Hellsworld Hotel: Matthew Vaughn
Reviewed By Steve Stred
Jesus.
I’ve read a few of Vaughn’s works now – part 1 and part 2 of ’30 Minutes or Less.’ In one of the reviews I said something along the lines of – things were humming along and then it just kind of ending. I’m pretty sure it was part 1. If part 1 and part 2 had been together – it would’ve had the fluid feel that ‘Hellsworld Hotel’ had.
Short on story but packed to the rim of the toilet with splatter, this thing just rolls along and I ended up reading it in a single sitting because I was having so much fun and wanted to know what was going to happen.
I found this story a mixture of a few well-known movies, but to list them I think would pigeon-hole this story too much. You’d be looking specifically for those moments and you’d miss out on the excitement.
The gist of the book is this – in small town Eminence, a new group has moved in and is renovating a house. They are turning it into a haunted house attraction and the residents are excited. The sheriff – not so much. The group gives him a bad vibe, but he has to stay within the law.
As more kids are reported missing, he suspects them more and more.
I found it interesting that Vaughn had the main characters as background players. While we get quickly introduced to new kids and townsfolk – who quickly get sliced and diced, we are distracted from what is happening in the shadows. I loved these characters and definitely want to see more from Zed, Lucy and the gang. Heck, even the character of Dog was intriguing, even if only offered up for shock value and grimace-inducing-moments.
This book is set up to continue on with the haunted house travels, but also as a single read. I personally would love to see more of what this clan can get up to and of course, down the road they’d get their punishment at some point. But for now, this was a really well done story with a ton of horrific deaths and some of the best B movie, slasher scenes out there.
The best description I could give this;
You decide to watch a movie based on cover and small synopsis, not fully convinced it’ll hold your attention and before you know it you are fully transfixed by what’s happening and when it’s done, you want to go back and re-watch it again and again.
Kudos to Vaughn for doling out a heavy dose of blood and carnage!
Hellsworld Hotel
As the Halloween season approaches, the newest residents of small town Eminence are hard at work opening a haunted house attraction called Hellsworld Hotel. The local townsfolk are excited, especially the teenagers. Normally you would have to drive to one of the big cities for something like this. But local Sheriff Stan Maxell is skeptical, even more so when he takes notice of how many of the young people in his town are disappearing.
Hellsworld Hotel is a tale of family horror in the vein of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of 1000 Corpses, brought to you by the author of The ADHD Vampire and Fast Times at Cine Mega Plex High.
You can buy Hellsworld Hotel from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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