Drug-crazed Bigfoot Holes Up in Remote Cabin! Campers: 'We Fear for our Lives!'

My hat’s off to Erik Williams. If I’d had the idea for his new book Bigfoot Crank Stomp, I honestly don’t know if I would have had the guts to write it.

See, there’s these meth-heads, right? And somehow, they’ve managed to capture a Sasquatch. Yeah, as in Bigfoot. That big, ape-like creature previously seen only in grainy, out-of-focus footage and John Lithgow movies. And somehow, they’ve got him contained in the cellar of their cabin/meth lab. And rather than cash in on this potential goldmine, these geniuses decide it would be fun to get Bigfoot hooked on meth.

Yeah, like we don’t know how that’s going to work out for them.

In his dedication at the beginning of the book, Williams thanks his dad for introducing him to “the wonders of B movies.” It’s clear those flicks had a huge inspiration on Williams, at least for this book – from the title to the subject matter to the rapid-fire execution, this piece of prose has “B movie” written all over it.

When we join the story things are, as they say, already in progress. The meth-heads are working overtime in their cabin to fill a large order, and Bigfoot is down in the cellar, hurting for a fix. It seems that the creature’s tolerance has developed rather rapidly, requiring bigger and bigger amounts of product to calm him down. When the last batch proved to be too little, he ripped the arms off the guy who brought it to him. Needless to say, there’s a sense of urgency about the situation.

Meanwhile, outside, a couple more meth-heads, rival cookers and suppliers of the same product the guys in the cabin are producing, are sniffing around, looking to scare off the competition. Also in the area is an ex-Marine, a sniper, who lives in the woods and is out to do a little hunting; a woman on a solo camping trip; and a threesome spending the weekend filming a little amateur porn in the countryside. Not to mention the sheriff and his deputies who are about to get a call that will land them in the middle of the case of a lifetime.

Williams introduces all of these elements and then gives them a quick stir, bringing them all together in violent, surprising and sometimes humorous ways. One thing Williams never offers, however, is an explanation of how the meth-heads managed to capture a Sasquatch in the first place. I’m actually grateful that he doesn’t – it makes it much easier to ignore the inherent implausibility of the situation and just go along for the ride.

Bigfoot Crank Stomp is over-the-top, but with that title it has to be. The title sets up certain expectations, and Williams more than fulfills them. There is absolutely no scene involving a whacked-out, drug-craving, berserker Bigfoot that Williams is afraid to write. Not a single one. This book is everything you could possibly want in a book about a rampaging mythical creature looking for his next hit, delivered in compulsively readable style with a real cinematic eye for pacing and exciting scenes. If B movie levels of gore, black humor and action are your thing, this is the book for you.

Buy Bigfoot Crank Stomp by Erik Williams at Deadite Press.

Blu Gilliand is a freelance writer of fiction and nonfiction. He covers horror fiction at his blog, October Country, and contributes interviews to the Horror World website. Follow him on Twitter at @BluGilliand.