Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
What's It About?
From the New York Times bestselling author of "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" and "Mexican Gothic" comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film — and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.Horror fans have cause for celebration; Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest endeavor, Silver Nitrate (Del Rey), offers plenty of supernatural fun. Echoing classic B films, in just a little over 300 pages Garcia has skillfully imagined a world of real movie magic.
Once upon a time, B horror films were produced with innovative, progressive writing, resourceful effects, immense freedom and vision. The tricks used by Val Lewton, Roger Corman and others like them are called movie magic for a reason. With adept hands, Garcia plays with this idea in Silver Nitrate. But even more than a story about cinephiles and sorcerers, it’s a story about our shared longings for power and human connection.
Silver Nitrate’s setting is 90s Mexico, where lead protagonist Montserrat is a gifted yet ignored freelance sound editor. She is obsessed with her job; to her astute ears, sounds just make sense, locking into exact rhythm and tone. But it takes tough skin and manners to work in entertainment. Luckily, Montserrat’s mental fortitude is tough as nails. She’s also a horror and metal mega-fan, complete with wall posters and a wardrobe full of black leather.
Complicated Relationships Abound
Her indifferent best friend, Tristán, is the yin to her yang. A recovering addict and ex-soap star, he’s charismatic but incessantly neurotic; a mess of a human. You can’t really blame her for loving him since childhood. He’s trying to get another acting gig and often feels stabs of guilt over his ex-girlfriend’s death ten years prior. It haunts him in more ways than one.
The chapters in Silver Nitrate alternate between their points of view. Their friendship is what ropes you in and what makes you stay. You can’t have horror unless you care, and Garcia builds this early — their odd couple banter and intense dedication to one another is tender and immediately apparent.
“Theirs was the bountiful affection of children who sat close to the TV set, mouth open, and watched monsters carrying maidens away.”
To make matters both better and worse, Tristán discovers his new neighbor is one of their favorite directors, Abel Urueta. Naturally, he introduces himself.
After Abel invites them to dinner, a gruesome series of events is set into motion. The trio share tales from show business, and Abel is happy that he has an engaged audience for once. Eventually, Abel probes their cursed film knowledge. Abel reveals that he has his own cursed film, Beyond the Yellow Door, never completed and yet the ruiner of his career.
He recalls the three leads, spearheaded by long-rumored Nazi occultist Wilhelm Ewers. The crew tested his enchantments while filming. “Ewers was into runes and magic and film. All of it, combined.”
Three was a crucial number, as was film stock itself:
“Magic rites, shot with silver nitrate film, and shown to an audience, will multiply their potency tenfold.”
Ewers was murdered before the project was finished. Abel believes he left a hex behind as punishment, and the only way to reverse it is to finalize the film. He asks his new friends to assist him in dubbing. Figuring they might as well indulge an old man, they agree. Soon, however, the consequences of their actions grow hazy. In their curiosity, something terrible has been freed.
Tastes of Wickedness
Silver Nitrate focuses on character development, moving at a conversational pace, only offering tastes of the wickedness to come. But right when you think you know the direction, it surprises you. Montserrat and Tristán are pushed to act; they must find the crew members of Beyond the Yellow Door before the curse consumes them all. Amid a fiery conclusion, Tristán and Montserrat need each other more than ever, racing to end Ewers’ witchery for good.
Silver Nitrate never shies away from the otherworldly; it’s on full display from first mention to last. It’s dark but never masochistic or mean-spirited, sweet without being overwrought. It’s appropriately campy, too. A fine balance, but Garcia pulls it off beautifully.
It’s clear Garcia loves her subject matter; I counted nearly 30 movies mentioned in Silver Nitrate’s pages. Just a few include Lola la Trailera, Hellraiser 3, Cat People, Jirón de Niebla, Dead Ringers, The Seventh Seal, The Hunger, and Phantom of the Paradise. I was reminded of Lord of Illusions and Cigarette Burns while reading.
For our stars Montserrat and Tristán, their journey challenges everything they hold dear, and finding the truth is never easy. Along the way, they tackle demon hounds, conjuring rituals, and their own complicated history.
Together, they have their own form of personal magic, a connection that conquers mountains. And in the end, that’s what Silver Nitrate is all about.
About Silvia Moreno-Garcia:
Assembled in Mexicali and exported to Canada, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including Gods of Jade and Shadow (Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, Ignyte Award), Mexican Gothic (Locus Award, British Fantasy Award, Pacific Northwest Book Award, Aurora Award, Goodreads Award), and Velvet Was the Night (finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Macavity Award). She writes in a variety of genres including fantasy, horror, noir and historical.
She has edited several anthologies, including She Walks in Shadows (World Fantasy Award winner, published in the USA as Cthulhu’s Daughters). Silvia is the publisher of Innsmouth Free Press. Her fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best American Mystery and Suspense.
She has an MA in Science and Technology Studies from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
(Photo Credit: Martin Dee)
