The Unseen

by Bryan Smith

For Allison Cook, the weekend trip to a horror convention in Virginia is a fun break from work and humdrum reality. Then she meets a guy who shows her a movie that shouldn’t exist, one that upends everything she thinks she knows about reality itself. The movie on the old VHS tape is an unseen and unknown installment of a legendary slasher franchise she’s loved since the dark days of her unhappy adolescence. As soon as she sees it, she knows the movie is the real deal, not a fake or a fan film. She can only come to one impossible conclusion--the movie is from some other alternate reality. It is not of this world. And she knows one other thing. She must have it. At all costs. And by any means necessary. But unknown to Allison, possession of the tape comes at a higher price than she ever could have imagined.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Novella, Splatterpunk, Audiobook, Adult

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2021

About the author

Bryan Smith is the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime books, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, as well as The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, The Freakshow, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read."

68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.

Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you obsessed with Friday 13th movies? Well, then this is the right kind of novel for you. At a horror convention Allison is presented an unknown and unseen (so the title) version of that series named Homecoming. She steals the tape from the guy who show it to her. Where has he got it? Who made that movie? What are the consequences in watching the tape? What happens to her girlfriends? Watch out until The Visitor enters the scene... entertaining fast paced horror tale with some sex, killings and numerous Friday 13th references. Bryan Smith did a solid job here. Nice to read and really recommended!

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allison Cook is bored at a comic con in Virginia. She suddenly notices Mark and the fireworks fly. After having sex, Mark tempts Allison by claiming to have a VHS tape of a never seen before Friday the 13th movie. Allison, being a Jason groupie, thinks Mark is full of b.s. and calls his bluff. To her utter disbelief, Mark does indeed have what he claims. While Mark is otherwise occupied, Allison steals the tape and runs like Blockbuster is after her. What Allison doesn't know is whoever has possession of that tape will pay a steep price.

🐱🐱🐱

[Richard Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan Smith is one of a very small handful of horror authors who I will drop everything for whenever they have a new release, and bump them straight to the top of my ‘to be read’ pile. With well over 40 books published to date, you know that anything Smith writes is going to be a grindhouse-style epic of pure horror entertainment. His latest novel is no exception, but as with his last release (Invitation to Murder) he offers his readers something a little different with ‘The Unseen’.

Allison is the biggest horror fan you’re ever likely to meet. She is an avid collector and horror movie connoisseur but her absolute favourite is the Friday the 13th franchise. When she is approached by a guy at a horror convention who boasts he has a copy of an unseen Friday the 13th entry she is sceptical at first, assuming it to be a fan film or a fake. What she sees, however, cannot be explained away so easily.

By viewing the movie that should not exist, she sets in motion a series of events that are beyond explanation. The movie she saw is not of this world and the consequences for viewing it, both for her and anyone around her, are more than she ever dared imagine.

What I wasn’t expecting when I picked up this book was a slow burn. Bryan Smith books tend to start off with a bang and build from there, but ‘The Unseen’ took its time to introduce characters, set up an intriguing premise, and ratcheted up the tension until things take off midway through the book. It is a lot more tense and atmospheric than I’ve come to expect from the author and turns out he is very good at it. I particularly enjoyed the hints at, and the eventual reveal of, The Visitor, who is a disturbing figure and not one we get all that much info on, which makes him all the more interesting.

While ‘The Unseen’ is by no means tame (it certainly has an impressive body count and more than its fair share of slasher inspired kills) don’t go in expecting a ‘Depraved’ level of gore or extreme content. The Unseen is a little more restrained and, at times, very creepy in comparison to some of Smiths more bombastic outings. What with his recent take on the classic murder mystery, this latest supernatural slasher, and an upcoming horror western, he seems to be experimenting outside of his usual wheelhouse at the moment and I’m very much enjoying the results.

The Unseen gives the reader plenty of what we love about Bryan Smith’s work. Strong female characters, unpredictability and inventive death scenes abound, but this latest novel is also a much slower burn than his typical action-packed offerings, building up the tension effectively and introducing an intriguing and genuinely scary new antagonist that I very much hope makes future appearances in his books. As someone who is a big Bryan Smith fan and has read the majority of his work, it is no small praise when I say ‘The Unseen’ is one of his best novels to date.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allison Cook is a huge Friday the 13th fan. So when she gets the chance to view never-been-seen film footage, she jumps on it. The film is Friday the 13th IX: Homecoming. Supposedly, this film is part of the original franchise and was made shortly after Jason Takes Manhattan. At first, Allison believes it's a hoax and nothing more than a fan made movie (granted, a very good one). However, she's soon convinced that this movie is the real deal. And she has to have it!
Unfortunately, possession of this VHS comes at a price. A steep one.

I LOVE Friday the 13th. And I love Bryan Smith. Throw them both together, and I'm just ecstatic!
This is a super cool, super unique story that any slasher fan will enjoy. That being said, this is probably my least favorite Bryan Smith novel. While it was well plotted, it lacked his usually grit and grime. I missed that. Also, I'm typically invested in his characters, but I didn't care for any of the characters in this story.

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if there was an interdimensional entity who could give you movies, books and video games that don't exist in our world. It could be a sequel to your favorite film that never came out. It could be a highly anticipated video game that isnt scheduled to be released for another 5 years. It could be your favorite authors magnum opus that he never got to write or publish.

"The Visitor" can provide you with all of these things, but in return be wants a piece of your soul and he wants you to vow to never share these "gifts" with anyone.

The book follows a young guy as he loses one of these "gifts" and its now up to him to retrieve it at all costs in an attempt to escape The Visitors wrath.

This was a great book with a great premise and great characters (who I all hated btw). I feel like Bryan Smith has been trying to experiment with different types of stories as of late, and he knocked it out the park with this one.

Im giving this book 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Mylene · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Guilty Pleasure

Have always loved Bryan Smith stories. They are exciting, brutal, and so so entertaining. This story follows the usual Smith themes and character-types. If you have read “The Killing Kind” series, this fits right in. Bryan Smith is a certified OG Splaterpunk author!

[Andrew Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the premise but the story just didnt go anywhere other than people being horrible to each other. The Visitor was not fleshed out at all and I didnt care about any of the characters. Not my cup of tea I guess.

[Bianca Rose (Belladonnabooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun little mash up of slasher pop culture nostalgia and other world horror. The Unseen shows what happens when a love for horror tips over into obsession.

Allison is a horror fanatic and absolutely loves anything that revolves around Friday the 13th. She meets a guy at a horror convention who shows her an alternative Friday the 13th film but it seems far too realistic to be fake. Instantly obsessed, Allison steals the film and the events which unfold from there are safe to say not what she expected.

This is a short book but Bryan Smith packs a lot into it. It takes a very unique spin on slashers whilst drawing upon well known pop culture references which horror fans will love. For how short it was, it didn't feel rushed and the pace was perfect, leading to a satisfying ending. The creepiest aspect to this for me was the entity known in the story as 'the visitor.'

I have only read one other of Bryan's books - Merciless and in terms of comparison, The Unseen was far more tame. Less gore, less violence and less extreme in general. What they did share though was great writing. Bryan is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers in the extreme horror realm. He fleshes out his characters which makes the narrative feel so much more real. Both The Unseen and Merciless contain strong female characters which I appreciate.

*Instantly buys more Bryan Smith books.*

[Ugghhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am proud to be Bryan Smith's second cousin. I had heard that he writes but did not know he writes this good until I read this novel. He is making uncle Tim proud. I also immediately read The Unseen 2 which I did not enjoy that much.

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not WAR AND PEACE... but it is a real page-turner...

No spoilers. 4 stars. Allison is attending a horror convention out of town. She's wearing her favorite FRIDAY THE 13TH t-shirt when...

...she catches the eye of handsome Mark across the room. There's instant animal attraction between the two...

They give each other phoney names and Mark impulsively invites her up to his room to watch a special VHS movie...

... It turns out to be an unreleased FRIDAY THE 13TH movie... and Allison just has to possess that tape or die trying...

They have sex and afterward, while Mark is in the bathroom, Allison steals the tape and heads for home posthaste...

Seeing that he has been had, Mark looks all over the hotel for Allison then, failing to find her, calls his abusive serial killer uncle to help him locate her...

Mark's uncle isn't the only hothead he has to worry about. The entity which has possessed Mark, called The Visitor, who gifted Mark the tape...

... told him he was not to share it with anyone

Now, with 2 hotheads after him, Mark starts his pursuit of Allison before someone roughs him up for his disobedience...

However...

The tape has a mind if it's own. It negatively affects anyone who possesses it and Allison, when she gets home, shares it with her BFF...

Oh there's going to be real trouble when they all meet up as sure as my name isn't Boris Karloff...

As I said, this novel isn't WAR AND PEACE but it is a real page-turner. There are some warnings: graphic violence (but not overly extreme) and rampant profanity but if that doesn't bother you this is a story worthy of the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise.

[Yvonne (the putrid Shelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsettling and Unseen. This is the story of a secret Friday the 13th tape. A tape with a secret, an interdimensional secret. It’s a novel that will make you question humanity and the very fabric of everything we know.

Allison Cook is the biggest fan of horror but nothing rocks her boat quite like the Friday 13th franchise. Test her knowledge, I dare you! She knows the obscure actors playing bit parts, the exact locations filmed and a sympathetic disposition towards Jason. So when she attends a horror con in Virginia and meets the very handsome, Mark and he offers to show her something in his room she is quite rightly dubious as hell. A strange man at an event offers to show you something, the correct reaction would be revulsion and a swift FU. But when he drops the breadcrumbs that this is something to do with Friday 13th, something inside her snaps and follows him to his room, the result of which will change her life irrevocably.

Mark is an odd character to say the least. He has had a hard life growing up with his uncle, James. A bully and a narcissist, he has been the victim of one too many of his uncle’s correctional beatings. A nasty character if ever you’d meet. I kind of felt sorry for the guy at different points in the story but then he comes right back and does something that means that initial shadow of compassion gets blown away. A man that has always been socially awkward with women so he takes his shot at Allison with his prize Friday 13th tape that shouldn’t be in existence. It does the trick, and she falls into bed with him only for her to sneak away with the tape in her possession. He has to get it back into his care before The Visitor realises its gone. He can’t tell what will happen if they realise it’s gone.

[Allison | crazypageturner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allison Cook is at a horror convention when she meets Mark. Looking for a bit of fun, she ends up going up to Marks hotel room where he unveils a secret video tape that nobody has ever seen. Allison is completely mesmerized and after seeing it, she feels the need to possess the tape so she steals it and is on the run. Unbeknownst to her, whomever possesses the tape has a connection to an alternate reality. Mark is desperately after Allison and the tape before something terrible happens.

But how did he get it? Where did it come from? Why does he have it? Why is it important? I do have lots of questions regarding the tape, The Visitor and the whole alternate reality twist.

I enjoyed the characters a lot, especially Mark and Allison. There was definitely a lot of great suspense during all the chase downs and character interactions. The whole mysterious video tape plot was ok, but the writing was fantastic and really held my attention through the whole book. I wish we found out more about the tapes origin and reasoning but this is a trilogy so I’m hoping there are answers to come. I enjoyed the ending as well! Looking forward to more!

[Mike Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd love to give 'The Unseen' a high recommendation. It's a very strong story that kept me turning the pages and the ending had me smiling in a 'That's EXACTLY how this story needed to end' way that rarely happens. If this was a movie, I'd be queuing up to see it. BUT... at times, the writing should carry a health warning.

So, I enjoyed this book but found myself gritting my teeth at points, not because of the splatter or the sexploitational scenes, but because the text was doing my head in.

What did I enjoy?

Firstly, this is a great book for fans of 80s slasher movies. It doesn't intellectualise them the way that Grady Hendrix or Stephen Graham Jones do. It just bathes in the joy of fandom. Of being one of those people who know when the Friday The 13th franchise was taken over from Paramount by New Line and the names of every actress that Michael carved up. Of the thrill of losing yourself in movies you've watched a hundred times and the frustration of there not having been a new Friday The 13th film since 2009. It captures the feeling of being at a Horror Con where, for once, the fans dressed as Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees or just wearing almost worn-out horror t-shirts, are the normal people in the elevator in the Hyatt and anyone else is clearly somewhere where they don't belong.

Secondly, it gives a fresh twist on the whole Cursed Object That Demands A Sacrifice trope. It doesn't overthink it or overexplain it, it just freshens it up and makes it feel contemporary. In this case, the object of desire is an old VHS tape of a Friday The 13th movie that no one has ever seen. I loved the fact that it was an old VHS tape rather than a digital copy. It made it into an artefact, a treasure rather than a commodity and of course, only true fans would have VHS players available to watch it on. The desire for the object was palpable. I also liked that It took a bit longer to notice that possession of the object turned you into Gollum and made you ready to murder your friends.

Thirdly, it does the sex and violence in a classic sexploitation mode. The sex is transactional and impersonal. The violence is fast, vivid, bloody and unashamed of the excitement and relief it brings.

Finally, there's the ending. I didn't see it coming but it made perfect sense and was deeply gratifying. That ending would have had me leaving the cinema with a smile on my face.

So what got in the way?  

The writing, especially the parts that described what a character was thinking and the reasons behind their decision. At these points, the writing became horribly clunky - like something a teenage boy might produce when he's writing a fantasy that excites him but that he wants to make sound grown up and serious.

Here are a couple of examples.

This is Allison, trying to assess the risk posed by Seth, a guy she's pissed off.

She tried countering fear by reminding herself she knew nothing about Seth. Something about him set off internal warning bells, but there was no tangible proof he was actually psychotic or otherwise unstable. He’d demonstrated no overt tendencies in that area, but that meant little due to the brevity of their time together.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see a twenty-something horror fangirl, who has been drinking heavily using a sentence like 'He’d demonstrated no overt tendencies in that area, but that meant little due to the brevity of their time together.' even inside her own head. It reads more like a police report.

A few pages later we get this description of how Allison spent her afternoon:

Allison spent part of the afternoon cleaning up the place. This didn’t take an inordinate amount of time. Her place was often cluttered, but it was never filthy. Despite loving animals, she owned no pets, so it was easy to maintain a basic level of cleanliness at all times. Once she was satisfied with the state of the place, she went out to a nearby beverage store and bought two bottles of red wine and two six-packs of expensive beer. She considered getting food from the grocery store, but decided they’d have something delivered. Not being much of a cook herself, having little kitchen proficiency beyond the most basic things, this was probably the better option anyway.

I found this kind of leaden prose made me flinch more than any of the violence in the book. It felt like I was reading a slasher story written by someone who spends way too much time reading technical manuals and Reddit fanfiction.

If this writing style had only been used to describe one character, I'd have written it off as characterisation or an attempt at humour, but they are all described this way.

Fortunately, the dialogue is much better and the action scenes flow but there's still a lot of Did he really write that to describe this? to wade through.

If the writing doesn't bother you, I think you'll have a lot of fun with this book. If the writing does bother you, put up with it - the story is worth the irritation.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tough one for me. I really like the IDEA of this story...a different take on a supernatural videotape...but unfortunately it just didnt deliver for me. The writing just didnt work for me and I didnt care about the characters at all. For such a short book...this felt like it just went on forever and was really slow. It took almost a third of the book for anything to HAPPEN...which would be ok if that time was spent getting to know/caring about the characters...but it wasnt. So...yeah...not my favorite and I almost DNFed it because it was such a struggle for me to get through it. Very cool idea for a story though.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of the books I've read by Bryan Smith. This is a slow burn, but it keeps your attention from the very beginning. The setting couldn't be better a Horror con sets the mood. I read this right after going to a Horror con. So it was the perfect time to read it. Very original story. It's a short book and reads fast.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya know.. I’m not one who enjoys slasher anything. I’ve never really liked any of the 80’s and 90’s slasher movies and I haven’t found a slasher book that I’ve liked. This book takes that idea and puts its own spin on it. I liked it!

[Temecka]

I read 3 pages and made Ashley spoil it

[Mery · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF but know enough to confidently say the author needs to take a break from writing and talk to a real woman!

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4🌟 Fun and entertaining!

[Tod · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE UNSEEN

Bryan Smith delivers once again. Bryan Smith is one of those authors who never fails to entertain and THE UNSEEN does not disappoint. It amazing s me how Bryan Smith continues to be consistent with fun entertaining reads over so many years, fans of his work will definitely want to read THE UNSEEN.

[John Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok, it was interesting, but requires a few leaps of logic, even for what it was. Nothing wrong with that, but at times I really enjoyed what I was reading, and at other times, not so much. Recommend giving it a try for fans of Smith

[DJMikeG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cool concept, but I felt the concept was under explored in the novella format. I felt like this concept would have been much better and fully explored as a full length novel. The ending felt pretty rushed. That said, it really is a cool concept, one I'd like to see Smith explore more, hopefully in a full length novel.

[Luther Kross · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Helluva Ride!

Bryan Smith serves up shock and awe as though they were going out of style. He took a slightly different approach to this novel, but it is every bit as disturbing as any of his other works. The Visitor is a terrifying faceless menace with a penchant for the macabre manipulation of its prey. Watching them get tangled in its web is, oh so much fun!

[Jessica Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool modern day horror , good quick read, funny and brutal !

[Aaron Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty, grimey, gory Grindhouse fiction.
So fun and easy to bite into. While reading The Unseen, I could see the flaws in the film...the jumping lint on the cracked lens of the rundown theater, and the occasional cue mark on the upper right side of the screen in my mind.
It's exactly what I was expecting. Loved it.
Slasher fans will especially enjoy this one because it takes place (half of it) at a Slasher Con.

[Lola Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stay Away From the Janky VHS Tapes

From start to finish, this novel had me turning the pages like my life depended on it. As weird and original as it is twisted and horrifying. A truly bizarre tale as only Bryan Smith could tell it.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but forgettable. Far from Smith's best.

[Sara M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun one. There's an unsettling atmosphere (in a good way) all the way through and tons of horror trivia for horror-losers like myself. I kinda wish we got to learn a little more about how The Visitor works though. I get that it's supposed to be a mysterious entity that the characters don't fully understand themselves, but my nosy self wants to know more.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great premise but so very disappointing.

[Richard Longmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you, Rick and Morty style, could pass from dimension to dimension - what would you do? Find a dimension where cancer has been cured and bring that knowledge back? Determine a string where a loved one who passed in this world is still alive and see them again?

Let's face it - that's some basic stuff. You've got bigger plans. You'd find a universe where the Friday the 13th series never left Paramount. No move to New Line with Jason turning into a deadite-worm-parasite astronaut that is afraid of water and fights with elderly custodians. The great eight would keep going and you'd enjoy watching those movies that never were made in this world.

Right? RIGHT???

Right.

This is basically the plot of The Unseen by Bryan Smith. Allison, a huge Jason Voorhees fan, is at a convention and gets convinced to hook up with a guy who claims to have a one-of-a-kind Friday the 13th item. Skeptical at first, it turns out that his boast was actually an understatement. A VHS of Friday the 13th Part 9: Homecoming. A Paramount production, filmed in the style of the original 8 films, with a returning Tom Savini doing the effects. It clearly isn't a fan film - it has actors that are well known, fits the age perfectly. There's no way it could have been done - and yet it's clearly here.

From this point onward, the lure of this tape turns those who see it against one another, with everyone trying to take and keep this souvenir from another universe. For a Bryan Smith book it's a relatively bloodless affair. The story is more of a slow burn - something or someone brought this into our universe and we are waiting to see if they will return to enact revenge on those who witness it without their approval.

It's short, at under 200 pages, and doesn't overstay it's welcome. It's an enjoyable enough read, but looking back it's hard to not see it as a bit of a disappointment. From a Sci-fi angle, the whole string-theory-multi-universe thing is not expanded upon. This tape is it. From a horror angle, the idea that a creature that can pass between universes would be searching for someone who stole something of theirs is not really developed either. The real danger comes from others getting jealous and stealing the tape when they find out about it.

Recommended to those who like more mainstream horror. If you're looking to tap into the batshit crazy or violent works of Bryan Smith, you're likely to walk away unfulfilled, but it's a good little read if you like the idea.