Brainrot

by D.W. Nathan

After a mass murder, an obscure and mysterious horror movie, available only on VHS, becomes the stuff of urban legend.

Genres: Horror

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2018

About the author

D.W. Nathan is both a writer and full-time painter and illustrator. He studied art at Monmouth University and Stockton University, the latter from which he earned his degree. A former concept artist for Disney Interactive, D.W. has produced artwork for a number of high profile franchises such as Star Wars, the Avengers and Kingdom Hearts. He spends much of his free time painting and writing in equal measure. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, their dog, and children.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes us back to the time of video rentals and watching scary movies on a Friday night. A group of youth is always looking for the real deal, movies that scare you shitless, like Faces of Death (we were doing exactly the same back then, so I remembered the times and movies mentioned). A video store owner recommends them 'Brainrot', a Russian production. They watch the video, okay, it's bizarre but they don't think much about it. In the course of the next years, this movie is found with many murderers. Is it Russian propaganda? Is it about brainwashing people and leading them to commit horrible crimes? Great idea, well narrated, but at the end the twist wasn't 100% convincing to me. Really recommended though, when you want to back at the golden age of video rentals and have a fine eerie and weird horror story!

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm, rather disappointing really.

The story begins in the early nineties with three kids that are always looking for the scariest movie they can find at their local video store. One day when they can't find anything they haven't seen yet, the store owner decides to lend them a tape that's not yet officially up for rental. It's some weird russian production that comes with a warning notice. “Warning, this film is so horrifying, it has been banned in nearly every republic. Please watch at your own risk.” Of course the boys watch the movie, but only one of them is truly freaked out. All of them are somewhat puzzled, though.

When they try to return the vhs they learn that the video store has burned down. So they keep the movie, and over the years the tape is making the rounds.

The narrator has long moved on with his life when suddenly the video gets associated with several felonies. Remembering the tape, he tries to track it down.

All the time I was waiting for a clever twist to happen. But it didn't come. It was quite nice to read about those old horror flicks and video stores in the beginning. The buildup to the kids video night was slightly unsettling. The video night itself was weird. And everything that came after that, even though somewhat disturbing, ultimately was a letdown.

I was hoping for a bit more or something different here. So, yeah, rather disapppointed with this one. Alas.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rot Your Brain!

I gave this short story 3-1/2 stars. This 24 page short starts off running and completely pulls the reader in as two brothers and a friend search for the most disgusting, horrifying VHS movie that puts all others to shame. The premise is fantastic, what the boys get is more than they expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this short, however, I would hope for Mr. Nathan to expand this to a novella or novel length and take it even further as it felt a bit incomplete and left me wanting more. I will definitely be checking out more from this author

[Erica smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing

I'm not sure if this story is based off a true story but everything has been changed or if its just like a horror story being told around a campfire . I'm kind of confused lol. The way the author wrote this makes you assume he's just telling a story around a campfire . toO weird for me shrugs