Pretty Hate Machine (2026)

Thomas is in so much pain. As if high school wasn’t hard enough, when his father is killed in a freak accident, and his mother begins to take refuge in the company of his uncle, Thomas is visited by a ghoulish kid named Luther with knives for hands and rows of teeth like an ancient shark who tells Thomas his father was murdered and that anything his mother and uncle tell him is a lie. Thomas doesn’t know who or what to believe. Does he believe his friends, teachers, and mother, who tell him grief isn’t for the faint of heart, but it will pass? Or does he believe the demented Luther who pulls Thomas through a bloody whirlwind of conspiracies, vengeance, and slaughter, showing him the lies and corruption that surround him? Thomas must fight to discover the truth behind his father’s death, while struggling to keep his new friend from leaving a massacre in his wake. But that “truth” might be far more sinister than Thomas is prepared for…

Thomas has problems! Luther has butchered a police officer. But even more horrifying—Luther is right. The dying cop confirmed Thomas’s father was murdered! As paranoia slips into Thomas’s life on all sides, he has no idea whom he can trust. His mother? His uncle? His best friends? The girl he loves? Or the bloodthirsty demon driving him toward more slaughter? To kill, or not to kill—that is the question.

Thomas has a plan! A way to finally ferret out the truth about his father’s murder. As Thomas remembers his own complicated relationship with this dad, the time for action moves closer. Luther assures him that violence is the only honest thing left in the universe, and that his courage will be rewarded. But what does “rewarded” even mean to a demon? Thomas must fight through the lies and blood and fear to learn what’s real – but will he like what he sees on the other side?

Thomas knows the truth! But as he unravels the reality of his father’s death, the truth turns out to be far more horrific than he could possibly have imagined. There are more things in heaven and earth…than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Flailing in the wake of so much violence, Thomas must choose his path—but what if his bloody, knife-handed guide has his own dark agenda? What if Luther is playing by his own demented rules?