Terry Lloyd Vinson's treatment of a mystery/horror theme in Spectral Rewind: The Class
of 81 is quite unique. It is a first person narrative about the making of a documentary
about a tragedy that happened at a 25-year reunion at a small high school in Alabama. On one
hand, Vinson reveals the inner workings of a director, his cinematographer, and his script
consultant/assistant/wife as they tackle this investigative film. The accuracy of the
portrayal of this low-budget endeavor is spot-on, though the director, in whose voice the
novel is told, slips into rather ego-centric realms that are more typical of contemporary
pop culture novels. This documentary devise has been used in films such as
Mothman
and The Blair
Witch Project, and to equally good effect in satires such as
Waiting for
Guffman and A
Mighty Wind. But this is the first treatment I have encountered of the documentary
style in print.
Vinson uses this device quite well. In the early pages of the book, the reader isn't
told exactly what happened the year before at this ill-fated 25-year reunion, except that
there were victims and that it was a tragedy. What happened on that night is slowly
revealed through the filming that is done with local residents and research, especially
through a box of videotapes of the event. As the reader comes nearer and nearer to
uncovering this mystery, secrets and horror are revealed, and even the filmmakers discover
much about themselves.
Spectral Rewind: The Class of 81 is a chilling read and will make you wonder just
how well you really knew those people who sat next to you in Chemistry or American History.