The Horror Show

This one's got it all. For starters: far from the rock star vanity project I was suspecting this might've turned out, Greg Kihn actually knows how to write.The back drop, 50s horror cheapies, is fun and fascinating. The characters are colorful and interesting. The plot moves along briskly, and avoids the self-indulgence of many larger books--no time wasted here. Beginning with a cliff hanger and leading to a deliciously twisted finale, I enjoyed every bit of this one, and am on to the next Kihn novel as I am writing this.Oh, and did I mention: great sense of humor!Good job!

Kihn starts out his story in 1996, where an eager reporter named Clint Stockbern manages to bribe his way into an interview with legendary B-Horror director, Landis Woodley. Woodley and his house are creepy, but that's just the sort of thing Stockbern loves. Woodley catapults you back to 1957, when horror movies were gaining popularity and Hollywood was in its early stages of rot and corruption. Landis and his band of misfits get together and a throw a Halloween bash, hoping the elite of the filmmaking business will show. They do manage to get "the horror queen" of television (Devila) and renowned Satanist (Albert Beaumond) to come. Albert takes Devila to his house, where he shows her a set of tuning forks he had stolen from an Indian tribe in Peru. These forks contain an ancient, terrible power, which he demonstrates with horrifying results. Devila flees the house when his body becomes possessed by a demon. She returns the next day and finds Albert delirious with fever. She steals the forks and takes them to Landis, hoping to make a fortune. She forgets to prepare for the ritual. The demon possesses her and drives her insane. She kills herself two days later. Then it goes after Albert, who has climbed an electrical tower in the mountains. Albert succeeds in killing himself, trapping the demon inside his body. This ends Albert's troubles, but his body winds up in the LA County Morgue, where Landis and his crew are filming a shock-movie they call Cadaver. Albert's badly decomposed body is a godsend to them. They make the film, and Landis Woodley is given a taste of success, which doesn't last for very long. He and his crew are cursed by the demon, who has claimed all but Landis. His turn is comes in 1996, unbeknownst to Clint Stockbern, who is unaware of the thing hiding under the basement crawlspace. Horror Show is a fast-paced chiller with plenty of blood-curdling screams, ghosts, demonic posssessions, etc. A great yarn to pass the time.

It seems that once in a while a work of art is made expressly for you. For example, this book. I love old low budget horror and science fiction movies, old time R & R, zombies, moviemaking, mayhem, heroin addicted movie stars, and hustlers with a dream.Of course, this book has all of that. And more. It's quite astonishing how much *stuff* there is in this book, with events taking place 40 years apart, and with two major "casts" of characters in Hollywood in the fifties. It's written in a light, breezy style as well; while I enjoy Lovecraft, sometimes it's nice not to grab a dictionary every third page.All in all, it's a great book if you happen to be me. And if you agree with me on other reviews you'll probably agree with this one as well.

To liken this book to the movie 'Ed Wood' does not do it justice. While there are some similarities in a few of the characters (the drug addicted Bela Lugosi type, for one), I feel this book is miles above 'Ed Wood' (or six feet lower, if you prefer that type of analogy.) There is suspense, horror, comedy, and these elements are all tied together perfectly. Each individual sub-plot is intertwined together masterfully, leaving the reader wondering if this story could have actually happened if given the chance. And if I ever become a movie director, one thing is for sure, and that is that I'll stick with living corpses. The dead ones are too much trouble!

I am a great fan of Steven King and Dean Koontz. However, this book was truly the most frightening book I have ever read. Some of the passages actually made my skin crawl (and that's pretty hard to do.) I can't wait for his next book!!!!