BOOK REVIEW: VIDEO NIGHT BY ADAM CESARE

BY KIT POWER 

 
I’ve been (very) slowly working my way through Adam Cesare’s back catalog, ever since I read his short story So Bad in Splatterpunk #5 (a near-perfect short horror story, incidentally). So far he hasn’t disappointed, and - spoilers - he doesn’t here either.
 
In fact, I’d say Video Night is pretty much a Cesare classic.
 
Set in 1988, Video Night is an Invasion Of The Body-Snatchers meets Species creature feature. Like other novels in the Cesare cannon, it certainly wears it’s 80’s horror movie influences proudly on its sleeve - Jason Takes Manhattan is namechecked on the first page - but at the same time, it’s genre aware enough to play somewhat with the format, without either showing distian for the source material (VIdeo Night is, in part, a love letter to the 80’s ‘video nasty’ roster of movies) or feeling like a simple retread - no simple nostalgia porn for the Stranger Things generation, here.
 
Some of that’s down to the core characters - Billy, Tom, Darcey, and Rachel. They are, in many important respects, stock teenage horror movie characters - Billy, the ever-problematic ‘nice guy’, with Rachel the distant object of his affections, Tom, Billy’s friend from the poor part of town, an obnoxious braggart with obvious insecurities and a certain charm - enough that as a reader you find him obnoxious, but can understand why Billy hangs out with him - and Tom’s girlfriend Darcey.
 
  But Cesare draws them so damn well that they transcend their stock character origins and become well realised, sympathetic characters. Cesare has a brilliant ear for believable dialog, which helps, but more, he really understands the odd push/pull dynamics of this kind of relationship, and he brings it to the page with real poise.
 
Elsewhere, the creatures are magnificent - a nice mix of gory body horror and possession- and the chapters taking their POV are inspired. There’s also a great sense of escalation and tension as the narrative unfolds, it part because the creature chapters give us information the main characters don’t have. There’s also some superb confrontation scenes as the tale progresses; one in particular, featuring an ‘infected’ school bully was a particular highlight.
 
Overall, I have a great time with Video Night, and it has further cemented Cesare’s reputation with me as a reliable author of top draw pulp horror with heart, guts and brains.
 
KP
3/5/18

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