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After Sundown
The Butlers and the Pruetts were the best of friends, the warmest, most loving of neighbours. And when six-year-old Robin Pruett died—suddenly and tragically—the two families decided to get away from it all. To heal their souls in a quiet, isolated cabin high in the mountains. It seemed like a good idea. But...
How could they have known that a raging snowstorm would trap them in a living nightmare far more horrifying than death or grief? Why would they believe that silly, gruesome legend of madness and bloodshed that consumed four starving souls, a hundred years ago, on that Godforsaken mountain? And when would that terrible, endless hunger for revenge rise up and feed on the living once again?
After Sundown, it's time to scream for your life.
How could they have known that a raging snowstorm would trap them in a living nightmare far more horrifying than death or grief? Why would they believe that silly, gruesome legend of madness and bloodshed that consumed four starving souls, a hundred years ago, on that Godforsaken mountain? And when would that terrible, endless hunger for revenge rise up and feed on the living once again?
After Sundown, it's time to scream for your life.
- GenresHorror
Paperback
First published February 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 22, 2017
Here's the cover of the 1991 Corgi mass-market (336 pages). I recently came across a couple positive mentions of this in some old horror magazines. But I was already pretty much sold by the words "snowbound" and "terror" on the cover.
April 15, 2018
A few months ago, I was engaged in conversation with a fellow horror fan, about great horror films of the 90s. The movie, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight came up, as it's one of my favorites of the era.
I saw it theatrically when it came out. Twice, in fact. It was released the week of my 9th birthday, and I saw it twice that week. I was obsessed with it then and still consider it one of the best horror films of the 90s.
In my 9 year old obsession, I also picked up the novelization, which I still own today. I read and re-read the book, until I could own a copy of the VHS, years later.
Anyway, I grabbed the book in the conversation I was having to see who penned the novelization and found the author to be one Randall Boyll. In typical horror nerd fashion, I immediately took to Google for research on the guy and found much of his career had been spent writing novelizations, which I imagine was a more financially fruitful endeavor than original fiction. However, at the beginning of his bibliography lie three Horror originals. After Sundown is the first of those three.
Also in typical horror nerd fashion, I bought all three and promptly moved this one up in my to be read pile, gaining it "sooner than later" status. And now I close it's cover, here to recap all.
After Sundown is a pretty good book. Hell, it has moments where it's a fantastic book. I even think, had it been released a few years prior, it would have made a serious splash. Unfortunately, it was released in 1990, after the decline of the genre's big boom, so few took notice.
In 2018, I'd like to recommend that Horror readers undo that, take notice, and find themselves a copy because it really is a solid piece of genre work.
After Sundown tells the story of two neighboring families, smack-dab in the middle of suburbia, collectively mourning the loss of one of the family's young daughter, who has recently passed in a freak accident. To heal from their loss, they decide to take a bit of respite from suburbia and head into the snowy mountains of Utah.
They shack up at a cabin, which happens to be the site of a tragic massacre tied to polygamy, the founding of the Mormon religion and cannibalism. Of course, some pretty crazy shit ensues and we get to be entertained in gruesome ways.
At its best, the book presents a break, hopeless feeling, with the reader immersed in the hopelessness of our characters. There's some incredible atmosphere here, and some particularly nasty sequences. One standout has a demonic tree growing through one unlucky guys body, literally bursting out his skull, branches tearing through his nostrils.
The book does falter a bit in its familiar telling. In fact, I was very much reminded of the book The Dwelling, which I reviewed not long ago here. The whole ghosts-reenacting-as-vengeance bit has been a bit overdone. The ending also feels a bit rushed, but they often do in this era.
A qualm unrelated to the actual story...this has got to be some of the smallest font in my collection. I could have used a magnifying glass on this thing. We're talking microscopic.
In any event, I recommend this one, magnifying glass and all. It's a solid 4/5 for me. Give it a shot.
I fully plan on reading the rest of Boyll's non-novelization output. Hopefully, this, his debut, is an inclination towards the others being equally good.
originally posted on my blog at http://UndivineInterventions.blogspot...
I saw it theatrically when it came out. Twice, in fact. It was released the week of my 9th birthday, and I saw it twice that week. I was obsessed with it then and still consider it one of the best horror films of the 90s.
In my 9 year old obsession, I also picked up the novelization, which I still own today. I read and re-read the book, until I could own a copy of the VHS, years later.
Anyway, I grabbed the book in the conversation I was having to see who penned the novelization and found the author to be one Randall Boyll. In typical horror nerd fashion, I immediately took to Google for research on the guy and found much of his career had been spent writing novelizations, which I imagine was a more financially fruitful endeavor than original fiction. However, at the beginning of his bibliography lie three Horror originals. After Sundown is the first of those three.
Also in typical horror nerd fashion, I bought all three and promptly moved this one up in my to be read pile, gaining it "sooner than later" status. And now I close it's cover, here to recap all.
After Sundown is a pretty good book. Hell, it has moments where it's a fantastic book. I even think, had it been released a few years prior, it would have made a serious splash. Unfortunately, it was released in 1990, after the decline of the genre's big boom, so few took notice.
In 2018, I'd like to recommend that Horror readers undo that, take notice, and find themselves a copy because it really is a solid piece of genre work.
After Sundown tells the story of two neighboring families, smack-dab in the middle of suburbia, collectively mourning the loss of one of the family's young daughter, who has recently passed in a freak accident. To heal from their loss, they decide to take a bit of respite from suburbia and head into the snowy mountains of Utah.
They shack up at a cabin, which happens to be the site of a tragic massacre tied to polygamy, the founding of the Mormon religion and cannibalism. Of course, some pretty crazy shit ensues and we get to be entertained in gruesome ways.
At its best, the book presents a break, hopeless feeling, with the reader immersed in the hopelessness of our characters. There's some incredible atmosphere here, and some particularly nasty sequences. One standout has a demonic tree growing through one unlucky guys body, literally bursting out his skull, branches tearing through his nostrils.
The book does falter a bit in its familiar telling. In fact, I was very much reminded of the book The Dwelling, which I reviewed not long ago here. The whole ghosts-reenacting-as-vengeance bit has been a bit overdone. The ending also feels a bit rushed, but they often do in this era.
A qualm unrelated to the actual story...this has got to be some of the smallest font in my collection. I could have used a magnifying glass on this thing. We're talking microscopic.
In any event, I recommend this one, magnifying glass and all. It's a solid 4/5 for me. Give it a shot.
I fully plan on reading the rest of Boyll's non-novelization output. Hopefully, this, his debut, is an inclination towards the others being equally good.
originally posted on my blog at http://UndivineInterventions.blogspot...
February 28, 2022
The Butlers and Pruetts are neighbors and best friends, each with a child the same age. When six-year-old Robin Pruett dies in a horrible accident, nothing is ever the same. The couples decide they need to get away from it all, and opt on spending the weekend at a friend's cabin.
Upon arriving, Ricky Butler begins to cry and beg his dad to leave, stating "bad things happen here, Daddy. Bad things." But he is of course brushed off - after all, his parents know he hasn't been the same since Robin died, with all his nightmares, bed wetting and trance-like states lately.
Later that night, Glenn Pruett tells the other three adults a scary story about an abandoned cabin near them - their closest neighbors. A long time ago, a polygamist built that cabin for him, his two wives, and their son. One winter, the storms are so bad, he cannot make it into town for supplies. Eventually he gets out and finds his way into town, but he is completely frostbitten and gangrenous. One wife was found dead in their bed, the other had hung herself from the rafters - and the son was never found.
Glenn also tells his wife and friends, the owner of the cabin they're staying at rarely ever uses it, despite how much he paid for it, because he claims "things happen up here." Things he can't explain, like noises, screams, things moving on their own, etc.
There is a fierce storm outside, and when they wake up the next morning, they decide to just leave, since they are running low on food and they do not want to become trapped due to the weather. However, their truck is not running right, unable to pick up any real speed. Not to mention, no matter how many laps Glenn drives around the cabin, he cannot find the exit road, just simply and inexplicably solid woods.
It is very obvious something is going on up on this strange, isolated mountain top. Something does not want the families to leave. An old, evil force has been waiting a very long time for it's revenge.
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I really liked this one. I thought it was entertaining and unique. It was a little different than I expected and maybe a little long in some parts, but definitely good overall. Also, there were 2 subplots - the Pruett's brother/brother-in-law and two other old men living together up on the mountain. I absolutely loved the old mountain men's subplot. They were downright hilarious.
Upon arriving, Ricky Butler begins to cry and beg his dad to leave, stating "bad things happen here, Daddy. Bad things." But he is of course brushed off - after all, his parents know he hasn't been the same since Robin died, with all his nightmares, bed wetting and trance-like states lately.
Later that night, Glenn Pruett tells the other three adults a scary story about an abandoned cabin near them - their closest neighbors. A long time ago, a polygamist built that cabin for him, his two wives, and their son. One winter, the storms are so bad, he cannot make it into town for supplies. Eventually he gets out and finds his way into town, but he is completely frostbitten and gangrenous. One wife was found dead in their bed, the other had hung herself from the rafters - and the son was never found.
Glenn also tells his wife and friends, the owner of the cabin they're staying at rarely ever uses it, despite how much he paid for it, because he claims "things happen up here." Things he can't explain, like noises, screams, things moving on their own, etc.
There is a fierce storm outside, and when they wake up the next morning, they decide to just leave, since they are running low on food and they do not want to become trapped due to the weather. However, their truck is not running right, unable to pick up any real speed. Not to mention, no matter how many laps Glenn drives around the cabin, he cannot find the exit road, just simply and inexplicably solid woods.
It is very obvious something is going on up on this strange, isolated mountain top. Something does not want the families to leave. An old, evil force has been waiting a very long time for it's revenge.
-------------------------
I really liked this one. I thought it was entertaining and unique. It was a little different than I expected and maybe a little long in some parts, but definitely good overall. Also, there were 2 subplots - the Pruett's brother/brother-in-law and two other old men living together up on the mountain. I absolutely loved the old mountain men's subplot. They were downright hilarious.
January 7, 2026
A crazy mix of Evil Dead, the Shining, and a little bit of the movie 'Frostbiter.' Throw in a Cannibal survival story of early Mormons for good measure. Some awesome scenes and wild storytelling, I truly didn't know what to expect next as I read. This was a very odd book, a snowbound winter tale in the woods that tapes place in...April?
As far as the writing went, it was certainly clunky and awkward, not always fully fleshed out. The whole "spirits and reincarnation" thing with Eddie was sort of hokey and annoying, for example, and as much as I liked Allie and Jackson's characters, they didn't add anything whatsoever to the story as a whole. Despite this, and a few pages that had to be reread because it wasn't exactly clear what I had read, I really really enjoyed this. Highly recommend to anyone looking for something bizarre.
As far as the writing went, it was certainly clunky and awkward, not always fully fleshed out. The whole "spirits and reincarnation" thing with Eddie was sort of hokey and annoying, for example, and as much as I liked Allie and Jackson's characters, they didn't add anything whatsoever to the story as a whole. Despite this, and a few pages that had to be reread because it wasn't exactly clear what I had read, I really really enjoyed this. Highly recommend to anyone looking for something bizarre.
Read
December 5, 2021Just a relentless horror story, it actually creeped me out to the point where I stopped reading for the night. And very few books have done that for me with scariness alone. And the writer doesn't treat it like a brain measuring contest, and sounds like a charlatan (like stephen king sometimes does, in my opinion)
It's like a rollercoaster.
Lucky to have found it, if you happen to come across it, read it!
It's like a rollercoaster.
Lucky to have found it, if you happen to come across it, read it!
March 3, 2020
I read this last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is an intensely atmospheric story of two families who decide to get away for a weekend after a terrible tragedy and end up being held 'hostage' by vengeful spirits of the past. It isn't without it's flaws but overall it was highly entertaining. I recommend you read this in the thick of winter preferably on a dark stormy night.
December 28, 2019
3.6 stars!
Blinding snow, isolated mountain. Dread. No holds barred horror.
The book was well worth the candle.
Blinding snow, isolated mountain. Dread. No holds barred horror.
The book was well worth the candle.
April 15, 2025
Terrific snowbound horror, taking few prisoners with an excellent set of characters and a slowly escalating sense of dread. Somehow manages to contrive its plot-lines together by the end, with the exception of the two squabbling geezers on the mountaintop, whose story—as wildly readable as it is—remains utterly irrelevant to the main plot.
Nobody seems to have noticed that the two arms rising out of the ground on the front cover are both right-handed.
Nobody seems to have noticed that the two arms rising out of the ground on the front cover are both right-handed.
June 29, 2020
I love snowy horror, and I think that's why I honestly enjoyed After Sundown, even if other aspects of the book failed me. The book really could have used tighter editing, as there were storylines and characters that were really unnecessary. Also, there's a dog death in here, and I had to skip over pretty much all parts related to the dog as it was much too sad for me. I really can't stand animal death or cruelty.
Boyll's book did have some good creepy parts, but they're often counterbalanced by unnecessary gross parts (a page and a half dedicated to one character taking a shit and wondering about his bowell health for instance) and meandering dull parts.
Honestly, I do recommend it, for fans of both snowy and pulpy horror, just with the caveats that I already mentioned.
Boyll's book did have some good creepy parts, but they're often counterbalanced by unnecessary gross parts (a page and a half dedicated to one character taking a shit and wondering about his bowell health for instance) and meandering dull parts.
Honestly, I do recommend it, for fans of both snowy and pulpy horror, just with the caveats that I already mentioned.
August 30, 2012
Worth reading.
March 12, 2024
I love this book! I have read it every summer since a friend in high school loaned it to me in 1994!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews