06/21/2025 Uncomfortably Dark Horror Happenings
- Candace Nola
- Jun 21
- 7 min read
Another busy week! Like so many others, getting ready for conventions, coming back from conventions, ordering books, formatting books, writing books and blurbs and introductions and reviews, oh my! I hope everyone has had a great week and are ready for more cool things from Uncomfortably Dark to be revealed!
Be sure to check out today's cover reveal for the upcoming poetry collection from Frederick Niles! If you are on our Patreon, then you saw it first on Friday! It's been receiving rave reviews from early readers and will be out as part of our Blood Moon Poetry line in late July!
You can expect more cover reveals, teasers, and select blurbs to begin popping up on our social media almost every week now as we head into our summer release schedule! Titles are on deck from Aaron Lebold, Amanda Headlee, Frederick Niles, and Patrick Tumblety, as well as two releases from Candace Nola under her imprint, and perhaps a sneaky Godless surprise or two!
EXPLORING THE LABYRINTH WITH KIT POWER
Take a deep dive into the fictional work of horror legend Brian Keene!
Did you see this new series pop up on our blog last week? If not, check it out at the links below! Kit Power has paired up with Uncomfortably Dark to bring you his series of essays on the work of Brian Keene. Kit takes a look at each novel in full, analyzes it, shares his theories, thoughts, and opinions in a thoughtful and entertaining way. If you are a Keene fan, be sure you are following this series, every Wednesday, right here on our blog!
Introduction
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MULTI-MEDIA REVIEWS FROM PATRICK TUMBLETY
Take a look at these reviews on the Sinners movie, on the new Sandfall Interactive game, Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, and the lates music releases from Halsey!
Lately, I have been inundated with art. Great art. Art that is so good that it inspires a person to want to create more art and also changes the process for the medium it represents. Here are a few pieces of art that I believe everyone should check out:
Sinners (Directed by Ryan Coogler)
So much has been said about Sinners that I know I can’t do it justice here, and as a middle-aged white person, there is more significance to its success than I can (nor should) comment on. As a horror writer with a film degree, I can rightfully claim that this is the movie I’ve been waiting for my entire life. A horror film where the human characters are treated with just as much reverence as the horrors they face. A meditation on folklore, religion, justice, freedom, and the universal themes that bind us, for better and worse. It’s also immaculately filmed.
I told a fellow filmmaker to see it several times: the first time to take it all in, the second to appreciate the acting, the third for the cinematography, the fourth for the music, the fifth… With the new rules in place for the Oscars, and how brilliant this film is on all fronts, I think we are about to see history be made: a horror movie sweeping every award.
A film like this only comes around once in a lifetime. I’m grateful that I was able to witness this in mine. When the credits rolled, I looked at the friend I was with and said, “This is the kind of story I’m trying to write, and I know I will never write anything as good as this.”
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive: Available on PS5, Xbox, Steam, Epic)
The video game industry has been in upheaval for a long time. Bad business practices and terrible working conditions have ruined lives for artists. A group of artists working under these conditions quit their jobs to form their own company and run it properly. This was the first game they created. The game is so uniquely stellar that it is sending ripples through the game development community and gamers alike.
Every aspect of Clair Obscure - story, design, gameplay, acting, soundtrack (oh my, that incredible soundtrack, unlike anything I’ve ever heard) - is a unique work of art. I would be spoiling the experience to go into any detail, but here is the basic premise:
The game starts with a cast of characters living in what seems like a post-apocalyptic Paris, France. One hundred years before, there was a “shattering,” leaving the land in pieces (some floating in the air and surrounded by an ethereal material). Worse, a stone monolith appears on the horizon, and once a year, the figure of a giant woman paints a number on that monolith that counts down sequentially. If the number corresponds to your age, you will dissolve into flower petals and no longer exist.
Not knowing what the nature of their existence has become, expeditions are sent out every year to cross the sea and reach the monolith in hopes that someone can report back any findings. No one has ever returned. Year 34 is over, and now Expedition 33 has begun. The story that transpires is an exploration of human grief, surviving in a chaotic world, and the struggle of coming to terms with our mortality and what we leave behind - as the expedition’s motto states - “For those who come after.”
There is a new phenomenon, a correlation between social media and the term schadenfreude, now called “Doom Scrolling.” It’s the concept of clicking through social media and falling down a rabbit hole of watching bad things happen. I’ve been counteracting that by filling my social feeds with positive accounts. Streams that show good things happening. My latest “happy scrolling” is watching game streamers reacting to this game for the first time: The beautiful city of Lumiere appears, an angelic voice of a singer rises along with an atmospheric melody, and they are brought into a world and a story unlike anything portrayed in any medium.
An aside: One of the reasons I’m a supporter of Uncomfortably Dark Horror and Candace Nola is that her reason for doing what she does is to support other artists. Everyone involved in UD - writers, editors, graphic designers, marketers - are independent artists coming together to make something bigger than their art. What I love about the backstory for Sandfall Interactive is that they formed for the same reasons. Even the soundtrack’s creator was an independent musician they found on Bandcamp. They were blown away by his music and offered him the job. That’s amazing.
Halsey: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power / The Great Impersonator
I saw Halsey perform “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God,” on SNL a few years ago and was blown away by the song, her voice, and her performance. I picked up the album (If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power) on a whim, and from the first listen it became one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard. Produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails), the album is a hard-edged, furious exploration of taking control of your life and not giving a damn of the carnage you leave in your wake. It should be celebrated on its own, but when paired with Halsey’s follow-up album, it paints a picture of an artist that every artist should study.
After the album’s release, Halsey went quiet. Some fans and critics argued, “Too quiet.” She stopped touring, stopped being active on social media, and gave no updates about her future endeavors. As it so happened, Halsey was diagnosed with two rare diseases, Lupus and a T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Her doctors said the outlook did not look positive. With bad health and an untimely death weighing her down, she wrote lyrics for what eventually would become her next album: The Great Impersonator.
I cannot imagine her mental state at the time, finding such success in an album about empowerment and taking control of your future, then to be told you might not have a future. Listening to these albums is like listening to two different artists (one could argue, philosophically, that it is two separate artists). Our lives and what we create are in a constant flux, ever changing, ever expressing, and we never can plan what will happen next.
Fortunately, as of writing this, Halsey’s illnesses are either in remission or well managed, and her future looks bright. The Great Impersonator is selling well, and she has hit the acting scene in movies such as Maxxxine and Americana.
What art has inspired you lately? Is there anything you found that more people should know about? Sound off in the comments!
-Patrick
HORROR HAPPENINGS AROUND THE INDUSTRY
THE HORROR COLLECTION: SINISTER EDITION
The new anthology from KJK Publishing has just released and the cover is incredible! One of my favorites in the series and the stories in it are just as awesome! Be sure to check it out!
GOOD FOR HER: An Anthology of Women's Rage releases on June 30! Check out the full details on the link below, as I did a full write-up for this one on my blog and be sure to pre-order it!
PRE-ORDER HERE
BISHOP: MAN VS MONSTER by Candace Nola & M. Ennenbach just released on Audible! Narrated by Jamison Walker.
THE UGLY TRUTH by Aron Beauregard, John Skipp, and Shane McKenzie has just released on Audible! Be sure to go snag it with those credits you've been saving up!
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 28: Dark Embers hosted by Bubee's Brewery, Mount Joy, PA
July 19-20, 2025: Texas Author Con & Book Festival returns to Dallas on July 19-20! Join us for a weekend of books, panels, readings, and more! Come meet your favorite authors at this multi-genre event!
August 1-3, 2025: KillerCon & The Splatterpunk Awards kicks off in Austin, Tx! Come on down to meet and mingle with your favorite horror authors, join some awesome presentations, and watch the awards in person!
August 1-2, 2025: Books & Brews 2.0 presented by Books of Horror. The second gathering of this horror-centric author book signing and sales event located in Noblesville, IN.
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