Soon after, Shanna’s home is later destroyed by a truck that crashes into her home, killing her and every member of her family. Sawyer, however, believes that he sees Manny, the inanimate object, come to life and walk out during the commotion of the theatre attendants looking for the “intruder”. The prank goes awry as no one actually notices Manny. The plan is pretty dumb, but I may have thought it was cool at 15, too. The 4 teens tell the theatre staff that someone snuck in- that “someone” being Manny – to prank them when they see that the someone is actually a mannequin. 4 of the friends, Sawyer, Dannielle, JR and Tim place Manny, a mannequin who they played with as younger kids but have since forsaken, in the front seat of the movie theatre where Shanna works. What follows is a story that leaves the reader unsure if it’s an actual monster tale or a brief psychoanalysis of the burgeoning delusions of a schizophrenic. Sawyer, the protagonist, Shanna, Danielle, JR, and Tim, are a group of 5 rambunctious 10th graders who use a mannequin, aptly named “Manny”, to pull a prank in a movie theatre. The novel harkens back to classic teen horror movies of the 1970s and 80s. It’s a classic horror story following 5 teenagers in a prank that goes horrifically wrong. The novel serves as a succinct love letter to the teen horror genre. Night of the Mannequins is the second novel published by author Stephen Graham Jones in 2020.
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