Halloween Horror Book Review
Tricked by his cunning … Treated to his savagery … Annie, Linda and Laurie … fresh, pretty, ready to be taken … stalked by a sadistic power who has returned to claim new victims, on this … the most frightening night of the year.
Horror Book Review: Halloween
John Carpenter’s Halloween, as far back as I can remember, is the first horror movie I saw when I was about five or six years old. It was actually Halloween II, but at the time I had no concept of sequels, so, to me, it was the first film. I found the old VHS tape in my dad’s movie cabinet. There, on the cardboard spine of the VHS tape, was my dad’s scribbled handwriting that read “Halloween & Halloween II”. For whatever reason, Halloween II played first. The entire opening scene of the film should have been a dead giveaway that I was watching the sequel but, again, I was only about six years old. Should I have been watching this movie? Of course not, but I did anyway. Where were my parents? Fast asleep. I used to peruse through the movie cabinet and see what horrors my dad recorded off of HBO or Showtime. Here, I found “gems” like Microwave Massacre, The Incredible Melting Man, Def-Con 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, among so many other films. Really, this is where my love of horror spawned.
After Halloween II ended, I thought that was the end of it – the end of Michael Myers. Of course, I can laugh at that notion today. Still, in the mid-80s, there was no internet or IMDB. No, everything was simply by catching a TV spot or word of mouth. Oh, and did I mention I was about six years old? I did, however, know that there was another Halloween movie out there because I was watching Halloween II. Therefore, I deduced, there was a Halloween I. It wasn’t until years later, after watching Halloween II again, that I stepped away from the television screen and let the VHS play in the background as I enjoyed the soundtrack by John Carpenter. Then, I heard it. It was the same soundtrack, only it sounded different, updated. I ran back to the living room and was watching the opening credits again. But the pumpkin. It too was different! Then the title faded into the screen and it was Halloween, part one. I was ecstatic! Naturally, I watched it and immediately fell in love all over again.
Throughout the years, Halloween was a staple and a must-watch whenever there was nothing on the tube, especially in October. Later in my life, I learned that there were novelizations of the films, so I sought them out. This was before Amazon was the powerhouse that it is today and they did not have a hold in the entire book industry. I found the Halloween novelization for the hefty price of about $30. I say that with excessive sarcasm because getting a hold of one today can cost you hundreds of dollars, as they are long out of print. Even though I purchased the book, I never got around to reading it because I saw the movie and knew what to expect, so I held off. I imagined that there would be little if anything that differs from the film, being that it is the source material and altering it would be sacrilege. And so, the books sat on my shelf enclosed within a plastic dust protector. This Fall, however, after setting up my Halloween decor in and around the house, I was in the mood for some spooks. And so, it was time to crack open Halloween, the novelization by Curtis Richards.
I was excited to read the book and anticipation set in as I was curious to compare the book with the movie. Would Richards dare stray from the film or will he give a simple and ineffective retelling of the story we all know so well? To my surprise, the opening of the book differed completely from what we saw on film. There was no Judith or Michael Myers. Instead, in the prologue, we meet Enda, a disfigured 15-year-old boy in ancient Ireland when the Celtics walked the land. This is different. I readjusted myself in my seat – my attention intensified. Ok, Mr. Richards, you got my attention. Enda is in love with the king’s daughter, Deirdre, set to marry her fiance. When Enda professes his love for her, he is rejected, mocked, ridiculed, and humiliated in front of everyone. As a result, Enda, in his rage, murders Deirdre and her fiance. In an act of vengeance, the village people slay Enda, cursing the soil to wander the earth for an eternity. This event sets forth the book in motion.
If you haven’t put it together, Richards is giving a backstory and origin to Michael’s behavior and reign of terror in the future. Having followed the franchise since I was a child, it was refreshing to get a different take on Michael Myers and more lore behind the madness. While it certainly made me raise an eyebrow, I was always a fan of the not-knowing aspect of Michael Myers, and his mystery. To me, not knowing is part of what made the character more sinister, a force to be reckoned with, kind of like what Dr. Sam Loomis says in the film,
An excellent bit of dialogue from the film that sums up Michael Myers perfectly. This is exactly what I think about when discussing Michael Myers and his why. The answer? Because he is evil. That’s it, nothing more to it. Of course, in the subsequent sequels to the film, the producers wanted the story to continue even though John Carpenter has stated in multiple interviews that there were no plans for a sequel. To him, it was a one-and-done. However, money talks, and the producers were itching to make a sequel to cash in on Halloween’s success. Because of this, Carpenter had to come up with a plot point to keep the narrative going and so he constructed the Michael and Laurie being siblings idea. There are no indications that they are siblings in the movie, nor the novelization for that matter, other than a brief passage when Michael first sees Laurie and likens her appearance to his sister, Judith because of her blonde hair. No, he does not say that. Rather, Richards treats the readers with Michael’s inner thoughts. This opens up a whole new can of worms because we get a look behind the curtains and are on Michael’s journey on the fateful Halloween night. We understand his motivations as well as, how should I put this – desires?
Before this, we also get some time with Michael in the sanitorium where he is revered and respected – feared? He was a bully, of sorts. This allows him to get away with a lot of things and it was surmised that Michael knew what he was doing and biding his time for his eventual escape from the facility. There are even additional scenes included in the book that feature Judith as she prepares for her boyfriend’s arrival, conversations between Michael and his grandmother (yes, he talks), and a conversation between Michael’s mother and her mother. These little additions were gems.
All the characters are fleshed out more than they are in the film, who are two-dimensional and disposable. In the book, they are more human and I was even more sympathetic towards the teens than I am when watching the film. Dr. Loomis even has a wife and son! They play no part in the story, but adding that tiny detail made the obsessive doctor more human and not just a seemingly depraved man. My impression of perhaps the most integral character in this franchise aside from Michael Myers, is that just reading Loomis’ words on paper was rather annoying, if not tedious at times. But, Donald Pleasances’ performance is a testament to his ability to pull a character out of the pages of the script and bring the character to life.
The novelization of Halloween is a wonderful addition to anyone’s Halloween collection and an excellent read for Fall. I am kicking myself for not having read this book sooner and it may be a yearly read for me from now on. Richards’ adaptation and impressive writing gave more depth to an already fantastic screenplay by Carpenter, which served as the blueprint to great satisfaction. The book is as scary as the film, if not scarier, that allows you to use your imagination as well as conjure up images from the film itself.