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Project Vampire Killer
New Camlough Studios is making a horror movie about bloodsucking freaks, one harkening back to the Gothic horror classics of old. When a down-on-his-luck defense contractor accepts a position as the production's head of security, he discovers that the on-camera terrors are nothing compared to the real thing. Something blood-hungry haunts the forest... Something the producers may have known about from the start. What follows is a hallucinogenic descent into the fog-shrouded, blood-soaked, fang-punctured world of cinema-as-sorcery, archetypal horrors, and subliminal systems of control.
- GenresHorror
302 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2023
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Raab
31 books65 followersJonathan Raab is the author of The Secret Goatman Spookshow and Other Psychological Warfare Operations, The Crypt of Blood: A Halloween TV Special, Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI: The Official Novelization, and more. He is also the editor of several anthologies from Muzzleland Press including Behold the Undead of Dracula: Lurid Tales of Cinematic Gothic Horror and Terror in 16-bits. You can find him on Twitter at @jonathanraab1.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 6, 2023
It's a slow burn but once the teeth finally sink in, there's no turning back!
June 12, 2023
Another ripper by Raab! All you need to know about the book is in the description.
Especially recommended to be read alongside his Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI, The Crypt of Blood novella, and The Haunting of Camp Winter Falcon (and, really, just go ahead and pick up his collection "The Secret Goatman Spookshow" while you're at it).
A lot to like with this one. Lean and quick moving. I love how these books interact with video media: the novelization of an apocalyptic campground slasher, the description of a bonkers public access TV Halloween special, the filming of a Hammer-like gothic vampire thriller, and even though Winter Falcon doesn't have the same focus on media, I couldn't help picturing it as a '90s direct-to-video movie.
At this point, as prevalent as movies and TV are, I think it only makes sense that our written fiction also reflect on it, using it as a common language or frame of reference (and not in some obvious and crass bid for a movie adaptation). Seems similar to how skit shows have evolved from, say, Mr. Show or The Kids in the Hall to Key and Peele or Kroll Show.
I imagine if you're familiar with the influences Raab's noted on his Muzzleland Press blog (Hammer, Castlevania, etc.), you'll find a lot of Easter eggs in PVK. But as someone who isn't even a big fan of vampires, I didn't feel left out and actually enjoyed how he incorporated the myth into his brand of high strange cosmic horror.
Finally, though Raab notes this is something of a thematic conclusion for this period of his work, I certainly hope his future efforts are more an evolution of this theme than a complete abandonment. PVK certainly lends itself to further exploration.
Especially recommended to be read alongside his Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI, The Crypt of Blood novella, and The Haunting of Camp Winter Falcon (and, really, just go ahead and pick up his collection "The Secret Goatman Spookshow" while you're at it).
A lot to like with this one. Lean and quick moving. I love how these books interact with video media: the novelization of an apocalyptic campground slasher, the description of a bonkers public access TV Halloween special, the filming of a Hammer-like gothic vampire thriller, and even though Winter Falcon doesn't have the same focus on media, I couldn't help picturing it as a '90s direct-to-video movie.
At this point, as prevalent as movies and TV are, I think it only makes sense that our written fiction also reflect on it, using it as a common language or frame of reference (and not in some obvious and crass bid for a movie adaptation). Seems similar to how skit shows have evolved from, say, Mr. Show or The Kids in the Hall to Key and Peele or Kroll Show.
I imagine if you're familiar with the influences Raab's noted on his Muzzleland Press blog (Hammer, Castlevania, etc.), you'll find a lot of Easter eggs in PVK. But as someone who isn't even a big fan of vampires, I didn't feel left out and actually enjoyed how he incorporated the myth into his brand of high strange cosmic horror.
Finally, though Raab notes this is something of a thematic conclusion for this period of his work, I certainly hope his future efforts are more an evolution of this theme than a complete abandonment. PVK certainly lends itself to further exploration.
October 10, 2024
Jonathan Raab needs more credit for his contributions to modern horror canon. Boasting a backlist that’s both weird and fun, Raab’s work offers a window into a unique world. Part cosmic horror, part analog horror, all the excess and monsters of the Gothic and the technicolor of the best Terence Fisher and Lucio Fulci, I love reveling in Raab’s writing.
Project Vampire Killer, the latest Raab release, exemplifies some of his best strengths. Set largely on the set of a throwback vampire film set, Project Vampire Killer gives us a decent main character with incredible atmosphere, terrifying monsters, and a looming cosmic reality underneath our hollow capitalist hellscape.
Read the rest of the review here.
Project Vampire Killer, the latest Raab release, exemplifies some of his best strengths. Set largely on the set of a throwback vampire film set, Project Vampire Killer gives us a decent main character with incredible atmosphere, terrifying monsters, and a looming cosmic reality underneath our hollow capitalist hellscape.
Read the rest of the review here.
July 30, 2023
If you've come this far, it's already too late. Chamber a round, shoulder your rifle, count your wooden stakes and take your first steps into the haunted pines. Though they're not your first steps. We know this. You're reading reviews about vampire books, after all. You know what to expect. And Project Vampire Killer is expecting you. It's a tale that nods to the reader in mutual recognition. Here you'll find each other. You'll be partners.
This is sharply honed horror, scraped on a whetstone and polished on a worn leather strop. Project Vampire Killer knows what it is, and to what it owes it's existence. Honoring it's Gothic and classic horror fiction roots, from screen and page to console and even maybe some pen and paper gaming, this story delivers.
This is sharply honed horror, scraped on a whetstone and polished on a worn leather strop. Project Vampire Killer knows what it is, and to what it owes it's existence. Honoring it's Gothic and classic horror fiction roots, from screen and page to console and even maybe some pen and paper gaming, this story delivers.
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August 28, 2023Full Review: https://monsterbookclub.com/2023/08/2...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews