Brainchew by Wol-vriey

Burning Bulb Publishing, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-9977-7304-0

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

With Brainchew, Nigerian horror author Wol-vriey has really hit his stride.  He’s toned down the sometimes excessive levels of blood and pain that could be found in his other horror fiction, created a new monster that fans will enjoy, and kept his dark sense of humor intact.  With Brainchew, he’s created his most memorable creature to date : this is an excellent read, and one that should be on the shelves of any horror fan who delights in campiness and carnage.

The plot: four small-time crooks who specialize in safecracking descend upon eastern Massachusetts with a deal for the “big score.” Their assignment: break into a mansion, crack the safe, steal two specific diamonds, then meet their employer at the Sunflower Motel in Raynham, Massachusetts, for the drop. One of the robbers gets killed during the heist, so his partners dump the body in a Raynham cemetery and then go to the hotel to wait to for the drop.  Unfortunately for them, the hotel owners are sleazebags who have figured out what is going on, and have their own designs on the loot.

Up to that point, the story is pretty standard.  But then it takes a very different turn, and the fun really begins.  Brainchew is a monster that somewhat resembles the creatures from the Alien series, minus the stinging tail.   Awakened from slumber in the cemetery by blood leaking into the ground from the dumped body, Brainchew is hungry for…brains, of course!  Naturally, Brainchew proceeds to the Sunflower Motel to wreak havoc in the goriest method possible, throwing the plans of both the motel owners and the robbers into disarray.

The story moves quickly, without wasting time on lengthy expositions or deep conversations.  There is just enough backstory given on the protagonists to make them seem like more than cardboard cutouts. You might find yourself disliking many of them, as they have few redeeming qualities.  That’s what makes this such fun: you might find yourself rooting for Brainchew as he chews human genital regions, gulps urine, crushes skulls, and flings cranial carnage everywhere.   All of this is done with Wol-vriey’s usual messy intensity, although it is toned down a bit from his previous books.  There’s enough bloodshed to keep gorehound readers happy, but not enough to enter the realm of excess that so many hardcore horror authors today seem to delight in.  The real delight in the book is when Raynham’s residents see Brainchew.  They know who he is already: he is a secret that the town tried to bury years ago.  Their reactions are priceless: it’s not “oh my god, what is THAT?”  but “oh no, that damn thing is awake and at it again!”  It’s nice to have a book where the characters don’t react in the same fashion as usual when a monster is encountered.

Brainchew is a fast, messy, wild ride, with an entertaining and original monster.  The only thing that may put some readers off is the graphic sex does seem excessive at times, and pulls away from the overall story thread.  If you can overlook that, this is a story that most gorehound horror fans will enjoy.  Recommended.

Contains: graphic violence, graphic sex

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson