Justin Joss: The Slasher Who Started It All

Overview

Justin Joss is the catalyst of I Was a Teenage Slasher—a social outcast whose brutal death during a pumpjack initiation turns him into a revenant slasher. Though he appears physically only in the novel’s opening Friday, his brief rampage sets every main event in motion. He kills several of his tormentors, indirectly triggers Tolly Driver’s infection by blood exposure, and establishes the slasher logic that governs the rest of the story. Justin’s tragedy is that he was always an outsider; his return as a killer makes him a literal monster, yet the novel never completely dehumanizes him.

Plot Role and Chronological Arc

Justin’s arc is compressed into a single night, but his presence shadows the entire narrative.

• Before the party: Justin is a high school student from a family that later moves away. He is drawn into an initiation ritual by Deek Masterson’s crew, who convince him to ride a pumpjack. While drinking beer for courage, he loses his balance, falls into the machine’s counterweights, and loses his right leg and part of his left arm. He bleeds to death at the scene. Stace Goodkin tries to save him but is held back.
• Friday night at Deek’s party: Justin returns as a slasher, his right arm replaced by a drillbit. He attacks the party, kills Grandlin Chalmers and Ezzy Martinez, and pursues Deek and Stace. Stace uses a canvas tarp to clog the drillbit, then buries an axe in Justin’s collarbone. In the struggle, Justin’s blood splatters onto Tolly Driver, who has a cut on his forehead. Tolly unknowingly smears the blood into the wound, initiating his own transformation.
• Aftermath: Justin’s parents, implied to be under the slasher’s influence, become red herrings that occupy Sheriff Burke and the town’s attention, allowing Tolly to move undetected. Justin never reappears; he is the “finished” slasher, while Tolly becomes the slasher who cannot rest until his revenge is complete.

Motivations and Traits

Justin’s motivations are filtered through Tolly’s speculation and the slasher framework Amber explains. The novel treats revenge as his core drive, but the details suggest deeper impulses.

• Revenge against his killers: Justin’s primary targets are Deek’s crew—the people responsible for his death. He kills Grandlin, Ezzy, and possibly others off-page. His focus on Deek and Stace (the latter tried to save him) indicates a cold, almost robotic prioritization.
• Loss of humanity: As a revenant, Justin shows no remorse. He dispatches victims efficiently, using his drillbit arm as a weapon. He does not speak. Yet Tolly’s narration hints that Justin might still retain fragments of memory—he hesitates when Stace apologizes, suggesting awareness of her earlier kindness.
• Interpretation: Justin may be driven not only by revenge but by a compulsion to complete the ritual of the slasher. Amber explains that slashers follow genre rules, and Justin’s parents “zombie’d out” to serve as red herrings. This implies his existence is partly involuntary, a puppet of a larger horror logic.

Relationships

• Deek Masterson and his crew: Deek is the ringleader of the initiation. Justin’s hatred is personal; he spares Deek only because Stace intervenes. The crew’s arrogance and cruelty directly create Justin’s monstrous form.
• Stace Goodkin: The only person who tried to save him. Justin does not kill her despite the opportunity. Stace’s apology and her use of a tarp (which she likely learned from chainsaw safety gear) partially disable him. This ambiguous mercy suggests Justin can recognize innocence, even in death.
• Tolly Driver: Justin never directly targets Tolly. Their connection is accidental: Justin’s blood infects Tolly, making Tolly a successor slasher. Tolly later reflects that Justin is the “finished” version of what he himself is becoming—a slasher who completed his revenge and can rest.
• Amber: Justin briefly notices Amber when she throws a salt-rimmed margarita glass at him, which sizzles on his shoulder. This is the only moment where a potential weakness (salt) is hinted, but Justin dismisses her as a threat.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Interpretation: Justin’s decision not to kill Stace is ambiguous. It could be a vestige of his humanity, or simply because she neutralized his weapon. The novel leaves this unresolved, emphasizing that slasher motives are not fully rational.

Thematic and Symbolic Connections

• Alienation and otherness: Justin was already an outcast before his death. The slasher transformation literalizes the way society’s outcasts can become monsters. His story connects to the theme of alienation.
• Slasher infection: Justin is the original source of the infection that turns Tolly. Blood transmission symbolizes how trauma and violence spread. See the full analysis on slasher infection and transformation.
• Guilt and moral responsibility: Justin’s death was a preventable accident caused by cruel pranks. The novel asks whether his revenge is justified—a question that ties into guilt and moral responsibility.
• Genre self-awareness: Justin embodies the classic slasher archetype—a wronged victim returning for revenge. The characters explicitly discuss slasher rules, making Justin both a character and a mechanical plot device. Explore genre self-awareness.
• Friendship and loyalty: Justin has no friends; his isolation contrasts with the loyalty between Tolly and Amber. This highlights how friendship and loyalty can be a survival mechanism against the slasher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What exactly happened to Justin Joss on the pumpjack?
A1: During a hazing ritual orchestrated by Deek Masterson’s group, Justin attempted to ride a pumpjack. He lost his balance, fell into the counterweights, and was mangled—losing his right leg and part of his left arm. He died at the scene.

Q2: Why does Justin come back as a slasher?
A2: The novel treats his return as a supernatural consequence of violent death. Within the story’s logic, slashers are revenants driven by revenge and bound by genre rules. Justin’s specific motivation is to kill the people who caused his death.

Q3: How does Justin infect Tolly?
A3: During the attack at Deek’s party, Stace Goodkin buries an axe in Justin’s shoulder. Justin’s blood sprays onto Tolly, who has a fresh cut on his forehead. Later, while fleeing, Tolly deliberately smears the blood into the wound, completing the infection.

Q4: What role do Justin’s parents play?
A4: Amber theorizes that Justin’s parents are “red herrings.” After their son’s death, they behave erratically, driving around and drawing police attention. This distracts from Tolly’s activities and allows him to continue killing without immediate suspicion.

Q5: Is Justin Joss ever truly defeated?
A5: Justin appears only in Chapter 2. He is last seen after Stace wounds him. The narrative implies he is “finished”—his revenge presumably complete—unlike Tolly, who remains an unfinished slasher. Justin’s fate is left uncertain, but he does not reappear.

For a deeper look at the novel’s ending and Tolly’s fate, see the ending explained page or browse questions and answers.