Experimental Film

"Gemma Files has one of the great dark imaginations in fiction--visionary, transgressive, and totally original. With this new novel, Files explores the world of film and horror in a way that will leave you reeling. A smart, sharp page-turner with heart and depth." --Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times-bestselling author of the Southern Reach trilogy "Experimental Film is sensational. When we speak of the best in contemporary horror and weird fiction, we must speak of Gemma Files." --Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and The Croning "Gemma Files's stories are always so smart and humane, and overwhelm the reader with a true sense of wonder, awe, and horror. She is, simply put, one of the most powerful and unique voices in weird fiction today." --Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts "Experimental Film represents the next, significant contribution to what is emerging as one of the most interesting and exciting bodies of work currently being produced in the horror field. Every film, Lois Cairns writes, is an experiment. The same might be said of every novel. This one succeeds, wildly." --Locus Online Reviews "Experimental Film lives in the flicker between light and darkness, shifting between glimpses of the grim nigrescence of a hostile universe punctuated by dazzling bursts of empathy and love. Traditionally, those horror protagonists who catch sight even briefly of the naked malevolence of the world tend to die, go mad, or forget what they have seen. But Files offers a fourth alternative: meaningful survival, accepting responsibility for those around you, getting on with your chosen work. From an author who has already established herself as one of the genre's most original and innovative voices, Experimental Film is a remarkable achievement." --LA Review of Books "When film reviewer Lois Cairns discovers a series of early silent films may have been by Canada's first female filmmaker, she thinks she's hit the motherlode. But as Lois digs deeper, she discovers there's something sinister about the films and what's in them -- and waiting to get out. You can't help but stick with Lois because, like her, you can't turn away from what she's uncovered. That, and she knows some things about storytelling. There's a transgressive quality to the way Lois claims her story and insists on telling it her own way. Chilling horror that will appeal to genre and literary readers alike." --The Globe and Mail