MALICIA

On Halloween weekend, four friends embark on a nightmarish adventure at an abandoned horror theme park on an island near the Dominican Republic.

Years ago, the theme park Malicia became the infamous site of a massacre that claimed many lives, including those of Raymundo’s mother and older brother. Unbeknownst to those who accompany him to the derelict spot, Ray is planning a ritual to summon his dead brother. Anxiety-ridden Joaquin dreads the trip for another reason: He’s desperate to save his own soul from the demon El Bacá, but in order to do so, he must sacrifice his best friend, Ray, on Halloween night—despite the feelings he has for him. Isabella, meanwhile, comes to the island ready to exploit her friends and the theme park’s blood-soaked history for a documentary she hopes will secure her college dreams and filmmaking future. Aspiring pre-med student Sofia joins in just to lend support—but she loses hold of herself shortly after their arrival. Then a hurricane hits the island, and death follows. The friends plunge deep into Malicia’s darkness while a hostile evil lurks among the shadows. The author skillfully weaves a tale out of the leads’ dueling perspectives, slipping in revelations and motivations to key up the twists and turns with aplomb. Heavy on the gore, the story includes a nice mix of Dominican folklore elements before lurching toward an increasingly nonsensical ending and an unearned emotional payoff.

Promising spookiness that ultimately falls flat.