The Midnight Exhibit, Vol. 2 by Eddie Generous

The Midnight Exhibit, Vol. 2 Reviews

• 
  Kirsty Carson

  3.5 rounded up to 4
• 
  Richard Martin

  The Rewind or Die series published by Unnerving are books after my own heart. Inspired by the rows of gaudy, gory and glorious horror VHS covers of the 1970s and 1980s, these books aim to be the literary equivalent of the video nasty and the lurid horror classics of the era. So, with my expectations set accordingly, I picked up a copy of ‘The Midnight Exhibit Volume 2’, featuring shorts by Kaaron Warren, Jessica McHugh and Declan Burnett and what I read was not at all what I was expecting.
  
  As with all good horror anthologies of the era, ‘The Midnight Exhibit Volume 2’ has a fun wraparound story that ties these three shorts together, featuring a group of teens stumbling upon a mysterious video cassette. It is the stories they watch which are relayed to us, starting with Kaaron Warren’s ‘The History Thief’.
  
  Rather than a pulpy horror pastiche of 80s excess, ‘The History Thief is a quiet, introspective story about a man who dies alone in his apartment. He has shied away from people his whole life and, as a result, his body is not found for some time, leaving his ghostly form to roam freely until he is put to rest. To elaborate further would spoil the story, which was a unique and interesting twist of the well-worn trope of ghosts and hauntings. The story was beautifully written and had a strange, dreamlike quality to it, told from the perspective of an engaging, albeit socially awkward main character. ‘The History Thief has more in common with A24s 2017 movie ‘A Ghost Story’ than it does with any video nasty I have ever seen and a tough act to follow for the next two stories.
  
  Jessica McHugh’s ‘Bone-Dry’ continued the trend by presenting a very different, very personal story that was perhaps my favourite of the book. Kurt is a troubled young man, and a recovering alcoholic, who has recently moved to a new town for a fresh start and to escape a traumatic event from his past. He meets a young doctor whilst out jogging and their chance encounter and the subsequent relationship evolves in unexpected ways when they discover what they believe to be human remains out on an isolated mountain. This short had such an intriguing set up and was so expertly paced that while the ending was hinted at early on, It was constantly going in directions I did not expect and kept me guessing until the final page.
  
  The final story, ‘Lake People’ was perhaps the closest to matching my expectations of the three shorts, as it opens with a group of rowdy drunken teens, and builds to a ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ style reveal, with some truly disturbing imagery. The story adopts a show don’t tell approach and is very character-driven, which worked very well and resulted in a memorable final chapter in a very strong book.
  
  Each story in ‘The Midnight Exhibit Volume 2’ was memorable in its own unique way, and each deviated from the grindhouse style I thought the book was going to deliver, but each story will keep you guessing and get under your skin, resulting in a strong collection with a fun 80s style wraparound for the classic horror anthology feel.
  
  
  You can read more reviews of new and upcoming horror releases at
  https://www.myindiemuse.com/category/...
  I also promote indie horror via Twitter - @RickReadsHorror
  
  
• 
  J.D.

  
  Like the first Midnight Exhibit this book has 3 short stories in a short story. The stories themselves seemed quite a bit more graphic and twisted than I remember the first ones being.
  
  I did enjoy it as a whole but thought the main story was lacking a bit.
  
  The History Thief - 5 / 5 stars
  
  Bone-Dry - 4 / 5 stars
  
  Lake People - 4 / 5 stars
  
• 
  Suz Jay

  A group of boys, eager to show their superiority over others by capturing their pranks on film, find a VHS tape labeled “The Eventual: Horror Tales” which includes three spooky movies and an otherworldly personalized message.
  
  Of the three short stories on the video tape, my favorite is “The History Thief” by Kaaron Warren, where a man uses the space between life and death to fulfill his dream of solving crimes. Jessica Mchugh’s Bone-Dry” features an alcoholic trying to run from his past. Declan Burnett’s “Lake People” is pure nightmare fuel and spills into the main storyline.
  
  I adore the Rewind or Die series so much, I purchased the whole set of 2020 releases directly from the publisher. The Midnight Exhibit is the final book in the first season of Unnerving’s wonderful Rewind or Die series of horror novellas that have the feel of vintage VHS horror movies. Luckily, more of these super fun stories are coming soon, and I can’t wait to read them.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Book 20 of the Rewind or Die series. Three teen boys find pleasure in embarrassing people and playing tricks on them. As they are running from the police, they pass a video store and steal a tape stuck in the return slot. When they play the tape, they watch themselves watching three very creepy horror stories. Very reminiscent of Tales from the Hood. One story was about a man who dies but can leave his body and steal people’s minds to solve mysteries. The second tells the story of a very guilty man running from his past actions who finds bones on a mountain run. And the third is about a drunk driving wreck gone terribly wrong.
• 
  Chelsea Renee Trevino

  I loooooved the old VCR idea and having a mini anthology again in this series was a fun refreshment. The second entry was sub par, but otherwise this was an awesome installment to the Rewind or Die series.
• 
  Brayden Davis

  3 more great stories. I loved all of them. The last story was a much welcome mind-fūck.
• 
  Aine O connor

  *2.5