Today's selection is M.R. James' Casting the Runes, a supernatural thriller in which a reviewer plays a cat-and-mouse game with an occultist who has cursed him for a bad book review... some people just can't take criticism! In the course of the narrative, the reviewer needs to figure out a way to reverse this fatal curse, which was 'activated' when the occultist slipped him a piece of paper inscribed with arcane runes. The story was filmed in 1957 as Night of the Demon, a not-so-subtle take on Mr James' tale:
The movie is referenced in my favorite song from the Rocky Horror Show, Science Fiction/Double Feature, from which I took the post title:
Personally, I think that, with a giant demon chasing you, you wouldn't need prunes to 'move things along'.
Have you read Robbins' "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates"?
ReplyDeleteA part of the premise is a curse placed on the main character in which if his feet ever touch the ground he'll die. He's not absolutely sure about this, but he's unwilling to take the risk, so he lives his life from a wheelchair.
It's probably Robbins' second best novel, and one you'll enjoy tremendously if you haven't been there yet...