Death Cult

Been meaning to read something from the author for a bit, so I grabbed a paperback to give it a go.

Two new friends are taking a cross-country road trip. They foresee booze, laughs, and some time with the ladies. Unfortunately, they get lost and end up in a small town, one with a bit of a sinister twist. It seems as if everyone is trying to lure them somewhere, and the eerie atmosphere builds. When they try to help someone in need, things take a turn. The chaos that ensues is exactly what you’d expect, oh, except for those things you don’t see coming. And it’s nothing short of your favorite horror classics and horror tropes.

To me this was like an epic amalgamation of horrors. The road trip, getting lost, the fateful warning that goes ignored, the car trouble. It’s The Descent meets Saw meets The Devil’s Rejects meets The Hills Have Eyes meets (very specifically) The Walking Dead S11E6 ‘On the Inside’ where there are feral humans living in the walls. Oh and on top of all that, it’s bringing you right into the heart of the good old 80s satanic panic. This was gruesome and gory, with some killer contraptions and traps, more cannibalism and ritualism. It also features a strong female fighting for survival, and two male best friends that give emotional beats to the piece. And although you hope for all three of them to escape together, they certainly end up having a devil of a time.

This felt like coming home and popping a tape in the old VCR. Like catching an old favorite on cable—I could see myself watching the screen with all its low budget grainy goodness. Like the kind of thing that would be getting its own legacy sequel in theaters right now.