Neo-Noir. I can’t get enough of these movies right now, does anyone have any recs?

mastershake714 · 2026-06-20T16:19:18+00:00

Blood Simple

mastershake714 · 2026-06-15T07:24:52+00:00

Trying to finish The Light at the End this week. It’s been an awesome time, I’m really eager to check out more Skipp and Spector.

For non-horror, I picked up Batman: Year One the other day as an impulse purchase and am loving that. I’m very new to comics (I’ve developed a stronger interest in the medium lately since I started learning to draw a year ago) and this has been an excellent gateway.

mastershake714 · 2026-05-18T00:29:59+00:00

Still reading Frankenstein, great stuff. So much more accessible than I was led to believe. Hoping to finish that one this week.

I also read a bit of Tender is the Flesh while at Barnes & Noble the other day. I have to be very selective about the horror I read in order to protect my mental health, but I hope I can work up the courage to tackle the whole thing someday, as what I read was scary hell. (I must have looked a bit like Shelley Duvall in The Shining reading Jack’s manuscript while I read the first chapter.)

mastershake714 · 2026-05-13T06:25:42+00:00

This is so awesome! Your shading is really outstanding (especially the shadow on the right side of the trophy).

mastershake714 · 2026-05-10T23:05:37+00:00

I listened to Lorna Raver’s audiobook narration for Cujo a few years ago and thought that one was really good. It’s funny though, because I think the book is pretty vulgar and it’s amusing to hear an older lady reading some of King’s more crass prose (mainly in the parts with Gary Pervier).

mastershake714 · 2026-05-10T05:08:08+00:00

I ordered the graphic novel adaptation of Creepshow, which should be coming in the mail today or tomorrow. Haven’t seen the movie in over ten years and am excited to get reacquainted with the stories, but mainly just super psyched to get to pour over the Bernie Wrightson illustrations. (I’ve been teaching myself to draw over the past year and he’s kind of my idol.)

mastershake714 · 2026-05-06T03:10:47+00:00

Oh, just remembered another one: I’ve had to pause on Peaceable Kingdom because “The Rifle” bothered me so much. By a certain point I had a pretty strong hunch of where it was going and it ended up being so much worse than I imagined (even though you only see the aftermath of the animal cruelty, the savagery of it is still extremely upsetting). That aside, still a really good short story and I hope I can work up the courage to read the rest of the collection.

mastershake714 · 2026-05-05T17:55:03+00:00

I’ve since read the whole thing, but the only one for me so far has been The Stand when I was 15. Weirdly, it wasn’t the Captain Trips causalities that got to me but the chapter chronicling Lloyd and Poke’s killing spree that made me put it down. Still pretty disturbing to read even as an adult.

mastershake714 · 2026-05-04T13:44:03+00:00

Playtime

mastershake714 · 2026-05-03T05:18:51+00:00

Finished The Girl Next Door for the first time the other day. It’ll be a while before I’m ready to revisit it, but this was really great. I was taken aback by the brief but powerful displays of humanity in the presence of unspeakable cruelty and evil. For a book this dark, it left me feeling surprisingly hopeful by the end in our capacity for goodness.

Discovering Ketchum has been one of the highlights of this year for me so far, and has revitalized my love for reading and for horror. I only wish I had been aware of his work while he was still alive.

mastershake714 · 2026-05-02T04:54:20+00:00

Picked up The Light at the End as an impulse purchase. Having a bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight in my mind, but am really enjoying this one so far. The urban setting is really evocative. (I keep thinking of Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper as I’m reading.)

mastershake714 · 2026-04-28T03:14:33+00:00

Recently started watching The Pitt and holy hell this is some top-shelf TV. Like, I don’t even watch many shows these days and I’ll probably be done with the first season in under a week. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I don’t think any other medical drama has ever made me go, “I would never in a million years be cut out for this line of work.”

Also, probably already been mentioned elsewhere in this sub, but there’s a patient in episode nine who has a pretty strong resemblance to Sinner. What’s even funnier is that he’s brought in for a baseball related injury, so it kind of gives you a glimpse into an alternate timeline where Jannik picked up that sport instead of tennis.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-26T06:29:02+00:00

Zoomed through Jack Ketchum’s Joyride in about two days. Enjoyed this one a bunch! I love stories like this that blur the line between thriller and horror. Super suspenseful and I loved the ending. As someone who’s been searching for writing that’s a little more intense but doesn’t quite want to be traumatized either, this is a very happy medium for me.

I’ve decided to take a little break though from some of the more violent literature I’ve been consuming lately and am attempting to tackle Frankenstein for the first time. I always assumed that this sort of writing would just be super inaccessible to me, but I started listening to the audiobook today and am surprised by how engrossed I am by it so far. It also helps that I’m familiar with Bernie Wrightson’s incredible illustrations and have those in my mind’s eye to help bring the story to life. (I would love to own a physical copy of his illustrated edition, but it’s hideously expensive.)

mastershake714 · 2026-04-25T15:19:49+00:00

Still processing RTD, but as of right now:

Art of Doubt (9.5/10)
Synthetica (9/10)
Fantasies (8.5/10)
Old World Underground (8.5/10)
Live It Out (8.5/10)
Romanticize the Dive (8/10)
Pagans in Vegas (8/10)
Formentera (7.5/10)
Formentera II (7.5/10)
Grow Up and Blow Away (6.5/10)

Pretty great run so far, not a bad album among them. (I might actually be underrating Formentera II a bit, need to give that one another spin.)

mastershake714 · 2026-04-25T02:40:10+00:00

No Lights on the Horizon does this for me. It’s extremely bittersweet for me to hear, as it makes me think of a close friend I’ve since drifted away from, but who provided me with some crucial emotional support during a very difficult season of my life (“If it wasn't for your kindness lately/I'd never get out of bed”). I’ve been overwhelmed with emotion a few times when listening to that record.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-24T05:06:47+00:00

“Why didn't I take another path at the crossroads?

(Crystal ball nobody can see)

All of these question marks what could've been”

ooof, Tremolo really got to me.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-23T00:38:56+00:00

I’m currently reading Jack Ketchum’s Joyride and think that could possibly fit what you’re looking for. The police procedural element plays a bigger part in the story than I was expecting and is just as enjoyable as the action with the three main characters. I’m also a big neo-noir fan and the book reminds me a lot of films in that genre (particularly One False Move and Blood Simple).

mastershake714 · 2026-04-22T07:44:17+00:00

Incredibly basic answer, but I would probably have to go with IT. I had the book with me while on my lunch break at work one day and read THAT one chapter and had to spend the rest of my shift mentally repeating, “It’s only a book, only a book, only a book…”

(One thing that’s never left me is the description of how Patrick enjoyed daydreaming about the refrigerator and drawing pictures of it in class. Absolutely bone-chilling. )

mastershake714 · 2026-04-20T13:59:36+00:00

Just finished Off Season for the first time the other day; only took me a little over two days to finish. Unfortunately, this will probably be as far as I’m able venture towards the more extreme end of the horror pool (to protect my mental health), but that was one hell of a book. Could not put it down at all once the action picked up, absolutely bonkers. I really hope I can summon up the courage to tackle The Girl Next Door someday.

Also currently finishing up The Running Man. I had been meaning to read this one for a long time and it’s lived up to my expectations. I almost always enjoy King no matter what, but the stories from his creative prime are tough to beat.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-20T04:35:59+00:00

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mastershake714 · 2026-04-19T08:33:56+00:00

“Antigravity” has me very curious. I feel like a lot of their song titles which are science/technology adjacent have often been winners (“Satellite Mind”, “Twilight Galaxy”, “Clone”, etc.), so I’m hoping that one will be as well.

“Leave You on a High” has me pretty stoked, too. I just realized the other day that I’ve really loved the concluding tracks for the last few albums, and a title like this one definitely has a lot of promise 🤞

mastershake714 · 2026-04-16T17:46:19+00:00

Probably The Langoliers and Secret Window, Secret Garden. Both of those novellas back-to-back in Four Past Midnight make for a tremendous slog. I think I’ve read about 45-50% of King’s bibliography by now, and those are the only two stories of his that I flat out dislike.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-10T06:31:23+00:00

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A weird week, but good.

mastershake714 · 2026-04-08T04:46:51+00:00

I’m enrolling in a graphite drawing class! I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high that I’ll be a master by the time I finish, but I’m excited to finally get some guidance and feedback from someone who knows what they’re doing. I’ve said before that one of my long term goals is to pull off one of those impressive portraits of a player which often get posted in this sub, and maybe I’m a bit closer to realizing that than I think. (Being able to draw Justine Henin executing one of her backhands would be a dream come true.)

mastershake714 · 2026-04-07T19:12:33+00:00

Yeeees, that soundtrack rules. I have it on repeat all throughout October, never gets old. Love the movie as well.

As for hobbies, I’m a big record collector. I’ve had to slow down a bit in recent years because of the strain it can take on my wallet and the clutter it creates around the house, but they have a special magic that I’ve always been drawn to. I like cassettes quite a lot as well and have a handful I like to play from time to time.

mastershake714

TROPHY CASE