Issue 6 (November 2014)
40 Pages (A5)
First published back in November of 2014, issue six of Jack Bantry’s ‘Splatterpunk Zine’ offered up another array of A5 black & white pages, packed with more stories, articles, reviews and interviews of uncompromisingly violent horror and gore. Like with the previous issues, the zine was made available for purchase via Bantry’s ‘Splatterpunk Zine’ website.
Gore Talk - Jack Bantry – 1 Page
Splatterpunk Editor and all-round splatter guru Jack Bantry kick starts issue six (following a short Editorial dedicating the issue to the late great J.F. Gonzalez) with a one page list detailing his top ten splatter novels, each accompanied with a short synopsis. Basically an excellent ‘check list’ to get the splatter fun going.
Give It Some Heart – Kit Power – 1.5 Pages
British author Kit Power launches into a confession-cum-thought-provoking-examination of why splatterpunk isn’t a natural fit for him. Here, Power looks at the strong use of empathy behind the best 80s horror novels and how it enables the shocking violence to work so well. Altogether an excellent examination.
Take It From Me (But Give It Back When You’re Done) - James Newman – 2.5 Pages
US author James Newman offers up the first instalment of his Splatterpunk column – venturing into the world of horror cinema. Here Newman offers up a list of eight non-horror films which each include particularly unsettling and horrific moments – nudging them ever-so-slightly towards our chosen genre. Each addition includes a brief synopsis as well as a quick lowdown of the scene in question – so expect spoilers from the get go. All in all, quite an enjoyable, interesting and entertaining read.
Six Degrees So Many Degrees To Kevin Bacon – John Boden - 2 Pages
US author John Boden takes us on a trip through memory lane as he lays down the key influences that got him into writing, reading and falling in love with the horror genre. From Dr. Seuss, to Scooby-Doo, to Alice Cooper and then later on to the work of Stephen King and John Skipp & Craig Spector. This is a man who just plain adores the genre. And for those that have walked similar paths, who have dedicated a good portion of their lives to Horror, this’ll be a heart-warming joy to read.
Fuck Shock – Brendan Vidito – 4 Pages
The sexual frustration had persisted for several weeks now. Despite numerous attempts, Robert Duffy could no longer garner any sexual gratification from any act – no matter what it was or who it was with. It was now becoming apparent that he’d ruined his sexual life forever. He’d unwittingly entered Fuck Shock – the unfortunate product of having the most satisfying sexual encounter one could ever experience. Now all he was left with was a chronic dissatisfaction with any lessor forms of sexual pleasure. Quite frankly, it fucking sucked. If only he’d not gone down to that sex club seeking out “unusual sexual services at a discounted price”. But then he would never have known how good it could be. How the worm’s venom made it feel oh so fucking good…
Hose me down with nitric acid and throw me in a bath of salt. Oh Lord is this one fucked up. This is some filthyass, balls-out-weird erotic body horror. The concept’s a simple one. Once you’ve experienced sexual pleasure like no other, how can anything else possibly satisfy you? The thing is, Brendan Vidito’s made this ultimate sexual experience into one messed-up piece of skin-crawling body horror. And he doesn’t hold back one bit with the vile little details. Man this is wrong on all kinds of levels. But fuck me if it isn’t just a damn entertaining read.
The story includes a full page illustration by Nick Gucker. And holy shit is that some grotesque artwork to accompany the story!
Threesome – Ryan Harding – 8 Pages
Blake couldn’t believe his luck when Karla had clearly made a concerted effort to get with him. Karla was one of those girls that every guy in their right mind dreamed about. She was by far and away the hottest girl in there college, and all of a sudden, he was having sex with her more times than he was having hot dinners. Julie had not long broken up with him – not a big loss – in fact she was quite frankly a mediocre ride at best. Of course when she’d called it off he’d gotten his own back. Not that he really needed to – he’d wanted it over – but nevertheless he’d wanted to come out of it on top. So he’d posted up a video of them doing the nasty on Grudgefuxx. That was that. Now he was with Karla, he’d barely given the video a second thought. That is, until Karla asked if he’d do a threesome with her and another girl. It just so happened that the other girl was Julie. Even though they had history, let’s face it, how could he refuse?…
Oh man are these stories getting good. US author Ryan Harding offers up a thick slab of erotic horror with one bastard of a gruesome ending. Think ‘Nekromantik’ (1987) does YouPorn and you’re half the way there. It ladles in the sex, getting the juices going from the outset, until the scene’s set to absolute perfection. And then, as you’ve no doubt guessed it, things take a turn for the worse…for poor old Blake that is. Harding lays down more visceral gore and sadistic splatter than you know what to do with. This is proper, in-your-face splatter with ‘comeuppance’ cranked up to hellish proportions. This man knows how to carve a fucker up. Oh yes, expect nothing short of outrageously brutal splatterpunk with absolutely no holding back. Su-fucking-perb!
The story includes a full page illustration by Robert Elrod.
Big Girls Help Their Mommy – James Newman – 3 Pages
These days her Mommy was always sad. Whenever her Mommy spoke to her Daddy on the phone, she’d start getting angry and then she’d end up crying. She cried a lot these days. Cried about money. Cried that no one helped. Cried that she was alone. Daddy had gone off with some skank with a lazy eye, leaving her, her Mommy, and her baby brother. But she was a Big Girl now. She was four-and-a-half. She’d help her Mommy. She’d make it all better again…
Grim, dark, grim and fucking dark. Yeah, I said grim and dark twice there. James Newman’s story deserves that. You see, it’s only very short. Two pages with an accompanying full page illustration. But in those two pages of text, Newman delivers one bastard of a gut-punch, with his all-too-real vision of a modern day broken family. It’s simple, but fuck me is it effective with its stark brutality. Here you’re not dunked into a vat of blood and guts, but rather shown how cruel and uncaring real life horror can be. It’ll leave you cold. Bastard cold.
The story includes a full page illustration by Luke Spooner
The Texas Chainsaw Breakfast Club (or I Don’t Like Monday’s) – Bracken MacLeod – 7 Pages
They each woke up in the filth encrusted cellar, each of them chained by a manacle to the walls. Leslie looked over at her fellow prisoners. Allison was there, the snotty princess from her school year who thought a spot of casual bullying was just a bit of fun. Curled up on the dirt-covered floor she could see Reginald, wheezing and puffing without his inhaler. And across from her was John Wilden. He was hanging like a slab of meat from a hook. Leslie had no idea how she got here, how she ended up a captive for some sicko. The headache spoke volumes. Some sort of drug had knocked her out. But why her? And why with these other fuckwits?...
Teens chained up by manacles in a cellar. Sounds like we’re in for some pretty brutal splatterpunk here. And US author Bracken MacLeod doesn’t half deliver the goods. Reminiscent of Wayne Simmons’ ‘The Girl In The Basement’ (2014), MacLeod sets the scene perfectly, with an atmosphere so tense, so rich with fear, that you’ll think your heart will stop thudding any second. From these foundations MacLeod takes a swing for the reader with a bombardment of violence and shocking mistreatment, until the explosive finale blows your frigging brains out all over the page. Compelling, disturbing, unrelenting and fucking awesome reading.
The story includes a full page illustration by Dan Henk.
Wide Load – Kit Power – 4.5 pages
It was just another day in the office for Richard. He had nothing urgent on, but his hangover was already making him wish he’d called in sick. Still, he didn’t exactly have to do much today. Being an IT consultant was a doddle for him. Money for old rope is what his father would say. But after an hour of procrastinating, he decided it was time for a shit. An excuse to waste some more of the day away, and even better, to walk past Becky’s desk en route to the toilets and hopefully catch a glimpse of her impressive cleavage again. However as Richard passed her desk, he heard her mutter something under her breath. What had that bloody goth bitch said? He hadn’t heard the words but he knew from the tone it wasn’t complimentary. If she was going to flaunt her chest then she should expect men like him to look. She deserved a good seeing to. And oh how he’d love to be the one to give it to her…
I confess – I frigging love Kit Power’s work. He can write so damn well. And he’s clearly not bothered about veering into some decidedly distasteful territory. It just makes his stories irresistible reading. But I guess it’s that voice behind his tales that really draws you in. That empathy and link you have with the narrator. The story plays out from behind their eyes and you can’t help but feel a part of it all. And shit has Power got one bastard of a revolting little trip in store for you here. It’s a story that’s got that whole gross-out thing going for it. Mix in some barely justifiable suggestion of comeuppance and a wickedly smirk-inducing twist ending, and you’ve got yourself one grim little read that’s executed to absolute perfection. Fucking genius!
The story includes a full page illustration by Jim Agpalza.
Book Reviews – 3 Pages
Dominoes – John Boden
Time Of Death – Shana Festa
The Venus Complex – Barbie Wilde
Snafu – Geoff Brown & Amanda J Spedding
Jackpot – Adam Cesare, Shane McKenzie, Kristopher Rufty & David Bernstein
Lifeline – Kit Power
The Haunted Halls – Glenn Rolfe
