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Midnight Movie
The good news: Director Tobe Hooper has been invited to speak at a screening of Destiny Express, a movie he wrote and directed as a teenager, but that hasn’t seen the light of day in decades. And Hooper’s fans are ecstatic.
The bad news: Destiny Express proves to be a killer . . . literally. As the death toll mounts, Tobe embarks on a desperate journey to understand the film’s thirty-year-old origins—and put an end to the strange epidemic his creation has set in motion.
Featuring the terror, humor, and sly documentary style Hooper devotees remember from such classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Midnight Movie is vintage Tobe Hooper, again demonstrating the director’s place as one of the godfathers of modern horror.
The bad news: Destiny Express proves to be a killer . . . literally. As the death toll mounts, Tobe embarks on a desperate journey to understand the film’s thirty-year-old origins—and put an end to the strange epidemic his creation has set in motion.
Featuring the terror, humor, and sly documentary style Hooper devotees remember from such classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Midnight Movie is vintage Tobe Hooper, again demonstrating the director’s place as one of the godfathers of modern horror.
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
507 people want to read
About the author
Tobe Hooper
5 books5 followersWilliam Tobe Hooper was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film genre; his most recognized films include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist.
He was also a a college professor and documentary cameraman during the 1960's. - Wikipedia
He was also a a college professor and documentary cameraman during the 1960's. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
February 19, 2012
Midnight Movie is a glorious mess. It is the most fun I've had reading a horror novel since the equally gloriously messy DRACULAS. It has also renewed my faith in the idea that a movie director can write a novel that is the equal to his talent in film director.
Of course, some of you snobs may not think that is not so impressive considering the director. Tobe Hooper may not receive the accolades of a Hitchcock or a Cronenberg but he is always imaginative and exuberant even in the least of his films. That comes through in his debut novel where he casts himself in the lead role and presents an intriguing premise. Hooper's first movie, which he made when he was fifteen years old, is debuted at Austin's SXSW festival. The movie is amazingly bad yet Hooper remembers nothing about it. Those who attend the showing are infected with something that causes rampant violence, zombies, and a strange venereal disease that gives a whole new meaning to the term "blueblood".
The first part of the novel deals with the screening. The author is having a lot of fun depicting himself with self-deprecating humor and manages to take a lot of good-natured potshots at Hollywood and his fans. Yet when the after-affects of the screening develops, this is where it gets wonderfully messy. It is almost a kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink form of mayhem with plenty of Ewww! moments. The book is presented in a documentary style; half oral history and half epistemological novel, if e-mail and blog posts can be considered epistemological. The violence may be over the top for some, but I doubt if anyone would expect less from the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The last part of the novel deals with how Hooper and his band of Texas and Hollywood misfits discover the cause of the zombie outbreak and how to deal with it. I found the ending a bit disappointing but getting there was so much fun I didn't mind too much. Overall it was a fun exercise in comedic horror but the most memorable thing was discovering that a talented artist like Tobe Hooper isn't afraid to poke a little fun at himself and his craft.
Of course, some of you snobs may not think that is not so impressive considering the director. Tobe Hooper may not receive the accolades of a Hitchcock or a Cronenberg but he is always imaginative and exuberant even in the least of his films. That comes through in his debut novel where he casts himself in the lead role and presents an intriguing premise. Hooper's first movie, which he made when he was fifteen years old, is debuted at Austin's SXSW festival. The movie is amazingly bad yet Hooper remembers nothing about it. Those who attend the showing are infected with something that causes rampant violence, zombies, and a strange venereal disease that gives a whole new meaning to the term "blueblood".
The first part of the novel deals with the screening. The author is having a lot of fun depicting himself with self-deprecating humor and manages to take a lot of good-natured potshots at Hollywood and his fans. Yet when the after-affects of the screening develops, this is where it gets wonderfully messy. It is almost a kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink form of mayhem with plenty of Ewww! moments. The book is presented in a documentary style; half oral history and half epistemological novel, if e-mail and blog posts can be considered epistemological. The violence may be over the top for some, but I doubt if anyone would expect less from the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The last part of the novel deals with how Hooper and his band of Texas and Hollywood misfits discover the cause of the zombie outbreak and how to deal with it. I found the ending a bit disappointing but getting there was so much fun I didn't mind too much. Overall it was a fun exercise in comedic horror but the most memorable thing was discovering that a talented artist like Tobe Hooper isn't afraid to poke a little fun at himself and his craft.
June 17, 2020
When Tobe Hooper's film Destiny Express is screened for the first time to the public, the viewers that watched it instantly become aggressive sex-crazed zombies. Can Tobe stop the zombies with the original cast of the film and a film reviewer acquaintance before it's too late? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good horror novel as well as the first and only book written by Tobe hooper. If you are a fan of Tobe hooper and of zombie horror novels, be sure to check this book out at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.
This was a pretty good horror novel as well as the first and only book written by Tobe hooper. If you are a fan of Tobe hooper and of zombie horror novels, be sure to check this book out at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.
August 18, 2013
This book was SO much fun. I read it all in one evening and, while I read a lot, I can scarcely remember last time I had so much fun with a book. It reminded me of World War Z in a way that there were zombies and it was told through first person accounts and it was immensely (although completely different sort of) enjoyable. So this is like a really silly really over the top B movie type of a book. Nice to see Hooper is a man of many talents, not just cinematically gifted. I wonder if he'll turn this one into a movie, it'd be a hoot. Hooper uses some autobiographical facts with some wild imaginings to spin this tale of wickedness unleashed by viewing of a long lost film he made as a teen. This book is funny and clever in a self referential satirical irreverent kind of way. It's got zombies and sex and tons of gore for horror fans as well as plenty of film making trivia for cinephiles. Outrageous and outrageously entertaining. Highly recommended.
May 13, 2019
3.5 stars
This book is for fans of B-movie slasher flicks: people turning to zombies after a screening of a lost Tobe Hooper movie. What made this even more fun was the inclusion of Tobe Hooper himself in the narrative, his POV and dialogue were pretty funny. Also, the Q&A at the end of the book with Hooper was interesting because it was clear he included some real-life occurrences in the book. So in the end it was a mash-up of an autobiography and a zombie movie. Kind of strange, but a lot of fun.
I rounded down to 3 stars instead of up to 4 only because some of the sexual dialogue and descriptions got to be a bit excessive for my taste.
This book is for fans of B-movie slasher flicks: people turning to zombies after a screening of a lost Tobe Hooper movie. What made this even more fun was the inclusion of Tobe Hooper himself in the narrative, his POV and dialogue were pretty funny. Also, the Q&A at the end of the book with Hooper was interesting because it was clear he included some real-life occurrences in the book. So in the end it was a mash-up of an autobiography and a zombie movie. Kind of strange, but a lot of fun.
I rounded down to 3 stars instead of up to 4 only because some of the sexual dialogue and descriptions got to be a bit excessive for my taste.
January 6, 2014
An adolescent mess of a book.
The concept of having Tobe Hooper writing a book with himself as Tobe Hooper as the main protagonist and the theme being about a movie which can turn people into lunatics has the potential for lots of interesting meta-play but in the end the book was a total mess.
It's hard to say how much of it was Hooper and how much his (shhh, quiet about this!) co-writer but the whole thing came off as very amateerish and fanboy-ish. Instead of knowing digs or winks the Hooper character is universally adored as some sort of horror icon and whether that's the case or not it just comes off as indulgent. The book also has a very adolescent tone to it and that could be to a large extent because most of the main characters are immature and most of the book is dialogue but in the end it doesn't matter.
The plot wanders and ideas are introduced and dropped and things are left totally unexplained - this is fine if you think that the author is just letting you figure it out for themselves but I honestly believe that in this case he/they didn't actually know what it all meant.
The concept of having Tobe Hooper writing a book with himself as Tobe Hooper as the main protagonist and the theme being about a movie which can turn people into lunatics has the potential for lots of interesting meta-play but in the end the book was a total mess.
It's hard to say how much of it was Hooper and how much his (shhh, quiet about this!) co-writer but the whole thing came off as very amateerish and fanboy-ish. Instead of knowing digs or winks the Hooper character is universally adored as some sort of horror icon and whether that's the case or not it just comes off as indulgent. The book also has a very adolescent tone to it and that could be to a large extent because most of the main characters are immature and most of the book is dialogue but in the end it doesn't matter.
The plot wanders and ideas are introduced and dropped and things are left totally unexplained - this is fine if you think that the author is just letting you figure it out for themselves but I honestly believe that in this case he/they didn't actually know what it all meant.
April 2, 2021
While I had a lot of fun reading this book, I gave it a 3 because I didn’t like the way the women were written. From the mind of Tobe Hooper, who brought The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the big screen, this is just like a horror flick. The book follows Tobe Hooper as he attends the screening of a movie he made when he was sixteen years old and for some reason, he can’t remember what it was about. At the screening, strange things happen and it quickly becomes an epidemic. A zombie outbreak that makes people really horny and ooze blue spew from their genitals. Tobe is contacted by someone from the screening with the idea that his movie caused all the craziness, now called The Game. Tobe has to figure out a way to put a stop to the outbreak and save humanity before it is too late. It was highly entertaining.
‘I noticed the dudes in the ambulance were staying put; I hoped they were calling for backup, or maybe somebody who could do an exorcism, or maybe my pal Stephen King, because if anybody on earth could figure a way out of this mess, it'd be Uncle Stevie.’
‘I noticed the dudes in the ambulance were staying put; I hoped they were calling for backup, or maybe somebody who could do an exorcism, or maybe my pal Stephen King, because if anybody on earth could figure a way out of this mess, it'd be Uncle Stevie.’
July 23, 2020
A cute book, but sometimes a little cute when it comes to references and comedy over horror.
September 8, 2011
Horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper (he of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot, and Poltergeist fame) tries his hand at horror/zombie fiction here and, man, he does succeed. It was a a horror film, documentary style, on paper and I blasted through it. I loved it. It was so entertaining and so awesome to just read something that was thoroughly entertaining more than just good literature.
What's even more amazing here is that Tobe Hooper is a character in his own story, in fact the whole plot of this book is that an old film of his that he made as a teenager causes people to become zombies via the nastiest STD ever. He worked great here. It makes you wonder how much of the real Tobe Hooper is in the fictional one but the fact that it's the author really doesn't jar you at all and that's saying something.
It's essentially a horror film on paper so don't wander in expecting something nice. There is violence, sex, horror, swearing, all kinds of gruesome little details that we horror fans adore. If you're not a horror fan I'd stay far away. If you are a horror fan, or if you want to just try it out, just hop about the "Destiny Express" and enjoy the ride. It lulls a bit near the end but you won't be disappointed.
What's even more amazing here is that Tobe Hooper is a character in his own story, in fact the whole plot of this book is that an old film of his that he made as a teenager causes people to become zombies via the nastiest STD ever. He worked great here. It makes you wonder how much of the real Tobe Hooper is in the fictional one but the fact that it's the author really doesn't jar you at all and that's saying something.
It's essentially a horror film on paper so don't wander in expecting something nice. There is violence, sex, horror, swearing, all kinds of gruesome little details that we horror fans adore. If you're not a horror fan I'd stay far away. If you are a horror fan, or if you want to just try it out, just hop about the "Destiny Express" and enjoy the ride. It lulls a bit near the end but you won't be disappointed.
November 3, 2011
In MIDNIGHT MOVIE by Tobe Hooper, director of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, the author attends a midnight screening of a film he shot as a teenager and has since, due to an accident, forgotten. The screening creates an epidemic of madness that takes one of several horrible forms, including zombies. While I found the explanation for the epidemic to be weak, the story is wildly imaginative and intense, with a strong voice. I hope Hooper does more fiction, because I tore through this story in about a day. Recommended.
June 10, 2019
Just finished this one and still very much in that, "what the hell did I just read?" mindset. This one reads like a really gory exploitation slasher/zombie flick. Lots of gore, lots of crass talk, gross sex, and just plain nonsense. But at the same time it was well written, engaging, and I wanted to see how it all wrapped up. It felt a lot like I was reading one of The Ladt Drive-in movies with Joe Bob Brigs.
October 25, 2018
I thought this was going to be totally horrible, but I was pleasantly surprised. I actually had a hard time putting it down to go to work. It was totally entertaining!
July 10, 2025
I suspect Tobe’s cowriter carried the bulk of the work here for two reasons: One, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre styles Chainsaw as one word throughout the entire book; and two, it’s referred to as “one of the bloodiest films ever made,” when it very famously features almost no blood whatsoever.
It was a fun read, though.
It was a fun read, though.
October 27, 2017
Tobe Hooper, monsieur Massacre à la Tronçonneuse , se voit invité par un mec complètement bizarre à une convention où il serait à l'honneur... car son tout premier film inconnu de tous - même presque de lui - a été retrouvé et cet interlocuteur même pas foutu de prononcer son nom correctement souhaite le diffuser devant une assemblée de quelques fans privilégiés. Hooper accepte mais n'aurait pas dû : en plus d'être un navet, des choses très étranges commencent à se multiplier depuis cette fameuse soirée.
Trouvé parmi un tas d'exemplaires posés à même l'herbe d'un stand (pas forcément légal) de la braderie de Lille, je n'attendais vraiment pas grand chose de ce bouquin ; ça avait beau être du Michel Lafon, la couverture que je trouve tout sauf convaincante m'a laissée dubitative... jusqu'à ce que je commence à le lire.
Bon, les films d'horreur, c'est pas spécialement mon truc et je n'ai jamais vu Massacre... contrairement à Poltergeist dont j'ignorais jusqu'à hier le nom du réal. Tobe Hooper.
Dans Midnight Movie, Tobe Hooper se met lui-même en scène dans un scénario digne d'un excellent teen movie sauce ketchup. Et une chose est sûre : c'est totalement délirant !
Déjà par la mise en forme : le roman est écrit façon regroupement de témoignages des divers protagonistes, aussi bien via récits simples que mails, lettres manuscrites, articles de presse, Tweets... Ce qui ajoute une excellente dynamique à la lecture. Mais les délires sont majoritairement apportés par les personnages, assez timbrés pour la plupart. Tobe Hooper, déjà, donne envie d'être pote avec lui. Certains échanges entre eux sont tout bonnement savoureux.
L'histoire pourrait en rappeler une autre (qui est citée) mais on n'est pas vraiment là pour l'originalité, plus pour déconnecter le cerveau (qui est pas mal dans le thème) et se fendre la poire pendant que d'autres se font fendre le crâne.
Si vous aimez le style un peu WTF, les gros mots et l'ambiance cinoche, foncez sur ce court roman !
Trouvé parmi un tas d'exemplaires posés à même l'herbe d'un stand (pas forcément légal) de la braderie de Lille, je n'attendais vraiment pas grand chose de ce bouquin ; ça avait beau être du Michel Lafon, la couverture que je trouve tout sauf convaincante m'a laissée dubitative... jusqu'à ce que je commence à le lire.
Bon, les films d'horreur, c'est pas spécialement mon truc et je n'ai jamais vu Massacre... contrairement à Poltergeist dont j'ignorais jusqu'à hier le nom du réal. Tobe Hooper.
Dans Midnight Movie, Tobe Hooper se met lui-même en scène dans un scénario digne d'un excellent teen movie sauce ketchup. Et une chose est sûre : c'est totalement délirant !
Déjà par la mise en forme : le roman est écrit façon regroupement de témoignages des divers protagonistes, aussi bien via récits simples que mails, lettres manuscrites, articles de presse, Tweets... Ce qui ajoute une excellente dynamique à la lecture. Mais les délires sont majoritairement apportés par les personnages, assez timbrés pour la plupart. Tobe Hooper, déjà, donne envie d'être pote avec lui. Certains échanges entre eux sont tout bonnement savoureux.
L'histoire pourrait en rappeler une autre (qui est citée) mais on n'est pas vraiment là pour l'originalité, plus pour déconnecter le cerveau (qui est pas mal dans le thème) et se fendre la poire pendant que d'autres se font fendre le crâne.
Si vous aimez le style un peu WTF, les gros mots et l'ambiance cinoche, foncez sur ce court roman !
May 22, 2019
A classic example of a book that was only published because the author is a celebrity. I did, after all, buy this at one of those 'big book emporium' kind of places where they flog piles of things that didn't sell well. I didn't expect this to be great, but I do love Tobe Hooper's early work so I thought it might be worth a try.
This is readable, but it's such a mess. It was up and down the whole way through, just when I thought it was picking up, it would crash again. The story is incomprehensible and leaves loose ends all over the place. Very significant events happen 'off camera' as in, they are just popped in later 'Oh by the way [insert very important character] died'. Mr Hooper should know better than anyone that you don't do anything important behind the scenes in a film, so why would you do that in a book?
What I really didn't like about this though was the overt sexism. Every girl in this book is 'smoking hot' - his words. Lots of 'big tits' and that sort of crass, dismissive nonsense. And although Mr Hooper thinks he is creating strong female characters, the female lead, who is one of the more interesting characters in the book, is taken out of action half way though and then just disappears until the end where she comes back for a brief, pointless cameo. Another female character, literally copulates herself to death in great detail (yes really - the only character to do so). The other female characters are described as 'stuck up' and 'bitchy'. All those tired old tropes.
Anyway, I could go on. It's easy to pull apart a book like this. It is not all bad, I love an epistolary novel, which this essentially is, and the early part of the book made up of emails, blog posts, Twitter feeds etc. is quite entertaining (in parts). It can also be very funny in places. There is satire here, but it's not well done. Not the worst book I have read, but by the end I was just skimming to finish it. Tobe Hooper was great director, not such a hot writer.
This is readable, but it's such a mess. It was up and down the whole way through, just when I thought it was picking up, it would crash again. The story is incomprehensible and leaves loose ends all over the place. Very significant events happen 'off camera' as in, they are just popped in later 'Oh by the way [insert very important character] died'. Mr Hooper should know better than anyone that you don't do anything important behind the scenes in a film, so why would you do that in a book?
What I really didn't like about this though was the overt sexism. Every girl in this book is 'smoking hot' - his words. Lots of 'big tits' and that sort of crass, dismissive nonsense. And although Mr Hooper thinks he is creating strong female characters, the female lead, who is one of the more interesting characters in the book, is taken out of action half way though and then just disappears until the end where she comes back for a brief, pointless cameo. Another female character, literally copulates herself to death in great detail (yes really - the only character to do so). The other female characters are described as 'stuck up' and 'bitchy'. All those tired old tropes.
Anyway, I could go on. It's easy to pull apart a book like this. It is not all bad, I love an epistolary novel, which this essentially is, and the early part of the book made up of emails, blog posts, Twitter feeds etc. is quite entertaining (in parts). It can also be very funny in places. There is satire here, but it's not well done. Not the worst book I have read, but by the end I was just skimming to finish it. Tobe Hooper was great director, not such a hot writer.
August 15, 2011
A very interesting literary debut by the famous (infamous?) director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's actually surprisingly up to date, and uses social media such as emails and twitter to carry the story through multiple viewpoints.
What's going on is Tobe Hooper made a movie when he was sixteen, only he can't remember what the hell it was. A stranger calls Tobe up, and asks him to come on over for a screening of the only remaining footage of that movie. Strange things happen during the screening, and even stranger things happen afterwards. It quickly becomes an epidemic and before long someone from the screening contacts Tobe with the possibility that his movie caused the insanity now called the Game.
It's easy to read, and is pretty damn gory which is the least we should expect from this filmmaker. Although I feel the exact origins of the Game has not been explained satisfactorily, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. In what passes for the afterword, Tobe hints he has another project in the works. Looking forward to it!
What's going on is Tobe Hooper made a movie when he was sixteen, only he can't remember what the hell it was. A stranger calls Tobe up, and asks him to come on over for a screening of the only remaining footage of that movie. Strange things happen during the screening, and even stranger things happen afterwards. It quickly becomes an epidemic and before long someone from the screening contacts Tobe with the possibility that his movie caused the insanity now called the Game.
It's easy to read, and is pretty damn gory which is the least we should expect from this filmmaker. Although I feel the exact origins of the Game has not been explained satisfactorily, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. In what passes for the afterword, Tobe hints he has another project in the works. Looking forward to it!
September 1, 2011
This is the most entertaining book that I have read in a long time. The story reminds me a bit of the movie "Demons," which is about a group of movie goers who get turned into demons when one of the patrons gets scratched by a prop from the movie. In "Midnight Movie," Tobe Hooper, the writer/ director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," receives a call about showing his newly rediscovered first movie, "Destiny Express," at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin. During the movie the audience members begin to act strangely. The side effects of the movie become even more apparent after the movie is over. The audience has caught a disease that becomes known as "The Game."
The book is told from multiple point of views, newspaper clippings, twitter posts, journal entries, and police reports. I felt that the way the book is presented really helped to pull you into and move the story along. I never once felt bored while reading.
I would have given the book a five but I felt like the ending was weak and could have been better.
The book is told from multiple point of views, newspaper clippings, twitter posts, journal entries, and police reports. I felt that the way the book is presented really helped to pull you into and move the story along. I never once felt bored while reading.
I would have given the book a five but I felt like the ending was weak and could have been better.
January 8, 2014
Eh, it was alright. A film is shown, a rather old and amateur film, and a lot of people start experiencing weird things right after seeing it, eventually ending in their deaths. The book had some humor and it was written in a way that a person is talking one minute that goes on for few pages, and then it switches to another person's point of view, usually one that is interacting with the first person. It is also written through text messages, diary pages, and newspaper articles, which is kind of cool and unique in a way. I did not think the ending was satisfactory and the reason behind why such things were happening was not good either (it was mentioned but not thoroughly explained). Lot of violence, vulgar language, and sex (one character literally goes from a normal, shy person to a nymphomaniac who has a need and urge to have sex with everybody).
December 2, 2011
He should keep writing books...cannot wait to find out what the f'd up idea he has brewing turns out to be (see interview at end of book).
Using multiple narrators worked great here, as did switching up the writing style with tweets, letters, journals.
I love the whole idea of the cursed film and this book is one of the better explorations of it. For me, it's right up there with Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns."
How creeped out would I get by a film version? (Pretty sure no one would "let" him make it.)
Using multiple narrators worked great here, as did switching up the writing style with tweets, letters, journals.
I love the whole idea of the cursed film and this book is one of the better explorations of it. For me, it's right up there with Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns."
How creeped out would I get by a film version? (Pretty sure no one would "let" him make it.)
August 15, 2011
Done in a documentary style using interviews, blog articles, twitter feed and newspaper articles, this first novel by the director of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is all that you would imagine. A movie created by the adolescent Tobe is unearthed but more than a novelty, viewing spawns a horrific disease that manifests as sexual obsessions, violence, madness and zombies. You might not think so, given the the subject matter, but it really was a fun little book.
August 29, 2011
This novel, written in a "documentary" format is not scary as much as funny, in the same way as Evil Dead 2. Fast paced, well written, firmly tongue-in-cheek, this novel made me laugh as much as get grossed out. It definitely does not take itself seriously but revels in the idea of a film causing a zombie-like STD to spread through the United States. Definitely fun but not for the squeamish.
February 28, 2012
I have to admit that the only reason I picked this book off the shelf is that I'm a huge Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan....but it was actually a really good and entertaining book in its own right. If you liked Feed by Mira Grant you will definitely love Midnight Movie. One warning,though; I wouldn't read it on a full stomach.
August 14, 2012
Don't expect too much from this beautifully designed artful 'movie' book and you'll be wildly entertained! It's schlocky, shallow on details and unashamedly B-movie but it's one wild ride! As a story, it's probably a one star, but the execution and presentation is so confident, it hardly matters. A VERY guilty pleasure!
April 10, 2013
LOL ... Literally :)
November 8, 2014
This was nuts. In such a fun way, though. What a trip. Quick, gross, imaginative, insane, very fun read.
December 10, 2017
This was awful.
I didn't like any of the characters. There was an especially obnoxious person who was a complete turn off.
This book must have been written for 15 year old boys.
I didn't like any of the characters. There was an especially obnoxious person who was a complete turn off.
This book must have been written for 15 year old boys.
November 13, 2017
This was everything I expected from a horror novel written by Tobe Hooper.
I'll admit, I was a little worried at first, when Tobe showed up as a character. He gets a phone call from a weirdo named Dude McGee, who has a copy of Tobe's very first film, a zombie movie Tobe barely remembers making. He wants to screen it at the SXSW film festival. He calls in Gary Church, Tobe's longtime friend who starred in the film. Together they all meet up at the diviest bar in Austin, Texas. After the film wraps up, and Tobe gets the hell out of there, is when the story really picks up.
Told through interviews, newspaper clippings, blog posts, and Twitter exchanges, the story follows the core group of viewers who attended the screening. And what follows is utter batshit crazy nonsense that is immensely fun to read. An STD that involves blue discharge. A sleeping disorder that causes the sleeper to disappear. People who rip off their own limbs and use them as weapons. At the heart of this rash of zombie-like violence is Tobe Hooper's film, which is even more terrible than any of his other films.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a fan of zombie or horror movies who hasn't heard of Tobe Hooper. As a reader I expected to both laugh and be grossed out - I was not disappointed. This was a lot of fun to read - I had no idea where Tobe was going to go, and I could tell he wasn't afraid to go anywhere, which made it completely unpredictable.
I'll admit, I was a little worried at first, when Tobe showed up as a character. He gets a phone call from a weirdo named Dude McGee, who has a copy of Tobe's very first film, a zombie movie Tobe barely remembers making. He wants to screen it at the SXSW film festival. He calls in Gary Church, Tobe's longtime friend who starred in the film. Together they all meet up at the diviest bar in Austin, Texas. After the film wraps up, and Tobe gets the hell out of there, is when the story really picks up.
Told through interviews, newspaper clippings, blog posts, and Twitter exchanges, the story follows the core group of viewers who attended the screening. And what follows is utter batshit crazy nonsense that is immensely fun to read. An STD that involves blue discharge. A sleeping disorder that causes the sleeper to disappear. People who rip off their own limbs and use them as weapons. At the heart of this rash of zombie-like violence is Tobe Hooper's film, which is even more terrible than any of his other films.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a fan of zombie or horror movies who hasn't heard of Tobe Hooper. As a reader I expected to both laugh and be grossed out - I was not disappointed. This was a lot of fun to read - I had no idea where Tobe was going to go, and I could tell he wasn't afraid to go anywhere, which made it completely unpredictable.
November 12, 2018
Tobe Hooper made one of the most important horror movies, and some other ones. With midnight movie, he cowrites a metanovel that is more in line with Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 than the original. While there is nothing wrong with that, the sequel is a great wild ride of a dark comedy, it doesn’t quite work as a novel. I think creating his documentary style filmmaking through a collection of interviews, online posts, etc works well. But how he creates horror on the page doesn’t really work. Nor does his overly juvenile stoner comedy. It’s too jumbled and ineffective to be worth recommend.
October 30, 2025
I love Tobe Hooper movies - Salem's Lot (1979) has been a lifelong favorite. This zombie book had a lot of promise - a long lost movie starts the spread of infection that turns people into barely human zombies oozing blue. Equal parts Necronomicon powers from Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Salem's Lot, the narrative style was fun but falls flat.
June 7, 2018
Kind of a mess.
November 22, 2018
Dug this book a lot. Had a cool found footage style to the writing and felt a lot like a Tobe Hooper (R.I.P.) story. Felt pretty sleazy and trashy in a good cult movie kind of way.
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