Eugene Johnson

In the 80s, horror reigned supreme, and this anthology takes us back to those glorious days of spiral perms, leg warmers, and needing to stop at a pay phone if you had to call for help because who ever heard of a phone that fits in your pocket? Some of these stories have tickled my funny bone, others made me squirm with repulsion while others did a great job of raising some goosebumps.

This book recreates the fear of razor blades in your Halloween goodies, curses, Satanists and all the other spooktacular fun from back in the day. Whether you long to return to the 80s or whether you were too young and missed out on that decade there is lots of creepy fun to be had.

Some of my many favorites were Snapshot in which a couple of burglars try to do the right thing for a change but no good deed goes unpunished. Your Picture Here, about an unusual date night at the movies. Permanent Damage about friends (or frenemies) preparing for a wedding. Slashbacks about a very unique video store. and Ghetto Blaster, about a cursed boom box and Stranger Danger, which concerns the aforementioned razor blades on Halloween.


My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the review copy.

… (altro)

Crystal Lake Publishing puts out a lot of good nonfiction books, but this just might be my favorite one yet. This book is loaded with interviews and articles from some of the biggest and most successful names in horror fiction: Clive Barker, Joe Landsdale, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Thomas, Stephanie Wytovich, Lisa Morton, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, Stephen King, and plenty others. The wisdom within is like a treasure chest full of gold for writers, with some fascinating insights into the processes of established professionals. Some of it consists of practical tips, some is more abstract and philosophical. Definitely helpful for writers, but I also think a peek into the minds of the masters would be interesting to many fans and readers as well. Overall, a great collection of advice and anecdotes from those that have been there, done that, and brought us some of our favorite tales of terror for many decades.… (altro)

Soda? check, Popcorn? check, Blankets? check. These are some of the things you might need if you are going to your local drive-in theater. If you’re 30 or younger you probably don’t know what a drive-in is. You also don’t know the joys of sitting in your car with a group of friends while you watched giant creatures destroying the city on the big screen. Luckily Eugene Johnson and Charles Day have put together a horror anthology that captures the spirit of the Drive in. Drive In Creature Feature contains 19 stories for anyone who loves a good monster tale.

Since it would take too long to talk about each story I’ll spend some time talking about my favorites. The Tattering and Jack by Clive Barker is about a demon who has the task of driving a man crazy. The job ends up being much harder than the demon thought as the man shows he has no emotions and won’t be driven off the deep end. This story has an awesome twist and goes back and forth from being funny to scary. Another good story is The Forrest That Howls by Michael Paul Gonzalez, this is easily the best Bigfoot story I’ve ever read. It answers the question of why there is no proof that the creatures exist.

Ghoul Friend In A Coma by John Everson is a bizzaro love story between a teenage boy and a ghoul. This is another one that combines humor and horror. I love how even when the teenager sees his life in danger he still thinks with the wrong head, this is exactly like I would expect a teenager going through puberty to act. This story teaches us that a couple having sex then carrying a corpse together to the basement is what true love is all about.

Double Feature by Jason V. Brock actually takes place at a drive-in theatre in the Seventies. The story centers on a father who is taking his two kids to a movie. The father and mother are going through a divorce and the story begins with an argument between the occupants of the car. Their problems become secondary though when the drive-in becomes a battleground between a bunch of giant monsters from outer space. This story was a lot of fun but what I really loved was how the family puts their problems aside and works together when a crisis happens.

I also have to mention Popcorn by Essel Pratt, this is another one that takes place in the drive-in. A group of teenagers is at the theatre looking for a good time, but things get ugly when a giant popcorn monster attacks the movie-goers. I love the idea of a monster made of popcorn and there were some creative death scenes here, you may never want to eat popcorn again.

This book is one fun ride, it’s funny in places and scary in others. It also does an excellent job of capturing a bygone era and bringing back a lot of great memories of watching horror movies at the drive-in. There were a couple of stories here I didn’t care for but all in all this book reminded me why I love horror literature. It has humor, great monsters, and good storytelling, what more can you ask for? This is a must-read book for horror literature fans.… (altro)