Review by Liz Konkel -- Demon Freaks
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Liz Konkel
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Review by Liz Konkel -- Demon Freaks
[Following is a volunteer review of "Demon Freaks" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Demon Freaks is a supernatural joy ride by JRRR Hardison. Ron and Bing Slaughter are brothers who would rather be writing songs and playing with their band then studying for the SAT test. Only one problem: if they fail the test, their futures are doomed. They head up to their friend's cabin for a much needed study session which is disrupted when a storm causes a black out. Everything changes when the snobby teacher out to expel them breaks into the cabin with a dagger. Suddenly monsters are attacking them and evil golfers are chasing them. When two of their friends are abducted in order to be sacrificed, the Slaughter brothers will need to face their fears and stop the Golfers Association's plans for evil.
Hardison embraces the weirdness through delightful dialogue and a fun Bill and Ted vibe with campy horror and humor riddled with pop culture references from Lord of the Rings to Santa Claus. The descriptions and details provide extra zaniness to this campy world. Even the names fit perfectly with the jokes surrounding the Slaughter brothers' names from their horror hinted last name to their first names which play homage to Bing Crosby and Ronald McDonald. Not to mention one of their closest friends goes by the nickname Meat. These little touches embrace this humorous storyline which never takes itself too seriously.
The two brothers are at the center of the chaos with separate distinct personalities which plays a key role in the story as their differences work into how they face these supernatural problems with plenty of subtle moments where the brothers bond. Though being identical twins, they make an effort at being different. Bing has a Gothic persona with dark clothes and dark hair while Ron goes for the exact opposite with a surfer appearance of a Hawaiian shirt and bleached hair. Their personalities are similar, but Hardison includes little details to show their differences like how Ron doesn't take notes and how Bing gets car sick.
Horror tropes are abundant throughout in twisted and fun campy ways but it would be a remiss not to mention the teacher they despise. Everything about him is a stereotype from his stuffy name William Jeffery Brom right down to his condescending attitude towards them and the fact they're almost certain he's out to get them. This character plays homage to all the teen movies with the awful teacher, but the catch is: this evil teacher is actually evil. On the surface Brom is a bit of an evil teacher stereotype, but Hardison delves further into this character by making him a Servant of Darkness with a slight sniveling aspect to his personality.
The horror elements are what make this supernatural romp a delight and just scary enough to cause monster movie fun. The brothers not only deal with the teacher and the Servants of Darkness, but they're also having to fight against teethheads and evil golfers. The only real source of scary in the story are the teetheads which are the classic horror monsters. The other evils tend to take on more of a ridiculous bad guy persona. The sentient dagger deals in mind control, often speaking with a great deal of attitude and sass which is often supplementing the humor like when it demands control over the van radio. The biggest threat against them are the evil golfers who are also the campiest part of the story and your typical bumbling bad guys, but Hardison finds the perfect blend between ridiculous and fun. Among the horror fun is a government conspiracy angle which almost seems to be mocking the idea of government in horror through the use of agents Red, Blue, and Yellow, and the inclusion of the McDonald's Occult Dangers Division. I give this 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Demon Freaks
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like Liz Konkel's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
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Demon Freaks is a supernatural joy ride by JRRR Hardison. Ron and Bing Slaughter are brothers who would rather be writing songs and playing with their band then studying for the SAT test. Only one problem: if they fail the test, their futures are doomed. They head up to their friend's cabin for a much needed study session which is disrupted when a storm causes a black out. Everything changes when the snobby teacher out to expel them breaks into the cabin with a dagger. Suddenly monsters are attacking them and evil golfers are chasing them. When two of their friends are abducted in order to be sacrificed, the Slaughter brothers will need to face their fears and stop the Golfers Association's plans for evil.
Hardison embraces the weirdness through delightful dialogue and a fun Bill and Ted vibe with campy horror and humor riddled with pop culture references from Lord of the Rings to Santa Claus. The descriptions and details provide extra zaniness to this campy world. Even the names fit perfectly with the jokes surrounding the Slaughter brothers' names from their horror hinted last name to their first names which play homage to Bing Crosby and Ronald McDonald. Not to mention one of their closest friends goes by the nickname Meat. These little touches embrace this humorous storyline which never takes itself too seriously.
The two brothers are at the center of the chaos with separate distinct personalities which plays a key role in the story as their differences work into how they face these supernatural problems with plenty of subtle moments where the brothers bond. Though being identical twins, they make an effort at being different. Bing has a Gothic persona with dark clothes and dark hair while Ron goes for the exact opposite with a surfer appearance of a Hawaiian shirt and bleached hair. Their personalities are similar, but Hardison includes little details to show their differences like how Ron doesn't take notes and how Bing gets car sick.
Horror tropes are abundant throughout in twisted and fun campy ways but it would be a remiss not to mention the teacher they despise. Everything about him is a stereotype from his stuffy name William Jeffery Brom right down to his condescending attitude towards them and the fact they're almost certain he's out to get them. This character plays homage to all the teen movies with the awful teacher, but the catch is: this evil teacher is actually evil. On the surface Brom is a bit of an evil teacher stereotype, but Hardison delves further into this character by making him a Servant of Darkness with a slight sniveling aspect to his personality.
The horror elements are what make this supernatural romp a delight and just scary enough to cause monster movie fun. The brothers not only deal with the teacher and the Servants of Darkness, but they're also having to fight against teethheads and evil golfers. The only real source of scary in the story are the teetheads which are the classic horror monsters. The other evils tend to take on more of a ridiculous bad guy persona. The sentient dagger deals in mind control, often speaking with a great deal of attitude and sass which is often supplementing the humor like when it demands control over the van radio. The biggest threat against them are the evil golfers who are also the campiest part of the story and your typical bumbling bad guys, but Hardison finds the perfect blend between ridiculous and fun. Among the horror fun is a government conspiracy angle which almost seems to be mocking the idea of government in horror through the use of agents Red, Blue, and Yellow, and the inclusion of the McDonald's Occult Dangers Division. I give this 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Demon Freaks
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like Liz Konkel's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
