What is justice?  What makes right actions right?  Is it ever right, under any circumstances, to take a life?  How do we treat the folksy mantra, “an eye for an eye?”  These are all questions that Eli Roth’s short story “Valdivia” raised when I finished it, a story from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Book of Nightmares. 

My “relationship” with Eli Roth’s work is an interesting one.  I find myself fascinated by his films and the uncomfortable ground he’s willing to tread, though I’m often prone to critiquing seemingly problematic elements of his work.  At least, such was the case after I saw The Green Inferno, and then again when I saw Knock Knock.  I can’t really see myself being best buds with him but I’m always excited to see what he’ll do next.  Even if my thinking tends to differ from his, he has an alluringly creative mind.  From the vantage point of a horror fan, the dude’s seriously twisted, but in a good way.  Which is why when I opened The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares last night I was immediately attracted to Roth’s name, next to the title of a 15-page short story called “Valdivia.”  Continue reading “Shades of Grey: Seeking Justice in “Valdivia”” →