I obtained a evaluate copy from the writer. This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my evaluate and all opinions are my very own.
The October Movie Hang-out by Michael Wehunt
Mogsy’s Ranking: 2.5 of 5 stars
Style: Horror
Collection: Stand Alone
Writer: Macmillan Audio (Septmber 30, 2025)
Size: 14 hrs and 42 minutes
Each on occasion, I’ll learn a ebook the place the intro and the primary half will excite me, solely to run right into a second half that falls flat on its face. Fortunately this doesn’t occur rather a lot, however sadly The October Movie Hang-out by Michael Wehunt ended up being a kind of reads, the place the start hooked me early on however the additional I went the extra uneven issues grew to become.
The story follows Jorie Stroud, who was as soon as a part of a close-knit group of horror-obsessed buddies calling themselves the October Movie Hang-out. The three of them would journey to the filming websites of their favourite scary motion pictures, geek out over the expertise earlier than sharing their ideas on a weblog learn by a big following. However one evening, the trio pushed their luck with the incorrect movie, a little-known cult indie known as Proof of Demons which is notorious for a scene that includes a ritual to open the gates of hell. Following their protection, a number of impressionable teenagers had been impressed to get entangled themselves, and because of this, one in all them died.
The repercussions had been instant. Within the aftermath of all of the criticism and accusations, the October Movie Hang-out disbanded, and Jorie retreated to a quiet life in Vermont. There, she deserted her movie trade ambitions to as a substitute give attention to elevating her younger son. Nevertheless, that peace is shattered when a mysterious VHS tape finds its technique to her doorstep, its contents revealing that somebody is making an attempt to make a sequel to Proof of Demons, the cursed movie that ruined her life. The tape additionally pulls Jorie again right into a world she thought she’d left behind, however prefer it or not, she’s immediately again within the highlight drawing the eye of the web horror neighborhood’s most dangerously obsessive followers. Out of choices, Jorie is pressured to dig up her previous and attain out to previous buddies within the hopes of defending her sanity and the lifetime of her youngster.
Let’s begin with the positives. Wehunt units the stage properly, together with a number of parts which can be thought of staples of atmospheric horror like remoted cabins, demonic rituals, previous videotapes of mysterious origin, and many others. Because the title suggests, the novel attracts appropriately from traditional horror film tropes, evoking movies like The Ring, but additionally it faucets into modern cultural fears, reminiscent of unhealthy obsessions made worse by social media and on-line boards, as seen within the Slender Man case. All of this results in an irresistible hook mixing horror film nostalgia, popular culture, and real-world fears.
In relation to the characters, the ebook admittedly takes a couple of attention-grabbing instructions with the friends-having-a-fallout-after-a-tragedy idea. Jorie carries a variety of guilt from what occurred, and her retreat from the horror media world seems like a sort of self-imposed punishment. Different characters drift out and in of the story, however a few of their decisions may be irritating, particularly since they’re imagined to be aware of the horror style and its fandom, but they hold strolling straight into apparent traps. Granted, these ironies might need been highlighted purposefully, however the writing doesn’t at all times make it apparent, nor do they at all times land in a great way.
Now for the negatives, which for me is basically the complete second half of the ebook. The issue is that the story begins to sprawl. We lose that sense of thriller we began with, in addition to the sense of urgency. The plot begins meandering a lot, the principle thread of the story is misplaced fully, and pacing slows to a crawl. When the climax lastly arrived, it got here and went with out leaving a lot of an impression, and at that time it was additionally laborious to care. If there was something noteworthy, it was buried below a mountain of filler that made the ebook really feel for much longer than it wanted to be. And actually, had the ebook began out like this, it might have tossed instantly into the DNF pile, however being this far in already, I felt trapped by the duty to complete.
In the long run, The October Movie Hang-out is a combined bag. The primary half had rather a lot going for it, like environment and loads of moments that had been genuinely intelligent and efficient. For some time, I might see myself actually having fun with this ebook…till the second half fully unraveled. For sure, this isn’t a ebook for everybody. It definitely wasn’t for me. Followers of meta horror and cult-film topics would possibly get extra out of this novel than I did, however general it’s an intriguing idea that by no means fairly comes collectively.
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