John Skipp’s latest novel, “The Long Last Call” is a battle of good vs. evil played out against the backdrop of a seedy, roadside strip club. Hank’s girlfriend has just broken up with him and he is teetering on the edge of madness. Driving down a lonely stretch of road, haunted by persistent destructive hallucinations, Hank happens on a strip club called Wild Thangs and decides to stop in for last call. Skipp’s last call for Hank is both literally and figuratively as the drunken man envisions blowing out his brains right in front of the stage.
Skipp nails down to a perfect “T” all the usual denizens of lower tier strip clubs; There’s Darnell the bouncer who fancies himself hero to the dancers for walking them to their cars after closing time; Daisy the young rookie, unskilled as a dancer but making up for it with looks and a body that haven’t yet been eroded by years of abuse; Ambrosia, the self-appointed queen bee among the dancers and sexual toy for the club’s owner, Eddie. And of course there’s the usual group of drunken red necks, hooting and hollering and spending the last dollar of their meager paychecks.
Eddie owns the club and it’s his private little empire despite the fact that he is in debt up to his ears. Eddie’s sister works form him handling the club’s finances so he doesn’t put it all up his nose. She’s also the club’s house mom, watching over the dancers as if they were her own daughters. Just as last call is announced, a mysterious stranger walks into the bar, dark and handsome…and completely terrifying to Hank who is able to see past the glistening veneer.
This Dark Stranger stars tossing money around, lots of money, and soon the entire bar is at attention. The dancers all fight for his attention while Eddie plays the cordial host, making sure is guest has everything he wants. And what he wants is the bar to close so he can enjoy a private with the dancers and the other patrons. Only Mom, suspecting something isn’t right about the stranger, decides to leave at closing time. As the door locks behind her, the terror is about to begin… As one would expect from one of the founders of the splatterpunk scene, the action turns gory and gruesome before long.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve sat down to read a book and finished it in one sitting and this was one of those times. It wasn’t a long book at 182 pages, but what there was moved at breakneck speed as the entire story was played out over a couple of hours. Each of the character’s personalities were right on the money without becoming caricatures. The feeding frenzy that takes place when the dark stranger starts throwing money around is evidence of the desperate lives that these women lead.
The Long Last Call hits the road with the petal to the floor and never lets off the gas. If you are a stripper, you might want to think twice the next time that high-roller saunters into the club. You just never know what his true intentions are…
– Tim Janson
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
