Movie Review - OFFSPRING

Whatever Jack Ketchum writes, it's visceral. It's also visual - in your mind.

The latest film from his arsenal of books is actually the sequel to a book that, unfortunately, didn't get the film treatment due to numerous legal squabbles. We may not get to see OFF SEASON, but OFFSPRING makes up for the slack. (If you haven't read either, read them in order, if nothing more than to get the full "effect" of the story.)

The first thing that struck me was that Ketchum wrote the screenplay. This has led to the film being shot 99% verbatim to the book, and as a reader that made me very happy.

The story is basically two-fold. There is a family who lives in a remote area of Maine (the northern woodsy area). They are hunted, tortured, and consumed by a "family" of cannibals.

The other "side" of the story involves this cannibalistic family who is struggling to survive in this modern day and age. Although you don't sympathize with them, you tend to understand them better.

What's missing is the full explanation of WHY these cannibals became what they are, which is told in the first book. There are a series of newspaper articles and such at the very beginning of the movie, to help with the back story, but I felt there needed to be more clarification. Also missing is the reason why the cannibals have such names as "Rabbit", "Cow", "Eartheater", "First Taken", and "Second Taken", which was given in the first book.

The movie is brutal. Children are murdered, as well as adults. And the bloodshed is non-stop. There is dismemberment, nudity, and profanity. In short, I think horror fans will enjoy it.

My recommendation. And go read both books, too. It doesn't matter if you read first before watching the movie, or vice versa.

Update! OFFSPRING Heads for the Big Screen!

According to FearNet.com, Jack Ketcham's OFFSPRING is heading for the big screen! As I mentioned back on April 20th, Ketcham's OFF SEASON has not been optioned to be made into a movie. OFF SEASON is the first book, with OFFSPRING being the sequel. According to news reports, the movie rights for the first book were taken off the table by Ketcham himself, but he allowed OFFSPRING to remain up for grabs.

Re: the book - At the end of OFF SEASON, the reader discovers that a few members of the cannibalistic family survived and limped off to whereabouts unknown. OFFSPRING takes place a few years later, with those survivors now ready to go out and take up where Mom and Dad left off. Again, the descriptions of terror and bloodshed are gut-wrenching.

I'll post more news as I find it.

Book Review - OFF SEASON by Jack Ketcham

If you aren't aware of the works of Jack Ketcham, better late than never!
Ketcham deals with pure horror. No punches pulled, no quarter given.
Of course, in the past, editors have used a heavy ax to cut away whole chunks of his books prior to publication. Thank goodness they no longer do, but I must warn you - have a strong stomach or restitution, because otherwise you won't make it through his books.

Ketcham loves to tweak us psychologically. He takes descriptive passages and drills their visuals into our brains like a surgeon performing a lobotomy. Unfortunately this one book hasn't made it yet to the big/little/DVD screen. Yet.

Off Season is loosely based on the true story of the incestuous backwoods family who would off any traveller or salesman unlucky enough to make his way to their front door. After the law discovered the gruesome remains of the half-eaten victims, most of the family members were captured or killed, but not all of them. The remaining family made their way to caves located along the rocky coastline. From there they would hunt out tourists and the wayward backpacker the same way we shop for groceries. This book tells of what happened to one group of people who've built a vacation cabin near the coast, and are discovered by our lively, sick family of cannibals.

Want to read something that will stick with you for years to come? Come discover the writings of Jack Ketcham. (When you do, try to find the unexpurgated versions.)

My verdict for Off Season: