A cosmic folk horror about grief, getting older and a creepy cult.
- Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
- Folk horror factor: ★★★★☆
- Cosmic horror factor: ★★★★★
- Body horror factor: ★★★☆☆
- Social horror factor: ★★★★☆
- Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
The Sundowner’s Dance is a creepy folk horror with grotesque cosmic horrors and the terrifying things that can await you when you get older.
It consist of 360 pages.
Plot
Jerry Campbell has been a widow for a couple of years. He is retired but doesn’t know what to do with himself. His wife Abigail was everything to him, but she also did everything for him and took care of everything and mostly also all the social contacts. Now he is at a loss and still grieving. He is a loner and not good at making social contact himself. He is not good with people but wants to leave his troubles all behind.
When he gets an offer to buy a house in a fenced community called Fairview Acres., it seems like a good fresh new start. The house is beautiful as is the whole area. He thinks that this is going to turn his life around and making some friends at his old age and live a quiet and peaceful life. However his first night there’s a big party that keeps him up at night. As it turns out, it’s not a special occasion, it’s every night.
He befriends Katherine who is in the early stages of dementia. She warns him to leave, but he thinks she has another of her episodes and thinks nothing of it. But soon he starts noticing strange behavior form his neighbors during the daytime. Then he also hears someone on his roof. When he finds out that the community is led by a charismatic leader, he feels more and more that there is something very wrong here. With the help of Katherine he is determined to find out. The peace and quiet can wait.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Pumpkin Mask is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Sweater and other apparel in my shop at Threadless.
Short Review
It’s a straightforward told story about Jerry who is not only getting older, but getting lonely and dependent. He is still grieving and rather helpless without his wife. He has nowhere else to go and once he has bought his new house, he is trapped. It feels more like the fence is there to keep them in, rather than to keep people out. It’s a sad depiction of getting older, but it’s also a story that shows that getting older doesn’t mean you are written off. Jerry fights for himself, for a life that he still wants to build and to spend it happily. At the same time it shows that getting older also means people get more dependent, have to rely on others, and even are treated badly and are taken advantage of.
The cult leader is a very charismatic man who is in control and Jerry first falls for his influence, but later sees right through him. Getting older and being underestimated also can be an opportunity. Which Jerry takes on with both hands. The bond he has with Katherine grows fast and strong and she becomes his new anchor, helping him to stand on his own.
The story slowly builds up, getting to know Jerry, the community and some neighbors and the weird things that happen are getting bolder. It builds up towards a cult that worships a deity and results in a blend of folk horror and cosmic horror. There is a reason why this cult parties at night. The cosmic horror is original and creepy and terrifying if Jerry learns what it means. It even contains some creepy body horror, that transforms people in a horrifying way. When Jerry finally finds out what is going on, the pace picks up and it becomes a thrilling race against time to defeat a cosmic deity and save his own life and sanity. Jerry becomes an elderly action hero in a thrilling fight.
The Sundowner’s Dance is a great mix that discusses getting older, the inconveniences but also how they are being treated and exploited and folk horror and cosmic horrors. These cosmic horrors symbolize these physical and mental troubles that slowly turn you into somebody else. Somebody you don’t recognize anymore. They might get younger but they never going to be their old selves again. And that maybe the biggest fear of getting older, losing yourself, losing who you once were.
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Did You Know I Also Make Art and Designs?
you can buy my designs on apparel or stationary, mugs and more. You can learn more about it on my art & design shop page or go directly to one of my shops.