Cinema Of Shadows by Michael West

Cinema Of Shadows is a Horror Thriller.

When Kimberly Saunders was born, her mother thought there was something wrong with her, she was positive that Kim could speak with ghosts.  As Kim grows she has an event which occurs on a covered bridge that leaves her dreams filled with nightmares.

Present day, Kim is attending college and she and her roommate Tashima Ismail are attending a Parapsychology course.  They, along with their classmates Kevin and Joss, are preparing a haunting for their class credit.  They are at a house of a family who was murdered by the father, a little girl's spirit is trapped in the house and when they begin their experiment, they don't expect much.  However, Kim can hear the spirits talking and before they can look at their footage, one of them hurts Kevin and the group rush off to the ER.

Professor Geoffrey Burke is fascinated by the group's results and has a bigger quest for them to tackle.  Professor Burke wants the group of sensitives to explore the Woodfield Movie Palace that has a history of paranormal activity.  The history behind the movie house is fraught with death and murder and it is believed by everyone, that the souls of those are trapped within the walls.

Professor Burke was attacked as a child by a "demon" and he has spent his whole life proving that an afterlife does exist while on the hunt for the one who scarred him.  Kim is afraid of what she will find behind the doors of the theatre, but comes to the realization that maybe she can help the trapped souls escape from their earthly hell.  Along the way, Kim meets Dr. Tyler Bachman and the two begin to fall in love but Tyler isn't sure if Kim is mentally stable and every fibre in his body tells him to run before its too late.

As the group comes together at the theatre, they must have their wits about them in order to survive the evil the permeates the theatre.  Will Kim have the strength to free the souls or will the demon's feed of her life energy for the rest of eternity?

I thought this was a great book.  I loved the creepy aspect that the story builds up to.  I loved how the people interacted with each other and the ghostly back stories that each person shared was enjoyable to read.  The characters each had their own persona's and one has no problem telling each of them apart as you read.

I read this alone and late at night, giving the read some extra nuances and I loved how the book made me feel.  I was slightly scared as I continued to read, I have an over-active imagination and this book fed it nicely.  I would love to see this in a movie, it would be a well worth the watch; I would love to see the special effects via the paranormal activity. 

I would give Cinema Of Shadows a four stars out of five.  I truly loved the read, but there were a few tidbits that weren't explained enough for me, like how the theatre became evil in the first place and how the "demon" is able to leave the theatre or what Robby's "other" story was that made him want to exorcise the demons from the place.  None of these were properly explained and while none of these things hinder from the story, it still makes a reader wonder and I dislike when I have questions left unanswered from my reads.

If you love a good horror story then this will surely feed your need for the creep.  This book is not for the faint of heart, it has moderate to heavy expletives and many aspects are graphic in nature.  The artwork on the cover is commendable and truly works for the book.

By Michael West.com

SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to the Woodfield Movie Palace. The night the Titanic sank, it opened for business...and its builder died in his chair. In the 1950s, there was a fire; a balcony full of people burned to death. And years later, when it became the scene of one of Harmony, Indiana's most notorious murders, it closed for good. Abandoned, sealed, locked up tight...until now. Tonight, Professor Geoffrey Burke and his Parapsychology students have come to the Woodfield in search of evidence, hoping to find irrefutable proof of a haunting. Instead, they will discover that, in this theater, the terrors are not confined to the screen.

 

 ** Disclosure: I did not accept any compensation from the sponsors other than review copies, my views are my own, reviewed by me..as I see it~!! **