PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s 10 pm. Do you know where your children are?
Playground: Child of Divorce (COD) is the prequel to 2022’s infamously viral TikTok hit, Playground, taking place a few years before Geraldine’s twisted arena was fully built. Author Aron Beauregard has returned to bring readers once again into Geraldine Borden’s home for more barbaric backyard games. With the help of her lackey and an evil scientist, Geraldine has let loose a group of children in her proto-playground to see if her dream of placing children in vile Rube Goldberg-esque traps works. What succeeds is an unnatural blend of Saw (2004), Terminator 2 (1991), & Nekromantik (1988) with a splash of Ex-Machina (2014).
There are a lot of characters in COD, and Aron has done a great job managing them all. No character feels superfluous to the plot, as they’re given enough background and motivation to justify their actions. While it’s true that most of the children are stereotypically described as coming from “bad backgrounds” or “rough upbringings,” it’s still nice that everyone has some complexities. The kids are dealing with managing the realities of life, such as divorce, loneliness, identity, and bodily dismemberment.
The reader is given a peek into the characters’ lives and minds. The fact that they go beyond just single-dimensional characters makes it all the worse when they inevitably start to fall off. The tween characters don’t necessarily act their age, as their thoughts and actions appear to be written as though they were older. Depending on the reader, this isn’t necessarily a negative, as it can help detach the idea of the characters being mere middle schoolers in horrifying situations.
With the engrossing nature of the story, there is one constant that continuously ruins the moody atmosphere, and that is the main antagonist’s name. Without giving too much away, there is an external force with a backstory that will cause both fear and disgust amongst the characters and the reader. The only problem is that the character’s name is Mildred. Despite Mildred being a fully malevolent creature to be reckoned with, it’s hard to take a situation seriously when the characters scream in terror: “Oh no, it’s Mildred!”
As a prequel, it makes sense that the overall scale is smaller than in Playground. The previous story had an issue articulating the traps due to the complexity and intricacy of the mechanisms. Now, the traps feel fully realized as the pared-back nature plays nicely into making them easier to understand within the context of Aron’s writing.
Although Aron has written many books, there has yet to be an evolution in his craft. Whether it be his first book or his 20th, they all read as though they were written with the same cadence. COD changes this as there’s a newly found level of maturity in his writing. Aron’s writing has significantly increased with a level of fullness that can be felt in all manners of form, from the dialogue to transitional scenes. For better or worse, all the characters are likable and believable.
This book feels the most reserved of all of Aron’s bibliography. Rather than just throwing out every idea he can to offend, it feels like he’s enjoying the story in a world he previously built. The brash and overly grotesque introductions handled in the first novel are out of the way. Now, he can focus on telling an enduring story without relying on gross-out horror — for the most part.
While there is no standout shocking moment as there was in Playground that caused the first to gain notoriety, there appears to have been an attempt to create another similarly “shocking” moment. Unfortunately, this falls flat as it’s extremely unwarranted and unnecessary to the point that it feels like a parody. One might assume the entire section revolving around the introduction of Mildred was written with the idea in mind: “If you thought Playground was gross, what do you think about this!” It isn’t shocking; it’s just awkward and garners nothing more than an eyeroll.
Before reading, be cautious, as COD is not just a horror book. It falls into the realm of splatterpunk. Splatterpunk is a notorious subgenre of horror literature that eschews all forms of good taste. The limits of morality and degradation serve as starting points that authors use to transport readers to the darkest depths of text-based depravity. When reading COD, one needs to make peace with the fact that children are placed into harm’s way.
It’s hard to recommend COD due to the upsetting nature of the story, but for those who dare, it’s an interesting read. For those who have read Playground and enjoyed it, they’re in for a treat as COD is an improvement in every capacity. For everyone else, avoid the swing set!
Playground: Child of Divorce is now available on Aron’s website and Amazon.com.
