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wpsmith17's review
3.0
This book started with the strongest story by far, "Cuttings," but every other story never quite reached that level of greatness. There is no doubt that the author is talented, I just wished some of the stories could have baked a little more in his brain as they felt incomplete.
wenturner's review
3.0
This collection of stories is reminiscent of the trips I used to make to the video store with my family as a kid in the 80s. I remember the wild VHS box covers in the horror section—a crazy variety of monsters, slashers, aliens and all things creepy. And that’s a good description for this collection. There were a few stories that I felt were not as strong as the others, but overall this was a creepy walk down memory lane.
rincondejoss's review
3.0
I received this book from the narrator of my own free will for an honest review.
This is the second book of the narrator I hear, his performance was pretty good I don't have any complaints with it, he had a good voice and a good pace when he narrates.
At the time, I found some that I liked some stories than the others. The one of the brothers was pretty wicked, I like ghosts stories. The last one video nasties was so cool and when you read or hear something and you know to what they are referring to it was so amazing.
In an all it was a pretty cool book with many different stories with mixed backgrounds and points of views.
This is the second book of the narrator I hear, his performance was pretty good I don't have any complaints with it, he had a good voice and a good pace when he narrates.
At the time, I found some that I liked some stories than the others. The one of the brothers was pretty wicked, I like ghosts stories. The last one video nasties was so cool and when you read or hear something and you know to what they are referring to it was so amazing.
In an all it was a pretty cool book with many different stories with mixed backgrounds and points of views.
dtaylorbooks's review
5.0
First off, that cover. I’m a total sucker for it. I am absolutely in love with that old VHS-type art that book covers are using more and more of lately. So I was pretty much sold on the cover alone. Luckily, the actual contents of the book is pretty stellar too.
Not going to lie, I was a little concerned at first because the first two stories of the book are pretty similar, albeit equally disturbing. But each one after that brought its own brand of old school horror flavor that I greatly enjoyed, even if some of them made me a little queasy. But I love visceral reactions like that while reading, despite the fact that I may be eating when they happen. It’s a sign of good writing, IMO.
2017 isn’t that long ago, but all of the stories had sort of an antiquated feel to them, especially any that had to do with bullying. It felt more like bullying from my youth (more physical and what people my age and up might think of when they think of bullying) than anything current, but I think that added to the nostalgia factor I kept getting with each story. They were current enough for me and once I settled into the cadence of the era the author was writing for, everything else fizzled away and I really enjoyed the stories.
Another honest moment, I’m pretty hand shy when it comes to reading dudes writing horror, especially when there are women in the stories, because bro. Ugh. I’m still not over the vagina eating demons from the last book I read. But no complaints with VIDEO NASTIES. Everyone was an equal opportunity victim who went through equally gender-relevant horror things so the scales were nice and balanced. I appreciate that.
I liked VIDEO NASTIES because it provided a good peek into the author’s style and how he writes a variety of different stories and they’re quite compatible with the type of horror I enjoy. When I got to the end of the book, I immediately signed up for Ralston’s newsletter (and got a few free stories out of it too), I just purchased the paperback version (OMG I need that book cover, ugh), and I look forward to reading more of his work. His horror is genuinely creepy and toes the line of being too gory but never quite crosses it, which I can appreciate.
If you’re looking for a good horror anthology, look no further than VIDEO NASTIES.
4.5
Not going to lie, I was a little concerned at first because the first two stories of the book are pretty similar, albeit equally disturbing. But each one after that brought its own brand of old school horror flavor that I greatly enjoyed, even if some of them made me a little queasy. But I love visceral reactions like that while reading, despite the fact that I may be eating when they happen. It’s a sign of good writing, IMO.
2017 isn’t that long ago, but all of the stories had sort of an antiquated feel to them, especially any that had to do with bullying. It felt more like bullying from my youth (more physical and what people my age and up might think of when they think of bullying) than anything current, but I think that added to the nostalgia factor I kept getting with each story. They were current enough for me and once I settled into the cadence of the era the author was writing for, everything else fizzled away and I really enjoyed the stories.
Another honest moment, I’m pretty hand shy when it comes to reading dudes writing horror, especially when there are women in the stories, because bro. Ugh. I’m still not over the vagina eating demons from the last book I read. But no complaints with VIDEO NASTIES. Everyone was an equal opportunity victim who went through equally gender-relevant horror things so the scales were nice and balanced. I appreciate that.
I liked VIDEO NASTIES because it provided a good peek into the author’s style and how he writes a variety of different stories and they’re quite compatible with the type of horror I enjoy. When I got to the end of the book, I immediately signed up for Ralston’s newsletter (and got a few free stories out of it too), I just purchased the paperback version (OMG I need that book cover, ugh), and I look forward to reading more of his work. His horror is genuinely creepy and toes the line of being too gory but never quite crosses it, which I can appreciate.
If you’re looking for a good horror anthology, look no further than VIDEO NASTIES.
4.5
sdmftn's review
5.0
Outstanding collection
I loved every one of these stories from beginning to end. His is an author I will DEFINITELY be reading more of.
I loved every one of these stories from beginning to end. His is an author I will DEFINITELY be reading more of.
mhartford's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alicecharlotte's review
4.0
I read this because I fancied something different and I a) hardly ever read horror despite being a huge horror film fan, and b) don't like short stories, so this fitted the "read something different" requirement quite nicely. I wasn't disappointed! The namesake story of the book, Video Nasties, was one of my favourites despite starting a bit generically. I also loved Chompers, Cuttings and He Is Risen was perfectly absurd. I definitely recommend this if you like a good horror story (or film).
I also might try and read some more short stories now as I was struck by how vastly disparate these stories were and how much talent you have to have as an author to produce such an differing array of work!
I also might try and read some more short stories now as I was struck by how vastly disparate these stories were and how much talent you have to have as an author to produce such an differing array of work!
griffinraynor's review
1.0
I got a few pages into the first story before getting annoyed with the repeated 'male author describing breasts' phenomenon. The first time was regarding a trapped, tied up girl in her underwear who was some kind of ghost or vision, and the second time was about a grieving widow who had come to get flowers from the main characters' shop for her husbands funeral. As soon as the narration went into describing the male main character's desire to have rough sex with this woman right then and there I backed out and deleted this book from my library. I believe that this story was leading up to a reveal that the main male character had been possessed by something that caused him to be violently sexual, as the inciting event for the story is him purchasing a van that his wife thinks of as a 'rape van' and the ghost girl he sees is mosy likely a victim of sexual assault. It's very possible that the other stories in this collection have merit, and it's even possible that this one itself deserves more of a chance, but it creeped me out in the exact wrong way and this being the first in the collection did not bode well. When I read horror I'm looking for creepy ghosts and maybe some serial killers, not some cheap rape-as-drama with a side of oversexualization of 90%+ of the female characters. If you're considering this collection you deserve to know going in about this potentially alienating content.
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