Killdeer Lake, aka Killer Lake, is the setting for W.D. Gagliani and David Benton’s collaboration with the same name. What is Killer Lake, you ask? Imagine every 80s slasher film thrown into a blender and what would come out would be very close to what you have here. Friday the 13th, April Fool’s Day, Dawn of the Dead, Psycho, Motel Hell, Slaughterhouse, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, pieces of each all make an appearance. Now, before you roll your eyes and dismiss the idea, let me interject.
Killer Lake’s beauty is that it doesn’t attempt at being something it’s not. Much like those slasher films from the golden age, you knew what you were getting when you picked it up to take it home. You could say the same for Killer Lake. Gagliani and Benton take you down a path that’s like putting on your old varsity jacket and finding that it still fits. It still has those familiar smells, and it causes a pleasing wave of nostalgia to hit you. I experienced that sensation multiple times in a little over 200 pages. You’ve got your huge cabin on a lake in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a forest. You’ve got your eccentric rich guy with the spoiled rich kid throwing a party for horny teenagers. Add some crazy cult doing some weird sacrifice shit and have the local law enforcement and townies involved. Don’t forget to give me some conjured zombies and a cannibal moment or two. Now, the thing that keeps it all together is the writing. Gagliani and Benton can write. Period. It’s quick. It’s engaging. The flow is unspoiled. Things move along at a free and easy pace, making Killer Lake a quick read. It’s like picking up the movie box to a slasher film that you haven’t heard of and, after taking it home, find that it’s a damn good one. But it’s still a slasher flick. If you were looking for Hemingway, this isn’t it and… well, you’re an idiot. Move along. If you’re a fan of the genre, Killer Lake will be a popcorn munching treat of a good read.
3.5 Dismembered Torsos out of 5
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