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Home-Video
Imagine the scene. You receive a DVD in the post. You do not know who it is from. You put it into your player and settle down to see what it is about. Your partner is in the shot. They're tied to what appears to be a dentist chair in the middle of an abandoned looking warehouse. They look scared. They tell you they love you and the screen goes dark. The words appear stating that you can report your partner as missing and her captors will kill her immediately but her suffering is over... Or... Each day you will receive a new DVD of what they're doing to her right up until the day they release her...... Put them out of their misery and live with the grief and knowledge it was your decision if help can't reach them before they're killed or wait and see what shows up in the post, hopeful that they'll get bored and release them back to your loving arms? From Matt Shaw (Sick B*stards) and Michael Bray (Whisper), the authors behind MONSTER and ART, comes a new horror to push your boundaries of comfort...
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 3, 2015
92 people are currently reading
621 people want to read
About the author
Matt Shaw
529 books2,191 followersBiography
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
June 23, 2018
This is the third Shaw / Bray collaboration I've read, and my least favorite.
They ask an impossible question in this one:
If your wife is abducted, will you report her missing and they kill her immediately, or will you allow them to torture her, send you daily DVD's of it, and either let her go or kill her when they get bored?
As always, very extreme and cruel. While I initially thought I was going to give it a three star rating, they surprised me with a very good ending to the story.
They ask an impossible question in this one:
If your wife is abducted, will you report her missing and they kill her immediately, or will you allow them to torture her, send you daily DVD's of it, and either let her go or kill her when they get bored?
As always, very extreme and cruel. While I initially thought I was going to give it a three star rating, they surprised me with a very good ending to the story.
July 1, 2025
2.5 stars. I've read an extensive amount of Matt Shaw's offerings and this was my least favorite. From the initial characters being introduced, leading up to everything with Ashley and Matt, and the next victim, nothing felt like it connected. And it drove me nuts when there were notes like 'LATER' where the author would intentionally skip through parts that I wished were there. And the antagonists didn't even have names, which I would assume was to just make them faceless monsters? Also, the reasoning for their turn to the dark side, and the overall process in how they would capture and torture victims, was almost nonexistent. But at its core, this is simply a body horror story. Majority is Ashley being tortured by her assailants, and a few others briefly, but there wasn't really much purpose beyond that. Some of Matt's internal monologues and his overall process was interesting at times, but when the story concluded, I found myself unsure of what the point of it all was. I'm a big fan of Matt Shaw and recommend a ton of his books, but this one should not be on that list.
March 1, 2024
Home-Video is my second Matt Shaw book after 'Porn'. A well-researched plot, plausibility, consistency and, most of all, good grammar and writing skills are mostly absent, while still being very important to me.
Although Home-Video is better than 'Porn', with a tighter writing style and improved editing due to collaboration with co-author Michael Bray, it eventually falls off a cliff in many departments.
I think Matt Shaw needs to stop publishing as many low-wordcount books as possible in the hope that something sticks! It's a chaos theory approach that doesn't reap rewards. Two books in and I am not a fan. Admittedly, that's my problem as I know Matt Shaw has plenty of followers and doesn't need me.
I'm a bit of a splatterpunk wimp anyway and maybe too highly strung to appreciate extreme gore for what it is - unimportant, throwaway entertainment. It's supposed to be rough and ready, right? But definitely not good quality.
The story here is plausible at first. A woman is captured and abused. Her partner is then threatened with her imminent death if he reports what's going on. As the story goes on it's impossible to believe he continues to go along with the conditions. No one could be that daft, shellshocked or naive.
Punch!
- If you don't want your partner to die, continue to watch her getting punched.
Torture!
- If you don't want your partner to die, continue to watch her getting tortured.
Rape!
- If you don't...
No loving partner fails to report what's going on at this point. Irreversible damage has been done and there's no point going on with it.
On the plus side, the book is thought provoking enough to question how you might react in a similar situation and worth a read if you like splatterpunk and extreme gore in general. The characters are relatable and there's plenty of initial tension while you wait to see how bad things might get. But although Home-Video is decent to begin with, by the end it's a massive dud!
Niggles and criticisms!
On 'Day One' we're told "The love of his life, his fiance. He still hadn't got used to calling her that since she agreed to marry him." On 'Day Three': "Chase had been the best man at their wedding." When did they suddenly get married? While I was reading?
By the end of the book I disliked it even more, especially some of the head-splitting grammar: "he realised that despite not ever having actually hurting her." Besides the horrible 'having hurting her' error, the 'ever actually' concoction is appalling English.
"The only reason she didn't she was too afraid..." Read that twice if you like and alert the missing punctuation police, or try insertion of a 'was because' somewhere.
And why does a book that reads like it's set in England, spell-checked in UK English ('realised' for example) and written by English authors, pretend to be in the United States from time to time, with references to faucets, baseball and other American terminology?
Errors, inconsistencies and implausibilities go on and on until you mentally discard the experience as trash.
My next Matt Shaw book is Sick B*stards because it's the highest rated on Goodreads. These books are so short you can whip through them in no time and, you never know, there could be a diamond of extreme horror in the rough?
I know this is a smug review, but I love horror and didn't like this!
Although Home-Video is better than 'Porn', with a tighter writing style and improved editing due to collaboration with co-author Michael Bray, it eventually falls off a cliff in many departments.
I think Matt Shaw needs to stop publishing as many low-wordcount books as possible in the hope that something sticks! It's a chaos theory approach that doesn't reap rewards. Two books in and I am not a fan. Admittedly, that's my problem as I know Matt Shaw has plenty of followers and doesn't need me.
I'm a bit of a splatterpunk wimp anyway and maybe too highly strung to appreciate extreme gore for what it is - unimportant, throwaway entertainment. It's supposed to be rough and ready, right? But definitely not good quality.
The story here is plausible at first. A woman is captured and abused. Her partner is then threatened with her imminent death if he reports what's going on. As the story goes on it's impossible to believe he continues to go along with the conditions. No one could be that daft, shellshocked or naive.
Punch!
- If you don't want your partner to die, continue to watch her getting punched.
Torture!
- If you don't want your partner to die, continue to watch her getting tortured.
Rape!
- If you don't...
No loving partner fails to report what's going on at this point. Irreversible damage has been done and there's no point going on with it.
On the plus side, the book is thought provoking enough to question how you might react in a similar situation and worth a read if you like splatterpunk and extreme gore in general. The characters are relatable and there's plenty of initial tension while you wait to see how bad things might get. But although Home-Video is decent to begin with, by the end it's a massive dud!
Niggles and criticisms!
On 'Day One' we're told "The love of his life, his fiance. He still hadn't got used to calling her that since she agreed to marry him." On 'Day Three': "Chase had been the best man at their wedding." When did they suddenly get married? While I was reading?
By the end of the book I disliked it even more, especially some of the head-splitting grammar: "he realised that despite not ever having actually hurting her." Besides the horrible 'having hurting her' error, the 'ever actually' concoction is appalling English.
"The only reason she didn't she was too afraid..." Read that twice if you like and alert the missing punctuation police, or try insertion of a 'was because' somewhere.
And why does a book that reads like it's set in England, spell-checked in UK English ('realised' for example) and written by English authors, pretend to be in the United States from time to time, with references to faucets, baseball and other American terminology?
Errors, inconsistencies and implausibilities go on and on until you mentally discard the experience as trash.
My next Matt Shaw book is Sick B*stards because it's the highest rated on Goodreads. These books are so short you can whip through them in no time and, you never know, there could be a diamond of extreme horror in the rough?
I know this is a smug review, but I love horror and didn't like this!
March 6, 2023
A nasty brutal story that bound to make you angry in more ways than one. Always have a soft spot for a good torture porn lol.
March 15, 2024
2.7
This was okay, I guess. Except that the main male character is completely insufferable.
This was okay, I guess. Except that the main male character is completely insufferable.
February 28, 2024
Great writing, horrible story and bloody brutal but my main feeling through this book was 'god damn, I hate matthew' he was just the absolute worst and made the dumbest decisions. So all in all good book, hate matthew!!
May 11, 2023
I just have one question: when did they get married?
August 11, 2023
Well... I guess it was at least short.
I kind of expected more, to be honest. It was rather boring, everything too surface level for the disturbing to actually disturb me. I read and watched enough horror to be quite desensitized by now, sure, but even just the book I read before this, one that didn't advertise itself as an extreme horror novel, went to 'greater extremes' and succeeded in actually making me uncomfortable at places.
I kind of expected more, to be honest. It was rather boring, everything too surface level for the disturbing to actually disturb me. I read and watched enough horror to be quite desensitized by now, sure, but even just the book I read before this, one that didn't advertise itself as an extreme horror novel, went to 'greater extremes' and succeeded in actually making me uncomfortable at places.
May 11, 2022
Brutal!
Definitely not for everyone - very violent and cruel in places.
More torture-porn rather than horror.
Concept pulled me but failed to hold me - but I finished it.
A novella over a full book - which is just as well given how brutal the contents gets.
Not bad - 3 stars!
Definitely not for everyone - very violent and cruel in places.
More torture-porn rather than horror.
Concept pulled me but failed to hold me - but I finished it.
A novella over a full book - which is just as well given how brutal the contents gets.
Not bad - 3 stars!
July 18, 2025
In this story our main character receives a DVD on his doorstep. He hasn’t seen his partner all day and thinks she’s playing a prank on him, when he watches the dvd he finds her strapped to a dentist chair she looks at the camera and tells him she loves him, for some reason he still thinks it’s a prank. When the end of the video says don’t tell the cops or we’ll kill her he does exactly that, brushes it off basically and goes to bed. The next day he thinks it’s fishy and then gets another dvd, this time it’s a obvious that it’s indeed not a prank and his girl is seriously being kidnapped and hurt.
This was an alright story, there were some gory scenes but for the most part i really just didn’t like the way the main character went about what was going on. I do wish they had more scenes of what was going on with the girl . Overall it was an alright read!
This was an alright story, there were some gory scenes but for the most part i really just didn’t like the way the main character went about what was going on. I do wish they had more scenes of what was going on with the girl . Overall it was an alright read!
July 19, 2023
I wasn’t sure what to rate this because on one end it’s so fucked up, but on the other hand it’s such a good horror story. It’s a real horror story. It’s disgusting and vile and terrible and you can’t put it down.
October 17, 2024
Here’s the thing about Matt Shaw and his extreme novellas, I never hate them despite their flaws. The plot is filled with holes and abrupt endings that leave you feeling like the book is unfinished. Despite these things, it still was enjoyable for me. I would say if you’re just getting into extreme horror/ splatterpunk, this is a good place to start. Nothing is extremely nauseating and all the torture sections are shorter with reprieves in between. This wasn’t my favorite Matt Shaw, but I’ll continue to read his work without a doubt.
July 5, 2015
Just when I think Matt Shaw cannot get any more depraved, I read Home Video.
This is the first book I've read by both Matt Shaw and Michael Bray, and I will definitely read a book written by the 2 of them again. I cringed reading parts of this, but I couldn't put it down until I finished the very last page. There are no bounds to the depravity that these 2 put out.
Matt Shaw is definitely one of my favorite extreme horror authors.
This is the first book I've read by both Matt Shaw and Michael Bray, and I will definitely read a book written by the 2 of them again. I cringed reading parts of this, but I couldn't put it down until I finished the very last page. There are no bounds to the depravity that these 2 put out.
Matt Shaw is definitely one of my favorite extreme horror authors.
March 20, 2023
Yet another great read from the wonderful Mr Matt Shaw....this man never disappoints me! The story line kept me gripped and interested from start to finish...I just had to keep reading to find out what happened. The ending was somewhat unexpected and maybe left the book open to a sequel?? The scenes were gory and brutal and might... if not will... offend some readers...if you're not sure about these kind of extreme horror books...then leave well alone!!! Matt Shaw is an amazing author and I just love him!💕💓💖💝💞
January 19, 2020
Ouchhh
I think this book had me more OMGGGG MY TEETH!!!
cuz ouchhhh!! These men have one goal.. kidnap and and torture you.. if your loved one calls the police your dead.. if they dont.. you go through pain and torture until they wanna let you go.. or you die..
And its dark and gory.. and no happy ending for anyone.. besides the killers
Reminder this is dark dark... and no way romance.. at all.. this is like watching the movie Hostle...
I think this book had me more OMGGGG MY TEETH!!!
cuz ouchhhh!! These men have one goal.. kidnap and and torture you.. if your loved one calls the police your dead.. if they dont.. you go through pain and torture until they wanna let you go.. or you die..
And its dark and gory.. and no happy ending for anyone.. besides the killers
Reminder this is dark dark... and no way romance.. at all.. this is like watching the movie Hostle...
October 18, 2020
Usual absolute vileness from Matt! Keep it up 👍
November 26, 2024
This was a grisly short read, there were parts that did make me squirm I’m not going to lie! But equally a great read regardless!
April 2, 2024
Things that are getting old for me in these types of books, real quick:
- (sexual) violence against women for the sake of violence against women
- men feeling more sorry for themselves than their female counterparts who are actually undergoing the violence (oh no! “Your object” has been violated?!)
- male partners being complicit in the violence against their SO, even if inadvertently (not doing anything is actually a form of action in and of itself)
Okay… I’m done now. More like a 2.5 but I’m feeling generous.
Don’t @ me saying I can’t deal with extreme horror or splatterpunk - this isn’t scary and I’m not complaining about the gore or actual torture elements that were depicted.
- (sexual) violence against women for the sake of violence against women
- men feeling more sorry for themselves than their female counterparts who are actually undergoing the violence (oh no! “Your object” has been violated?!)
- male partners being complicit in the violence against their SO, even if inadvertently (not doing anything is actually a form of action in and of itself)
Okay… I’m done now. More like a 2.5 but I’m feeling generous.
Don’t @ me saying I can’t deal with extreme horror or splatterpunk - this isn’t scary and I’m not complaining about the gore or actual torture elements that were depicted.
August 25, 2022
I keep trying to find books that are “actually scary or horror” and this like Woom. Was utterly boring. It wasn’t anything special. The first half was the best part and I wished he kept with that premise rather than what it was. I wanted more and was very let down. I have more from this author and others that are deemed “terrifying” so I’m hoping those actually give me a chill down my spine and looking over my shoulder because all I got from this, was a bedtime read tht made me so sleepy.
July 10, 2015
Well written but disturbing.....
Which of course is the point lol. Sometimes I had to put the kindle down and regroup before continuing to read. I was frustrated with the hubby, but since Id never experienced something like that (and hope not to), I don't know what I would do.
Which of course is the point lol. Sometimes I had to put the kindle down and regroup before continuing to read. I was frustrated with the hubby, but since Id never experienced something like that (and hope not to), I don't know what I would do.
September 14, 2024
Love the idea of this just one bit caught me off guard. One part said along the lines of “the urinated from her vagina” and I no lie looked down at my own flaps and was like damn. If we pissed from there we would have no hope. Made me giggle more than anything. Anyway onto our story. A woman is taken and recorded being tortured amongst other things and sent in DVD form to her other half to watch. He’s told if he goes to the police they will kill her there and then or he can watch the videos and wait for them to either kill her anyway or release her. God this pulls at the heart strings a little I felt so bad for her partner and his emotions and furious at her family. Overall a good read. Now off to urinate not from my vagina but from my urethra
July 2, 2023
Ashley gets kidnapped and is subjected to the worst kinds of torture you can think of. Her husband Matt gets DVDs sent to him where he has a front-row seat to the torture and at the end of every message has a warning saying if he reports it then she dies! The book goes there! It had me flinching at scenes! It’s been a while since a book did that. Full marks!
February 2, 2024
hey fellow women!! how do we feel about men writing “extreme horror” which is just about torturing and raping women which I could just read thousands of real stories about online. the internal dilemma about letting someone get tortured or end their suffering could have been interesting but is overshadowed by shock value
July 3, 2015
HORRIFYING! Finished in one sitting!
A horrifying story by Matt Shaw and Michael Bray. When these two work on a story together you are taken to places you never imagined nor will want to again.
Matt receives a DVD that shows his wife being tortured. He is told if he notifies the police they will kill her, or he can wait until they grow tired of "playing" with her and they may let her go.
Torn between what to do, Matt and Ashley's days move painstakingly forward each in their own hell. His of mental anguish and hers of mental and physical brutality.
How much can Ashley take before the human body simply just gives up? How many more torturous DVDs can Matt watch before his beloved is released?
One of the scariest stories I have read. This is the stuff that haunts women as we walk in dark car parks or lonely streets. Will leave you looking over your shoulder for days or even months!
A horrifying story by Matt Shaw and Michael Bray. When these two work on a story together you are taken to places you never imagined nor will want to again.
Matt receives a DVD that shows his wife being tortured. He is told if he notifies the police they will kill her, or he can wait until they grow tired of "playing" with her and they may let her go.
Torn between what to do, Matt and Ashley's days move painstakingly forward each in their own hell. His of mental anguish and hers of mental and physical brutality.
How much can Ashley take before the human body simply just gives up? How many more torturous DVDs can Matt watch before his beloved is released?
One of the scariest stories I have read. This is the stuff that haunts women as we walk in dark car parks or lonely streets. Will leave you looking over your shoulder for days or even months!
December 4, 2015
The first section is much better than the second. (We are still following the same characters, right?) Part two is pretty thin. These killers do not need to explain their motive or give reasons (or even have cause to kill), but I do need to see at least something interior about them. The first part gave me that, so I was disappointed.
Also, putting extreme in the title is kind of like a dare. The book is pretty violent (sexually violent too) and sadistic...it can get gross, but still...they went pretty far, but...I have no idea what I was expecting then. Maybe it read kind of clinical or flat?
Also, putting extreme in the title is kind of like a dare. The book is pretty violent (sexually violent too) and sadistic...it can get gross, but still...they went pretty far, but...I have no idea what I was expecting then. Maybe it read kind of clinical or flat?
April 20, 2023
Jesus fucking christ. This one fucked me in the head. I have been stressing alongside Matthew through this entire book.
'What would I do? Would I report it?'
It wasn't much gore at all, but it did make me feel sick to my stomach. The psychological part of this had me fucked up.
This one's gonna live rent-free inside my head.
'What would I do? Would I report it?'
It wasn't much gore at all, but it did make me feel sick to my stomach. The psychological part of this had me fucked up.
This one's gonna live rent-free inside my head.
July 13, 2015
YIKES!! A gruesome book! Hard to read (because of the torture scenes) but also hard to put down.
April 17, 2016
i actually purchased this by accident, i thought it was a kindle unlimited read. 'my bad' as they say. pretty graphic, interesting story line, could use some proofreading as well.
March 5, 2023
Matt's wife is missing. He gets dvds of her being tortured and raped on the reg. If he contacts the authorities, she dies, but if he doesn't they'll continue abusing her.
That pretty much covers it. You want to read that, go for it. If you think it's a tease - that this is the start and the story will go interesting places from here...well, no, sorry. It's not that kind of book. That is to say, if you like that fearless style of Matt Shaw and Michael Bray and how they pride themselves in making the reader wince throughout the story, this will be a welcome addition to the reader's library. But it isn't bringing along a new plot, unique characters or anything of the sort. If you like prior books from Matt Shaw (or his collaborations with Michael Bray), it's an easy recommend. It brings what you expect, nothing less, nothing more.
So, there are basically two parts to the story. First there is the torture part. Ashley (the wife) is abducted, tortured and raped repeatedly. We get these situations described frankly and they intend (and succeed) to shock and disgust.
Then there is Matt's part, which feels like it's the "main" story for some reason. He's getting these dvds of the horrific events and cannot tell anyone or she dies. So the sight of her being tortured and raped is continually showing at his doorstep. His mind is going, he's being questioned by her family and employer for her absence, the police won't be far behind.
So - for me that's where the book went down a notch. It's hard to really feel much for Matt's situation when we also have a direct line of vision into Ashley's much-more-dire scenario. He's not the one being tortured. He's not being raped. And, if we are going to follow Matt as much as we do, there needs to be some ebb and flow. Maybe he tries to follow the person who delivers the dvds to his doorstep. Maybe he gets some sort of hidden video surveillance outside his apartment to figure out what type of car they have. Something. Anything. But it's not that kind of story.
In conclusion, fans of the authors will enjoy it. It's less than 2 hours effort to complete and it fits the bill for difficult and disturbing horror. New readers are probably better off looking at other books from these authors like Art or Monster, both of which are just as brutal but have a more distinct and unique plot. Those who don't want disturbing and shocking horror should just walk away altogether.
That pretty much covers it. You want to read that, go for it. If you think it's a tease - that this is the start and the story will go interesting places from here...well, no, sorry. It's not that kind of book. That is to say, if you like that fearless style of Matt Shaw and Michael Bray and how they pride themselves in making the reader wince throughout the story, this will be a welcome addition to the reader's library. But it isn't bringing along a new plot, unique characters or anything of the sort. If you like prior books from Matt Shaw (or his collaborations with Michael Bray), it's an easy recommend. It brings what you expect, nothing less, nothing more.
So, there are basically two parts to the story. First there is the torture part. Ashley (the wife) is abducted, tortured and raped repeatedly. We get these situations described frankly and they intend (and succeed) to shock and disgust.
Then there is Matt's part, which feels like it's the "main" story for some reason. He's getting these dvds of the horrific events and cannot tell anyone or she dies. So the sight of her being tortured and raped is continually showing at his doorstep. His mind is going, he's being questioned by her family and employer for her absence, the police won't be far behind.
So - for me that's where the book went down a notch. It's hard to really feel much for Matt's situation when we also have a direct line of vision into Ashley's much-more-dire scenario. He's not the one being tortured. He's not being raped. And, if we are going to follow Matt as much as we do, there needs to be some ebb and flow. Maybe he tries to follow the person who delivers the dvds to his doorstep. Maybe he gets some sort of hidden video surveillance outside his apartment to figure out what type of car they have. Something. Anything. But it's not that kind of story.
In conclusion, fans of the authors will enjoy it. It's less than 2 hours effort to complete and it fits the bill for difficult and disturbing horror. New readers are probably better off looking at other books from these authors like Art or Monster, both of which are just as brutal but have a more distinct and unique plot. Those who don't want disturbing and shocking horror should just walk away altogether.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews