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How the Official Novelization for ‘Halloween’ 2018 Expands and Enriches This Year’s Hit Sequel

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In just under three weeks, David Gordon Green’s Halloween has exhilarated audiences to the tune of over $200 million in box office receipts, a milestone for this franchise and the slasher film subgenre. But even people happy with the film still find hang-ups to criticize, from Dr. Sartain’s motivations, to The Shape’s ambivalence in harming an infant in the home of a Haddonfield resident he bashed to death with a hammer, to Allyson’s jerk boyfriend Cameron (but he’s Lonnie Elam’s kid, of course he’s a jerk) getting away scot-free.

To those conflicted Halloween fans, I have one recommendation to make: read the novelization.

Written by Bram Stoker Award winner John Passarella, co-author of Wither, author of Wither’s Rain, Wither’s Legacy, Kindred Spirit, Shimmer, and a chain of Supernatural, Grimm, Buffy and Angel media tie-ins, the Halloween novelization is a satisfying companion piece to David Gordon Green’s feature.

I can already hear the rebuttals: But Mike, I shouldn’t have to read a book to get answers to questions or fix problems I have with a movie. No, you’re right, you shouldn’t have to. And you don’t have to. But it does help. Something I love about a movie novelization is its function to expand and enrich the narrative of a film. A movie is always subject to its post-production phase. Scenes are either dropped or reshot for a variety of reasons, be it time constraints, pacing problems… any number of issues. A novelization, however, is based on the screenplay (a particular draft or a number of drafts) and isn’t subject to any of those issues. Yes, an author has the freedom to embellish and expound upon characters, but you’ll also find scenes in there that were taken out of the finished film. We may not know what belonged to the screenwriters or what was simply an author’s take on the material unless the subsequent Blu-ray release contains deleted scenes; that being said, a novelization still gives us a broader take on the material and (possibly) the original intent of the filmmaker.

Take The Shape’s reluctance to harm that baby. While some saw this as a parallel to Michael ignoring the infants in the Haddonfield Memorial Clinic newborn ward in Rick Rosenthal’s Halloween II (1981) or young Michael sparing his little sister Boo in Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007), or proof the Shape does in fact have a conscience, others were confused. (And to those people who were confused, or surprised, he didn’t kill the baby, my only response is… Really?). David Gordon Green has gone on record that the infant was a late edition to the movie; the actor who was hired to play the husband of The Shape’s victim never came to set when those scenes were being shot, and Green was forced to improvise. While the finished film never gives us much information as to Michael’s current mental state or how random his behavior is, the book suggests quite a bit.

In the novelization’s opening pages, Dr. Sartain explains to true crime podcasters Aaron Joseph-Korey and Dana Haines that he disagreed with Dr Loomis’ description of Michael as pure evil. “Pure evil is not a diagnosis,” he tells them. Aaron asks Sartain if there’s any similarity between the homicidal maniac that made headlines in 1978 and the amenable patient of this institution. Sartain calls Michael “an aging, evolving animal, as we all are. And although we have worked very closely, these halls display the limitation of my analysis.” Under his care, Smith’s Grove has implemented a holistic form of therapy for Michael, and in that time, Sartain concludes that Michael’s tendency towards violence has been irrevocably erased. “We left two kitty cats in his cell overnight and they were retrieved virtually unharmed,” he says. Sartain may be convinced, but his research lacks one vital element, and it may lead him to facilitate Michael’s escape so he might study him in the wild. Michael’s decision to leave two kittens alone illustrates the randomness of his actions during his house to house murder spree later. Whether this is writer John Passarella’s addition or excised material from David Gordon Green’s first assembly, it does manage to expand on Michael’s psychology.

Scenes deleted from the theatrical cut of the film that were merely teased in marketing materials also appear in the book. One such scene has Aaron putting on Michael’s mask and scaring Dana in the shower, in a blatant parody of Hitchcock’s Psycho. (Now, if the lead up to the shower scene is done in the style of the opening of John Carpenter’s Halloween, with a POV through the mask’s eyeholes, it would also make it an homage of the opening of Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse. Dammit, I wanna see those deleted scenes!) Aaron tells her: “When I wear this, there is a certain tendency or inclination that the legacy of the mask seems to inspire.” Sartain, later donning the mask — in the scene that has left just about everyone who has seen the film conflicted — would be a fitting callback to this, and would’ve made a lot more sense, if only this deleted moment had remained in the film.

Which leads us to Cameron Elam, Allyson’s disloyal boyfriend. In the film, Allyson catches Cameron fraternizing with another girl at the Exquisite Corpse Halloween high school dance. Cameron, drunk and irate, argues with Allyson, and dumps Allyson’s cell phone in a bowl of nacho cheese when he doesn’t get his way. Allyson storms off, and this is the last we see of Cameron. In the book, things play out a little differently.

In the book, Cameron chases after Allyson, still trying to make amends with her and failing miserably. By this point, the police have arrived and the dance is being cancelled and evacuated with confirmation Michael Myers is on the loose again in Haddonfield. When an officer finds Cameron and Allyson under the bleachers in the midst of their argument and this cop interrupts the lovers’ spat to usher them off school grounds, Cameron isn’t having it. Cameron and the cop scuffle, and Cameron gets arrested. That explains why Cameron never gets his moral comeuppance from The Shape: he was sleeping off his drunk in the county jail. But something tells me it’s just as well. If David Gordon Green comes back to direct the inevitable sequel, I’m fairly certain we’ll see Cameron again and he’ll get what’s coming to him. I’d expect it to be pretty brutal too, since it’s been prolonged. In the slasher film law of averages, survivors of one entry aren’t always so lucky in the next. The audience wants Cameron dead, and by God he better get it in the sequel, or heads will roll.

David Gordon Green’s Halloween is a story about the effects of PTSD on three generations of women, and their strength and ultimate perseverance against The Shape who has haunted their family, figuratively and literally, over a forty year span. The novelization allows this story to breathe. It offers so much more added depth, so much more background (on Laurie Strode, especially; it even drives home the point of that final shot in a very succinct, poignant way), it’d be a shame to spoil all of it. Just pick up a copy and enjoy.

The Shape is waiting.

Books

‘In Search of Darkness’ Book Review: A Must-Have for ’80s Horror Fans

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In 2019, the documentary of 80s horror In Search of Darkness became an instant hit with horror fans. Now, a beautiful coffee table style companion book is available and is a must-own for all fans of one of horror’s greatest eras. The book is a walk down the horror aisle of the best mom and pop video store in the heyday of VHS, featuring full color photos, poster art, insightful essays and more. More than just a nostalgic throwback, In Search of Darkness is the kind of book I wish I’d had back in my years as a burgeoning horror fan but is also satisfying for the film fanatic I have become in the years since.

The format is beautifully and simply laid out, with at least a dozen (usually more) movies from each year of the decade presented in order of release accompanied by informative and insightful essays by the authors Heather Wixson and Patrick Bromley. Both authors have been mainstays of film journalism, specializing in horror, for many years. Wixson began her career in 2007 with Dread Central and has spent the past ten years as the Managing Editor of Daily Dead, from which she recently retired to focus on books and other projects. She has devoted the past several years to interviewing and writing books about the Make-up and Special Effects wizards that have brought so much to film over the years, specifically the horror genre.

Bromley is a film journalist and critic whose work can be found all over the place including right here on Bloody Disgusting. He recently provided the commentary for the Vinegar Syndrome release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and is known as something of a Tobe Hooper expert. He is also the founder and editor of F this Movie!, an eclectic film website, and host of its accompanying podcast. So, to be clear, the authors know their stuff.

Wixson and Bromley divide writing duties roughly in half and though each has a distinctive voice, their writing styles dovetail beautifully into a cohesive whole. Each author plays to their strengths. Being familiar with both their work I didn’t even have to look at the bylines to know that Heather covered Christine and Terror in the Aisles and Patrick took on The Funhouse and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. Wixson’s passion for make-up effects is clear and comes through in many of her contributions. In general, Wixson takes on the “big” titles, the movies that defined the decade the most, and Bromley covers what the more cynical among us might call schlock, but he would likely call pure cinematic bliss. There are exceptions and surprises, of course, as there should be (Patrick covers The Shining for example). Each essay dives into the history behind the film, the major players involved, the reception, and legacy with often surprising aspects drawn from interviews with the filmmakers from various sources and insights from the authors.

For all their in-depth explorations of each film, in general the authors keep their critics’ hats safely stowed, keeping in mind that every entry on the book has its fans. In fact, they may well have sold me on finally hitting play on some of the schlockier offerings of the decade like Evilspeak, Nightbeast, and Blood Diner. Hell, I may even give The Beast Within a spin for shits and giggles. The point is that this book is a celebration through and through. The authors are honest about the critical receptions of the films, which were often unkind, and sometimes let their own opinions shine through, but recognize how beloved even the schlockiest films can become given time and availability. And that is an ongoing theme of In Search of Darkness. What may have been dismissed in its day often becomes revered as the years pass. Variations on the phrase “the years have been kind to…” referring to various maligned projects like The Thing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, The Blob and many, many others, can be found throughout the book for good reason.

Each chapter of the book also includes a rundown of the top horror movies at the box office for the year as well as the top movies of all genres for context. The final page for each year highlights some of the major news and pop culture events including the top songs, albums, and television shows. There is a large central section that pays tribute to the talent involved with the greatest horror films of the 80s including directors, actors, effects artists, and more. This section includes brief biographies of John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Stephen King, Tom Savini, Barbara Crampton, Robert Englund, and many others presented in a dynamic and engaging fashion.

One of the beauties of the book is that it covers so much ground. Sure, you’ll find Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, and the Halloween sequels in it, but you’ll also find deeper cuts like The Changeling, The Being, and Tetsuo: The Iron Man. I was happy to find the same love given to Frank Henenlotter and Larry Cohen as to George A. Romero and David Cronenberg. In other words, In Search of Darkness is extraordinarily eclectic, highlighting the diversity that truly defined what is often viewed as a homogenous decade. The authors make the case that the 80s was horror’s greatest decade, and with what they lay out throughout this book, it’s tough to argue against that. I even came across a film or two I hadn’t even heard of before, which has become increasingly rare as the years go by.

At just shy of $85, the cover price may give some horror hounds pause, but believe me, it’s worth every penny. This is a beautiful volume that every fan of 80s horror will want on their shelf or prominently displayed on their coffee table. Filled with favorite titles, hundreds of full color photos, insightful and informative writing, this is simply a must own.

You can order your copy now.

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