Devouring Horror One Bloody Chunk At A Time….
Starring Cassandra Magrath, Witches of Blackwood is a supernatural thriller directed by Kate Whitbread and written by Darren Markey. It tells the story of Claire Nash, a police officer recovering from a recent traumatic event while on the job. Having already lost her mother—who died […]
Movie Reviews Movies & TVStarring Cassandra Magrath, Witches of Blackwood is a supernatural thriller directed by Kate Whitbread and written by Darren Markey. It tells the story of Claire Nash, a police officer recovering from a recent traumatic event while on the job. Having already lost her mother—who died under mysterious circumstances—Claire learns her father has died as well and returns to her hometown of Blackwood in hopes of finding answers. But things are strange back home. Blackwood seems to be nearly abandoned, with few people left. Those who remain whisper rumors of a mysterious soul-stealing entity that resides in the woods beyond.
The performances in the film are strong. Cassandra Magrath’s Claire is believable as a confident cop dealing with trauma and seeking answers to the mysteries of her past. Lee Mason’s frantic and aggressive portrayal of Sergeant Terrence Walker, the sole evidence of law enforcement in the quiet, strange, little town, is small but pivotal.
Another brief but memorable role is that of Jen Foster, played by Nikola Dubois. Her performance is low-key, but slightly manic, on the verge of snapping at any moment. Her brief scene is unnerving and provides an organic moment of exposition for Claire, and the audience, to learn more about the nature of Blackwood.
Largely, Witches of Blackwood leans toward the Mystery-Thriller side of the spectrum as Claire investigates the town, wary of the inherent weirdness she finds among the remaining inhabitants. There are moments of bloodshed and gore intermittently throughout the film, but this is not the focus of the story.
Rather, it’s about Claire unraveling the mysteries of Blackwood while confronting her past and her relationship with her mother. There’s little in the way of direct danger to Claire. While the people she finds in Blackwood are ominous, they don’t seem to pose a threat to her, except for the frenzied police sergeant. What few direct threats she encounters in her investigation are resolved quite quickly. As such, the film is a little light on tension and scares.
That said, this appears intentional. A focus on gore, scares and tension don’t seem to be the intent for the story. Rather, it is more of a character study to see how Claire reacts to the revelations she uncovers. The film’s dramatic core centers on Claire’s relationship with her mother, her past, and the choices she makes as she learns her place in the town of Blackwood.
Kate Whitbread and Darren Markey have crafted an engaging and suitably macabre film. The visual juxtaposition between the seaside town where Claire works and the woodsy, autumnal mood of Blackwood provides dynamic imagery and tonal variety, making the film interesting to watch. Some of the associative imagery when flashing back from the present day to past events are reminiscent of Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. What it may lack in scares and tension is made up for in confident performances, strong imagery, and a calming yet foreboding musical score.
Just released to DVD and TVOD this week, Witches of Blackwood is a fine, atmospheric film, arriving just in time to kick off the Halloween season.
Gravitas Ventures just dropped a trailer for their forthcoming supernatural horror flick Demigod which will be available in select theaters and On-Demand October 15, 2021. Demigod is directed by Miles Doleac (Watchmen, Halt and Catch Fire) and boasts a stacked cast that includes Rachel Nichols (Star […]
Movies & TV NewsGravitas Ventures just dropped a trailer for their forthcoming supernatural horror flick Demigod which will be available in select theaters and On-Demand October 15, 2021.
Demigod is directed by Miles Doleac (Watchmen, Halt and Catch Fire) and boasts a stacked cast that includes Rachel Nichols (Star Trek, Alias, The Man in the High Castle), Jeremy London (Mallrats, Journey to the Center of the Earth), and Elena Sanchez (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Walking Dead).
Demigod follows the story of a woman and her husband who return to her birthplace in the Black Forest of Germany upon the death of her grandfather only to find a terrifying secret lurking there.
Watch the trailer below and look for Demigod in select theaters and On-Demand October 15.
Danzig’s DEATH RIDER IN THE HOUSE OF VAMPIRES in Select US Theaters August 27 Alright, Horror Fans…legendary crooner from hell Glenn Danzig’s (The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig) second feature film Death Rider in the House of Vampires opens tomorrow across 200 select US theaters. Let’s be […]
Movies & TV NewsDanzig’s DEATH RIDER IN THE HOUSE OF VAMPIRES in Select US Theaters August 27
Alright, Horror Fans…legendary crooner from hell Glenn Danzig’s (The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig) second feature film Death Rider in the House of Vampires opens tomorrow across 200 select US theaters. Let’s be honest. That sentence alone is worth publishing on the internet, no questions asked. Also, you’ve been warned.
Danzig’s second foray into filmmaking boasts a stacked cast including the enigmatic singer himself. And if the trailer, included below, is any indication the movie appears to be every bit as batshit crazy as one would expect given the neophyte director’s cinematic track record thus far.
Read on for the full press release as well as the trailer and one sheet….
Los Angeles, CA (August 26, 2021) – Following successful advance screenings in Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV this past weekend, Glenn Danzig’s second feature film – the vampire spaghetti western Death Rider in the House of Vampires – will open across the U.S. at 200+ screens in select theaters on August 27.
In Death Rider in the House of Vampires, the mysterious “Death Rider” – clad all in black – travels through the desert on horseback. His destination…Vampire Sanctuary. The entrance fee…one female virgin. Once inside he encounters Count Holliday, Vampire Lord of Sanctuary who warns him against any transgressions. Blood-&-guns action follows as Death Rider tangles with some of the Vampires of Sanctuary like the smoldering Carmilla Joe with her sidekick Mina Belle and Vampire Gunslingers Drac Cassidy, Bad Bathory, Kid Vlad & Duke VonWayne
Death Rider in the House of Vampires stars Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk till Dawn), Julian Sands (The Killing Fields, Boxing Helena, Warlock), Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Idle Hands), Kim Director (The Deuce, Blair Witch 2) and Eli Roth (Inglorius Basterds, Cabin Fever) as well as writer/director Glenn Danzig in a supporting role as vampire gunslinger Bad Bathory.
Tickets can be purchased here: Deathridermovie.com.
A family stops by a creepy old guy’s (Blaque Fowler) yard sale and, naturally, an equally creepy teddy bear is discovered by the family’s young girl. The old guy lets her have it for free—uh-oh! Soon madness is unleashed in a weird whirlwind of otherworldly […]
Movie Reviews Movies & TVA family stops by a creepy old guy’s (Blaque Fowler) yard sale and, naturally, an equally creepy teddy bear is discovered by the family’s young girl. The old guy lets her have it for free—uh-oh! Soon madness is unleashed in a weird whirlwind of otherworldly terror! The film from the team of writer Jennifer Trudrung and director James Suttles is called The Nest (2021). Get comfy and keep the bug spray handy while we decide if this movie leaves a lingering itch or if it needs to be swatted away.
Essentially, The Nest is a bug-a-boo tale about a dysfunctional family consisting of mom, Beth (Sarah Navratil), who’s a recovering addict, a not-so-great dad named Jack (Kevin Patrick Murphy) and their young daughter, Meg (Maple Suttles). They’re trying to get along the best they can, but it’s obvious they have their issues. Meg has severe separation anxiety and wants her mother nearby at all times. Beth has guilt issues stemming from her addiction problems and dealing with her recovery. Jack has issues trying to keep Beth from feeling guilty and tries to make her feel like she’s a worthy mother and wife. There’s also family friend Marissa (Dee Wallace) who tries to help the situation as much as she can. So, yeah, the family is pretty fucked up, but they try to make things work.
Once Meg brings the teddy bear named Ricky into the fold, things only get stranger. Turns out that Ricky is infested with odd, parasitic ant-like creatures that love sugar and like to infect humans to use to do their dirty work. These creatures like to keep things in the family, so naturally they need a queen and workers. What will this mean for young Meg and her family?
As usual, there are a few nits to pick with The Nest. With a runtime of around an hour and forty minutes, this film runs a bit too long for what it has to offer. It’s more talk than action and it tends to slow down more often than not. However, this is a fun watch if you don’t take the movie too seriously. Be warned, though, if you’re looking for a bunch of blood and gore, you won’t find it here. While there’s a decent amount of CGI, the practical effects are fewer, though they’re well done. The acting isn’t over the top and the story flows smoothly. There are unsurprisingly a few technical shortcomings. Some of the scenes could use better lighting and sound, but other than that, it’s a well-executed effort.
If you’re a fan of Invaders from Mars (1953) or Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1956), then The Nest is a movie to consider. You can currently find it streaming on Prime for $3.99.
You know how some movies are made, seen by a handful of people and then just wind up wherever it is stray socks and missing Tupperware lids go? This is kind of what happened with Animosity as it was shot way back in 2012 as […]
Movie Reviews Movies & TVYou know how some movies are made, seen by a handful of people and then just wind up wherever it is stray socks and missing Tupperware lids go? This is kind of what happened with Animosity as it was shot way back in 2012 as a student film on a budget of $14,000. This film had a short stint on the film festival circuit in 2013 where it won awards for Best Actress and Best Horror Feature, but afterward the film just kind of disappeared.
But not to worry. Thanks to the fine folks at Wild Eye Releasing, it’s been brought back. Is that a good thing? Well, sit back as I share with you my two cents about Brendan Steere’s Animosity.
If you’re not familiar with writer/director Brendan Steere’s name, perhaps you’ve heard of his horror/comedy The Velocipastor (2018), which was about a holy reptilian man of the “clawth”. This film was an unexpectedly huge hit for Steere, so Wild Eye Releasing blew off the dust from Animosity and decided to give it a re-release in hopes that it would be as popular with fans as Steere’s subsequent work has been. The trailer for Animosity hooked me immediately and I jumped at the chance to watch the film in its entirety, hoping that it was going to be as gnarly and disturbing as promised. I’m happy to say that I was not disappointed.
The plot of Animosity is a bit confusing, at least for the first half of the film. The opening scene pulls no punches and is gloriously graphic. Either you’re all-in once you see it or you’ll give up altogether and turn it off. Essentially, the movie is about a newlywed couple, Mike (Marcin Paluch) and Carrie (Tracy Willet), who purchase a house in the middle of the woods. Nothing wrong with that, right? I mean, what could go wrong (Trust me, plenty of things go disturbingly wrong in this film)? From their reason for buying the house, to the “experiments” taking place, to the weird neighbors and goings on in the woods…nothing and no one is to be trusted. Please excuse the vagueness of this synopsis, but so many fucked up things happen in this film and it’s difficult to keep this spoiler-free.
There are a few small nits to pick. There are flaws with the lighting that make some scenes appear murky, and a few scenes run a bit longer than necessary, but it’s a student film that was shot on a student film budget, so there’s that. And, again, the story is confusing until the movie gets rolling and the reveal is finally explained in the second half of the film.
Overall, Animosity is an effectively filmed offering. The acting is great, the gore is fun and it’s just a weirdly enjoyable watching experience. Kudos to Brendan Steere and the entire cast and crew on a successful debut film! Hopefully this release gains Steere as much attention as his other film has and I look forward to seeing what he does next.
If you’d like to check out Animosity, it’s currently available on VOD/Digital.
We’ve just cracked the precious outer shell of August and Readers of this site know what that means: It’s Halloween Season! Okay, technically it’s always Halloween Season. I get it. But we’re creeping toward that time when the normies join us and the weather does […]
Movies & TV NewsWe’ve just cracked the precious outer shell of August and Readers of this site know what that means: It’s Halloween Season! Okay, technically it’s always Halloween Season. I get it. But we’re creeping toward that time when the normies join us and the weather does too. And when that happens, all kinds of good things are afoot, including Halloween themed horror flicks.
On August 13, Terror Films will deliver one right to your homes via the magic interweb tubes. It’s called 10/31 Part II, a horror anthology sequel featuring directors from indie horror’s hottest, darkest corners.
Will 10/31 Part II continue the success of its predecessor and become an anthology staple, a la the V/H/S and ABCs of Death series? We’ll find out in a week, but for now you can watch the trailer, check out the poster and read the full press release below, Horror Fans….
10/31 Part II is the second installment of the popular Halloween themed anthologies that taps the best directors, actors and composers from the indie film world and brings them all together to make one terrifying feature.
Premiering on Demand and Digital August 13 from Terror Films, the film stars Jennifer Nangle, Anastasia Elfman, David E. McMahon, Tim Robinson, Rhema Srihartiti and London Grace.
“As a huge fan of horror growing up, especially anthologies like Creepshow and Tales From the Crypt, I was thrilled to be able to work with a group of such talented writers, directors and actors to make our own anthology film come to life,” says producer Rocky Gray.
10/31 Part II will be on Demand and Digital August 13.
Horror Fans know better than anybody what a mixed bag low-budget indie horror can be, so it brings Ravenous Monster great pleasure when we stumble upon a trailer that looks…well, good! Such is the case with the new trailer for director BJ Verot’s forthcoming feature […]
Movies & TV NewsHorror Fans know better than anybody what a mixed bag low-budget indie horror can be, so it brings Ravenous Monster great pleasure when we stumble upon a trailer that looks…well, good!
Such is the case with the new trailer for director BJ Verot’s forthcoming feature The Return. All things point to The Return being a classic haunted house set up led by an impressive cast and boasting beautiful photography. We’ll have the chance to find out on August 10, but until then you can peruse both the full press release and the trailer below. Read on, Horror Fans….
Richard Harmon and Sara Thompson, stars of The CW’s smash-hit series The 100, star in the award-winning supernatural thriller The Return, premiering On Demand and Digital this August.
Rodger returns home from college with two friends to settle the affairs of his recently deceased father. They begin to experience weird and unsettling occurrences in the house. Rodger is soon plagued by strange childhood memories about a haunting by a ghostly presence. These memories boil over into reality culminating in an intense showdown with the terror that has come back.
Directed by BJ Verot, The Return also stars Echo Andersson, Marina Stephenson Kerr, Zoe Fish, Erik Athavale, and Gwendolyn Collins.
Winner of Best Feature at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and Best Actor (Richard Harmon) at the New York City Horror Film Festival, The Return premieres August 10 On Demand/Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Road Head, a Terror Films release now available via VOD and on DVD (for the Neanderthals among us), is one of those rare films with a title that’s both literal and figurative. But it’s the literal interpretation that sets the stage for what is — […]
Movie Reviews Movies & TVRoad Head, a Terror Films release now available via VOD and on DVD (for the Neanderthals among us), is one of those rare films with a title that’s both literal and figurative.
But it’s the literal interpretation that sets the stage for what is — alliteration alert! — the most quintessentially quirky queer quest for horror infamy I’ve ever seen. And it succeeds, at least in part.
Before we go totally LBGTQ, we’re witness to a heterosexual couple driving along in the middle of who knows where when girl gets amorous with boy. As girl does the dirty — road head, get it? — a rather medieval-looking large fellow, standing in the middle of the road, causes boy to slam on the brakes, turning pleasure to pain. Uh, penis pain that is, brakes not being the only thing clamping down.
But that isn’t the worst of it. Our large lug brandishes a sword and uses it to decapitate both girl and boy, leaving their noggins in the middle of the thoroughfare. Road head, get it?
Enter our stars: Gay lovers Bryan (Clayton Farris) and Alex (Damian Joseph Quinn), along with Bryan’s best friend, straight Stephanie (Elizabeth Grullon). The trio is enroute by van to Isola Lake for a mini vaca. As Stephanie gets high in the back seat, Bryan and Alex quibble, humorously banter back and forth, and generally make cute as a couple.
To their dismay, they discover the lake has dried up, leaving a desert-like surface (think Bonneville Salt Flats) still suitable for both pavement and exploration. So, on they go. And as they go, our cute couple decides to do the road head thing with Bryan at the wheel and Alex at the lap. Unfortunately, Bryan spies the aforementioned two decapitated noggins in the middle of the road, slams on the brakes and … well, history repeats itself.
Only this time, back in the realm of who knows where, our large lug (Adam Nemet) has his work cut out for him. When he makes his expected entrance, wounded Bryan is the easy prey. As the lug severs his noggin, Alex and Stephanie go a-joggin’. So, we all know a reckoning of sorts is yet to play out.
Turns out Stephanie’s escape, at least, is short lived. For one thing, she and Alex are no longer in possession of the van. For another, they’re fighting like cats and dogs while trying to navigate their desert-like surroundings on foot. Before long, the lug captures Stephanie and transports her to a wasteland of vehicles where his cult friends reside.
The cult, a group of literally queer faux-medieval madmen, is headed by Carl (Paul T. Taylor) and includes comic crazies Jared (Kevin Mouren-Laurens), Larry (Schoen Hodges), and Felicity Fellatio Bones (David McKee). Oh, and we learn the lug is more appropriately known as The Executioner.
As for Stephanie, she’s eyed as the prize who can spawn more members of the cult, though her first so-called sexual encounter with Carl makes our road head episodes look benign by comparison. Poor Carl might have been better off meeting The Executioner’s sword than Steph’s teeth.
In order to dodge the dreaded spoiler alert, we’ll leave it right there save for a little flattery and some nitpicking of flaws.
Road Head writer Justin Xavier gets a pat on the back for some truly inspired dialogue that is delightfully snarky and witty. One of the best and simplest lines comes in a fight-back pep talk from Stephanie when she tells a petrified Alex to “woman up!” While much of the banter is a curse circus, it doesn’t feel out of place given the characters and the circumstances.
And speaking of characters, director David Del Rio gets credit for assembling a cast that has an on-screen chemistry rarely seen in low-budget fright films. Gullen, especially, and Quinn shine as Stephanie and Alex. And while this is more camp than horror, he threads the line between the two with finesse.
As for flaws … well, you can literally smell the cheese, whether it be the gore or the bore, the latter being the totally unnecessary imagined appearance of Stephanie’s ex, David (a wooden Clay Acker). Those scenes did little but slow down an otherwise fast-paced story.
And the ending. Oh, that ending. Damn the ending.
Not. Going. There.
All things considered. Road Head was fun. Imperfect, but fun. Worth a heads-up (groan) for genre junkies.
Author/ journalist George Horace Latimer (1867 -1937) once said, “It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost the things money can’t buy.” This […]
Movie Reviews Movies & TVAuthor/ journalist George Horace Latimer (1867 -1937) once said, “It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost the things money can’t buy.” This quote is an appropriate segue into my review for writer/director Michael P. Belvins’s latest offering called, Digging to Death (2021). The plot of which is an entertaining slow-burn about a fella who is struggling financially, but, as luck would have it, he literally stumbles upon something that proves to be life changing…or life ending.
The main character is a guy named David Vanowen (Ford Austin) who seems to be a regular, everyday working man with typical struggles. He’s newly divorced, works for an asshole boss (Clint Jung) who likes to make David’s job as stressful as possible and he’s the father of an adult daughter (Rachel Alig) who needs expensive life-saving medication. On top of all that stress, he purchases a fixer-upper of a home that needs a lot of work done and money doesn’t seem to be growing on trees for David.
The main thing that the house needs is a new septic tank, which David decides to put in himself, despite heeding the advice of a local landscaper (Richard Riehle) who shows up on the property. David lets it be known that he has the know-how to take on such a task because he and his father used to work together doing such things and that by doing it himself it’ll save him some bucks in the long run.
Once David begins to dig up the yard, he unearths a large box and after giving it some thought, he pries it open and finds a large pile of cash (THREE MILLION DOLLARS!!) …and a corpse (Tom Fitzpatrick) right next to it. Naturally, David has a decision to make. Does he call the cops to report what he’s found? Of course not! Thus begins David’s downward spiral into paranoia, madness and other despicable things!
Digging to Death is a refreshingly fun film to watch mainly because of Ford Austin’s performance as protagonist, David. Austin really carries this movie and watching him turn from a mild-mannered guy into a sort of Patrick Bateman/Ash Williams type is worth the wait. Again, the storyline is a slow burn because it takes some time before anything happens. This is more of a psychological thriller, so we watch how and when David begins to break mentally before anything really bloody happens.
Now, Digging to Death isn’t a perfect film since it does have quite a few flaws scattered throughout. For instance, there are several other characters in the film, such as David’s daughter’s boyfriend and David’s best friend, but we don’t really find out much about them, even though they appear in more than one scene and play a part in David’s story. Some of the acting is stiff and the dialogue too simple as it’s mostly comprised of expletives or folks stating the obvious. Because this film also has a darkly comedic aspect to it, the repetitive cursing is clearly supposed to be laughable, but it also gets to be annoying because there’s just so much of it. More dialogue to convey more story detail would have served this well.
Digging to Death has its share of shocks and bloodshed, and it’s just a good time. If you’d like to experience this film for yourself, it’s currently available on VOD and DVD from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Special problems need a special solution. And a special kind of person to deliver that solution. When the “problems” include demons from hell and undead sorcerers, you REALLY need someone equipped to deal with them. Someone like Mr. Hiram Woolley. A fearless man. A capable […]
Book Reviews Books & ComicsSpecial problems need a special solution. And a special kind of person to deliver that solution. When the “problems” include demons from hell and undead sorcerers, you REALLY need someone equipped to deal with them. Someone like Mr. Hiram Woolley. A fearless man. A capable man. A Cunning Man!
Mr. Woolley is the hero of a new book by authors D.J. Butler and Aaron Michael Ritchey that should be of interest to all Ravenous Monster fans. It falls under the heading of modern fantasy but can easily be considered a horror novel as well. Don’t be too misled by the term “fantasy” because the setting for The Cunning Man is as gritty and real as the Great Depression, which is the time period during which the novel takes place. I’m very familiar with Butler’s work, as I’m a huge fan of his ongoing Witchy War historical fantasy series but know nothing of Mr. Ritchey.
Hiram Woolley is a different kind of hero, especially in the jaded 21st century, where angsty, foul-mouthed and conflicted characters are all the rage. First off, he’s a devoted Mormon and beet farmer in Utah’s Lehi Valley. Secondly, he’s a naturally humble and unassuming man who is constantly questioning his own abilities. Hiram doesn’t seem to realize his own greatest faculty: fearlessness. He’s the kind of man who would dive into Hell to save a kitten from the Devil.
Hiram is the Cunning Man of the title. What exactly is a Cunning Man? Well, in the British Isles, a Cunning Man was a local low-level warlock or “hedge wizard” who knows all the secrets of the natural…and often unnatural…world. He knows the tricks to cure illnesses, to keep the cattle from dying, to keep crops abundant and to keep evil from your door. He uses “white magic” instead of black to help and aid others. While Hiram is a bit different than the English Cunning Man because of his Mormon faith, he definitely falls under the description.
Due to both his genuine desire to help others and his magical abilities, Hiram is used as a kind of “troubleshooter” by the Mormon Church. Not all the church elders like his magic, but they know he’s an honest man. In The Cunning Man, Hiram is assigned to deliver a load of groceries to the remote mining village of Helper, Utah, where the miners are on the verge of starvation due to a work stoppage. The reason for that stoppage is a battle between members of the Kimball family, who own the local mine. For some unknown reason, Ammon, Samuel and Eliza Kimball are fighting each other and the miners have broken into factions supporting each of them. Hiram’s real purpose is to solve the feud and get the miners back to work.
The book takes place in the depth of the American Depression and the authors do an excellent job of creating a feeling of that time. Cars are rickety contraptions that can fall apart at any time, phones and radios are scarce in the wilderness and there’s a feeling of hunger and desperation at all times. One peculiarity of the book is that Coca-Cola gets mentioned so often, I was wondering if the authors were getting paid by that company. A minor quibble….
Hiram is accompanied in his travels by his adopted son, Michael, a Navajo Indian. Michael is the son of a friend of Hiram’s that was killed in World War I. While Hiram is a firm believer in God and the supernatural, Michael is a devout empiricist who’s studying to be a scientist. He’s also really quick with a sarcastic remark and his wisecracks often test Hiram’s patience over the course of the book.
So far, the supernatural has played a very minor part in the story. It creeps into things subtly, until at the halfway point of the book, it takes center stage and diabolical horror explodes into being. Hiram and Michael find themselves in the middle of the miners’ feud and the factions have split into ethnic lines. The Germans and Scandinavians are on the side of Ammon Kimball, while the Greeks support brother Samuel. The two outsiders also run into Naaman Rettig, a powerful railroad executive who is trying to buy the Kimballs out and is not above using criminal tactics and intimidation to get his way. Hiram learns pretty early that the local police are far from trustworthy.
He also senses supernatural energy around the Kimballs, as if they are being influenced by some outside force. Ammon seems plagued by boils while Samuel, an artist, appears to be completely around the bend, using dead animals in his paintings and speaking in tongues. Although it is February, Hiram notes that huge flies seem to be everywhere, and Samuel’s paintings hint at some hidden power. He learns more about the history of the Kimball family, particularly father Teancum, who has been missing for years. Teancum was a strange man of many wives and many children, few of which survived.
The owner of the local grocery/hardware/everything store is a mysterious one-eyed German named Gus Dollar. Hiram recognizes Gus’s store is full of mystical signs and objects…the man is a warlock and likely more powerful than Hiram himself. His creepy grandchildren look like they would have fit in perfectly at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Is Gus behind all the problems with the Kimballs? Or is he trying to prevent something more terrible from happening?
When Hiram takes a secret midnight trip to the mines with a helpful mine boss, all hell breaks loose. It looks like Teancum Kimball delved into the hiding place of a Biblical demon right out of a nightmare. This satanic creature is now on the loose and is capable of horrendous bloodshed. Hiram soon finds himself accused of murder and on the run not only from the police, but from the demon. And then Michael turns up missing….
It’s up to the humble beet farmer and Cunning Man to defeat this monster and save the Kimball family and their mine from disaster. What part does the spinster Eliza Kimball have to play? What is the secret of Gus Dollar and his connection to the demon? And what about the corrupt schemes of Naaman Rettig? Hiram’s only allies are a tough woman labor organizer and a friendly Danish mine boss.
The story unfolds slowly and carefully at first, with the first third of the book almost coming across like a John Steinbeck tale of hard times in Depression-era Utah. At first, the troubles at the Kimball mine seem wholly due to human folly and evil. But Hiram’s keen mystical eye spots signs of supernatural trouble right away and the last third of the book is a non-stop thrill ride full of demoniacal horror.
Although Hiram’s personality is completely different, he reminded me of another “regular guy” fighting monsters: Carl Kolchak, the Night Stalker. There is a similarity in how this story unfolds and how the original Night Stalker novels did. What Butler and Ritchey have created is horror and fantasy so rooted in the real that it is impossible to separate them from it.
I’ve done some research into American folk magic like the “Hoodoo” of southern Black culture and the “Powwow” and “braucherei” of German immigrants. So have the authors. Hiram’s cunning tricks ring true, like his using a dried dog’s tongue as a way to detect falsehood or using engraved plates known as “lamen” as charms. In one scene, he throws a Coke bottle full of his own urine into a fire as a way to stop a curse that’s been put on him.
There’s something so homegrown and decent about Hiram that you’re always rooting for him. What a change from the violent, sour antiheroes so common today. I immediately saw Jimmy Stewart as the perfect actor to play Woolley. Or in the modern day, maybe Tom Hanks. His relationship with Michael is also interesting and plays out in an unforeseen way by the end of the story.
The good news is that The Cunning Man is not the last we will see of Hiram Woolley. The book has been successful enough that a sequel is already out, The Jupiter Knife. So, this humble Mormon beet farmer might be the latest Harry Dresden or Carl Kolchak. If future stories are as well told as this, I look forward to them and so should you.