Werewolf Movie by Stephen St. Francis Decky
Many thanks to Books Go Social, Frayed Edge Press, and
NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Werewolf Movie
by Stephen St. Francis Decky. I requested this book because it was listed as a
horror novella set in South Jersey and Philly in the late 80s. Plus the title
sounded really cool, and the cover is somewhat haunting a sparse, so this book
had me intrigued. Werewolf Movie may have been the strangest book I’ve
read this year, but it was also a fascinating book that appealed to me on some
different levels. Although there were a few scenes of horror, the story is more
of an existential horror, questioning one’s path and wondering about one’s
identity- who are we? What drives us to create and reach our maximum potential?
How do we let people, jobs, and social expectations keep us from reaching this potential?
This brief book has left me with many questions to think about, and how we may
let social expectations and acceptability compromise our vision and goals.
The thing I enjoyed most about this book was the setting-
the late 80s in Philly and South Jersey. Although I was expecting more of a
horror story, the book didn’t really start to introduce the more traditional
horror elements until about 60% into the story. There is a great deal of
exposition, and as someone who has seen lots of shows with my friends’ bands at
the Khyber, Upstairs at Nick’s (RIP), and The Pontiac Grill (formerly Dobbs),
it was fun to read about the Bee Plasm, Rick Owen Band, and Crank Top shows at
these music venues. I also loved the band names and songs St. Francis Decky
created for this story. It was fun reminiscing about not just the diverse
Philly music scene, but also a time of youth and disposable time—when I could
go to shows regularly, see my friends play in all kinds of places, and witness
the creativity in making music and art. This book really took me back to that
period in my life during and after college. I liked reading about the different
characters lives outside of the music scene as well. They all faced different,
and somewhat humorous challenges in their lives, yet seemed to decide to live
simply in order to accommodate their lives around music. They all worked jobs
that allowed them play in shows at night and record music in their off days,
until Rick loses his job due to his boss’s death, or as the author writes in
one of my favorite lines “He lived, at the hospital, until eight o’clock last
night.” I had to read that one a few times to understand that the boss was
dead. The characters seem to eat simple foods like toast and eggs, grilled
cheese or cheese sandwiches, until a mysterious record company executive
promises Rick Owens that he will be large if Rick decides to work with him. Once
Rick begins meeting with Donnie, the record exec, things take a dark turn, and
Rick and his friends begin to witness things outside of their selves. It’s a
creative way of looking at the werewolf myth, and I loved that St. Francis
Decky brought in the Chatterbox from Ocean City as well, a place I’ve spent
some late nights also questioning how I arrived there, just like Dale.
Although this book was a great dose of nostalgia and made me
reflect on my own life choices, there were some elements of the book that I
didn’t enjoy as much. For one, the characters all kind of talked and thought in
the same way. St. Francis Decky provides clear annotations about whose perspective
is represented, but they didn’t have too much in their dialogue or thoughts to
really make them seem completely different from one another. There wasn’t much
voice given to each character, and maybe that was part of the choice,
especially considering that Dale notes at the end of the book that he needs to
listen to his own voice now. Other characters like Rick bemoan how much other’s
music sounds derivative and poppy, like everything else on the radio. Gia was
like the only character who really seemed to have a somewhat different
perspective, and seemed to deeply care about Rick. Frankie, who disposed of his
grandma’s body when he finds her dead, also had a more unique voice since he
was somewhat fearful and apprehensive, but somehow once he dumps his grandma’s
corpse, overcomes that fear. However, I felt like many of the characters had
the same voice. Also, the characters mainly spoke their thoughts, but didn’t
really add too much description or detail to the surroundings. Whether it was
the music or maybe the artwork, I would have loved to learn more about the
scene that these people were a part of. Even offering more descriptions of the
characters would have been interesting. There were some descriptions of Donnie,
the devilish record executive who offers Rick a deal he cannot refuse, but
other than that, the characters seemed to start each sentence with “I…”
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and it made me think. Since Donnie offered
Rick a contract and a way to promote his music (or at least that is what I assumed,
we never learn exactly what is in the contract) in return for Rick’s creativity
and songwriting, I kept thinking about the old Beck song “Satan Gave Me A Taco,”
where Beck ends up tempted by Satan’s food, and somehow ends up as a drug
addicted rock star. Maybe this was part of the message of the book that the
kind of popularity and acclaim from art often comes at a cost- whether it is one’s
voice or their true self. However, the book seemed more like Faustian/Robert
Johnson kind of story than a werewolf story. This is quick and interesting read,
and if you are from the Philly area and love music, then this is a great book
to read to reminisce about some of the old music venues that are no longer
around. I loved, too, that he referenced WPRB and the 3rd Street Record
shop, two influences on my own musical development and interests. However, I did
want to note that the Pontiac Grill was mentioned a few times, but the Pontiac
was Dobbs until the early/mid 90s, so there wouldn’t have been a Pontiac during
this book. Nevertheless, I loved the reference since some of my favorite bands
played there, and it was always a fun time. Highly recommended!
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