FimFiction Link - Short ID: 536211/rain-party
Published: Jun '23
'Rain Party' is a ten thousand word horror oneshot. The CMC are stuck in their treehouse while an infectious storm rages outside.
Horror in text is hard to accomplish. You can't really rely on startling the reader as with movies or games, forcing authors to use slower, but more effective tools to spook their audience. I'm happy to say this story accomplished the horror it set out to do quite well. The descriptions are detailed, visual, and gory -- it didn't take much for me to imagine the various monsters because the prose painted them really well. The various ways the rain and the flood were depicted also played into the hopelessness of the situation, especially combined with how the author called attention to the CMC's dwindling food supply.
As for the plot itself? I'd say it's predictable, but it is also executed so well that I really didn't mind how nearly everything went how I thought it would. From the onset of the disaster to its gruesome resolution, the story kept me gripped and I was curious to see if any of the main characters would survive.
There is, however, one point of contention: The ending. I admit, though I did see near everything else in the story coming, I didn't imagine the story would end like this (arguably there were signs, they just completely flew over my head until it was too late.) Without spoiling it, I would say that I understand and even sympathize with what the author was going for, especially after reading the long diatribe in the A/N, but imo while it's still a good ending and I could easily imagine someone enjoying it more than the more obvious outcome, the story ultimately lost more than it gained this way.
Overall: 7/10 The story's strong prose, mounting hopelessness, and unique atmosphere make it a delight to read for people who enjoy horror, but aren't looking for the slasher sort. If the CMC slowly going paranoid-crazy with an apocalypse backdrop sounds fun to you, the story is an easy recommend.
9/10.
The CMC are stuck in their treehouse as rain that mutilates you into a The Thing monster pours outside. It checked off all the boxes for a standard horror oneshot. Bizarre premise? Yes. Dwindling party? Yup. Scootabuse? Of course. I'd figured it'd be another disappointing ending with no real resolution. Then it did a twist ending. It was a such a simple twist but one that fits like a glove. It's crazy how something so simple could work so well in what what otherwise such a textbook horror fic. The twist not only contextualizes the whole fic, but gives a perfect and satisfying answer to the plot. My new personal favorite horror oneshot.
The only issue it has is the author not going back and wringing the twist for all the foreshadowing it's worth, but I'm fine with that since too much foreshadowing can really spoil things. Sometimes, less is more.