First published back in January of 2022, Jack Bantry and Robert Essig’s ‘A Lesson In Renegade Filmmaking’ was a limited edition chapbook which was published through Bantry’s ‘Splatterpunk Zine’. Only one-hundred copies of the chapbook were printed.
The story itself was first published within ‘Dark Moon Digest: Issue 25’ (2016).
Benjamin Bagley might only be eleven, but he was already fanatical about horror. His mother didn’t approve of him watching horror films, although with her being a single mother with two jobs, it was easy for the boy to get away with watching what he wanted to.
As such, Bagley had taken to frequenting the local video rental shop. At first, he’d rented ‘Commando’ whilst his mother was with him in the rental shop. After that he’d tried his luck at renting ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge’. To his delight, the shop owner didn’t bat an eyelid at his young age.
After that, Benjamin Bagley was taking home a different horror VHS each day. Soon enough, he’d begun to forge a good friendship with the store owner – Burt. The two connecting over their love for horror.
Then Burt mentioned he was making his own short horror film. One which Benjamin just had to see. After all, the boy clearly appreciated the art within horror. And Burt’s film was to be packed to the rafter with the gory good stuff…
Here we have a short offering from two authors who are more than a little familiar with penning a darn good Splatterpunk story. Indeed, this short tale reads almost like a love letter to the horror genre – in particular the glorious era of 80s horror.
If, like me, you’re a lifelong horror fan who’s now firmly in the realms of middle-age, Benjamin Bagley will likely remind you of yourself during your younger years. Back when you were discovering horror for the first time. Wanting to spend every evening watching another film. Working your way through the classics. From ‘Halloween’, to ‘Psycho’, then onto ‘Blood Feast’ and then ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. Oh, wasn’t it just the best time?! The thrill of watching all these glorious horror movies for the very first time. That’s what much of this story is. It sends you back to those days, through the eyes of young Benjamin Bagley.
Of course, there’s more of a plot to the story than that. It doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see where Bantry and Essig’s story is probably going. However, the journey to the ‘big unveiling’ of the real horror is thoroughly entertaining. Then when the horror is revealed, it’s probably got a tad more balls to its brutality than you were expecting.
The end result of all this is an engaging and fun packed read, which admittedly will probably appeal more to those who (like me) were around during the 1980s.
The chapbook runs for a total of 24 pages.
© DLS Reviews
