* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review *

This is more like a 3.5 star review. Much like the beloved Horror section of your local video rental store — they’re not all winners, but even the bad ones are gloriously bad. I’ll be honest, I saw the title on NetGalley and requested it thinking it was essays. It is short stories in the style of 80s horror. So keep in mind, some nights you rented Near Dark & were blown away & sometimes you rented The Love Butcher and were like “??? WTF ??”

Cover art — 5 stars, I would have rented this video, or hoped that my babysitter in 1986 rented it.

5 star stories:

“Coming Attractions”, Stephen Graham Jones — I wish this had been the last story in the collection, because those closing sentences would have been the best way to close out the collection. What a great story.

“Screen Haunt”, Orrin Grey — Creepy, atmospheric, and also has a taut emotional cord that runs from the opening sentence and ties neatly and naturally into the closing line.

“Late Sleepers” , Steve Rasnic Tem — Weird, eerie, and with just a touch of the opening to Midsommer in its ethereal quality.

***

I wouldn’t call “Invisible” a 5 star story in a category with the above mentioned standouts, but it has a deeply satisfying ending. “Creature Feature” started strong but the silliness at the end (which, sigh, is very attuned to 80s horror, so hard to say if that was intentional or not) lost me & made the story less satisfying. Likewise, “On The Rocks” had a weak start but a great ending. “Cronenberg Concerto”, “Devils Reel”, and “Special Makeup” were middle of the pack. Enjoyable while I read them but nothing I’ll remember or think about in a month, whereas Screen Haunt, Late Sleepers, and Coming Attractions will stay with me a while.

There’s some horribly cheesy dialogue — again, hard to say if this is poor writing or intentionally reflecting the feel of 80s horror, which is full of terrible dialogue. There’s also some cringe-y instances of “men writing women” (they really just don’t get how periods work, do they?) but here again: having not read anything else by those authors, I can’t say if it’s bad writing or “bad-on-purpose” writing, because no one in 80s horror knew how periods worked, either. Overall, it was a fun read and the 3-star review is a POSITIVE 3 star review because sure, there are better horror anthologies out there. But they may not be as fun, schlocky, or nostalgic as this one. I’d give this to horror-con buddies for sure.

The only thing this book was missing was a Joe Bob Briggs tally at the beginning.

3 stars, Allie says, Check It Out.

This anthology is a collection of short stories all written in the vein of 80s horror movies and set in drive-ins and movie theaters.

As with most anthologies, some stood out a little more than others, but all gave me the feeling of going to the theater with a big bucket of popcorn and watching classic horror films with friends.

The stories feature classic creatures such as werewolves, alien parasites, bug men, and ghosts. It Came from the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers is a great way to get into the fall/Halloween spirit any time of year.

Thank you to NetGalley, the editors and authors and Hex Publishing for the opportunity to review this horror anthology.

The characters in these stories live different lives and live in different parts of the country. However, they're all connected by one thing: their relationship to movies and movie theaters. Sometimes it's the movies themselves that are important and sometimes, it's just the feeling of being in a theater or being in the audience.

So while the stories are meant to be scary, there's also a kind of sadness to them. It's the pain of nostalgia. For one thing, they don't really make movies like these anymore, at least not in wide release. And for another, a lot of these theaters don't exist anymore, either. As Steve Rasnic Tem writes in "Late Sleepers," "Did you know in the 30s they called movie theaters dream palaces? They understood back then. We've just forgotten."

Some of the stories revolve around scenes at drive-ins, for instance. Although they're still around, they obviously don't number as many as they once did. In reading these stories, I was reminded of something Emily VanDerWerff wrote about my favorite X-Files episode, "Home":

...it's both a sterling example of a certain kind of horror tale and a last gasp effort within the subgenre, a sort of sad farewell to a weird America that was rapidly smoothing itself out.

The collection begins with Warren Hammond's "Alien Parasites from Outer Space," a story that continues in the second tale, Angie Hodapp's "Return of the Alien Parasites from Outer Space." Both stories follow an awkward teenage boy, as he suspects the alien parasite movie at the drive-in may be a true story. The sequel device could come off as clunky, but both Hammond and Hodapp work well together, and it's a fun story.

Other stories invoke theater ghosts, real-life serial killers, and that good ol' 80s staple, demons and the specter of hell.

As this is a collection of stories, from over a dozen authors, the quality within varies. However, I didn't hate or even really dislike any of the stories. I just connected more with some of them than I did with others.

For personal, spoilery reasons, I think my favorite was K. Nicole Davis's "On the Rocks," in which a group of friends goes to Red Rocks to see a showing of The Howling. (In case you're unfamiliar, The Howling is a horror movie about a human terrorist who moves to a peaceful werewolf community and destroys it.) I also enjoyed the cosmic horror of Gary Jonas's "Creature Feature," as well as the atmospheric eeriness of Orrin Grey's "Screen Haunt." Coping with anxiety, the latter story's protagonist tells her therapist, "Movies don’t scare me. They’re, like, the only things that don’t scare me. So, of course, I want them to." Girl, same.

Each of the stories can be read in a moment, gobbled down like a large popcorn. That's both a positive and a negative for the book. It's positive because if you don't like a story, just wait. Another's on the way. However, it's also a negative, because it lends each story--and the book as a whole--a slight feeling. As with inhaling that popcorn, it doesn't really stick to your ribs.

Still, though, it's entertaining, and it's a good introduction to several horror authors you might not know.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This anthology was awful, and I found myself skimming each story to get done with the book as quickly as possible. I did not find any of the stories to be interesting, and the writing styles felt very bland. The blurb on GoodReads also does not do a great job of telling the reader what the actual contents of this book are going to be. I would not recommend this at all and give it a one-star.

A collection of short stories with one thing in common - 80s horror at the cinema. I’m a fan of both horror fiction and horror films so I was excited to get an ARC of this collection, although the only contributor I had heard of already was Stephen Graham Jones.
As with many collections, there were some gems and some that didn’t quite hit the mark. I particularly enjoyed ‘Rise, Ye Vermin’ and ‘Special Makeup’, which I could imagine as episodes of Creepshow or The Twilight Zone!
Sadly there wasn’t anything that blew me away, hence the 3 stars, but it’s worth picking up if you love a good 80s splatterfest!

Disclaimer - I received a free ARC in return for a fair review

2.5/5

This collection of short stories is a blatant homage to 80s horror movies. Both main stream movies and B-movies play a major role in each entry. Each story has a grind house vibe and not much else. In terms of character and plot development, there are none. I understand that short stories are not a great medium to establish well fleshed (pun intended) characters nor are they a great medium to tell a somewhat cohesive narrative. However, at a slim 316 pages, there is plenty of room to grow. Also, there are many stories (and when I say many I mean all) that logic takes a backseat to blood splatter, monsters, ghosts, and other horror tropes. Maybe this is ok for some. But I found the decisions and conclusions made by characters a bit ridiculous. Out of fourteen tales, three stand out as pretty exceptional: The Cronenberg Concerto by Keith Ferrell, Invisible by Mario Acevedo, and On the Rocks by K. Nicole Davis. Thanks to these wonderful entries, this collection gets a mild thumbs up from me.

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If you're into campy and bloody 80's horror movies, and luckily I am, this book is for you! This book is a gem! Full of references and easter eggs! I'm definitely a hard copy of this!

This anthology surrounds itself with the nostalgic environment of multiplexes and drive-ins aligned with cars filled with individual grotesque horror stories wrapped up with a mesmerizing bloody bow on top. Each story melted into the next creating this timeless flow.

First, I have to applaud this book for it’s artwork. The reader may think they only get this stunning 80’s influenced horror film dedicated cover described in the preface as “...the right sort of artwork, something with eye-gouging, wait, eye-popping colors'' (9). Oh no, there is much more art submerged within the pages. Included inside are these gorgeous horror stencils that not only accommodate each story but also synchronize with the header flip-book artwork.

The majority of these stories had my heart pumping and gripped by the throat gasping for air. Others had tropes that were expected to eventually appear, but done quite well. I admired the multiple creative usages of physical film reels incorporated in select stories in comparison to simply using a film within the story. “Alien Parasites From Outer Space” (Warren Hammond⁣ & Angie Hodapp⁣), “Helluloid” (Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore) and “Invisible” (Mario Acevedo) were my favorites from the collection. Also, Keith Ferrel’s “The Cronenberg Concert” had me submerged through the vivid word usage. Then, hit me with the horrifyingly grotesque.

I would recommend this anthology to anyone. One can find fragments of comedy, mystery and magical realism alongside the main genre of nostalgic horror.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hex Publishers, the authors, and all contributors for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Came From the Multiplex is an anthology of short stories that feature 80s horror movies and a variety of movie settings. I do not know if it my sense of nostalgia was stirred from the ode to older movies or from the settings of movie theaters since COVID 19 prevents me from going to a movie theater.

I really enjoyed this collection. “Devil’s Reel” was one of my favorites for turning the notion of spiritual warfare in Christianity in a terrifying 3-D movie that set chills down my spine –and I am very skeptical about institutional religion! “Creature Feature” was my other favorite because it was the story of the last day of a movie theater that had components of both romance and doom.

One thing I appreciated about the way the collection was constructed is that it emphasized different aspects of the movie experience: “Invisible” involved a serial killer at a drive in movie, “Coming Attractions” emphasized the bathroom of a movie theater, “Screen Haunts” was about someone who suffered from severe anxiety but made horror movies and “Special Make Up” involved the production of a movie.

My least favorite story was “Rise Ye Vermin” because it had excellent descriptions of cockroaches…and descriptions of bugs and rodent in horror novels and movies always makes me squeamish. However the author of the story, Betty Rockstead, wrote it remarkably well. If an author makes me paranoid that I may be attacked by creepy crawly things they are doing their job well and I kept wondering what might be crawling over me while I read the story.

I would highly recommend this collection if you are a fan of horror movies as all of the stories succeed in bringing the movie experience to life on the page. You will find yourself wanting to pop popcorn and snuggle in front of your favorite horror movie as a result of reading this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this advanced reader’s copy.

Another book with a cover that I just LOVE. And it utterly fits this fun 80's horror anthology.

All of the 14 short stories here are centered around the movies- theaters/cinema drive-ins etc

Despite the low page count there is not a clunker in the bunch. Pretty amazing and makes the purchase print price worth it. Plus again- that cover just begs to be shown off! Oh-and there are some treats inside I won't spoil!

My favorites (in no order) were:

Coming Attractions by Stephen Graham Jones (seriously- add him to your must read list-he's one of my favorite authors)

Invisible by Mario Acevedo

On the Rocks by K.Nicole Davis

Creature Feature by Gary Jonas

rating - 4 hearts out of 5

Loved this book so much! It was such a fun, nostalgic spooky read! I loved the retro yet modern vibes. It was an easy read and so enjoyable! Highly recommend!

You know how things can be cheesy in a good way? It Came From the Multiplex is cheesy in a good way. If you have loving memories of drive in theaters or watching the sudden boom of wonderfully bad horror movies that came with the rise of VHS players in homes, this will scratch that nostalgia itch. Think of the way Stranger Things has appealed. Same thing.

If I just described you, these stories center on people just like you. Just like us. Mostly a bunch of teenagers who watch bad movies and what happens to them in the places they watch them. Or the places they don't. I wonderfully cheesy collection of horror stories.

A great collection of short stories. While my teen years were the 80s, I loved all of the old movie references! This book brought back so many memories of the movie theaters!

Sadly, as much as I was looking forward to this - I lived 80s horror and worked at a run down video store during the VHS era - it just didn't work for me. I gave it 5 stories before and abandoning it and none of them hooked me.

Won’t lie, this collection pulled me in because of its amazing cover. It was a collection of fast paced, fun reads that really remind you of 80s horror. I will totally be looking up some of these authors to read more by them.

If you took every wonderfully bad horror flick of the 1980s, shoved them all into a blender and poured the resulting mess into an inkpot with which to write some short stories, this is what you'd get. These stories are full of blood and gore and cheesy special effects and over the top kitschy campy goodness. Each of the fourteen stories centers around that staple of 80's culture: the movie theatre. Old ones, new ones, drive-ins, they're all here and filled with ghosts and ghouls and werewolves and oh...a giant moth creature and a couple of seriously screwed up humans. Oh, and the Elder Gods. They're hanging out there, too.

Most anthologies have some good and some not-so-great stories but this collection is one hit after another. Most stories are a perfect blend of horror and humor, with a couple being just flat out disturbing horror (interestingly, those are the ones about humans doing terrible things). All horror fans will find plenty to like here, and those of us old enough to actually remember the golden age that was the 80's will like it even more.

Not surprising with anthologies some stories were much stronger than others, i did enjoy this a lot. I found the writing styles were very different so it took a while to get into the writing for the story to end and me to be back at square one. It also took me an absolute age to finish to. I loved the 80's vibes, the cover is very Grady Hendrix which i loved and it had a bit of Stranger Things vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hex Publishing for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

This was a FUN read! It's made up of short horror stories that all center around movies. The stories weren't necessarily super scary, but neither are cheesy 80's horror movies. This was the perfect book to ease into spooky season with! If you're a horror buff, I would definitely recommend this!

My personal favorites were:
Creature Feature
Invisible
Screen Haunt
The Devil's Reel
Coming Attractions

This anthology is out a week from today on Sept. 15th! Would definitely recommend.

Scheduled to post 9/8/20.

IT CAME FROM THE MULTIPLEX was a super fun book that had my nostalgia feelings all a tingle. I couldn't help but be immediately sucked in by that cover. Look at it. Isn't it fantastic? While I was never super into the B-movie level creature features that were just dripping in gouda, I appreciated the level of fun that some of these stories wished to recreate here because, let's face it: they just don't make movies like these anymore.

I also liked how everything centered around the super grimy movie theater of years past. As an adult now I pretty much won't go to anything other than an Alamo Drafthouse, although I certainly remember those discount theaters where you were thankful the lights weren't fully up because you just didn't want to know what could potentially be all over your seat. And what the hell did you just step in? Anyone else's LA Gears get spot-welded to the floor if you kept them in place for too long? No? Just me? So yeah. I totally get it.

On of my favorites was The Devil's Reel, simply because I'm a sucker for Christianity vs the devil type stories and how those whacky plots can go so terribly wrong. I also liked the one about keeping the Old Ones in check in an old movie theater. I think that one was Creature Feature. Special Makeup was a good one too. I thought it was really unique and I liked how it was set in 1950s (I think) Hollywood.

I was totally in the mood for something like IT CAME FROM THE MULTIPLEX and I was not disappointed. It has that certain level of kitsch that pokes the nostalgia button while at the same time still being a little on the creepy side too. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

4.5

This book is an anthology of stories written as an homage to 80s horror movies. I thought it was going to something else, based on the description, so be aware when selecting this book. The stories are a bit all over in terms of quality - both the writing and the plot. That's to be expected from an anthology, especially given the manner in which these stories were gathered. I pushed my way through them all, but would recommend skipping to the next if you find you aren't connecting to one. Rating this book is tough because of that difference in quality. If I rated the stories themselves, they would range from 2 to 5 stars. I ultimately chose to rate this book 4 stars because I enjoyed the vast majority of the stories and this Gen Xers thoroughly enjoyed the concept.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley for free in exchange for a review.