First published back in September of 2021, J.R. Park’s brutal pulp horror novel ‘Tear’ was only made available for purchase directly from the author exclusively at conventions making it an instant must have rarity.
Debbie had resigned herself to not drinking at Paula’s birthday celebrations. After speaking with her partner, Neil, before he boarded his train to the city for a job interview, Debbie had decided to stick to orange juice for the night, after which she’d drive Paula and Linda home. Of course, her friends wouldn’t hold back on the booze. After all, it was Paula’s twenty-first birthday, so she wouldn’t expect the pair to stay sober. Although as the alcohol gradually had its effect on the two of them, whilst Debbie stayed stone cold sober, it began to reveal a side to drinking which had started to irritate Debbie.
On the drive home that escalating irritation came to a peak. Her friends were acting like a couple of idiots, to the point where Debbie had snapped. She’d had enough of their moronic behaviour and didn’t hold back in letting them know. Her moment of anger was enough to distract her, even just for a split second. Enough to take her eyes off the road for the briefest of moments, when she let them know how much their stupid antics was annoying her.
The next thing Debbie’s aware of is waking up in a darkened room, her body screaming in agony. She was blindfolded and tied to a chair. Her wrists bound together behind her back and affixed to the chair’s metal frame. Her ankles crossed and tied together in a similar fashion. The rope eating into her raw and broken skin.
Debbie Dearlove had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there. She had no idea why she would be bound in such a way, a prisoner to the sadistic whim of whomever her captor was. The only thing she knew for certain, was she needed to get out of this situation. And she’d do whatever it takes to achieve that.
Meanwhile, the media was in a frenzy with the breaking news that a dangerous convict had broken free whilst being transported from one high-security prison to another. George Eastman was an infamous psychopath. A deranged and remorseless killer, who was said to have become even crueller during his time in prison. They referred to him as ‘The Beast’. A maniac with a taste for human flesh.
Now ‘The Beast’ was at large…
DLS Review:
The Gods of brutal pulp horror have sent a messenger, and I looked, and behold, for his name is Justin Park! This unrelenting slice of gritty, nasty, uncompromising pulp horror pulls absolutely no punches whatsoever. It’s a near relentless onslaught of hard-hitting, insanely brutal horror that attacks you with such unreserved, unobstructed ferocity. I kid you not, this is Panzer Division Park!
Essentially, the tale is split into two parallel running perspectives. The first being that of Debbie Dearlove, and her horrific ordeal at the hands of the escaped lunatic – George Eastman – the psychopath the media have dubbed ‘The Beast’!
The second perspective is from that of her partner, Neil Proctor, who’s travelled to the city for a big job interview with the slick corporate firm – Andrews & Andrews. Of course, Neil has no idea that whilst he’s comfortably sitting there in the interview, and then later waiting around for his train home afterwards, the love of his life is going through absolute hell.
However, it’s the complete juxtaposition presented between these two narratives, the polar opposites of the simultaneously running experiences, which throws you around the place like you’re on an out-of-control roller-coaster with a failed safety bar.
For anyone who’s spent any time dabbling in the viscous quagmire of extreme horror, whether it’s through books or disturbing films, the initial set up of Park’s offering isn’t entirely out of the norm for the genre. Indeed, how many plots have we had where our protagonist wakes within a darkened room, bound and blindfolded, with no recollection of how they got there, and at the absolute mercy of some utter lunatic?! Hell, Park himself even utilised this very premise in his equally hard-hitting novel ‘Upon Waking’ (2015).
That said, although the initial set up of the story might be well-trodden ground, the artistic delivery and extremity of the unforgiving brutal pulp is far from your run-of-the-mill offering. And yes, when I say “artistic delivery” I mean just that. It’s in the subtle concepts which Park plays around with. Like the repeated play on the double-meaning of the simple four-letter word: ‘Tear’.
Noun:A drop of the saline, watery fluid continually secreted by the lacrimal glands between the surface of the eye and the eyelid, serving to moisten and lubricate these parts and keep them clear of foreign particles.Verb:To pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges. To pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force. To distress greatly. To divide or disrupt. To wound or injure, by or as if by, rending; lacerate.
Oh, how Park plays around with this simplistic dual meaning. Tears and tears. One leading to the other leading to the other. It’s subtle but smart.
Then we, of course, also have the stark juxtaposition of the two parallel running threads. One which feels so mundane comparison, so drenched in light, and life, and full or promise and potential. The other narrative, a baptism into hell, where life is constantly under threat of being cut short. A vicious cacophony of agony and brutality, where body and soul are beaten, broken and destroyed mercilessly.
Parks delivery of this in its entirety, is so on point, that it’s nothing short of a masterclass in how to unsettle the reader. Just when you’re almost in the rhythm of the story, you’re derailed again. Taken to the other end of the spectrum, heart racing and pulse pounding. Unceremoniously thrown about within the roller-coaster cart, so you can never find your feet, never stabilise yourself. The end result is you’ll feel constantly on edge, constantly ill at ease.
But what of George ‘The Beast’ Eastman?! Well, I suspect Park watched Joe D’Amato’s ‘Anthropophagus’ (1980) shortly before penning this novel. The homage-like Easter Eggs are all there – from the cannibalistic psycho sharing the same name as the film’s screenwriter (George Eastman), along with the description of our pal George being an absolute carbon copy of the film’s antagonist. In fact, the word ‘Anthropophagus’ is even muttered in conversation between a pub’s landlord and one of the regulars. That’s just Park all over though. He loves his in-jokes and nods of recognition from fellow horror geeks.
So yeah, that’s pretty much what ‘Tear’ is. An unrelenting assault on the senses. A brutal, nasty, and fucking insanely gripping read that’ll just batter you silly. The visceral gore is intense. The depths of sadistic and diabolically cruel depravity exhibited in the novel are so hard to swallow it’s like gargling razor blades. You’ll feel stomped on. You’ll want to look away. But you just can’t. Not for a second.
This slab of modern pulp horror is fucking insane!
The novel runs for a total of 184 pages.
© DLS Reviews
