This Movie Doesnt End the Way We Want
By Hailey Piper
- This Movie Doesnt End the Way We Want
-
Author: Hailey Piper
-
Publisher: Titan Books
- ISBN: 9781835411483
- Published: September 2026
- Pages: 306
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 15/09/2026
- Language: English
There is something magical about going to the cinema, the better sound quality, larger image, seats, popcorn. All of it adds to the ambience of a film, making it a far greater experience than just being at home. I will go to watch almost any film and enjoy watching the re-releases of classic films, sometimes getting to see it for the first time on the big screen after years of small screen viewing. I am not sure that I would watch ‘Blood-Curse of the Toad Man’ in the cinema from Hailey Piper’s This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want. Not only does it sound like a low-quality B-Movie, but members of the audience step into the auditorium to watch it and never reappear.
Back in the 90s Val liked to hunt down obscure and fun cinema in her hometown, often bribing her friend and sister to come by buying them sweets. They were all too young to watch ‘Blood-Curse of the Toad Man’, but the usher did not care. They cared more when the film ended and only Val left the theatre, her friend and sister missing. Someone had walked into the cinema with them, moving progressively closer as the film played. Val cannot quite remember what happened, but the event has haunted her for decades.
Movie is one of those unsettling horror novels where you are not sure what is going on. It feels like Piper is boiling a toad slowly and it is only when it is too late that the reader realises that they are in very hot water. After the initial prologue the book jumps forwards to the 2024. Val is now in middle age, working as a tattoo artist during the day, getting into bar fights at night. The events of 1994 have haunted her all her life; parents she barely talks to, a past she tries to ignore.
The catalyst for the tale reigniting is two woman that come to meet Viv. One seems curious about her past, the other about Viv. Never one to let a potential meet up pass her by, Val meets up with the ladies, only to realise that their motives are not pure (or filthy). They are a podcast team looking into unsolved cases and want to interview Val. She is having none of it, but their investigation stirs up the past. Research shows that the Toad Man film has become somewhat of an urban legend; those that watch it often go missing.
Once the investigative side of the novel starts, things start to get strange. There is the interesting premise of exactly what the film is. Is it a piece of celluloid, or some sort of entity that preys on people? By agitating the film, those investigating it are not safe, including Val. There are some potent scenes as the real and unreal blend into one another. The tension really heightens when Val goes on the attack, seeking answers to her sister’s disappearance.
Movie is not a book of all out scares, but a horror tale of interesting ideas and slow burn terror. As the chapters progress, the book becomes more gonzo. What if a film starts to blend into real life. It has a Naked Lunch/Videodrome feel to it as Val and her cohorts start to lose a grip on reality. This being a proper horror novel, it also does not sugarcoat the fates of the characters. There are no guarantees that you will be able to avoid the clutches of the Toad Man. For my tastes, the book was a little oblique, but a horror fan who likes something a little more cerebral and surreal will enjoy this unsettling tale.
Written on 15th September 2026 by Sam Tyler .
Topics and themes
Key Tropes
Tone & Pace
Themes
Setting
Content/Warnings
General
You may also like
-
![A Sea of Unspoken ThingsAdrienne Young]()
FantasySimilar:I have not lived in the village I grew up in over twenty years, but I still talk about going home when I am visiting. Where I live now has been my home for longer, but there is something about those formative years that make a place always feel like home. I return to see family, but for some people,...
-
![My Heart is a ChainsawStephen Graham Jones]()
HorrorSimilar:Fans of slasher films will recognise many of the rules that make up the genre. The Final Girl will win the day at the last moment when she realises her own strength. This character will be a bastion of good and innocence, but those around her will not. The rocker, goth, cheerleader, geek – all will...
-
![Silent KeyLaurel Hightower]()
HorrorSimilar:Listen to your kids. It can be hard sometimes as they can speak absolute nonsense, but they also speak the truth, and they may need you to listen. Perhaps they wake at night and tell you that things are not right in the house, you can dismiss this as childish fantasies, but their fears could be base...
-
![Charlotte Markham and the House of DarklingMichael Boccacino]()
Similar:Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling is a unique offering that manages to create a Victorian gothic-esque supernatural adventure that manages to create a tangible feeling of suspense. Set within an ancient, remote manor house, the story begins with the murder of Nanny Prum - carer for James a...
-
![The War WidowTara Moss]()
General FictionSimilar:According to esteemed author Robert Rankin there are only ever three locations in a Private Investigator novel. A bar, the alley behind the bar and a rooftop to have the final showdown on. Billie Walker is no normal PI, she is not an investigator, but an Inquirer. She goes as far as to say that her...
-
![MyriadJoshua David Bellin]()
Science FictionSimilar:I love time travel stories as you can tie yourself in knots figuring out what is going on. A writer can choose to do one of two things about the complexity of it all. Explore in great depth and try to make the inherent paradox work, or just go with the flow. Joshua David Bellin’s Myriad feels like a...
-
![The Curious Affair of the Missing MummiesLisa Tuttle]()
Similar:One of the many lessons that I have learned in life is that you do not mess with Mummies. Either kind. Annoying a new mother who is trying to get their child onto the bus if dangerous and only equalled by an antient Egyptian Mummy rising from the dead. The Mummies in Lisa Tuttle’s The Curious Case o...
-
![Untamed ShoreSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
General FictionSimilar:One of the wonderful things about reading is finding that next great author that you love. You read one of their books and instantly spend the next few days hunting down their back catalogue. Experience has taught me not to read too many of these in a row as you start to see parallels in the books –...
-
![Dolores ClaiborneStephen King]()
HorrorSimilar:Dolores Claiborne is a horror novel by the master of the genre Stephen King. I got Dolores Claiborne (DC) as a gift over half a year ago, but after having read The Regulators I haven't really felt like reading any King. Having read about DC in alt.books.stephen-king, I definitely didn't want to read...
-
![The Briar Book of the DeadA G Slatter]()
FantasySimilar:I have read a lot of magical books in recent years and the genre is not rigid. There are books that are steeped in magic, the reader unsure what is real and what is fake. Other books like A. G. Slatter’s The Briar Book of the Dead have a sense of magical realism to them. Yes, the witches can curse p...
