Outside of a Dream, Episode 11 - "I don't think they're getting out of this one."

Drafthouse Films

Cameron's back in the studio with Daniel to discuss The Invitation, Karyn Kusama's 2015 horror-thriller. Set over the course of an uneasy dinner party, the film follows grieving father Will as he begins to suspect his ex-wife's new friends have something nefarious planned for he and the other guests. They also discuss the female horror anthology XX and Netflix docu-series Evil Genius.

Outside of a Dream, Episode 9 - Annihilation

Skydance Media

 A mysterious phenomenon known as "the Shimmer" blankets the coast of Florida, impossibly contorting and remaking every form of life within its boundaries. A team of five female scientists crosses its borders, aiming to find the cause of the incomprehensible force and, for one of them, a cure for her husband's illness. None of them will leave as the same person they were before—if they even leave at all. Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's novel, Annihilation is Alex Garland's second feature film and will go down as one of the great works of sci fi-horror.

Other highlights: Daniel establishes the Benedict Wong Seal of Quality, Cameron gushes over The Fountain, and we discuss H.P. Lovecraft's least racist story.

A kind warning: this episode contains constructive but intimate discussion regarding some potentially upsetting topics such as depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

Annihilation can be streamed on Netflix in certain territories.

"How Annihilation Nails the Complex Reality of Depression," by Angelica Jade Bastién

"Annihilation & The Horrors of Change," FILM CRIT HULK


"St Marks Lighthouse 06/30/16," Donnie Pitts

Outside of a Dream, Episode 5 - The Interior

Low Sky Productions

In Trevor Juras' The Interior, Patrick McFadden plays James, a young, quietly bitter man whose life is upended upon being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Leaving behind his girlfriend and dead-end office job, he travels deep into the interior of British Columbia on a solo backpacking trip. But the solitude he craves in the Canadian wilderness is violated by something perhaps as lost and confused as he is. Speaking of solitude, Cameron relates his own backpacking experiences plus that time he nearly died in the desert.
　
Note: Due to a recording error, Daniel's audio sounds very, very bad. We apologize if this affects your listening experience and promise to have the problem fixed by the next episode. For now, simply imagine Dan is a robot.
　
The Interior can be rented on YouTube.

VIDEO: Unedited Footage of a Bear

Outside of a Dream, Episode 4 - It Comes at Night

A24

Cameron Suey stops by again to discuss It Comes at Night, Trey Edward Shults' second film and his first foray into horror. Set during an unspecified viral outbreak, two families are brought together at a woodland cottage and are torn apart through paranoia, tribalism, and poor communication. Steel yourself, as It Comes at Night is psychological horror at its most raw and ambiguous. On much lighter notes, Daniel nerds out over movie commentaries and Cam goes buckwild with discount Halloween decorations.

It Comes at Night can be rented on YouTube.

VIDEO: Curve

Story: SCP-001 - Kate McTiriss' Proposal

Outside of a Dream, Episode 3 - The Blackcoat's Daughter

A24

Horror writer and video game narrative designer Cameron Suey stops by to discuss The Blackcoat's Daughter, the debut feature film of Osgood Perkins. Set at a Catholic girls' boarding school during a snowbound winter break, it's a harrowing story of possession and violence that makes The Exorcist look positively cheerful by comparison. We also delve into an oddly grounded short film of cosmic horror and a chilling blog series whose previously anonymous author has a surprising identity.

The Blackcoat's Daughter can be streamed on Shudder or rented on YouTube.

Cameron's short horror fiction can be found at The Josef K. Stories. 

VIDEO: AM1200

STORY: The Dionaea House

Interview - Growing Pains: Horror Edition, Part 1

Hey everyone,

It's the 31st, which means two things: it's Halloween, one of my favourite days of the year, and The House on Ash Tree Lane is back and revamped. I said this site would focus exclusively on horror from now on, so to get us into the groove of things three horror buffs--one of my current favourite writers, my best friend, and yours truly--elaborated on how certain works in the genre have stayed with them over the years, and how their feelings toward them have changed. I present to you the first.

Review - The Dead Sea

Edited by Kevin G. Bufton

Cruentus Libri Press

179 pages

On the surface, The Dead Sea should have been one of my favourite reads this year, a collection of nautical themed horror stories. I've written about how an intimidating environment can do wonders for horror, and with its vastness and potential for tumultuous weather the ocean is no exception.

Unfortunately, The Dead Sea is marred by frequent grammatical errors and, in one case, poor story selection--two aspects that I can't help but think could have been improved by a more experienced editor.

Interview - Cameron "Josef K." Suey

While I’m averse to anything remotely resembling risk in real life, I adore horror fiction in any medium, and masochistically enjoy the feelings of tension and paranoia resulting from a particularly effective work. Creepypasta is a font for these types of stories, though admittedly it’s a kind of “diamonds in the rough situation,” with a lot of its content originating from that cesspool of a message board, 4chan. But working late on a lonely winter night a year and a half ago, one of the site’s aforementioned jewels caught my eye: “Zero,” by Josef K., the deeply unnerving apologia of a nihilistic survivalist unleashing a viral plague upon the human race. Intrigued by the short story’s pessimistic, “no turning back” tone, I decided to click the author link and check out more of Josef’s work on his site. Roughly an hour later, I was steadfastly hammering out the rest of my essay, eyes solely on the computer screen and not daring to look toward the nearest window. I had just finished the story “Exit,” and was terrified at the thought of so much as glancing at those panes, only to see some long, pale face staring back.

The author inadvertently responsible for ruining my sleep on several occasions is not actually the protagonist of one of Franz Kafka’s unfinished novels but Cameron Suey, a 33-year-old husband, father and video game producer based out of San Francisco. When he hasn’t been working on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its sequel, Suey has crafted some of the scariest stories I’ve ever read. He was also kind to answer a few questions about writing, perspective and inspiration I sent to him via email.