Since the golden age of slashers in the late 1990s, many films have attempted to replicate the success of Wes Craven’s classic Scream. Almost 30 years later, times have changed, but a new generation of filmmakers continues to draw inspiration from this phenomenon. More recently there was Bodies Bodies Bodies (Prime Video), Killer Game (Netflix) or even Fear Street 1994 (Netflix).
In this context of renewal comes Le Book Club Mortel, a Spanish film written and directed by Carlos García Miranda. The story follows a group of eight friends who are obsessed with horror novels and belong to the same reading group. When they share a terrible secret, the masked and armed clown writes his own fiction. Each chapter marks the death of one of the club members.
Slasher fans won’t feel out of place, as this Netflix film plays on absolutely every code of success that came before it. We obviously think of Scream and its sequels, but I also remember… last summer or Urban Legend. The least we can say is that Le Book Club Mortel is not original unless you see it as a true tribute to the genre.
Still, since the characters are more clichéd than each other, the film manages to live up to its specifications, namely good entertaining gore and a pretty good chase.
The concept – a fake book written by a killer who names the victim himself – is not original, but it works quite well. It’s all the more fun because the film’s writer and director, Carlos García Miranda, is a young novelist himself.
Deadly Book Club is available on Netflix.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
