Midnight Movie: A Novel (edition 2011)

So, not really a horror novel. There's gore, zombies, violence, and weirdness, but at no time is the book scary. It's a funny book, cleverly written and fast paced. The characters are likable and sympathetic. The writing is very crisp, the dialogue snaps and crackles and flows very nicely. There is good imagery and some very vivid scenes. But understand, this is Tobe Hooper, so there is an over all weirdness to the book, and a style that is very much like his early film making. Don't expect this to be straight forward or strictly logical. It's meant to be weird, and it is.

It did remind me of another book I really enjoyed; John Dies At The End, by David Wong. Same vibe, only Midnight Movie, quite frankly, is not as good.

Tobe (Tobeeeee) Hoopster is likable as a character, and I imagine he had a great deal of fun writing himself as a character. You can feel him chuckling through the pages of the book. And that's what the book really has going for it: the obvious fun that was had writing it. I imagine Hooper and co-author Alan Goldsher had a blast, and that really comes through.

If you're looking for a horror novel, keep looking. If you are a Tobe Hooper fan looking to spend a little time with him, then this is a good way to do it. ( )

In "Midnight Movie", a film fanatic named Dude McGee has discovered the very first horror film ever directed by Tobe Hooper, the mastermind behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and decides to screen it at the SXSW festival in Austin. He eagerly invites Tobe to attend the screening and to speak afterwards. The problem, though, is that Tobe doesn't remember much about the film: the story, the filming, almost nothing save for the title, Destiny Express. But he reluctantly agrees to show up anyway.

At first, the screening seems to be running smoothly, even if the "movie house" turned out to be a divey little bar far from the main SXSW activities. The crowd seems to be getting into it, almost mesmerized by the dreadful acting and story playing across the makeshift screen. Slowly, however, Tobe notices things aren't quite right with the crowd. The bartender, for example, becomes quite violent. Or how about the young woman who suddenly grabs Tobe wanting sex then and there. But once the movie ends, the crowd returns to normal.

Or so it seems. Soon after the crowd goes home, strange things begin to happen around Austin. A mysterious STD appears that turns bodily secretions blue. A rash of violence and destruction spreads through the city. Random people turn into zombies then infect others. A series of fires pop up around the city. And it only gets worse as "The Game", as it begins being called by the press, moves out of Austin to every corner of the United States.

With a small group of the unaffected, Tobe embarks on a mission to stop "The Game" before total chaos breaks out.

I'm a bit on the fence about this book. I liked the idea of using a movie screening as the catalyst for the horrific happenings, similar to The Ring but on a much grander scale. You catch the disease by watching the movie, then the infected spread it around by touch or even by tweeting. But at times, I felt too much was going on. Zombies in this part of the country, random acts of violence here and there, an STD that spread everywhere. Trying to connect those varied strains with the storyline of Destiny Express was, for the most part, in vain; the only thing that made sense were the zombies since those played a large part in Destiny Express. And for the life of me, I never understood why the disease was called "The Game".

The characters are what really make this book work. From the aged director Tobe Hooper who on the surface seems like a forgetful, horny old man but in reality is the protective wiseass of the group to Dude McGee, one of the creepiest and most disgusting individuals in fiction -- once or twice, I thought I caught a whiff of salami in the plane's cabin -- each character has something relatable about them that draws you into the story.

Plus, the pages are ripe with plenty of blood, gore and sex to please the horror fan in me.

"Midnight Movie" was fun to read, and I would be very interested to see what happens if they tried to turn it into an actual move. ( )