hi my fav redditors – hope u are enjoying the holiday season and are hitting your 2024 reading goals
ok so severance by Ling Ma is hands down my favorite book of all time. I love how it blends psychological horror with a post-apocalyptic setting, especially the unsettling juxtaposition of ordinary, mundane spaces becoming part of the dystopia—like when they’re in the abandoned mall and when she’s in the old navy (lol) !! ugh amazing.
i also loved Leave the World Behind and i’m just finishing Your Shadow Half Remains (so good, might be my fave of the year). I love their deep psychological tension and existential themes. these stories have that same eerie, creeping unease, where the horror is not just external but deeply tied to the characters’ emotional and psychological survival as society unravels.
i also just watched Alex Garland’s Civil War and absolutely LOVED IT!
and also watched I Saw the TV Glow and loved it too, for its exploration of technology and media in an unsettling, almost haunted way. I was a big fan of the book Scanlines!
I’m looking for recs that tap into psychological post-apocalyptic horror or existential horror, where the focus is on characters’ internal struggles and their survival in a decaying or strange world. If they have that eerie liminal vibe, even better!
Would love any recommendations along those lines!
Thanks so much!
by chichiangels