Kat Ellis on Horror Movies That Inspired The Devouring Light
Kat Ellis shares five horror movies that inspired her YA novel The Devouring Light, a chilling tale of rival bands trapped in a haunted house.
What do creepy houses, cursed rock bands, and sinister swamps have in common? They all collide in Kat Ellis’s new YA horror The Devouring Light. When two rival bands are stranded in an eerie house that refuses to let them leave, the line between nightmare and reality quickly unravels. To celebrate its release, Kat shares five horror movies she watched while writing—films that capture the isolation, dark humour, and creeping dread that pulse through her novel.
Guest post written by Kat Ellis, author of The Devouring Light.
I’ve always loved horror movies. Some of my earliest memories are of choosing a film from my dad’s extensive VHS collection to watch on a Sunday morning (he now vehemently denies allowing this, btw.) All the big ’80s horror franchises were there: Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Hellraiser. I watched them all.
It’s probably no surprise that I grew up to write horror stories. My latest YA horror, The Devouring Light, is about two rival rock bands who get stranded in a swamp when their tour bus crashes and the only shelter they can find is a creepy, seemingly abandoned house. They soon realise the house has been expecting them — and now it won’t let them leave.
These are 5 scary movies I watched while working on The Devouring Light, and which I think make great companion viewing for the book — especially in the run-up to Halloween.
Smile 2 (2024)
Pop star Skye Riley starts experiencing increasingly horrifying events while trying to keep her music career from flatlining in this one. I loved the celebrity-in-a-pressure-cooker set-up, the jump scares, the uncertainty about what’s in Skye’s head and what’s real — and those are exactly the things I was going for while I was writing.
The Shining (1980)
This movie based on the novel by Stephen King definitely inspired me with The Devouring Light’s sense of isolation. In the movie, a struggling writer accepts a job as a caretaker in a remote hotel which has closed for the winter, taking his wife and son along with him. What begins as a series of creepy happenings in a secluded location soon spirals into deeply disturbed territory, ending in absolute carnage… and this is pretty much what plays out in The Devouring Light.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
A beautiful high school student becomes a human sacrifice for a rock band who are determined to make it big, but she comes back possessed by a demon with a craving for human flesh. I love the quirky dark humour and themes in this movie, which I hope carry through into my book too!
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)
A security guard is hired to work the night shift at a creepy, closed-down amusement arcade and learns the nightmarish truth about its creepy animatronics. This vibes so well with The Devouring Light with its scary/fun factor, the unexpected baddies, and a protagonist who’s kind of an underdog.
The Devil’s Candy (2017)
This is a rock metal-infused story about an artist who becomes obsessed with the demonic paintings he starts producing when he moves into a house with a sinister past. I loved how rock music, isolation and obsession all play a big part in the horror here, just like they do in my book!
If these movies sound like your kind of thing, then The Devouring Light might just be your perfect read this Halloween.
This article is great for fellow horror fans! Kat Elliss insights into how movies like *Smile* and *The Shining* inspired *The Devouring Light* are spot-on. Cant wait to read the book!SunPerp Dex