The Wolfman

Talk about dysfunctional families and the Talbot family should be a prime example. Although Lawrence was sent to an insane asylum when just a boy, he might have been the sanest Talbot of all. Sir John, the patriarch of this family, appears to be a raging lunatic. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that he was bitten by a feral boy years ago while in India, and contracted lycanthropy, which causes him to become a werewolf during the full moon of the month. His loyal servant, Sikh, has strapped him into restraints and prevented him from doing any harm for the last several decades; however recently he managed to escape and brutally kill several people, including his own son, Ben.
Ben’s fiancé, Gwen Conliffe, hunted down Lawrence to obtain his help in finding his brother. By begging for his assistance, she gave him an invitation to physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father and also handed him a death warrant. Once Ben’s body is found in a ditch, Lawrence insists on viewing it. He is horrified at its shredded condition, which has obviously been the work of some kind of wild animal mutilation.
Lawrence goes to the gypsy camp in hopes of finding some answers, but the townsmen have decided that the dancing bear is responsible for killing Ben and come to take their revenge. While they are targeting the bear, a large wolf begins its assault upon the mob and the gypsies, killing many of them before running off into the woods in pursuit of a young boy. Lawrence rushes off to save the child but is mauled by the wolf instead. Maleva, the gypsy, gives him aid and insists on letting him live because he is still a man, while her daughter, wants to let him die because he is now an animal. Maleva tells her that only someone who loves him can release him.
After a lengthy recovery with Gwen nursing him back to health, Lawrence visits his mother, Solana’s tomb. He blunders upon a shrine under her crypt, where ‘Daddy Dearest’ explains the family legacy to him. He shows him a chair, complete with straps where Sikh restrains him so he doesn’t kill, but locks the door to his son and knows that he will transform into a werewolf and kill during the full moon. When he does, Sir John tells the police and he is once again sent to the insane asylum where he was spent his youth. This is not a kind place but a house of horrors and torture, which only strengthens Lawrence’s hatred for his father— especially when he remembers that it was Sir John, who brutally murdered Solona years ago.
Lawrence is brought into public display of other doctors to prove that he is not a werewolf, however, he transforms before their eyes and murders a few of them before he escapes and returns to normal and finds Gwen. They realize that the have fallen in love and she is bound to protect him from the police.
It is inevitable that Lawrence confront his father, which is very intense when they both become werewolves and battle to the death while coincidentally setting Talbot Hall on fire. The police aren’t far behind and chase Lawrence into the woods as he follows a hysterical Gwen.
In the end, Gwen kills him with a silver bullet and ‘releases’ him from the curse. She is distraught but he thanks her for freeing him.
This is a tale of child abuse, spousal abuse to death, torture, betrayal, prejudice, and revenge. The only functional part of it is the love that Gwen has for her dead fiancé’s brother, which is a little twisted, to say the least. And to think that her love was what gave her the courage to kill him. This is not a family that I would even want to know, let alone marry into. Mayberry does an excellent job of describing all the dysfunction and mayhem that goes with it.

Alien

It’s amazing that the commercial towing crew of the Nostromo explored an alien planet without any of the precautions, which would be taken in visiting a contagious ward at a hospital. How did they expect that the life on this planet would be friendly and compatible with ours?
Three crew members, Dallas, Kane and Lambert discover that the signal which brought them here, is coming from a wrecked alien spaceship. Upon further investigation, Kane stumbles upon a hatchery for aliens. He sticks his face up closer for a look and one of them attach itself to him. Amazing sense of precaution demonstrated here.
When Lambert and Dallas rush him back to the ship, Ash, the science officer, overrides Ripley’s authority and allows them to board, violating the quarantine protocol. It was astounding that they threw all caution to the wind in regards to this dangerous contagion. They even allow Kane to eat dinner in the general chow hall after his miraculous recovery. That in itself was mind boggling. It was no less of a surprise that an alien exploded from within his stomach and killed him at the dinner table.
It is soon discovered that Ash is, in fact, a robot, who is working under the direct command of the company to bring back the alien as a first priority with no regards to the crew. He supposes that it will be used for warfare, since it is albeit indestructible.
One by one the crew members are killed by the beast, which continues to grow in size, until only Ripley remains. She decides to destroy the spacecraft and escape on the shuttle so that the alien will be destroyed. It is most terrifying to discover that it is actually on board the small craft with her. I don’t think that I could have remained as calm and decisive as she did and solve the problem by flushing it out of the craft and into space.
The alien could represent any problem, when if ignored, grows into an unmanageable situation and can literally destroy all those around it.

World War Z

World War Z is a statement about the ineptness and arrogance of the government. It’s difficult not to become enraged about the messages of incompetence and isolation. It also stresses mankind’s ability to overcome difficulties and the tremendous capacity to adapt and survive.
When forewarned about the impeding dangers of the ‘virus’ it was ignored and believed to be an easily handled situation. Attack and destroy all who are different. Now doesn’t this sound familiar? Bully your way into their masses by blindly shooting a pathway, killing whatever gets in your way, which is a common theme with many invading armies.
The problem with zombies, however, is that the usual government standard operating procedures do not work in annihilating them. The troops need to be re-trained to go slow and easy and aim for the head. If that doesn’t work, make concentration camps with innocent people used as a moat to protect the insiders. Zombies are terrifying in that they just will not die unless shot directly into the head.
What a horrific apocalyptic end to the human race: a virus, which spreads rapidly and creates a living dead creature capable of existing beyond its own death.

The Yattering and Jack

Who’s the monster now? This unusual humorous piece from Barker tells about a demon sent from Hell to cause Jack go insane in retribution for an ancestor, who had violated a contract with the devil. The one rule is that he cannot touch Jack.
Perhaps, Jack’s best defenses are that he knows the demon is on a mission and its one weakness. As hard as the demon tries, Jack confounds it. He goes about his business and enrages it to the point of fighting with him. Aaah but it’s not supposed to touch him. Now it becomes his slave.
What a wonderful twist on a monster/horror story. One almost feels sorry for the poor demon, which goes from being Satan’s slave to becoming Jack’s slave. This is an intriguing and unique read from Barker.

Cycle of the Werewolf

This story was more about relationships than monsters. A sister, Jane, is tethered to her handicapped brother, Marty, and resents every minute of it—until they are bonded by fear and belief in a common enemy. Their Uncle Red is a Cavalier bachelor, who pretends to believe them, only to discover that they are, in fact telling the truth.
This monster defies reason and all who believe in logic. It appears to randomly pick its victims from the unfortunates in Tarker’s Mills.
Marty is setting off fireworks during the night on a bridge when the monster confronts him. He aims and sends a bottle rocket straight into his eye. When he tells Jane, she believes him and scours the town, looking for someone with an injured eye. When she almost defeated and thinks Marty is teasing her, she sees that Reverend Lowe has a patch over his eye. She goes into the parish garage and discovers a bloody bat of one of the monster’s victims.
Marty and Jane are able to convince Uncle Red that Reverend Lowe may be the killer. He tells their story to the local sheriff, who scoffs it off but later, decides to investigate. Sheriff Haller discovers all too late that Uncle Red is telling the truth and becomes another victim.
Uncle Red sends the children’s parents out of town and spends the night with them on the next full moon. They wait with a gun, which holds a lone silver bullet, which, according to legend, is the only thing that will kill a werewolf. The monster comes for them and it is finally revealed that Minister Lowe is, in fact, the werewolf when they kill it and it returns to his form.
King is a master at demonstrating dysfunctional relationships and this short story is among the best, which he wrote. The siblings appear to have a better relationship with Uncle Red than their parents. Their bond becomes tight after the werewolf is killed.