Halloween IV Horror Book Novelization Book Review

Horror Book Review: Halloween IV

The return of Michael Myers. This, after being shot multiple times, is rendered blind by taking a bullet to each eye socket, blown away in an explosion, and set afire while still alive. Many people thought that the end of Halloween II definitively ended the man behind the mask. But, luckily for Michael Myers, studio execs and fans alike revitalized the corpse of Myers to help make pockets fatter with some more of that “cha-ching” after the Halloween spinoff that was Halloween III: Season of the Witch did not perform as well as its two predecessors. So, it was only fitting that the title of the next Halloween film, aptly subtitled, The Return of Michael Myers, was sure to attract Michael Myers’ afficionados. While I enjoyed Halloween III, disappointment set in when I realized that Michael Myers was not in the movie. However, he made a cameo on the television screen when a TV spot played. But that was as far as it went. Again, I was a kid when I first watched Season of the Witch, so I was coming off of watching Halloween and Halloween II so it was natural to be utterly disappointed and confused when Myers was not in the film. This is me as an adolescent, so I can only imagine all those adults who bought into the character and were excited to watch another sequel featuring the infamous “Shape.” It was like a roundhouse kick to the temple! And so, six years later, they released Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers. I can’t help but wonder if the inclusion of “The Return of Michael Myers” was a nod to the fans.

Then, I saw the trailer and a flood of mixed emotions overwhelmed me. Excitement was at the forefront, but what was up with that mask? Why did it look so different, so non-threatening? A minor gripe. I have since come to appreciate the mask. And while the film itself was not great, it is one of the better ones and a favorite of mine. Especially after later seeing Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween 8: Resurrection (I cringe just thinking about this one). The ending to Halloween IV opened the door to something different and exciting, kind of like Halloween Ends (I know, I know! I have mixed emotions about that one too). Instead, we got the mess that was Halloween 5. I am a fan of the series so I can still watch Halloween 5 despite its many flaws and nuisances.

Still, Halloween IV brought us back to the essence of Halloween, especially with that atmospheric and foreboding opening sequence. Author Nicholas Grabowsky delivered this same vibe in the opening chapter of his novelization. Except for a few scenes, including an extended and additional scene with the Reverend Sayer, we get a lot of what was seen in the movie. I don’t think that it added much to move the story along, but a welcomed addition. The conversation between Sayer and Loomis always intrigued me, almost as if it was Loomis from another time and place. A premonition of sorts of what would become of Loomis if his obsession with Myers were to continue.

Another addition is a scene where Jaime, Michael’s niece, sees a ghost! I kid you not. This took me a bit off-guard because I was not expecting this. At this point in the story of Halloween, the creatives fully embrace the supernatural element. There were some inner thoughts from Brady, Rachel’s boyfriend, during his confrontation with Michael Myers, where he ponders the idea of defeating the “boogeyman” and becoming a town hero. He did not do his research on Michael. And so, we all know how that ends.

Maybe I vaguely remember the film, but having read the novelization, it puts a different perspective on some characters. Or maybe Grabowsky wrote them as they should be: naïve and horny teenagers. Still, I experienced the confrontation with Rachel, after having caught Brady being intimate with Kelly, a little differently. They are knee deep in the story at this point where Michael is on the loose and already killed more than a handful of people and these two girls are fighting over a boy. Being an adult, this scene makes no sense as teenage bliss and betrayal pales in comparison to a psycho maniac hellbent in killing anything that gets in its way is after his niece, your foster sister. This scene also presents Rachel in a different light. Until now, the audience has perceived her as the mature older sister. Here, her character is reduced to that of a petty teenager. The scene ends with her throwing a cup of coffee at Kelly. Not very mature of her. To be fair, this is how it played out in the movie. But I think Grabowsky missed a golden opportunity to provide more insight that would paint a better picture for Rachel. He could have added some of his flare and changed any misinterpretations we might have had about Kelly by digging deeper into her psyche and understanding why she is the way she is. I am not saying that is an important character, but fleshing out characters a bit more would have been beneficial to garner feeling when they met their demise. Was her character misunderstood, deemed a “slut” because of a rumor or because there was truth behind it? Her motivation to get with Brady and the overall impression exhumed about her character was flat and two-dimensional. There was no substance given to her, not enough background to garner empathy for the character, thus making her character disposable. Again, I understand that this is how the characters were written as per the screenplay, but I would’ve liked Grabowsky to make it somewhat of his own.

Grabowsky played it safe, for the most part, and stuck with a lot of what the screenplay already offered, scene by scene, and beat by beat. Because of this, I feel like the novelization of Halloween IV fell a little flat. I suppose this is what a novelization is. I wanted to like the book more, but I also wanted more substance and more (better?) character motivations and development. The novelization of Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers had the potential to be much better but, again, because Grabowsky clung onto a retelling of the script, it left me empty at its conclusion where, if you remember what happens at the film’s end, then you would know that it is perfect to open up for interpretation. Instead, we get a retread of what we already saw in the movie. Furthermore, there was not a lot of inner dialogue from Michael Myers other than the voices urging him to continue the massacre of his bloodline. Still, despite my gripes, I enjoyed the book and there is enough here that leaves even the most casual Halloween fan satisfied.