Art by Alex Landers, 2018
For her website One Critical Bitch, visual artist, critic and playwright Alex Landers wrote the most in-depth review of Darkest Hours yet. Read it here. Some of my favorite excerpts:
“As an opener, the short and sweet ‘Hair’ provides the special kind of hook that makes you afraid to continue, but somehow calls for multiple readings of its beautifully grotesque sentences. We are often made to believe that the unimaginable is the most terrifying, but the images Thorn conjures up are so horrifically imaginable that they’ll give you pause. And if you’re a true fan, you’ll probably push on.”
“Think again on Theodore’s desire: his hair lust is, in itself, horrific. But its his genuine, honest excitement as a lust-driven human that is both relatable and totally unmanageable. As hair grows on Theodore, so does our want for more: more grotesquerie, more cringeworthy vocabulary, more dunks in the hair-laden tub. It’s ingenious, really, in its metaphor for the genre itself. Horror can be an acquired taste – one that has the tendency to grow on you.”
“Darkest Hours is horror for horror people. For the ‘confirmed ghost story and horror film addict,’ if you will. But It’s also for people with strong emotions and a desire for philosophical thought. Funny, how horror often is.”
Huge thanks to Alex Landers! If you enjoy insightful and beautifully written criticism, hers is a site to follow.
Mike Thorn 
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