Halloween by Curtis Richards

(pb; 1979: based on the screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill)

From the back cover:

"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."


Review:

Halloween is an above average movie tie-in/novelization of John Carpenter's 1978 iconic slasher flick. What elevates the book version in relation to other movie tie-ins is its expansion into the background of why Michael Myers is what he is, as well as some of its characters' motivations (whose logic-challenged actions are sometimes frustrating).

What keeps Halloween from being excellent is its Richards's occasional flirtations with cheesy writing and love of unnecessary adjectives; also, there is the Laurie Strode's weird visualizations of Judith Myers's murder. These visualizations feel forced, unnatural, like Richards felt like he had to keep those sadistic images fresh in his readers' minds.

This out of print and pricy book is worth owning despite these minor nits, not only for its rarity but for its overall suspenseful writing and how it builds on the ideas, characters and horror of its source film.

Followed by Halloween II (by Jack Martin, a.k.a. Dennis Etchison).

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Two film versions have been made.

The first film, upon which the book is based, was released stateside on October 25, 1978. John Carpenter directed and co-scripted Halloween. Debra Hill co-scripted the film.

Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie Strode. Donald Pleasance played Dr. Sam Loomis. Charles Cyphers played Sheriff Leigh Brackett.

Nancy Kyes, billed as Nancy Loomis, played Annie. P.J. Soles played Lynda.Nancy Stephens played Marion. Kyle Richards played Lindsey. Brian Andrews played Tommy.

Mickey Yablans played Richie. John Michael Graham played Bob. Brent Le Page played Lonnie.

Sandy Johnson played Judith Myers. Will Sandin played Michael Myers (age 6). Tony Moran played The Shape/Michael Myers (age 23).

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Rob Zombie's remake was released stateside on August 31, 2007. Zombie also wrote the screenplay, based on John Carpenter and Debra Hill's 1978 script.

Daeg Faerch played Michael Myers, age 10. Tyler Mane played Michael Myers, as an adult.

Sheri Moon Zombie played Deborah Myers, Michael's mother. William Forsythe played Ronnie White. Hanna Hall played Judith Myers. Scout Taylor-Compton played Laurie Strode. Dee Wallace played Cynthia Strode. Pat Skipper played Mason Strode.

Malcolm McDowell played Dr. Sam Loomis. Brad Dourif played Sheriff Lee Brackett (the original incarnation of Brackett, played by Charles Cypher, was named Leigh Brackett).

Danielle Harris played Annie Brackett. Richmond Arquette played Deputy Charles.Kristina Klebe played Lynda. Skyler Gisondo played Tommy Doyal. Gregg Stewart played Lindsey Wallace.

Ken Foree played Big Joe Grizzly. Richard Lynch played Principal Chambers. Micky Dolenz played Derek Allen. Sid Haig played Chester Chesterfield.

Udo Kier played Morgan Walker. Clint Howard played Dr. Koplenson. Danny Trejo played Ismael Cruz. Sybil Danning played Nurse Wynn.

Lew Temple played Noel Kluggs. Tom Towles played Larry Redgrave. Bill Moseley played Zach "Z-Man" Garrett. Daniel Roebuck played Lou Martini.

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Director/screenwriter David Gordon Green and actor/writer Danny McBride are said to be working on "a [2018] continuation of the original Halloween's sequel." (Quote is from the imdb.com site.)

I will post more about this possible film when more information is forthcoming.

The Howling by Gary Brandner

(pb; 1977: first book in The Howling trilogy)

From the back cover:

"Karyn and her husband Roy had come to the peaceful California village of Drago to escape the savagery of the city. On the surface Drago appeared to be like most small rural towns. 

"But it was not.


"The village had a most unsavory history. Unexplained disappearances, sudden deaths.
People just vanished, never to be found."


Review:

Howling is a waste-no-words, excellent read, one of my favorite werewolf works in the horror genre. It illustrates, in a cinematic, lycanthrophic and terror-toned manner, the disintegration of a marriage in the wake of a brutal, no-one-is-safe-anywhere rape, even as the husband and wife (Karen and Roy) change in startling ways.

At the time of this writing, this type of story has become common (with varying degrees of quality) in the horror genre. What sets Howling apart from other shape-shifter-based tales is Brandner's superb focus and editing, which keeps its storyline entertaining and palatable, without sacrificing the efficacy of its underlying, disturbing and personal themes.

This standout work is worth owning, one of the best furs-&-fangs genre entries of recent memory.

Followed by The Howling II.

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The loosely linked, resulting film was released stateside on April 10, 1981. Joe Dante directed it, based on a script by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless.

Dee Wallace played Karen White. Christopher Stone played R. William 'Bill' Neill. Dennis Duggan played Chris. Belinda Balaski played Terry Fisher. Kevin McCarthy played Fred Francis.
Patrick Macnee played Dr. George Waggner. John Carradine played Erle Kenton. Slim Pickens played Sam Newfield. Elisabeth Brooks played Marsha Quist. Robert Picardo played Eddie Quist. Don McLeod played T.C. Quist.

An uncredited Roger Corman played "Man in Phone Booth". An uncredited John Sayles (mentioned earlier as the film's co-screenwriter) played "Morgue Attendant". An uncredited Jonathan Kaplan played "Gas Station Attendant".

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For those interested in the entire book series, all of the The Howling novels have been collected into one omnibus volume, The Howling Trilogy.

The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie with B.K. Evenson

(hb; 2013)


From the inside flap:

"Heidi Hawthorne is a thirty-seven-year-old FM radio DJ and a recovering drug addict.  Struggling with her newfound sobriety and creeping depression, Heidi suddenly receives an anonymous gift at the station - a mysteriously shaped wooden box branded with a strange symbol.  Inside the box is a promotional record for a band that identifies themselves as The Lords.  There is no other information.

"She decides to play it on the radio show as a joke, and the moment she does, horrible things begin to happen.  The strange music unleashes something evil in the town.  Soon enough, terrifying murders begin to happen all around Heidi.  Who are The Lords?  What do they want?

"Now, as old bloodlines are awakened and the bodies start to pile up, only one thing seems certain - all hell is about to break loose."


Review:

Lords is a compelling, entertaining read, with its engaging characters and its graphic, jubilant and orgiastic bloodshed.  While it's not the grimmest horror novel I've read, its unrepentant and unflinching unveiling of viscous, carnal violence makes many other like-genre books pale in comparison.

Zombie and Evenson weave elements of humor, Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby and the Norwegian black metal genre into this feels-like-a-Seventies-horror-flick novel, making it even more fun.

Worth owning, this.

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The film version is scheduled for theatrical release on April 19, 2013.  Co-author Rob Zombie scripted and directed the film.

Sheri Moon Zombie played Heidi Hawthorne.  Bruce Davison played Francis Matthias.  Jeff Daniel Phillips, billed as Jeffrey Daniel Phillips, played Herman Whitey Salvador.  Ken Foree played Herman Jackson.   Ernest Thomas played Chip Freakshow McDonald. 

Michael Berryman played Virgil Magnus.  Sid Haig played Dean Magnus.   Maria Conchita Alonso played Alice Matthias.  Dustin Quick played Masie Mather. 

Judy Geeson played Lacy Doyle. Patricia Quinn played Megan.  Dee Wallace played Sonny.  Meg Foster played Margaret Morgan.  Brandon Cruz played Ted Delta.  Torsten Voges played Count Gorgann.  Niko Posey played Cerina Hooten.  Lisa Marie played Priscilla Reed.

Maria Olsen played a "Dream Sequence Woman".  Diana Hart played another "Dream Sequence Woman".  Flo Lawrence played a "Witch".  Silvia Moore played another "Witch".

Barbara Crampton, in deleted scenes, played Virginia Cable.  Udo Kier, in deleted scenes, played Matthew Hopkins.  Camille Keaton, in deleted scenes, played Doris Von Fux.  Clint Howard, in deleted scenes, played Carlo Caravaggio. Richard Lynch, in deleted scenes, played Reverend John Hawthorne. 

Daniel Roebuck, in deleted scenes, played The Frankenstein Monster.  Christopher Knight, in deleted scenes, played Keith 'Lobster Joe' Williams.