Synopsis
Having just graduated from college, Jason and Eddie are ready to let loose and embark on a cross-country road trip. After some killer partying at a rock music festival in Nevada, they head out into the desert with girls and adventure on their minds. Their situation takes a dark turn, however, when they lose direction and find themselves at the entrance of a ghost town in the bowels of the sprawling desert. The residents turn out to be . . . a little off.
Meanwhile, Carrie has just found herself in the depths of a murky lair. Quick reflexes aid in her concealment, but she soon discovers the utter horrors that lurk within the dark recesses. Survival ultimately depends on her strength and cunning.
Tensions escalate as Jason, Eddie, and Carrie come to grips with their new chilling realities. All the while, a dark evil begins to reveal itself. For within this stretch of desolate landscape exists a cannibal death cult, and they have an insatiable lust for blood.
It’s kill or be killed—and as the bloodshed intensifies, so does the fierce will to live.
Death Cult is splatterpunk: There are graphic scenes of gore and violence.
Review
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.
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