Cutter 1

Jeremy lives a quiet life with his wife in a rural town. Successful and stable, Jeremy is the guy next door. But he and his high school friends share a dark secret. And when that secret literally comes back to haunt them, Jeremy must confront his past and his own sanity as he comes face to face with a vicious serial killer..."The Cutter."

Writer:
Seamus Fahey
Robert Napton
Artist:
Christian DiBari
Publisher:
Top Cow

Good horror is really hard to do, or at least it seems that way to me. Whilst the perfectly crafted jump scares that most modern horrors rely on are effective,  to make something with lasting value it needs more than that. It needs an atmosphere, a palpable sense of dread. Cutter #1 has that in spades.

A mini series set to be published over a single month, Cutter is a story of Jeremy, a small town guy who realises quite quickly that the rash of bizarre murders that are happening are linked to actions he and his high school friends did years ago. Its standard fare for a horror story, but its the execution that makes it stand out. First of all, the art by Christian DiBari does a great job in establishing the tone, his black and white shadowy sketches giving everything a ethereal feel- perfect for a horror comic with a supernatural edge.

The story itself is slightly predictable, but its effectively told with plenty of gore to keep the slower moments from dragging. Thought I don't normally mention this sort of thing, the however the creative team organised the panel layouts, its pretty well lain out, helping form an almost claustrophobic atmosphere at times.

Overall, Cutter #1 is fun and slightly shlocky whilst still being scary. If you like horror films, in particular slashers, it's a must read.

Cover image courtesy of Top Cow

Cutter #1 is available from Comixology and your local comic retailer

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.