When an introverted groundskeeper finds an unusual item at an estate sale, he accidentally unleashes an all-consuming evil hellbent on death and destruction.
Overall, this was a fantastic offering with a lot to like about it. One of the better aspects here concerns the sense of originality that emerges from the way this treats the possession that takes place. Rather than going for the expected route of someone sitting in a bed while being splashed with Holy Water as a priest yelled at them in either Latin or English to depart their body, this one goes for a more outlandish approach, where it utilizes the possession to turn into a slasher-style story. As we get an in-depth look at the early stages of the possession and how that takes over his mind, leaving him in a vulnerable state to listen to the vices in his head involving the sense of destruction and violence that erupts afterward. The exploration of his past and mental state goes a long way towards helping him realize what’s happening to him and the depraved depths he’s going to sink to.
That is unleashed in fine form when the second half turns into a wild slasher feature about this unhinged, superpowered figure running wild around town. Winding up at the bowling alley where all the other characters we’ve met along the way have happened to meet up as a source of escape from the small-town life, the experience turns into a feverish and frantic moments featuring the systemic destruction of everyone he comes across while also highlighting the discrepancies of his inner monologue instructing him to carry this out against what’s actually going on. The juxtaposition of how the voices in his head have coerced him into this type of action against the brutality that actually occurs is handled incredibly well with a lot of great action and a chilling finale, and is only interrupted by the repeated use of the same tactics to denote the possession that happens several times in the book. Beyond this, though, there’s so much to like here.
5/5
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