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FEATURED THRILL

Lovecraft on the Pampas: A Discussion of “There Are More Things” by Jorge Luis Borges

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SPECIAL GUEST ARTICLE written by: Anthony Perconti



The Jorge Luis Borges story “There Are More Things”, is dedicated to the memory of HP Lovecraft. This is a very fitting sentiment considering that this story is a Borgesian pastiche of Lovecraft. It is a fascinating turn for Borges, given the fact that he was such an original voice. He was a vastly prolific writer who had the inherent ability of conveying dense amounts of information in the least amount of space possible. For Borges, brevity was virtue rather than a vice. In this tale, the author manages to insert many of the story beats that were a mainstay in the works of HPL, while adding some distinctly Borgesian flourishes. When compared to the rest of the Borges cannon, “There Are More Things” is somewhat of an anomaly; it is an interesting departure. It is not however, a typical Borges story.
A nameless narrator (with a PHD in Philosophy), returns to his home country of Argentina in 1921 to pay his respects to his recently depart…
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REVIEW: Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kolakowski

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Spoilers follow for the Boise Longpig Hunting Club.

Rattlesnake Rodeo picks up right whereBoise Longpig Hunting Clubleft off. Jake, his wife Janine, and his sister Frankie have just survived a version of the Most Dangerous Game, sponsored by one Tom Baker, where they were hunted by a selection of the 1% including politicians, CEOs, and other power players. Only now they get to deal with the fallout of having killed some very powerful people.That fallout comes in the form of Karen Baker, Tom’s sister, who is a former prosecutor and has more than enough money to be dangerous. Thanks to keeping digital tabs on her brother, she knows that Jake and his family are responsible for her brother's death, but rather than going out for blood she uses that leverage to turn the three into her own assassins…all to kill a young boy.What are the three to do when Karen seems to have all the cards: hired guns, crooked cops on her payroll, the justice system in her pocket, etc.This is a novel with alm…
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WORST LAID PLANS: An Anthology of Vacation Horror (Grindhouse Press)

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Reviewed by Gabriel Hart for ECR. There's a special place in Hell for the ironic synch of a vacation horror anthology released during an international pandemic. Think about it: We are confined indoors, our spring/summer plans cancelled, as we stare out our windows with renewed fear and loathing for the future - assuming there is one. Yet, at times the lockdown resembles certain suffocating aspects of vacation  - we are trapped with our families, bickering with our parents, lovers and/or children, drinking way too much, eating just because we are bored, while the outside world takes on the stuffy, detached nature of a museum we might one day visit: Don't fucking touch anything!

            And let's not forget – those whose job it was to navigate have given us bad directions, and now we've found ourselves hopelessly lost.            So, we actually need horror right now more than ever - anything to remind us that it could always be worse. We need the catharsis that only …
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Possession: A Film that Freaks Out So We Don't Have To

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Gabriel Hart reviews Possession, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neil, Directed by Andrzej Zulawski 1981


Infidelity.

Nothing prepares you for it.

It crashes in with inherent black magic. Beyond the emotional toll, there is the paralyzing shock bleeding into pangs of nausea, initiating an extended physical effect on you, its plaything. Reality warps into a frightening, paranoid funhouse mirror where it proves difficult to trust even your longest-standing loved ones, as things are no longer what they seem. But its real insidiousness unveils itself here: where if it befalls you in multiple spells, every time will feel like the first time all over again.

Conversely, nothing prepared me for the first time I saw what is now my favorite film, Possession by Polish renegade auteur Andrzej Zulawski. I was neck-deep in the throes of being cheated on by a woman a decade my junior, and lucky me – I got to be her lesson in the consequences of lying, of manipulatin…
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ECR Podcast 04 "The Girl" by Victoria Dalpe

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ECR Podclash 03 - "Meet the Family" by Charlotte Platt

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ECR Podclash Ep. 02 "SILO" by Cameron Mount

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CHEAPEST THRILLS

Phillip K. Dick's Piracy of Influence

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Like a lot of folks, I knew the work of California’s mad genius Phillip K. Dick, well before I’d ever cracked open one of his books. Well before he began popping up in the zeitgeist of the 21st century.


PKD's literary world consists of trenchcoats, cigarettes, and brunettes. All surrounded by a cosmos full of powerful technology serving (or using) simple human beings, lulled into easy belief. Soon, dear Thrill Seekers, this reality--like a whipcrack--vanishes. At that moment, PKD unleashes monstrous paranoia by deploying psychic terrorists, deranged bureaucrats or omnipotent hallucinations. All usually backed by the quarterly earnings of the Corporation. These things have become hallmarks of most modern Science-Fiction. The films of Terry Gilliam, whether realized or not, have frequently mined PKD's mountain. 

Despite the inherent visuals in the language, PKD uses these genre trappings to elevate his stories into high art and examine the human condition. PKD's' character…
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Mission Statement & Submission Guidelines

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EconoClash Review(Quality Cheap Thrills) is a biannual print journal of Genre Fiction.

We accept only the best contemporary pulp submissions. Which includes quality Crime, Noir, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Weird, Humor and Other Words for Uplifting Gormandizers. 

EconoClash Review believes in free speech and wants to provide our readers with a much needed escape into other worlds. We like stories about Weirdos, Criminals and Pregnant Prom Queens going to great lengths to destroy or keep the status quo. HOWEVER, we don't want erotica, or pornography, or torture-porn-erotica between characters of any age, race, species both real or fictional. Nothing gratuitous. Avoid the tropes best you can. Just because we want GENRE doesn't mean we want STALE.

Above all else--EconoClash Review wants fictionfull of energy that feels real. 

We encourage our writers to submit short fiction between 1,500 and 4,500 words.

That word limit is FIRM and STRICTLY ENFORCED.

SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. They…
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Beyond the Valley of the Drinking Game

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***DISCLAIMER***  All Thrill Seekers, currently under legal drinking age or in Recovery for Alcohol Abuse... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!                
A recent trend on social media, tells you to start "X" movie at "X" time on December 31st. Doing so will cause a character to say their catchphrase directly as the clock strikes midnight, thus ringing in the new year. BORING!

 If you're seeking cheap thrills this New Year's Eve, look no further!


BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DRINKING GAME
ITEMS NEEDED:

1. A bottle (or two) of your favorite libation. 

2. A copy of 20th Century Fox's, "BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS"

3. A friend or two, so you're not laughing your ass off alone!


The GAME RULES are SIMPLE:
1. Open your favorite Libation. 
2. Start the movie. 
3. Every time you see TITS or ASS, take a drink.

4. Every time you see simulated Coitus, take a drink.
5. Any time you see an Actor BLINK, take a drink.
Due to the Machine Gun Rapidity of the editing, this …
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Interview: Scotch Rutherford

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SWITCHBLADE Magazine, the sharpest Noir anthology this side of the big five, just released its fourth issue, featuring such yarn spinners as A.B. Patterson, Lisa Douglass, Keith Rawson, Max Sheridan, Pearce Hansen, Henry Brock, Nick Manzolillo, as well as others. Oh, Sugar, yours truly is lucky enough to be included in that mix too. SB continues to push the envelope of crime/thriller/noir ficition with each issue. Managing Editor, Scotch Rutherford, was gracious enough to answer a few questions about publishing in the indie world and offers advice on avoiding the honey-traps. So buckle up as Scotch encourages everyone considering to DIY to "Go BIG or GO HOME!" Congratulations on the release of Switchblade Issue 4 and making it through your inaugural year. Do you feel that you met your goal as an editor/publisher? How did you adapt your approach to succeed? Thanks. Sure. The goal was to make it through four issues. Also to innovate with each issue. Meeting the quarterly deadlin…
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