TAKE A BIG BITE: Joshua Hull's MOUTH is out now!
Hey Ho Tenebrous Cult!
It all started with a little Mutual Appreciation Society moment; Alex and I were both big fans of GLORIOUS, which Joshua Hull wrote the script for:
As it turns out, Joshua was a big fan of Tenebrous too. Literally the day after this seemingly benign Twitter exchange, he had banged out a pitch for Teeth in the Ground that had us frothing. One title change later, and a few tweaks to the premise, and MOUTH was born.
Today is Release Day. What a funny journey.
I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua in person just the other week, at the incredible Scarelastic Book Fair that he organized, and I was flabbergasted to discover that he’s genuinely as sweet a human being in person as he is in emails and video chats. And the dude is passionate about Weird Horror and movies, as MOUTH makes abundantly clear.
Well you’ve heard us run our mouths for months about this book. Let’s pass it over to the man himself, MOUTH author Joshua Hull:
I met MOUTH at a very strange time in my life.
In early 2023, I was going through a major life changing event that threw everything into unpredictable waters for months. It was chaotic and hard as hell. But it was also a chance for a new beginning. A rebirth…both personally and creatively. I was going to do both of those things in the pages of MOUTH. I was going to do that through my trio of characters: Rusty, Abigail, and Wayne.
All three would represent me in different ways. There’s Rusty, a horror lover who is drifting through life, filled to the brim with regrets and hurtful memories. There’s Abigail, a wannabe filmmaker, who wants to outrun her trauma and pain by making movies. And then there’s Wayne…a failed filmmaker who lost his dream and himself. All three share a cinematic connection. Not literally…but figuratively.
Movies made all their lives better at one point or another. Movies gave them memories and purpose. They gave them all hope. Just like they do for you and me. But there’s also a dark side to the silver screen. Just like there’s a dark side to life. One that can betray and mislead you. One that can slowly eat away at you. And one that can swallow you whole.
That’s how MOUTH was born.
Initially, he was just teeth in the ground. A vessel for feeding and horror. A way to hide character mistakes and pain. He soon became something else entirely. He became a symbol of what life itself is: scary, confusing, and beautiful. He became hope and renewal. Not just for Rusty and Abigail, but for me. And now he’s that for YOU. Or at least, I hope he can be.
I hope that everyone who reads MOUTH knows that pain, trauma, and mistakes will always be a part of life. There’s no escaping it…but there is a way through it. There’s always a path to hope. A path to second chances. And a path to fresh starts. You are not who you were yesterday, and isn’t that the true gift of life? We can always change…even if sometimes we feel like a monstrous mouth in the ground.
Thank you to Matt and Alex.
Thank you to Halil and Kristofor.
Thank YOU.
It’s officially feeding time. I hope you enjoy the meal.
About MOUTH:
Screenwriter Joshua Hull (Glorious) makes his longform prose debut!
After a stranger leaves him a secluded property, drifter Rusty finds himself the caretaker of a massive, tooth-filled mouth in the ground…and it’s hungry.
His situation is complicated by Abigail, a wannabe filmmaker who stumbles on the secret. Together, the odd pair set out to discover the origins of Mouth and the hidden history of its former owner, setting in motion an outlandish scheme that could endanger them all.
Cover art by Halil Karasu.
Interior illustrations by Kristofor Harris.
“One of the wildest and strangest stories I’ve read in years. Harrowing, unpredictable, and breathtakingly cinematic, MOUTH is a delicious macabre gem.”
Jonathan Janz, author of Marla and Children of the Dark
“A fun yet beautifully haunting piece with layers of darkness and light.”
Michael J. Seidlinger, author of Anybody Home?
“Absolutely disturbing and hilariously funny. This is Joshua Hull at his finest. A must for lovers of surreal and weird horror."
Rebekah McKendry, director of Glorious
"The definitive modern day grotto grotesquerie, mincing Herschell Gordon Lewis with Hunter S. Thompson into an amuse-bouche of a novella. You'll eat this up."
Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters
“A love letter to monster movies and found families with a big bloody heart. MOUTH sucked me in from the first bite and spat me out on the other side with a toothy grin, hungry for more.”
Brian McAuley, author of Candy Cain Kills & Curse of the Reaper
“Immensely enjoyable. Hull brings readers on a journey [with] relatable characters who don’t fit the mold and aren’t afraid to carve their own path, tooth and nail. I loved it.”
Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads & Below
About the Creators:
Joshua Hull is the co-writer of the 2022 film Glorious, starring Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons; the author of Underexposed!: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made; and the children’s horror book Bedtime for Bobby. He is the recipient of the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award for his contributions to Indiana film by the Indiana Film Journalists Association.
Halil Karasu was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, and grew up adoring comic books, cartoons, and slasher films. He studied graphic design at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.
Kristofor Harris is an artist out of Kansas City, currently working on his creator-owned series, Ancient Cosmonauts, and numerous other projects.
I’m at Ghoulish Book Festival in San Antonio today through Sunday. If you are too, come say hi and we’ll mouth off together about MOUTH.
Hail Indie Horror.
Hail the restorative power of film.
Hail MOUTH.
Matt + Alex + Joshua + Halil + Kristofor