Most werewolf novels — and movies — have a solitary focus, in that the transformation from man to monster happens generally to one person. But William D. Carl turns that trope upside-down; in the awesomely titled BESTIAL: WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE, roughly 95 percent of the Cincinnati populace instantly succumbs to the curse. It’s like DAWN OF THE DEAD, but with werewolves.
The titular disaster occurs when a firm called Bio-Gen conducts studies on a Siberian man who turns whenever there’s a full moon, hoping to synthesize a cure for him and his family. Well, in the midst of all that, something goes wrong.
To our eyes, the shit hits in the midst of a soon-to-be-botched bank robbery, where — while waiting for the time-lock safe to open — most of the employees and criminals suddenly drop to the floor clutching their gut as hair sprouts and bones harshly jigger (thus making it the year’s second-coolest bank robbery scene, after THE DARK KNIGHT).
It affects all but two people: Rick, the gang’s ringleader, and Chesya, the bank’s black, ballsy head teller. Those two take refuge in the safe overnight, then make their way into the back of a Brink’s truck, which proves convenient when the 36-floor Marriott hotel decides to topple over.
Eventually, they’re joined by Christian, a teenager who ran away from home after being raped by his dad and his buddies. He’s been living on the streets ever since, turning tricks to survive, including for an elderly Bio-Gen scientist. Meanwhile, Christian’s mom discovers the truth of the abuse when her husband becomes a werewolf, admits to evil deeds, and she has to clobber the hell out of him to save her own hide, leaving her free to reunite with her son.
Gory lycanthrope action abounds throughout BESTIAL’s pages, but it’s Carl’s focus on this core of four characters that makes the story more special than mere fur-and-fangs ferocity. Although the novel takes place over the course of 48 hours, Carl injects it with an extra dose of dread by having the werewolves change back to humans in the daytime; they know they’re going to turn again, but they’re not sure exactly when.
Only a feel-good epilogue that rings false dulls BESTIAL’s bite. Other than that, Carl’s debut is a swift, exciting horror-thriller, and arguably a new werewolf classic that’s definitely not the same ol’, same ol’. —Rod Lott
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