Midnight Movie Creature Feature [Kindle Edition]

With this anthology, May December Publications offers a variety of monster tales that spans the spectrum of action, humour and horror, along with striking illustrations for each selection. It is interesting to see how many of the stories in the anthology involve themes of revenge and/or protective loved ones. I found something entertaining in each of the stories, even the ones that weren't my favourites. It's great to see an MDP anthology showcasing so many talented writers.

A Golem in Ozone Park - I think this story really captured the old time movie feel. Silvestri has a very visual approach to his tale. You can easily picture a wide-eyed Abby standing in the rain with an air of urgency, or the golem looming over his creator as he got to his feet. I could almost imagine the sound of bad special effect thunder and cheesy music. Probably one of the most culturally colourful stories I've ever read in a horror anthology.

A Zinger Must Die - I was a bit spoilt by this one, being a Haligonian myself, I could identify with the setting very easily. That being said, I felt as though I had stepped into the Twilight Zone with the introduction of cartoon characters, and I tend to "zone out" with any discussion of US politics, no reflection of Mr. Pelmuter's tale-telling skills. There was an odd contrast of the complex language used to the nature of the tale - I would have expected a more simplistic language as a match with anything "toony". There was also an interesting irony in how the Newfoundlanders, who can be sometimes larger-than-life, came across as more cartoony than the creatures themselves.

The Pit - This is an action-packed tale with a battlefield feel to it, a hardened hunter vs a man with a bestial nature. It was a fun story.

The Spine Tingling Tale of the Crystal Golem - I wasn't sure how to take this story. It went from the classic campy intro, a la old cliff-hanger serials, to some cheesy dialogue ("honeybunches" and "love muffin") with more modern camp, and all the characters having rock names, but I gathered that was all intentional for a spoof effect. It was amusing, but not really my type of horror humour.

Just the Two of Us - I loved the imagery in this (seeing ovals like leeches and the way the sunshine is described while Brandon is meeting with his mom - great stuff) as well as the fluid writing style.

Fish Boy - This story presents a monstrous case of people-watching that gets interesting once the discordant family dynamics are unleashed. Then the people-watching turns to something more shocking. I liked this because it was a horror tale with greater dimension.

And the Dark Growls Back - I loved this story and its real-life monster. It was a veritable thrill-ride, with plenty of surprises. It sucked me in and didn't let go, because in addition to the unusual beginning, action and excitement, there was so much detail (including some serious gore). The ending was fitting as well. This was my favourite story in the anthology.

The Visitor - Another great read. It has a nice build up and good pacing. The characters are very realistic; one of the main ones is a sceptical curmudgeon and the other a bit blasé, although she proves caring in the long run.

Frightening Cliches - This was the type of tongue-in-cheek dark humour I expect to find in a horror anthology. The story was an entertaining, high-spirited romp, with puns and jibes at the stereotypical middle-aged couple. There were a couple of MDP Easter eggs thrown in there for good measure.

Dead Planet - This was a bit too "Flash Gordon" meets "Alien" for my tastes, but it did add variety to the anthology and the writing was technically good. There was plenty of action and some very scary moments. The Sci-Fi fan would likely enjoy this one.

Hayride - A bestial killer is terrorizing a part of Michigan and the residents there are attempting to fight the fear, participating in Halloween events as they always have. A smooth read with a wild twist.

Fish out of Water - This one had a steampunk/Jules Verne feel to it, with a hint of Lovecraft - a more intellectual horror. Once again, not my preferred version of the genre (although I did like the touch of Lovecraft), but it also added variety to the anthology and was certainly technically well-written.

From Rebirth to Reburial - This was interesting and intriguing, sort of "noir", but it seemed more like an intro to a novel than just a short. There was a lot going on, the characters were introduced but clearly had much more to them and I wanted more background than could conceivably fit in a short.

North - The intro was a little heavy and metaphor-laden for me, but once I got past that, I really liked this story. Very original - a different spin on the usual bigfoot/yeti story.

Revenge of the Zombie P**sy Eaters - To say this story was a little blue would be an understatement. It definitely had shock factor. It had laughable moments but it was a vulgar humour. I think I'd have to be in the right mood or have a couple of drinks in me to really enjoy this sort of levity, and I could easily see some people finding this story offensive (although I have thicker skin than that.)

Keeping It Together - This story made me smile right away with the description of someone as a "friendly baguette" and by the second page into it I was laughing out loud. I'm a sucker for good zombie humour and, to me, this was by far the funniest story in the anthology.

I think I agree with some of the other reviewers that this was the best MDP anthology yet. They assembled a great collection of quality stories with quite a menagerie of beasties.

In my opinion, this anthology is the best one that MDP has put forth so far. If they continue to increase the quality of their story collections in this manner, I think they will lead the market in horror anthologies, the way Permuted Press leads the pack in zombie novels. Even the introduction by TW Brown was much better than previous intros in other MDP anthologies. Other than the distracting little icons throughout the book, I was really pleased overall with the editing job this time around.

I have no idea how MDP selects the authors, but this was a stellar cross-section of horror writers. There were a couple of stories I would have replaced with something by established MDP authors like Michael Evans or DA Chaney, but maybe the ones that didn't appeal to me will appeal to others nonetheless. When I read such incredible original stories like these, I wonder why more people don't give the horror genre more credit for its literary accomplishments.

A Golem In Ozone Park by Jim Sylvestry was based in serious Jewish mythology and mysticism, and that really appealed to me on a personal level. Unfortunately, I felt like the author was stressing the Jewish-ness of the story more than the actual horror. I didn't think this made a very good lead-in for the anthology, but at least it was entertaining.

The Lure by Chantal Boudreau was a perfect example of what a short story should be: went straight to the terror, like a double-tap with a pen instead of a gun. If you happen to be a fan of the show River Monsters, you will LOVE this story. It will scare you senseless with the imagery.

A Zinger Must Die by David Perlmutter is a mix of sci-fi and horror with some campiness for flavor...a "cartoon race" of beings really made this story stand out from the rest with a brilliant mix of comedy and tragedy.

The Pit by Terry Alexander kind of looked like a rough draft version of a werewolf tale. The plot was pretty decent with a man trying to get his daughter back from the pack leader.

The Spine-Tingling Tale of the Crystal Golem by Tom Ribas symbolized the true spirit of the anthology, complete with the cheesiness of weekly horror movie cinema series (think black & white movies). The beginning was a great hook, but I didn't find anything really frightening in this story. The ending was actually charming.

Just The Two of Us by Anthony Bell was one of my favorites in this collection, about a boy, a bully and a monster. Kids should have to read this; pretty sure this would end school-bullying and then some...then again, kids would probably need therapy if they read this.

The Fish Boy by Eric Dumbleby was another favorite: completely disturbing and gruesome tale about why you shouldn't get drunk when you're camping by the river with your kids.

And The Dark Growls Back by Aaron Dries is a great example of a horrifying story without a fictional monster...sometimes real life is bad enough.

The Visitor by Kelley Kombrick is kind of like a Bigfoot story, but with a slow set-up, and more description than action. Nice use of suspense though.

Frightening Clichés by Bennie Newsome was an AWESOME story about swamp monsters...one of the best in the anthology!! MDP should seriously consider releasing this as an independent e-story *hint, hint* The ending was superb! I want to use lots of caps and exclamation points to tell you how much I LOVED THIS STORY!!! I would really enjoy reading a full-length novel based on the main character.

Dead Planet by Ryan Hills was a space zombie story -- a theme I've seen before... this story simply wasn't as original or fear-provoking as the anthology stories...but nice to see zombies somewhere other than Texas for a change.

Hayride by Joseph A Polega is a story that reminded me of the good ol' days when Stephen King used to write about scary stuff...LOVE THIS STORY! I thought the Mom did a great job of consoling her young son on a hayride with a brutal ending.

Fish Out of Water by Carl Barker was kind of like Jules Verne on crystal meth...incredibly intense and severely alarming.

From Rebirth to Reburial by MW Williamson was demonic adventure in horror that is a must-read in the anthology.

North by MJ Wesolowski had a great story concept that, thankfully, did not include the typical snow monsters (definitely NOT Yetis)...heavy on the descriptions, but necessary to prepare the reader for the stunning finale. I LOVED the manipulation of the timeline. The writing style worked very well for this chilling tale.

Revenge of the Zombie [...] Eaters by Craig Wallwork has a censored title, so that Amazon would let post this review intact. The author wastes no time with a set-up, and jumps directly into the gore (nice touch with the tampon detail...eeewwww). BEST. ZOMBIE. TWIST. EVER...title is not an attempt to be shocking, but rather quite literal. Also qualifies as WEIRDEST. STORY. EVER. I will never think of genitals the same way again. This story needs its own genre...for now, I would place it somewhere near bizarro.

Keeping It Together by DK Mok was mesmerizing: a mix of undead...zombie vs. vampire, with lots of other supernatural stuff tossed in, but nothing traditional or glittering about this story. I enjoyed the intimacy of the POV as well. Not sure if I will ever order pizza again though...nice ending to the anthology.

If I could, I would give this 4.5 stars, but there are plenty of fabulous 5-star stories in this anthology that deserve the attention, so I'm giving this anthology 5-stars. I hope MDP sticks to this formula for future anthologies. I would enjoy a Volume Two of this particular theme. *hint, hint*

I also recommend checking out the other anthologies by MDP, such as Hell Hath No Fury... or Chivalry is Dead.

(Full disclosure: I wrote the first story here. Moving on...)
"Midnight Movie Creature Feature" is a pretty excellent cross-section of monster-themed stories courtesy of May December Publications. Most stories range from B-movie camp to full-out gore, but there's something for everyone here. Small press edit errors aside, this is a pretty well-packaged and thick volume of varied tales of schlock and suspense.

Stand-outs for me:

1) DK Mok's "Keeping it Together": Funny and poignant tale of a zombie pizza boy.

2) Aaron Dries' "And the Dark Growls Back": Genuinely excellent character study, peppered with true gore and suspense.

3) Kelly Kombrinck's "The Vistor": Another good fusion of well-developed characters, realistic narrative and eerie chills.

4) Chantal Boudreau's "The Lure": Brutally, beautifully simple and somber Man v. Fish tale.

5) Tom Ribas' "The Spine-Tingling Tale of the Crystal Golem": It takes a few pages to realize that this is deftly-delivered camp and not just the work of a madman.

6) Bennie Newsome's "Frightening Cliches": Amusing and creepy meta monster moshpit.

7) Joseph A. Polega's "Hayride": Did not see that gruesome little twist coming whatsoever.

8) Craig Wallwork's "Revenge of the Zombie Pussy Eaters": Great use of pithy wordplay and some sickening gore leads to a surprisingly touching close.

I can go on... M.W. Williamson and MJ Wesolowski's contributions were also top notch. Basically, wherever you fall on the Taste Spectrum, you're coming away with a new favorite short story when you're done with this anthology.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars