, and how long they go for? They certainly add to the feeling of immediacy. The acting, the sets, the cinematography – there are fabulous transitional edits between scenes – and, yes, the music, whether Buddy Guy’s guest spot or a touch of Riverdance, makes for an immersive experience worth revisiting.

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Conflux, here we come

I’m very chuffed to report that Kirstyn and I will be guests of honour at Conflux, Canberra’s festival of speculative fiction in October this year.

Conflux has always been a fabulous convention, offering plenty of information about the craft and business of writing as well as a great opportunity to hang out with writers and readers, united in their love of all things spec fic.

It’ll be challenging and fun to be taking part as a guest, especially as a double bill with Kirstyn (others are yet to be announced), and I’m looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones.

I expect I’ll be banging on about the enduring allure of vampires, the Gothic, and climate fiction, and whatever else pops up.

Attending conventions has been a valuable element in my journey as a writer, and I’ve always appreciated opportunities to give back to that. This will be next level, though!

I encourage genre writers to investigate such opportunities, to get insights into the industry, meet like-minded souls, and be part of the community. So come on down, the water’s fine. Memberships are now open.

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Sweet Music – where Dracula meets Cthulhu

Today marks the official release day of Into the Cthulhu-Universe, an IFWG anthology that transplants Lovecraft’s mythos into other literary realms.

My short story, ‘Sweet Music’, came out of the blue, or more likely the black: a casual conversation with co-editor Steven Paulsen in which it was mentioned there was a hole in the anthology.

‘Anyone done Dracula?’ I asked.

‘No.’ Eyebrow raised.

‘Give me a week, see if anything emerges…’

And here it is, a little different to the original concept that first dug its way out of the back brain.

You’ll notice some of the hard-copy research material pictured, the exquisite coincidence of a certain Cthulhu castle in Transylvania, the challenge of layering Tepes over Stoker over Lovecraft et al.

I’ve written only two other Cthulhu-esque stories — ‘An Incident at Portsea, 1967’ and ‘Slither’. Nice when things come in threes, even if years apart!

Into the Cthulhu-Universe is now available from the usual online retailers. Find out more at IFWG.

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Rec160 – Heart, Royal Flush tour

MUSIC

Artist: Heart, Calgary 20/3/25; Edmonton 21/3/25

I got hooked on the band Heart back in the ’80s when their Brigade album made a splash (such that I wrote a book inspired by it), so finally getting to see them live (twice!) was a true bucket list moment. Sisters Ann and Nancy are in their 70s, not that you’d know it. Ann, who has fended off cancer and performs from a wheelchair due to a recently broken elbow, is a clear trouper, her voice strong and clear; Nancy prowls the stage with her guitar, bobbing, hopping, interacting with her bandmates, taking the lead vocals on These Dreams. There’s some banter, introductions to a couple of songs, nods to Bowie and Zep. The song selection is superb, showcasing the band’s versatility, from the classic rock power of closer ‘Barracuda’ to soaring hits like ‘Alone’ and ‘Never’ to acoustic ballads such as ‘Dog and Butterfly’. The 90-minute set is a tour de force that was totally worth the journey.

Further reading: Heart’s Vancouver concert reviewed @ the Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/music/concert-review-heart-royal-flush-2025-tour-vancouver

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Rec160: Presence

Film

Title: Presence

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Stars: Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Eddy Maday

This haunted house film is fabulous until it gets tripped up by its final reveal, but it’s worth a watch. The point of view is that of an entity inhabiting the unremarkable suburban home, with a penchant for a particular wardrobe. I was quite happy not knowing the entity’s identity and story, and enjoyed the constraint of having pieces of story provided only by what it can hear or see from its vantage points within the home. A family moves in and the dynamics are built through vignettes: tiger mum has a business secret as well as devotion to her son’s swimming career, dad isn’t coping, daughter is suffering from the death of her best friend from an apparent drug overdose (one of two). But at the end, the time paradox referenced by a medium undermines the simple elegance of the set-up, and narrative coherence – already a little frayed by the side plot of dead students – unspools. That wardrobe? Ew.

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Rec160 – Companion

Film

Title: Companion
Director: Drew Hancock
Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid

When it comes to robots being given a rough deal, Companion is right up there with Blade Runner. As with the recent M3gan, Companion poses a question about the role of robots in our society, but where M3gan devolved into a simplistic string of killer robot set pieces, Companion sticks the landing, never abandoning its underlying themes. The only misstep is the announcement at the start about who kills whom. Sophie Thatcher is eminently watchable as Iris, caught up in a plot about which the less said the better so as to enjoy this proficiently composed thriller of reveals and hurdles. It kicks off with a group of friends arriving for a stay at an isolated mansion, whereupon schemes come undone and secrets are unveiled, all with a resultant and refreshingly banal body count as pressure mounts. With shades of Westworld and I, Robot (of course), Companion impresses with its intelligence and focus that would easily reward a second viewing.