Spilled Ink

Issue 65

Welcome!

Howdy, Scribblers. Welcome back to another issue of Spilled Ink! Week eleven is here, and ScratchThat has kicked it into overdrive. The launch of our Emotion Spring 2024 Zine is right around the corner, and tickets are already on sale now! The launch will take place on October 23rd at the La Boite Forecourt. We want to give a special thank you to everyone who submitted their work; we had such a great time reading everything! We are confident that because of you, this will be our best magazine yet.

In this issue of Spilled Ink, we’re covering off all our usual bases: there will be a recap of the content published to the website last week, a breakdown of all the events taking place at QUT, a summary of arts and culture in Brisbane, and a writing prompt to get the juices flowing. We want to remind you that our online submissions have closed, but we still want to help inspire your next creative piece.

Finally, we’ll end off with our “Devour Weekly”. This week, Sean looked at the 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil before he has a chance to see the new English version. Dylan goes back to the books (and back to space) for Andy Weir’s most recent novel, Project Hail Mary. Karma is doing an introspective of Katy Perry’s new album, juxtaposed with her live performance at the AFL Grand Finals.

Writing Prompt

Melancholy

While submissions for ScratchThat have closed for another semester, we want you to keep writing and keep creating, so we’re going to continue with the writing prompts through to our last issue. To keep with the emotion theme, this week our prompt is inspired by Melancholy.

As the sun sets in late spring, the horizon turns the most beautiful shade of pink you have ever seen in your life. It’s breathtaking, awe-inspiring, but for some reason, a small tear falls down your cheek. It’s related to a long-ago memory.

Devour Weekly

Dylan’s Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I’d only learned that Andy Weir had written a new book because someone on TikTok told me I should read it. I’ve read The Martian in the past (and loved it) but hadn’t heard of any of his other work. I was looking for something exciting to read and as we all know, TikTok is the best source for information on these things.

If you’ve read and enjoyed The Martian, then I can guarantee you will enjoy Project Hail Mary. Dr Ryland Grace finds himself waking up on a spaceship with amnesia. The only other two people on the spaceship look like they’ve been dead for a while. He doesn’t know their names (he doesn’t know his own name) or how he should know them, but seeing their lifeless bodies causes him to start grieving. His memories trickle back slowly throughout the novel as he tries to understand why he is on a spaceship—he’s pretty confident he was a high school science teacher—and what he needs to do to get home.

Getting someone home from space is a plot that Andy Weir does very right—as well as approaching science in a novel that is neither condescending nor impossible for a layman to understand. He creates real and loveable characters; something that if you’ve kept up with my reviews is something I adore in writing. He puts his characters in scenarios that feel fantastically farfetched but somehow still entirely plausible. He tests those characters in ways you could never predict, and when you finally feel like Ryland Grace might solve the mystery, there’s another curveball.

And if all that doesn’t convince you, they’re turning it into a movie starring Ryan Gosling.

Sean’s Review: Speak No Evil

I originally wanted to go to the cinema to see Speak No Evil but sadly I ran out of time. The trailer had me interested, it looked fun and I’m always down for another unhinged James McAvoy performance. Fortunately for me though, Speak No Evil is an American remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name, which was much easier to find the time for, so I decided to watch and review that instead.

Speak No Evil is a psychological horror film centred on Danish couple Bjørn and Louise, and their daughter Agnes. While on vacation in Tuscany, Italy, the family meets a Dutch couple accompanied by their son, and they have a delightful evening together before parting ways. Shortly after their trip, Bjørn and Louise receive an invitation to the Dutch couple’s home in a remote part of the Netherlands, which they accept. What follows is an hour and a half of one of the most uncomfortable viewings I have had in a while. As the welcoming demeanour of the hosts slowly unravels, the true, sinister motivation behind their invitation is revealed to Bjørn and Louise.

This beautifully shot film was a masterclass in tension, a cautionary tale about the dangers of passivity and ignoring your instincts when confronted with very clear warning signs. The cinematography, writing and acting all work together to keep you on the edge of your seat in a state of constant unease from its beginning to its incredibly bleak and horrifying end. I couldn’t recommend this film more to horror fans.

Speak No Evil isn’t currently available on any Australian streaming services but can be rented or purchased on the digital storefront of your choosing.

Karma’s Review: Katy Perry: 143, and the Power of a Good Performer

I was really hoping for a switch up. A proper “you thought!” moment, when Katy Perry’s new album, 143, dropped. I had hoped that when I could press play on this entire project, I would be pleasantly surprised. Maybe she had just chosen the worst songs from the album to put forward as singles, and maybe she really would make Teenage Dream for the new era. Ah, if only.

My thoughts on the album are no departure from what every other critic seems to be saying. It is shallow, overproduced, and the lyrics would have only worked if the entire thing was accompanied by a campy satirical self-awareness — and there is no such thing on this album. However, I approached this album with the ten-year-old girl in my heart that made fake iMovie music videos to Roar and thought for a very long time that Firework was the greatest song in human history. And that ten-year-old girl found her joy and satisfaction not in this album, but in the oddest place possible: the AFL Grand Final.

I’m afraid I will never break any stereotypes surrounding girls who are nerdy readers, and sports–I never really liked them and avoided them at all costs. But even I couldn’t help but pay attention with both the Brisbane team going strong, and my primary school pop idol performing at that same event. And what a performance it was. Perry didn’t shy away from playing old hits, and her vocals, dance skills, and stage presence were all phenomenal. Whilst it might be embarrassing to admit, I did get goosebumps as she started singing Firework for the finale. So, even though her new music is not at all what I would hope for from her, she is still undeniably a fantastic performer, who embraces the sheer popularity of her old music. Maybe she will never reach those heights again, but I might still fork out a hundred bucks to go watch her do her thing on stage next year. Oh, and good job to the Brisbane Lions too!

Author: Karma O’Reilly is a writer, creator, and dancer currently finishing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She has held a passion for all things bookish since childhood and has a particular love for high fantasy. As well as working on ScratchThat Magazine, Karma has also worked as a choreographer, treasurer, and dancer with QUT Burlesque Society.

Author: Dylan Oliver is a Meanjin-based writer. He’s had his work published in ScratchThat Magazine and is currently working towards his Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing at QUT. Dylan enjoys writing authentic queer stories that speak to his own experience as a queer person. He is hard at work on what he hopes will be his debut novel.

Author: Sean Sutcliffe is a writer who is currently in the final year of his Creative Writing degree. He has a deep love for all forms of creative media, particularly horror or horror-inspired work, and selfishly plans to indulge this love while broadening his knowledge and sharing his thoughts on current and past media with the readers of this newsletter.

Artist: Phoenix Sunrider (they/she) is an aspiring author with several works in the making. They love all kinds of animals, and add as many as possible into all their works whether that be high fantasy, magical realism, or even fan fiction. They currently have no social media platforms, but hope to develop some when more work is completed.

Edited by: Ricky Jade and Georgia Formby