The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen

A projectionist who recuts Hollywood films and improves them makes a last-ditch romantic gamble. A man is haunted by The Wizard of Oz’s darkest rumor. An obsessive fan meets the reclusive actress of his dreams. Mysterious creatures that document the world begin draining a family of its life force. The aftermath of the zombie apocalypse ruins horror movies for everyone. A scholar recounts the short-lived film industry of Constantinople.

The Cutting Room collects stories with a connection to Hollywood and filmmaking, crisscrossed with thriller, horror, or psychological elements to offer the flipside of one of our most predominant forms of entertainment. While the collection tends more toward the horror side in the first few stories, other tales mine melancholy, the unpleasantness of inevitability, and dark humor to show the powers, positive and negative, of film.

Unfortunately, the book’s eclectic spirit causes some problems, as a solid horror story is followed by an underwhelming thinkpiece or thriller. While readers will easily find something to enjoy here, the varying styles and tonal shifts also ensure those readers will read a few clunkers between hits.

The Cutting Room has plenty to offer film fans though, especially gems like “The Thousand Cuts” and “Dead Image.”