I’m a reader of Splatterpunk books. Splatterpunk being the subgenre of the horror category designed for people who watched The Human Centipede 2. You know who you are. Understandably this literature style often gets devalued as meaningless trash filled with gore for gore’s sake. I’ve felt like a weirdo on more than one occasion when I found myself explaining with gusto why the act of an adult man trying to crawl inside a woman’s womb is actually a beautiful, tragic image of loss and rebirth. (I’m looking at you, Duncan Ralston!) That’s usually the point in the conversation where normie readers check out entirely. (I’m looking at you, husband!)
However, normie readers aren’t entirely wrong either. There are Splatterpunk books that exist solely to perpetuate someone’s gross fantasy and don’t contain a lick of literary merit. So far in my reading though, I’ve found that more often than not SP authors are keen observers of human nature allowing us the safe space to explore the strange, traumatic, vulgar, terrifying, and vile pieces of reality. And the book I’m reviewing today does just that!
Eric LaRocca’s Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke has been on my TBR for a while and when I finally got around to reading it I was not disappointed! This fascinating investigation of intimacy and connection is broken into three tales, each of which kept me turning the page.
The first story, titled like the book, features an online relationship between Zoe and Agnes shared through their email messages and instant messages back and forth. What begins as a friendly, albeit strangely serious, interaction about an apple peeler takes a sinister turn when flirtatious chatting morphs into a strange, manipulative tango. But who is manipulating who? That’s the question I kept coming back to as I read through the bizarre tete-a-tete between these two women, both of whom seem drawn to the idea of testing their own boundaries. Fans of May Leitz’s Fluids will enjoy this one for sure!
After zooming through the first story I got to enjoy “The Enchantment.” Olive and James are grieving the death of their teenage son and so take a work opportunity offered to James to act as hotel caretakers on a remote island. In the middle of a fierce storm, a mysterious stranger knocks on their door and from there all manner of strange behaviors begin. I can’t say much about this one without giving too much away but the important thing to point out is that this piece is a thinker. I finished this book over a week ago and I’m still mulling over what happened, what all the symbolism might mean, what LaRocca is saying about the nature of connection, belief in God, etc. For example, take a few minutes today to think about existing in a world where the idea of any God/afterlife has been disproven. What would that look like? Where would you fit in? What would that change about the nature of our relationships?
In the final story, “You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over,” we’re asked to consider our interactions with our neighbors. When Mr. Perlzig proposes a wager as to whether or not Mr. Fowler can clean the snow off of his car in under three minutes, Fowler assumes this will be money easily earned. As the bets continue and begin to change readers are tasked with examining how far we will go to maintain politeness. As a woman, I found this story extra chilling because I have personally found myself in situations with men where I have remained friendly beyond the point that I should have and ended up regretting it. We’re warned against gossip and its negative effects, but where is your personal line between gossip and the necessity of sharing information? How far will you go to ensure you aren’t stepping on anyone’s toes?
This was an incredibly enjoyable read for me. It contained enough description to put you in the scene with the characters and the pace kept it from feeling like it was dragging on. I did struggle a bit with “The Enchantment” with a few questions I feel I need answers to and didn’t get, but that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. It contains just enough gore to be considered SP, but only what is necessary to the stories. It would be a good read for someone brand new to SP who is testing the limits of what they can stand. I’d give this bad boy 3/5 stars!
For those interested in horror I’d encourage you to check out my new series of Little Spookies that I’m releasing on Substack. I’ll be posting poems, short stories, book starts, and flash fiction. Ideas and characters that YOU gravitate to will be explored in more detail so consider signing up to be notified when a new Little Spooky is released!
Little Spookies: Trauma Science by Brienne Daugherty
A scientist wakes up tethered to her own work table…Read on Substack
briennedaugherty.com 