​IT CAME FROM THE MULTIPLEX, EDITED BY Joshua Viola

 
Ah, the 80s. When we stick on our rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, it’s usually the 80s we turn to. Despite being an era of cold war tension and the constant threat of nuclear oblivion, there’s something comforting about media from the 80s, especially to those who lived through even a fraction of the decade. And so we turn to it again and again, with remakes and references and homages aplenty.
 
It Came From the Multiplex is one such homage, specifically to the cinemas and video nasties of that halcyon age. Edited by Bret and Jeanni Smith, It Came collects 14 tales of blood and popcorn, of flickering screens and lurking horrors, all set within or related to seedy cinemas and rundown fleapits. No pristine Cineworlds here, only places where your feet stick to the floor and the scratches in the screen only add to the viewing experience. You know, proper old-school cinemas.
 
What’s weird about this collection is that there aren’t any actual duds. There’s almost always a couple of stories that fall flat in an anthology, ones you can confidently say you’ll skip over on your next read. But this doesn’t have any of those. It does, however, have rather too many stories that are merely ok. They get the job done, but leave you turning the page and hoping to be wowed by the next one.
 
Part of the problem is that most of the stories simply aren’t scary. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a lot of fun and they work well as the love letter to 80s cinema that the anthology is aiming for. But there’s few chills here and only minor thrills. The first two stories are this in microcosm – in Warren Hammond’s ‘Alien Parasites from Outer Space’, a film-obsessed nerdy teen suspects the locally-made film he’s catching at a drive-in to be a warning about alien parasites come to take over the Earth. His cold logic and the violent consequence are great as it leaves you wondering if the alien threat was all in his head. But the sequel story (‘Return of the Alien Parasites from Outer Space’, of course, by Angie Hodapp) affirms that the threat was real and then becomes an over-the-top action film.
 
Perhaps that was an intentional dig at diminishing returns in horror sequels, but it set the tone for the rest of the stories. For every interestingly spooky or tense story, there’s two or three fun bombastic ones. They’re not bad, it just seems like they focused way more on the Multiplex part than the It part.
 
The best of the bunch for my money:
 
‘Negative Creep’ by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro – a creepy story of teens haunted by a mysterious entity that’s drawn to movies and seems to travel through silence. It’s tense stuff as the kids are stalked by the unknowable creature, and it makes you wonder just how unavoidable silence is when you think about it.
 
‘Rise Ye Vermin!’ by Betty Rocksteady – a lesbian couple keeping their relationship secret find their plans to skip town blocked by a sorcerer bent on raising hell in the cinema they work at. The setting is beautifully laid here, and the grime and nastiness of the place raises hackles. The shock of sudden violence that the story turns on is both jarring and visceral, and it left me wincing.
 
‘The Cronenberg Concerto’ by Keith Ferrell – brilliant, just brilliant. This is as seedy and nasty a tale as the Herschell Gordon Lewis films that the protagonist reveres, and an interesting take on horror and gore films as a religious entity that deserve tribute and sacrifice.
 
‘Coming Attractions’ by Stephen Graham Jones – kids sneak into a cinema that’s rumoured to play films to ghosts late at night. Naturally they get more than they bargained for. This one really ups the creep factor, and you really feel sorry for the likeable kids at the end.
 
‘Special Makeup’ by Kevin J. Anderson – there’s nothing scary at all about this one, but then I don’t think it’s meant to be. It’s an extremely funny take on the movie magic of makeup effects as an egocentric actor finds himself giving an absolutely perfect werewolf performance – but at what cost? It relies on the problematic Romany curse trope, but otherwise it’s great fun to read.
 
 
The rest of the stories range from ‘fine’ to good. Each author clearly loves the brief and has fond memories of the films and venues of the 80s, it’s just that few of the other stories grab your attention and refuse to let go. I had to keep reminding myself which stories were about what while writing this, which is a real shame.
 
If you’re after something to keep you up at night, this isn’t it. But if you want to relive the sick joys of 80s video covers and the creature features writ large across the silver screen, then this is worth picking up. Just don’t expect to be reading it again and again and again.

Review by Sam Kurd 

Welcome to tonight's feature presentation, brought to you by an unholy alliance of our spellcasters at Hex Publishers and movie-mages at the Colorado Festival of Horror. Please be advised that all emergency exits have been locked for this special nostalgia-curdled premiere of death. From crinkling celluloid to ferocious flesh—from the silver screen to your hammering heart—behold as a swarm of werewolves, serial killers, Satanists, Elder Gods, aliens, ghosts, and unclassifiable monsters are loosed upon your auditorium. Relax, and allow our ushers to help with your buckets of popcorn—and blood; your ticket stubs—and severed limbs; your comfort candy—and body bags. Kick back and scream as you settle into a fate worse than Hell. Tonight's director's cut is guaranteed to slash you apart.

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