It Came from the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers

by Joshua Viola (Editor), Kevin J. Anderson, Stephen Graham Jones

Overview

Welcome to tonight's feature presentation, brought to you by an unholy alliance of our spellcasters at Hex Publishers and movie-mages at the Colorado Festival of Horror. Please be advised that all emergency exits have been locked for this special nostalgia-curdled premiere of death. From crinkling celluloid to ferocious flesh--from the silver screen to your hammering heart--behold as a swarm of werewolves, serial killers, Satanists, Elder Gods, aliens, ghosts, and unclassifiable monsters are loosed upon your auditorium. Relax, and allow our ushers to help with your buckets of popcorn--and blood; your ticket stubs--and severed limbs; your comfort candy--and body bags. Kick back and scream as you settle into a fate worse than Hell. Tonight's director's cut is guaranteed to slash you apart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781733917759
Publisher:	Hex Publishers LLC
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	316
Sales rank:	111,299
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

FOREWORD by Bret and Jeanni Smith

INTRODUCTION by Paul Campion

ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE by Warren Hammond

RETURN OF THE ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE by Angie Hodapp

NEGATIVE CREEP by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

HELLULOID by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore

RISE, YE VERMIN! by Betty Rocksteady

THE CRONENBERG CONCERTO by Keith Ferrell

CREATURE FEATURE by Gary Jonas

INVISIBLE by Mario Acevedo

SCREEN HAUNT by Orrin Grey

THE DEVIL’S REEL by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola

ON THE ROCKS by K. Nicole Davis

COMING ATTRACTIONS by Stephen Graham Jones

LATE SLEEPERS by Steve Rasnic Tem

SPECIAL MAKEUP by Kevin J. Anderson

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/04/2020

This excellent anthology of 14 horror shorts compiled by Viola (Finder’s Fee) is an escapist homage to the horror flicks and B-movies of the 1980s. The authors revel in eldritch terrors, gore-filled body horror, and the fear of the unknown. An introverted teen battles a horde of mind-devouring aliens who have invaded the world through film in Warren Hammond’s delightfully pulpy “Alien Parasites from Outer Space.” “Rise, Ye Vermin” by Betty Rocksteady is a gruesome account of a couple’s encounter with a demonic infestation of roaches at their local cinema, while “The Devil’s Reel” by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola sees the rise of a mysterious movie house that corrupts its patrons. The darkly comic “Creature Feature” by Gary Jonas follows a movie theater owner’s efforts to keep a group of Lovecraftian monsters entertained and so prevent them from subsuming the Earth in chaos. Stephen Graham Jones’s chilling “Coming Attractions” is a time-bending tale about a group of kids exploring a peculiar old movie theater. The universally well-paced, imaginative selections sizzle with energy, delivering an intoxicating blend of spine-tingling chills and ’80s nostalgia. This is sure to resonate with horror lovers. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2020-04-29
A genre anthology offers creepy tales inspired by 1980s horror movies.

A high school horror cinephile goes to check out a rare, locally directed film at his town’s drive-in only to suspect that the space parasites in the movie might be real—and possessing the audience. Some high schoolers perform a dark ritual in order to save the theater where they all work from shuttering, but whatever they summoned turns on them instead. Two couples go on a double date to a movie night at a natural outdoor amphitheater—only to have the picture ruined when a severed human arm flies across the screen. Blood and guts are a lot less campy in real life, as the horror movie fans that populate these stories learn again and again. The theaters themselves frequently become places of genuine terror, as in Betty Rocksteady’s “Rise, Ye Vermin!” in which a cineplex employee enters a theater to find the audience composed entirely of corpses: “Dozens of women in various states of decay twitched and jittered. Jenn stumbled, jolting a fresh new pain through her broken jaw. She tripped into one of the aisle seats and fell into a woman with long, dark hair and a hat. The hat jostled and roaches poured out of her empty eye socket.” The anthology, edited by Viola, mixes stories by horror mainstays like Stephen Graham Jones and Steve Rasnic Tem with tales by relative newcomers, such as K. Nicole Davis. Many of the writers have Colorado connections, which leads to some entertaining uses of locations, like Davis’ “On the Rocks,” set in the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater. The book also features frightening illustrations by Smith and retro cover art by Nazzaro that will get any ’80s nerd’s nostalgia juices pumping. The blend of voices working within a loose framework gives the volume some stylistic variety (though it remains—like its source material—noticeably male-dominated). As with any anthology, some of the pieces are stronger than others, but all of them exhibit an understanding for the odd brew of ingredients that make ’80s horror movies so much fun.

An enjoyable horror anthology with a strong midnight chillers concept.

Kirkus Reviews