The Yatteirng And Jack : A Attempt At A Overdone Idea That Sadly Missed Its Mark.

The Yattering And The Jack By Clive Barker

Overall Rating: A attempt at a overdone idea that sadly missed it’s mark.

This is a another short story by Clive Barker out of the “Book of Blood” anthology. And regardless of the cheesy titles, I like what I have read so far. It is great to see someone with their own style rather than ripping off someone else. So this is the first story. It’s called the “The Yattering and The Jack”
So to start off with, it’s not as dark as twisted as Barker’s other works. Strangely, it’s very lighthearted. There is a man named Jack, who had been basically walked on during his whole life. But he does not retaliate in the least. He is completely indifferent. He just shrugs his shoulders and says, “stuff happens.” But it turns out hell wants his soul, because his mother never paid when she sold hers. So the Agency (hell’s agency that is) hires a demon called the Yattering to make him go insane, so he can snatch his soul away. He must scare him, put voices in his head, rattle chains and do whatever he can do. And he can’t get out of the contract. But through out the story, he had the toughest time breaking Jack’s indifference. The two are constantly tricking each other to get what they want.
So the good? Well it’s different. But sadly, it ends there. It wasn’t all that entertaining.
The bad? Well I felt I encountered this before. It felt like Monster Inc, or I should say, “Ahhhh Real Monsters!” which was the first time I witnessed this plot line. “Ahh Real Monsters” was one my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. It’s not new. And the idea that hell has an Agency that collect souls seemed cartoony. Just not exactly what I expected from Barker. Also the cartoony and silly nature of the whole thing pulls the reader out of the story. And one last thing, there’s a scene where a roasted chicken gets up and starts scaring people by running around the kitchen. And I’m sorry, but that’s just stupid.
Overall, if you like old quirky horror tales, then this for you. For he rest of us it’s a pass. I pretty much just recommend that if you’re even mildly interested by the story, then just get the kids cartoon “Ahhh Real Monsters,” and watch that instead. It’s much more entertaining.

½ smoothie out of four

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