“Melon Head Mayhem” is the first book in the Killer VHS series from Shortwave Media. When Jonathan Pongratz suggested we read it as our next buddy read, I jumped at the chance. I love old horror movies. This book looked like the perfect combination of nostalgia and video tapes. The wonderful cover by Marc Vuletich and Alan Lastufka really drew me in and got me excited for the book.

The book starts with Carson, who is tidying up his grandmother’s house for sale after her recent death. While sorting through her wardrobe, he finds an old video cassette. He invites his cousin, Sophia, also in town for the funeral, over to watch the movie. However, the tape in the case is for a film neither of them have heard of – Revenge of the Melon Heads. Strange things happen once they watch it. Could the monsters from the low budget B movie be coming to life? And, if so, how will Carson and Sophia survive the Melon Heads?

The story is told from Carson’s point of view. He carries a lot of guilt for leaving his grandparents who raised him.  His reason for leaving home at a young age isn’t fully explored in the book. Carson and Sophia were once close, but both have drifted apart due to strained relationships with family, Carson’s frequent travelling, and Sophia settling down in another part of the country.

I liked Carson, and I could relate to his sensitive, nervous disposition. The death of his grandmother makes him question his youthful decisions. He is seeking to reconnect with family and is looking for a way back into the good times of his past.

Sophia is also seeking change. Bored with her relationship, feeling stifled in a steady job, and chaffing at the strained relationship with her mother, she is looking for some excitement.

I liked the easy way that Carson and Sophia fell back into their close friendship. I could imagine the two characters hanging out as teens. They had a sibling like relationship, and their personalities complemented each other. While Carson is more thoughtful and hesitant, Sophia is a gung ho action woman. It made for a fun team, and their different approaches helped to drive the plot forward. Their strong bond and love for each other is also a highlight of the book.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find Carson and Sophia’s emotional baggage to have the satisfying payoff I expected. I hoped for Carson’s turmoil over his actions to bring about a more profound change in his character than was delivered. While the characters were certainly fleshed out more than you would expect for a B horror movie, at times they seemed reduced to their defining characteristics – nervous and brave – and the backstory with Carson’s grandparents didn’t have much relevance to the rest of the book.

The book is well written and easy to read. I liked that the author didn’t shy away from blood and gore and, for the most part, I found the descriptions effective. Ebenstein perfectly captured the atmosphere of a cheesy horror movie. There were lots of little touches, like the description of the Melon Heads, and the location of the climax, that I think fans of 1980s horror movies will particularly enjoy. I could see Revenge of the Melon Heads (the fictional movie within the book) being riffed by Mystery Science Theatre 3000, although that would have produced disastrous results!

Being haunted by the past is the central theme of this book. Carson is haunted by his actions and the resulting guilt over not being there for his grandparents as they grew older and died. The video of Revenge of the Melon Heads haunts anyone who watches it in a very real, non-spectral way, and the theme is carried through with other side characters who appear briefly in the novel.

I do like this theme and how it recurs throughout the book. Nostalgia is enjoyable and fun, but the past holds skeletons as well, and I like that the author didn’t focus just on the sentimental aspect of nostalgia and showed the unpleasant ways that revisiting the past can impact upon us.

The setting is the perfect nondescript small town USA which just happens to be near a spooky old house in a wood beside a shore. It is the perfect amalgam of locations where lots of 1980s horror movies took place in.

My biggest beef with this book is the pacing. It starts with a nice hook of Carson sorting out his grandmother’s things, finding the video and inviting his cousin around to watch it. After the setup there is a huge action scene, and while it was exciting and well written, I did wonder where the book could go from there. While the plot unfolds with some nice touches and set pieces after that, it never quite matches the intensity of the first confrontation. When a book throws something so outrageous at you at the start, I hoped for the story to get bigger and wilder as it progressed. Unfortunately, “Melon Head Mayhem” didn’t deliver on that front for me. There are several quiet times and a few more moments of horror that fail to reach the same heights as the first action sequence.

This book captures the nightmarish atmosphere of being caught in a movie. I kept wondering what I would do if I were in the characters’ situation. The humour, heart, and horror in this book certainly kept me reading, but it didn’t quite reach my cold heart and connect with my emotions.

The best things about “Melon Head Mayhem” are the writing and the author’s knowledge of low budget horror movies.

However, the uneven pacing left me longer for a slower build up to the first action scene. I would also have liked more information about the Melon Heads, although I appreciate why they were kept as shadowy, mythic creatures for the purpose of the plot.

With its combination of family trauma, childhood nostalgia and horror, this book most reminded me of Ben Farthing’s “I Found Puppets Living in My Apartment Walls.” Both books have a strong premise, relatable characters, and make an effort to present a deeper theme than merely childhood favourites come to life.

This book will appeal to horror fans, but especially to connoisseurs of bad horror movies from the last century.

I loved that the movie “Critters” is mentioned in this book. When I was a child, the boyfriend of one of my older sister’s loaned us his video player and a selection of movies. “Critters” was one of the movies, and I loved it. I’m sure watching it at a young age played a large part in my love of horror comedy.

This is a fun romp that pays homage to the horror movies of the 1980s while also good-naturedly lampooning them. It is well written, with more blood and gore, and heart, than I expected. While neither as funny or as bizarre as I wanted, it is well written and entertaining. I look forward to reading more from the author, and I will be sure to check out the other books in the series.

One final shout out to the cover, not only for this book, but for the entire series. I love books that look like video tapes or their cases. The Killer VHS series certainly nails it with the artwork. I bet the whole set looks great on a shelf.

2 responses to “Book Review: Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein”Jonathan PongratzJanuary 13, 2025

I don’t know what’s up with my WordPress reader, but I couldn’t find your blog. Craziness! I love your review of our buddy read. You make some really great points and I can’t wait for the next one!

ReplyIseultJanuary 14, 2025

I changed my website hosting last year and it messed up my WordPress reader subscribers and subscriptions. Thanks, Jonny! Looking forward to our next read.

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