A guest review! Ancient Horror History Unearthed: Teddy by John Gault REVIEWED!
Per my last post, I recently moved and as a by-product, most of my collection, new and old are boxed up and awaiting a new bookshelf-home. As much as it bums me out, we have to get the necessities unpacked first, as well as little things, like painting, before the big old book collection comes out. Sure, reading rules, but being able to eat and shower rule just a little bit more. Kinda.
I've attempted to start reading again, but really, there's still so much to do that my next review might be a little ways off.
As such, I reached out to my friends in the Books of Horror group on Facebook to help me keep the content coming on the blog. Sure enough, I had an overwhelming response for guest reviews.
I chose this one first, because it's a peculiar book, a Canadian-only release (I believe?), that spawned a lovable-but-atrocious 1981 clusterfuck of a movie, The Pit. Also, because Chris Mayek, the gentleman and fellow-horror reader, is a trusted source for me. He's been posting reviews to that group for a long while, and they tend to be spot-on!
And so, without further adieu, Chris Mayek's take on 1981's Teddy!
"'The Pit' is in my opinion one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen, for a number of reasons. It's more of an unintentional comedy.
For those unfamiliar it revolves around a bullied outcast named Jamie in a small Wisconsin town who's only friends are his teddy bear and a little community of troll-esque creatures that reside within in a hole near the boy's home. His teddy bear tells him to kill people/feed them to said creatures.
A shame, as the novel it was adapted from, Teddy by John Gault, is one of the best horror novels I've ever read. But even today I do believe it could not be fully adapted due to content. For 1981, it is especially graphic.
Many scenes in the novel are not in the film, as well as a few characters. It is not splatter - more of a progressively disturbing psychological horror. For example, there is a scene where Jamie realizes the teddy bear voice is actually coming from him, and simply grins impishly stating how cool he sounds.
Another scene involves him trying to rape his older teen babysitter, and another forcing a fellow classmate/bully to let Jamie grope her before throwing her to be creature food.
Despite this, it's extremely well written and enjoyable despite being 180 pages. Unfortunately the book is near impossible to acquire, commanding prices of $150 minimum when surfacing anywhere. My copy was given to me by a friend though I do believe it is worth paying around $50-$60 for.
Info on Teddy's author John Gault is nonexistent. All I could find came from the back cover, stating he was a journalist in Toronto (this was published in Canada only by the way).
If by some heavenly stroke of luck you do come across this novel in a used bookstore do not hesitate to snatch it up. You won't be disappointed."
I've attempted to start reading again, but really, there's still so much to do that my next review might be a little ways off.
As such, I reached out to my friends in the Books of Horror group on Facebook to help me keep the content coming on the blog. Sure enough, I had an overwhelming response for guest reviews.
I chose this one first, because it's a peculiar book, a Canadian-only release (I believe?), that spawned a lovable-but-atrocious 1981 clusterfuck of a movie, The Pit. Also, because Chris Mayek, the gentleman and fellow-horror reader, is a trusted source for me. He's been posting reviews to that group for a long while, and they tend to be spot-on!
And so, without further adieu, Chris Mayek's take on 1981's Teddy!
"'The Pit' is in my opinion one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen, for a number of reasons. It's more of an unintentional comedy.
For those unfamiliar it revolves around a bullied outcast named Jamie in a small Wisconsin town who's only friends are his teddy bear and a little community of troll-esque creatures that reside within in a hole near the boy's home. His teddy bear tells him to kill people/feed them to said creatures.
A shame, as the novel it was adapted from, Teddy by John Gault, is one of the best horror novels I've ever read. But even today I do believe it could not be fully adapted due to content. For 1981, it is especially graphic.
Many scenes in the novel are not in the film, as well as a few characters. It is not splatter - more of a progressively disturbing psychological horror. For example, there is a scene where Jamie realizes the teddy bear voice is actually coming from him, and simply grins impishly stating how cool he sounds.
Another scene involves him trying to rape his older teen babysitter, and another forcing a fellow classmate/bully to let Jamie grope her before throwing her to be creature food.
Despite this, it's extremely well written and enjoyable despite being 180 pages. Unfortunately the book is near impossible to acquire, commanding prices of $150 minimum when surfacing anywhere. My copy was given to me by a friend though I do believe it is worth paying around $50-$60 for.
Info on Teddy's author John Gault is nonexistent. All I could find came from the back cover, stating he was a journalist in Toronto (this was published in Canada only by the way).
If by some heavenly stroke of luck you do come across this novel in a used bookstore do not hesitate to snatch it up. You won't be disappointed."
Chris gives this one a 5/5!
Sold me on it...if I can ever find a copy that doesn't put me into foreclosure on that new house...
Guest reviewer
Chris Mayek is a young fan of pretty much anything 1980's, especially horror. His first immersion into it was Koontz in early middle school, but he discovered the vast world of retro horror shortly after. He prefers titles in the splatter and killer kid genres.
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