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A review by apalershadeofwhite
Horror Quickies Vol. 1 by Steve Hudgins
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
This is definitely a collection of horror short stories. Is it a good collection of horror short stories? Um...
All the tales have classic horror iconography like creepy little girls, abandoned houses, people in masks, a skipping record player, etc. but I just don't think they were done well. I didn't find these stories scary at all. I think it mostly comes down to how short the some of the tales were because it's really challenging to create a good and effective horror atmosphere in such a short space. The first tale especially was really abrupt. I know they're meant to be 'quickies', but still. The scariest tale was the journal entry one and would be the only tale I would even consider calling horror.
I did find it interesting that the author chose to do multiple versions of the same story because it played on our perceptions on who we thought was the bad guy, depending on who was telling the story. I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator. On the topic of narrators, the inclusion of the younger narrators doesn't make sense. All of the narrators use similar words and observations, some of which someone under 10 years old wouldn't. Every narrator had the same voice and narration style.
I was really confused by the repeated mention of the Psycho movie house comparison. In the first half of the collection, this was used in every. single. tale. And I just don't get why? Why that, specifically? It felt like it didn't really serve a purpose. Also, all the tales in the half of the collection start in Allensburg, but then it changes without purpose or reason? It would have been nice if they all had a common theme like the first half did because otherwise, they just felt haphazard.
All the tales have classic horror iconography like creepy little girls, abandoned houses, people in masks, a skipping record player, etc. but I just don't think they were done well. I didn't find these stories scary at all. I think it mostly comes down to how short the some of the tales were because it's really challenging to create a good and effective horror atmosphere in such a short space. The first tale especially was really abrupt. I know they're meant to be 'quickies', but still. The scariest tale was the journal entry one and would be the only tale I would even consider calling horror.
I did find it interesting that the author chose to do multiple versions of the same story because it played on our perceptions on who we thought was the bad guy, depending on who was telling the story. I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator. On the topic of narrators, the inclusion of the younger narrators doesn't make sense. All of the narrators use similar words and observations, some of which someone under 10 years old wouldn't. Every narrator had the same voice and narration style.
I was really confused by the repeated mention of the Psycho movie house comparison. In the first half of the collection, this was used in every. single. tale. And I just don't get why? Why that, specifically? It felt like it didn't really serve a purpose. Also, all the tales in the half of the collection start in Allensburg, but then it changes without purpose or reason? It would have been nice if they all had a common theme like the first half did because otherwise, they just felt haphazard.