Horror Show

by Greg Kihn

Hollywood, 1996. When Monster Magazine reporter Clint Stockbern sets out to interview the legendary '50s horror movie director Landis Woodley, he uncovers a bizarre story of real-life horror.

Flashback to Hollywood, 1957. Woodley is shooting his latest zombie movie, Cadaver, in a real morgue when he has a brainstorm that will help him pinch some pennies. But when zombie make-up effects are replaced by real corpses, a deadly curse begins to take its toll on those foolish enough to become involved with the filming of the soon-to-be cult classic, Cadaver.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Halloween, Adult, Novels

274 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Rock radio DJ, rock musician, songwriter, screenwriter, and novelist. Kihn is known as the pioneer of the rock thriller genre.

Kihn’s first novel, Horror Show, was a nominee for the 1997 Bram Stoker Award. Big Rock Beat is the sequel, and Mojo Hand is the sequel to Big Rock Beat.

In the early 1980’s The Greg Kihn Band had a top 20 Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)” and a top 10 Billboard hit “Jeopardy”. The music video for “Jeopardy” was a MTV favorite and showed his fascination with rock n’ roll and zany horror.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

*R.I.P. - Greg Kihn - July 10, 1949 - August 13, 2024

"They paid to see the magic. They want to believe, Buzzy, they want to dream. And that's what we sell 'em . . . we sell 'em nightmares."

What do you get when you combine a schlocky-horror film director, who's so desperate for a hit he uses real cadavers in his latest flick, with a Satanist who's determined to conjure The Big Guy himself? Pure, unadulterated fun, with a little bit of creepiness, my friends; that's what you get.

Our story opens with a life-long horror fan living out his teen-boy fantasy - getting to interview legendary horror filmmaker Landis Woodley for Monster Magazine. As Woodley tells his sad tale, we flash back to the late fifties, and the terrifying goings-on that changed so many lives. The fun and mayhem begins, and really never lets up.

Yes, the author is indeed that Greg Kihn of Jeopardy and The Breakup Song fame, and if you think he doesn't know anything about horror, take another look at the Jeopardy video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJNw....
(I'm glad I only invited 35 zombies to my wedding!)

The horror in this book is fairly mild, as is the sex and violins violence. It reminds me of nothing so much as one of those old b&w movies to which it pays tribute. I wouldn't be surprised to see it filmed, and featured on this guy's show.



Unless Elvira's still doing her thing. Then it should definitely be hosted by her.

Is the book really worth five stars? No, probably not, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I don't recall ever reading anything that brought back such great memories of Saturday nights in front of the TV when I ate up those campy old monster movies.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This was such a fun horror novel for horror movie buffs. There were so many wonderfully quoteable lines.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. The audiobook was very entertaining and easy to get invested in. Liked the creepiness and found the movie plot interesting. Havnt seen much older movies, nor know much of the history of horror movies but still thought it was a good story.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow… this is one of those rare books that I have a list of complaints that I could make, but simply enjoyed it so much that I don’t care.

Let me start off by getting this out of the way. The writing is adequate, but not great. The plot is uneven and some of the supernatural aspects seem tacked on. Also, the conclusion is a bit of a mess that left me with way more questions (and I don’t think that was the intention). Alright, now with all of those complaints, some of them fairly substantial, I should probably give this three stars max.

Hell no.

This is one of the most solidly entertaining horror novels I’ve read in some time… and as strange as this sounds, I actually would have probably liked the book more had all supernatural/actual horror moments been taken out.

The book follows a film crew in 1957 trying to make a film called “Cadaver.” It’s a gimmicky horror movie, directed by a man who is an obvious combination of Ed Wood and William Castle (don’t know who they are? This is probably not the book for you…) . A good portion of the novel follows the trials of filming the movie, dealing with two stars (one of whom is essentially a later years drug addicted Bela Lugosi and the other is your standard young star who can’t act, but has perfect hair) and a special effects guy who has a tendency to get drunk and play some truly horrendous practical jokes. These sections are an absolute blast. Hell, I will go so far as to say this book could have been written specifically for me. It plays into my love of 50s cinema, and I truly love books and movies about making films (Burton’s Ed Wood is one of my top 10 favorite films). Reading about this film crew making their B-pictures… as far as I’m concerned, that could have been over 1000 pages and I wouldn’t have gotten bored.

Now the whole demon possession and curse bit… eh, been there done that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but I’ve seen these elements done better in plenty of books. The story really shines when Kihn ignores it and just focuses on the filmmaking.

I really enjoyed this book, and am giving it a solid 4 stars, but with the note that unless you’re a big fan of 50s horror cinema and know who the classic stars of the genre are, it will probably not hold up as well for you as it did for me.

Fun note: the author Greg Kihn is the same Greg Kihn of the Greg Kihn Band (Why yes I am trying to see how many times I can get away with writing Greg Kihn in a sentence… how did you know?). The urge to start this review saying “They don’t write ‘em like that anymore” was so strong. I managed to resist it just barely, but am still making a note of it here so you all know my sacrifice.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun (yet kinda gross rather than scary) read. I knew Mr. Kihn, who I am a true fan of, wrote a few novels, and when I came across this paperback in a discount bin, I was interested in what sort of book he would write. Horror is not my usual go to - I like supernatural a la Stephan King and Koontz just fine but that’s about as far as I have gone with that.

This, however, read like a self published novel to be quite honest, meaning, with some editing and pro advice, it would have had obvious kinks ironed out of it. There were bits I really liked - a fifties Ed Wood type movie setting and such - but I found some issues with clunky phrases and overall plotting and such issues - surprised this was a Bram Stroker nominee - however, the story did have a certain charm to it and am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Enjoyable Celebration of Exploitation Cinema

Greg Kihn's musical output features many familiar elements of new wave, disco, and classic rock, and his hits are the kinds of tunes that get stuck in your head for weeks. Not so much with this, his first horror novel.

"Horror Show" is a very loving tribute to the early days of 50s and 60s exploitation cinema, with obvious references to Ed Wood and his work, as well as to that director's relationship with Bela Lugosi, here represented by the fictional heroin-addicted fallen star Jonathan Luboff. I love the subject matter, and I enjoyed Mr. Kihn's portrayal of a determined group of misfits with great passion for film and the macabre trying to make a splash despite their meager budgets and lack of Hollywood social cred. Everyone in this little film crew is loaded with talent, but burdened by mental illness, addiction, or some other idiosyncrasies that prejudices 50s society against them. The group is very loyal to each other despite being constantly on each other's nerves, and their inner genius emerges with each picture they make as they constantly push the envelope despite dwindling resources.

This in itself would have made for a great novel in itself, but then a side plot about a snake demon gets thrown in, which does little to advance the plot, and is almost forgotten by the end of the book. Characters are introduced as pivotal, but turn out to be undeveloped or unimportant to the overall story. The pacing is a bit off as well. Though I was never bored, 80 percent of the novel is just humorous banter between the main characters, and so the darker elements, when they appear, seem to come out of nowhere. The last 10 pages contain the classic horror denouement, but there is so much lighthearted foolishness beforehand that there is no crescendo of tension and the conclusion feels rushed.

Therefore, the whole novel feels somewhat lopsided. And I can't say that it was scary in the slightest. So unlike some of Mr. Kihn's pop songs, there is nothing here that will stick with you.

But despite all this, I really enjoyed the experience. Just like the Z-grade movies the novel celebrates, you can pick this story apart all you want, but in the end, you can't help but admit that it was a fun little ride for those restless late nights.

[clumsyplankton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this

[Bryce Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been so much better. Story starts off well, with interesting points about the way film present sweeps film past under the rug and an intriguing plot about the origins of a cursed film. Unfortunately these only show up in the framing device, once that's done so is most of the fun.

Once we go back to the past we also lose a lot of the fun and the book becomes a game of "Match the skeleton to the closet to the thinly veiled fictional character" which really isn't that hard for anyone with more then a passing interest in classic horror, or anyone whose seen Ed Wood for that matter. The revelations aren't at really all that exciting and the whole thing has a feeling of been there done that.

A great book remains to be written about this era, it's just not this one.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun than a barrel full of fish shooting monkees in straight-jackets with Stratocasters. Crazy, man.

[Kennedy Farnsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about old Hollywood low budget films that have people who get involved in satanic worship. I was actually pretty down with the plot of this one even tho the writing felt mediocre. Was considering this as a 4 but the ending really pissed me off

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun mix of creepiness and engaging characters. Very well-written.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soo there was so much potential and I was so excited for this... it was a letdown.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent homage to Ed Wood and the B-movies of the 1950s.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 1997, while in the Army stationed at FLW. I was 20, bored, and naive in terms of horror; I'd read IT when I was 12, so all my horror opinions were formed around the works of Stephen King. This book hit different, though. Something about it stuck with me, to the point where I'd forgotten exactly which book some of the scenes came from. The characters are so well-developed (we're not gonna talk about the problematic depiction of Neil), the scenes were visceral, and upon rereading, I can see why it stuck with me. This book makes me want to watch all the midcentury B-movies. ❤️

[Richard Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was nominated for the Bram Stoker Best First Novel award. I am dumbfounded. It contains some of the clunkiest writing I've encountered and makes me glad I only paid 99p for it. Though the essential plot is quite fun, the writing is just abysmal. The dialogue is hokey and non sequiturs abound. Whatever tension is created is destroyed by a casual observation that adds nothing to the story. The second * is just for the fun of recognising real people thinly disguised as characters in the book .

[Thee_ron_clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a number of years back while I was in the military. A driver of mine gave it to me due to my love of a Clockwork Orange and the book's title connection to that film and book.

This story has a number of twists and turns throughout. It mainly revolves around a film gone wrong, an ancient evil, a body, and a yearly sacrifice. Perhaps it doesn't fall into that particular order.

I felt the book had a number of interesting plot twists and I definitely enjoyed the dark ending.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plan 10 From Outer Space. Found this at the library and checked it out on a whim. Stephen King, Greg is not but I had fun with the book. Sure there are some plot holes big enough to drive a truck through but as a fan of B- horror flicks and schlock tv horror shows it was easy to overlook the flaws in favor of the fun.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too cliched for my tastes. Additionally, when I pay for an eBook, I expect to get a document that's relatively free of typos. The poor copy editing of this book didn't affect the plot, but definitely negatively impacted my enjoyment.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun. It set out to be a fun page turner with serious nods to the wild west 50s film making and that's exactly what it achieved. The ending wasn't perfection, but frankly I can't see how else it would have ended. It was a fun read.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It was interesting and campy.

[Mandyhello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so about to give this 5 stars.. and then the ending was so abrupt that I thought pages fell out and I spent $8 to buy the Kindle edition to make sure.. That was the real ending..

[Andrew Rules · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pandering and uninteresting fan-service written like a bad YA novel. Snooze.

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although many horror fans have fond memories of Ed Wood and his brethren of the 1950's who cranked out one cheesy fright flick after another, one thing you could count on was that their movies simply weren't very scary. Greg Kihn remedies that shortcoming by adding some seriously dangerous demonic forces to the usual B-movie shlock in his highly clever and genuinely spooky novel, Horror Show, a book that's equal parts loving homage and genuine horror.

The main character in Horror Show is Landis Woodley, a fictionalized Ed Wood with more talent and business sense but a considerably harder edge. Along with his special effects guru, Buzzy Haller, he has been able to make surprisingly profitable and popular horror films on virtually no money, thanks to some creative financing, but that’s about to dry up if his current film isn’t a success. The bulk of Horror Show takes place in 1957, as Woodley and Haller try to finish their latest work. Among all the ersatz horror of Woodley’s films, some genuine supernatural forces wind up getting involved in the latest production, thanks to a satanic ritual gone awry that unleashes a powerful demon.

Author Greg Kihn is a veteran rock musician, and he is clearly in touch with the Hollywood scene. His description of the workings of film production, even at the lowest level, as was practiced by Woodley, is quite detailed, and readers will be able to see for themselves how shlock like Ed Wood’s films came together. In addition, Kihn populates his story with thinly fictionalized versions of Wood regulars like Bela Lugosi and Vampira, and even Wood’s crossdressing makes an appearance in the person of Woodley’s favorite screenwriter. Kihn doesn’t turn his portrayals into jokes; instead, the characters have well-rounded personalities.

While Horror Show is quite effective as an homage, it’s also a very good horror novel. Obviously, the supernatural aspects of the movie require a considerable suspension of disbelief, but when the demon comes out, there are three or four very effective set pieces, and author Kihn manages to tie his two separate storylines together quite effectively. In addition to the supernatural terrors, readers also get to experience some extremely grisly goings on when Woodley and Haller decide to shoot scenes of their latest film, Cadaver, in the Los Angeles City Morgue, with some of the residents as props.

While most of Horror Show takes place in 1957, Kihn bookends his story with an introduction and conclusion set in 1996 (when the book was written). In these sections, a young reporter for a Famous Monsters type magazine tries to interview the elderly and reclusive Woodley, only to get an invitation to return, in the book’s final segment, to see something really scary. Unlike some novels of this sort, the framing device isn’t a mere gimmick but manages to wrap up the novel quite cleverly.

Horror Show is, first and foremost, a book that fans of the 50’s-era horror films will love, with a chance to see some of their “icons” come to life in ways both very realistic and totally bizarre. And it’s also a very creepy horror novel, one that doles out its frights selectively and quite effectively. The melding of shlock moviemaking and the supernatural into one work here is quite original and easily one of the best horror novels I’ve read in quite a while. Unlike the B-movies portrayed in Horror Show, this novel is grade A, all the way.

[Danielle Klassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I should have a shelf in my collection for books wherein I got overzealous and was ready to five star them at the beginning and found myself losing stars along the way. And yet I still end up giving them a nod towards reading them anyway. This book fits in that category for certain!
For one: Kihn (whose name you might be familiar with if you are a music fan) is a good writer and the characters he draws up are interesting and all fairly complex, even if they aren't likeable. I give props for that because this is far from a boring book and with a cast this large, it would be in the hands of a much less interesting or skilled writer. Also, this man knows his stuff when it comes to horror, particularly that iconic decade that gave us so much in the way of creature features - The 50s. The setting is absolutely perfect and worth reading for that alone. If you are a fan of those days, please do yourself a favor and read it for the nostalgia buzz alone because this will hit all those happy buttons.
And now we have to go into why I gave it only three stars with all that heaping praise. I stand by the fact that I think this was a great idea and I loved the nod towards the icons of the genre being represented here. What I have more difficulty with is that they are mostly, if not completely, unlikeable in a way that is difficult to get past. This is not always a deal breaker for me, especially given that some of my absolute favorite characters of all time are complete bastards and I love them all the more for it. What I do have a harder time with is that Kihn doesn't always give them much to balance the acidity or the cruelty of their characters. He does showcase that they can be more than just a one trick pony sometimes and I think that sometimes this is meant to be more funny than horrifying but it was harder to tell. I think if he showed the more human sides of these characters more, it would have been easier to swallow and would have given more punch when they were assholes. It's entirely possible that this was a kind of statement on Hollywood and the lack of humanity in its greed and the climb to get ahead and while that certainly comes across, it's still not always enjoyable to read.
And the other star that found its way to the floor was on account of that tonal issue that came from the characters. I think this book was aiming to be funny sometimes but without the foil to make up for the more callous behavior, it sometimes just felt more awkward. There are times when it shines through and I really enjoyed that part of the book. There's one part where a character is trying to persuade another one to do something by promising to do something nice for him and upon getting what he wants, immediately forgets about it as this guy moves on to make other parts of his plan happen. It's an asshole move but it's still funny because he's not trying to be an asshole so much as it's what he does and little moments like this are actually a lot of fun to read about. Its when characters end up doing things that feel a little too far in the trying camp that I found I was no longer on board and having far less fun than I wanted to be.
Still! Long review is long and all to tell you that this book has some minor tonal issues, some parts that I didn't care for and some characters that I wasn't on board for but it is a nostalgia bomb and a fitting tribute to the horror of yesteryear. If you love 1950s horror and a look at the sleezy underside of Hollywood glamour, give it a read anyway.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a flop, to be honest. It starts in the then modern day, with a horror fanboy interviewing the reclusive Landis Woodley (think Ed Wood). It's your basic It setup, starting off long after the horror began and then flashing back (in this case to the fifties) to go into its first appearance. But looking back at the opening after reading the whole book, and seeing that the story is mostly this fifties flashback, it comes off vague and indistinct, not setting up a question or cliffhanger in any real way.

Structurally, this thing is just misshapen. There's a prologue to the prologue about an old man and a boy encountering a monster, which it turns out the framing device is leading up to... and then the flashback is leading up to that... it's all kinda a mess.

Anyway, we flashback to the fifties, where Landis Woodley and his collection of miscreants are the dregs of the Hollywood studio system, making money by being cheaper and more shocking than the big leagues can manage. Like I said, this is the meat of the book and it keeps seeming like it's going to kick into high gear, but frustratingly never gets there, staying a roman a clef about Ed Wood and Bela Legosi and so on. There's a convoluted plot involving Satanists, tuning forks, a coroner's office, an Elvira wannabe, and so on. We keep getting built up to scenes that seem like they're where the story is really going to go crazy--summoning the Devil on film, filming a movie with dead bodies in a morgue--but the action never seems to climax, just staying at a low ebb throughout. The payoff to the whole flashback is just showing a rotting body to a bunch of people. That'd be fine if this were a historical fiction, but when the stakes are established as the Devil Himself possessing people, you can see how one little corpse is a letdown.

Now we go back to the present and the realization that all that flashback business was table-setting, even if it was most of the story. Now that the book is nearly over, there's not much time for conflict or anything. It turns out that there's an evil bumping off all the characters who were involved in the flashback. Most of them died during the time-skip. It is too little, too late. All the real scary stuff happened between chapters. This is the whole thrust of the narrative and it's not introduced until Chapter 26. It can't help but be disappointing. There's an unsatisfying ending that doesn't offer any closure and does some more last-minute table-setting about where the story's MacGuffins have gotten to and how they're dealt with.

Basically, only of interest if you really want to luxuriate in this send-up of Ed Wood and his colleagues, because there's no real scares to be had. I think the author would've been better off ditching the horror genre altogether and just making a story about the assorted weirdos of the fifties B-movie scene.

[Mike Crooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars with a caution…

I have always liked horror. I grew up watching old horror and science fiction movies at “Creature Features” on Saturday morning matinee shows and Friday and Saturday night’s “Shock Theater “. I saw many of the movies of that time that ranged from interesting (but ridiculous) to pretty good horror and science fiction. Occasionally there would be a real gem but mostly it was just great being able to stay up late and getting creeped out. The fear of the unknown was truly scary and terrifying but the inevitability the movie’s interpretation of the monster/supernatural being/alien, etc. was never quite up to the imagination. Show hosts like Vampira and Svengoolie weren’t around yet and usually the movies they showed couldn’t standup to the “classic” B movies that I grew up with.

“Horror Show” starts out like a classic B movie horror tale and the good creepy vibes returned that keeps you anxious and excited to keep reading. BUT, it then replaces or substitutes gross for creepy. Sometime in the late sixties or early seventies the trend changed from true horror to trying to really gross people out and the more grossness the better. “HORROR SHOW” follows that trend. The beginning of the story is promising with a good set up but then replaces horror with grossness. I know some would say that this grossness is horror but to me it is just disgusting. The plot then jumps in time and recovers the original creepiness that it promises in the beginning and finishes well. Overall “HORROR SHOW” is worth the read but know that it doesn’t quite hold up throughout.

[Ben Bumpus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Nineteen fifty-seven came to a close. The papers were full of Sputnik and the Dodgers were coming to town. Rock and roll had taken over the radio, and juvenile delinquents had taken over the high schools. All over America, teenagers flocked to the drive-ins and became enamored with monsters. Aliens, vampires, creatures from lagoons, dinosaurs, giant bugs, mummies, mad scientists, and their hideous creations dominated the outdoor screens. The exploitation movie business boomed. Sales of cosmetics, blue jeans, motorcycles, guitars, leather jackets, and chewing gum skyrocketed. Cadaver became a hit at the drive-ins; but, because Landis had oversold all the available shares in advance, most of the profits were gobbled up by the investors. Although he would never get the respect and recognition he longed for from his Hollywood colleagues, he did make a splash with the kids and became, for a short while, the king of the B-movies. Then America changed, leaving Landis Woodley behind."

4 stars out of 5. Throwback to the "creature feauture" movies from Hollywood in the 50's. So much fun to read and experience. Some have had issues with the writing style, this is a rocker turned writer. Its a lot better than average.

[Gene Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

HiThis is actually my second go round with this book. I first read it back in 1997 and thought it pretty cool. I'm planning on reading the sequel, so I figured I'd refresh my memory. I remembered the beginning and the ending and a fair amount about some of the story, but I was happy to realize I'd forgotten whole swathes of the story. So I had a good time rediscovering those parts. I'd say in the intervening 24 years my appreciation for late 1950's schlock filmmaking has only deepened, so this book was quite the treat. The real horror element is quiet in the background until it shows up in a soul shattering manner. The freaks, frauds, hacks, and hucksters that make up the "cast" are all interesting. The book was almost insanely readable, clipping along like an Ed Wood shooting schedule. If you like cheesy 50's sci-fi and horror films, beatniks, TV horror hosts, the Ed Wood movie, you'll like this.

[SB Senpai Manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book that celebrates filmmaking in the 50’s! If you’re familiar with real life director Ed Wood and his terrible yet entertaining movies, then you’ll greatly appreciate this as the characters really are fictional parallels to Ed Wood’s life and associates. Now this is a clear horror book, but the horror is very slow building, but that’s okay because I was still interested in the plot and the characters. Even if it wasn’t a horror book, I would still love this due to the fact it gives you a glimpse on what filmmaking was back then if you had a small budget and only less than a week to film it. Showing that even though there are much better films out there, you kinda have to admire the B movies then and now for being able to pull this off under pressure. Great book if you love classic horror movies!

[Rebecca Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun idea. Also oddly believable. The cross section of Hollywood and Demonology seems plausible and with characters that are recognizable as being representative of being specific individuals in the business getting involved with something bigger than them it feels like calling out specific actors. Obviously this is fiction and not real life, more like a these are people that frequently FA, what would it look like if they FO when it came to messing with the dark things? It’s also campy enough to not feel preachy and 70’s culture makes the ways in which even the casual bystander in the book get themselves involved feel authentic as well. Nice ending. Just enough of a mix of I saw that coming and oh I didn’t see that coming to make it solid.

The whole thing also makes me a little uneasy about sound bathing 😉🤣.