For those of us of a certain age, like me, you might remember standing in your local video store looking at the visceral box art for a horror movie you were probably too young to rent. Looking at the terrific cover for Janelle Schiecke’s THE CLATTER MAN I was transported back to those moments. Had I seen this video cover on the shelf in the horror section, I would have been reaching for that VHS, eager to stay up late and watch it at home with friends and snacks.
After a cracking, brutal prologue we meet Abby and her friends as they head up to a beautiful remote lakeside cabin in Pennsylvania. I loved the way that the book took a moment to languish in the idyllic perfection of this summer location. Everything’s perfect. Nothing’s out of place. Here is a moment to build the characters and that is done well here. But for those of us who are students of the horror genre, we all know how transient that fleeting sense of comfort and safety is.
As I alluded to before, this is a 90-minute horror movie of a book. It’s a great slasher ride. There’s a rhythm to the narrative which felt very assured, a great sense of location, and there are good suspenseful moments and some grizzly deaths.
Though it’s not immediately obvious while all the blood is flowing, there is a heart to this tale. It’s an unexpected layer that proves that Schieke wants to do more than just slice and dice her characters. I thought this part of the story worked well.
If you like horror with a respectful nod to the VHS era, and you’re looking for a worthy entry to the urban legend subgenre, THE CLATTER MAN should be your next, blood-soaked read.