It Came From the Multiplex

It Came From the Multiplex is an anthology of short stories that feature 80s horror movies and a variety of movie settings. I do not know if it my sense of nostalgia was stirred from the ode to older movies or from the settings of movie theaters since COVID 19 prevents me from going to a movie theater.

I really enjoyed this collection.  “Devil’s Reel” was one of my favorites for turning the notion of spiritual warfare in Christianity in a terrifying 3-D movie that set chills down my spine –and I am very skeptical about institutional religion! “Creature Feature” was my other favorite because it was the story of the last day of a movie theater that had components of both romance and doom.

One thing I appreciated about the way the collection was constructed is that it emphasized different aspects of the movie experience: “Invisible” involved a serial killer at a drive in movie, “Coming Attractions” emphasized the bathroom of a movie theater,  “Screen Haunts” was about someone who suffered from severe anxiety but made horror movies and “Special Make Up” involved the production of a movie.

My least favorite story was “Rise Ye Vermin” because it had excellent descriptions of cockroaches…and descriptions of bugs and rodent in horror novels and movies always makes me squeamish.  However the author of the story, Betty Rockstead, wrote it remarkably well.  If an author makes me paranoid that I may be attacked by creepy crawly things they are doing their job well and I kept wondering what might be crawling over me while I read the story.

I would highly recommend this collection if you are a fan of horror movies as all of the stories succeed in bringing the movie experience to life on the page. You will find yourself wanting to pop popcorn and snuggle in front of your favorite horror movie as a result of reading this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this advanced reader’s copy.

Screenshot of the book cover from Hex Publishing, 2020