Crimson Orgy - Softcover

Every once in a while, not very often, a book comes along that not only is a great horror novel, but also one that revels in the history of the field. This is classic material for savvy horror fans and I give it my highest recommendation. Borderlands Press only puts out the very best in horror and dark fantasy and I'm pleased that Austin Williams and this weird and wonderful story have found such a prestigious home in publishing. -- Mark Sieber, Horror Drive-In

This is one of those novels that doesn't quite fit into any category. I'm including it here because it feels like a horror novel, even though there are no fantastic elements at all. It bears some resemlance to Ramsey Campbell's Ancient Images and Greg Kihn's Horror Show, just two of several horror novels in which long lost movies figure as major plot elements, but those resemblances are superficial. This first novel by Austin Williams works an entirely different vein of the same general ore field. The story takes us back in time to the early days of gore movies. Blood Feast has just made a very nice profit and small time producers and directors like Sheldon Meyer and Gene Hoffman are hoping to ride the tide with a very low budget shocker filmed in a small Florida town using amateur actors and juryrigged props. Things aren't going their way, however. Some of the actors are reluctant and their star is an alcoholic who gets arrested after annoying the local police deputy, who also insists on being given a part in the movie. Then there are the minor annoyances, like special effects that don't work right and a script that needs constant tinkering, to say nothing of an unexpected hurricane.

But there are hints of other problems as well. Why has the starring actress been lied to about the nature of the movie? Why is there a human arm in a box in the producer's room? Why does one of the actresses succumb to a horrible though apparently accidental death shortly after finishing her part? The tension builds as we move toward the conclusion and we know that something really bad is going to happen. But exactly what, I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to buy a copy of the book to find out. Real good stuff and a fascinating look at the exploitation film industry as well. The prose is so smooth that you'll hardly be aware of it. It's a book that will leave you twitching uncomfortably when you finish. -- Don D'Ammassa Horror Reviews / http://www.dondammassa.com/r3.htm

An authentically seedy, almost charming tale of zero-budget horror moviemaking morphs cleverly into a genuine splatterfest in Williams's unnervingly enjoyable debut. With just one week and almost no money, director Sheldon Meyer and producer Gene Hoffman hope to make the ultimate underground horror film on location in south Florida, but star Vance Cogburn is drinking, local lawman Sonny Platt is making trouble, and Meyer hasn't told novice ingenue Barbara Cheston his real plans. Readers familiar with Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films or Bruce Campbell's memoir If Chins Could Kill will find Williams's descriptions of less-than-a-shoestring movie production wholly convincing, escalating crises and all. The gratuitous gore--filmed and real--delivers solidly on the horror end, and a sly framing device adds a slightly ambiguous layer of additional authenticity. Those looking for a pure bloodbath may find the book too literate, but horror film buffs should be delighted and chilled in equal measure. -- Publishers Weekly

Fans of urban legends, splatter cinema, and sharp tools will want to get it on with CRIMSON ORGY. Austin Williams' debut novel pays respect to the cinematic trail blazed by H.G. Lewis--with sex, storms, and suspense -- Rod Lott, Bookgasm.com

First-time novelists are told to write what they know and it so happens that a talented tyro named Austin Williams is an expert on 1960s gore films, from the anything-for-a-buck producers and $50-a-day-plus-car-fare actors to the sleazy storylines and gruesome special effects. CRIMSON ORGY is the rare book that you seem to be watching rather than reading, because it's so visual that it will remind you of those bloody horror films that played at the drive-in forty years ago, only with more intelligence and intentional humor. I'd like to think that if Williams had written his book back them, Vincent Price would have optioned it to be a starring vehicle and given the movie a modest budget and some style -- Danny Peary, author of Cult Movies and Guide for the Film Fanatic

An authentically seedy, almost charming tale of zero-budget horror moviemaking morphs cleverly into a genuine splatterfest in Williams's unnervingly enjoyable debut. With just one week and almost no money, director Sheldon Meyer and producer Gene Hoffman hope to make the ultimate underground horror film on location in south Florida, but star Vance Cogburn is drinking, local lawman Sonny Platt is making trouble, and Meyer hasn't told novice ingenue Barbara Cheston his real plans. Readers familiar with Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films or Bruce Campbell's memoir If Chins Could Kill will find Williams's descriptions of less-than-a-shoestring movie production wholly convincing, escalating crises and all. The gratuitous gore—filmed and real—delivers solidly on the horror end, and a sly framing device adds a slightly ambiguous layer of additional authenticity. Those looking for a pure bloodbath may find the book too literate, but horror film buffs should be delighted and chilled in equal measure. (Jan.)
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