Audiobook review // Halloween Ends: The Official Movie Novelization.

Okay, we've done the first two, so I suppose it's time for it to end!

Welcome back to Adventures with Peps, where the horror never really stops, the reading pile never gets any smaller, and apparently, I can't leave a horror franchise alone until I've made my way through every available version of it!

We've tackled the first two entries in the Halloween trilogy, so naturally, it's time to bring things to a close with Halloween Ends: The Official Movie Novelization. Because why simply watch a film when you can spend nearly nine hours listening to it instead?

This time, we're swapping the screen for the headphones and letting Paul Brad Logan's novelization, narrated by Linda Jones, take us back to Haddonfield. Michael Myers is back, the town is still dealing with the aftermath of its nightmares, and we're supposed to be heading towards the final showdown.

But will this audiobook stick the landing, or will I be left wondering why I didn't just put the film on? Let's find out!

Audiobook Details

• Title: Halloween Ends: The Official Movie Novelization

• Author: Paul Brad Logan

• Narrator: Linda Jones

• Format: Unabridged audiobook

• Length: 8 hours, 55 minutes

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

• Release date: October 18, 2022

The Review

First things first, this is a novelization of the film, not some radical reimagining of the Halloween universe. Paul Brad Logan, one of the film's screenwriters, brings the story into prose, and the result feels pretty cinematic. The descriptions are intense at times, and I suspect much of the dialogue comes straight from the screenplay, as you just can’t hide that. If you've seen the film, you should recognise the scenes and lines pretty quickly. If you haven't, this is a perfectly workable way to experience it without sitting in front of a screen.

Perhaps you're working, driving, painting miniatures, or doing any of the other thousand things that seem to fill our hobby lives. An audiobook can be a brilliant companion for all of that. But here's the thing: I wasn't expecting this book to suddenly reveal some earth-shattering new take on Halloween Ends, but I was hoping for a decent adaptation that would make the journey worthwhile. And, well, we're getting there. Sort of.

The story: the final chapter

By this point, we're dealing with the final instalment of the trilogy, so the big question is whether the story brings everything together in a satisfying way. Novelizations have the potential to give characters more room to breathe. They can get inside people's heads, expand on their motivations, and explore details that might get lost when a film has to keep moving. That's one of the things I enjoy about exploring these adaptations.

Unfortunately, I didn't come away feeling that this audiobook offered me a dramatically different experience. It's a serviceable retelling, but don't go in expecting it to transform the story or suddenly fix everything you might have disliked about the movie. If you enjoyed the film, you'll probably find enough here to keep you entertained. If you weren't convinced by the film in the first place, I wouldn't expect the novelization to perform some miraculous bit of horror surgery.

Then we come to the scares. Horror is all about timing. A pause, a change in emphasis, a moment of silence before something awful happens, these things can make all the difference. When you're listening rather than watching, the narrator has to do a lot of the work that music, editing and visuals would normally handle. Unfortunately, the timing here often feels bafflingly off. Those frequent attempts at jump scares lose their impact, and instead of being pulled into the horror, I found myself noticing the performance.

It's not quite the experience you want when Michael Myers is supposed to be lurking around the corner!

So, is it worth your time? That depends on what you're looking for. If you're a fan of Halloween Ends and enjoy movie novelizations, this could be worth a listen. It's a convenient way to revisit the story, particularly if you're doing something else while you listen. But if you're hoping the audiobook will improve the film, fill in every gap, or deliver a completely fresh take on the final chapter, I'd keep those expectations firmly in check. For me, the story was serviceable, but the narration held the experience back. I never quite settled into it, and that made a substantial difference over a runtime of nearly nine hours.

Final Thoughts

So, we've reached the end of this little Halloween audiobook adventure. We've made our way through the first two, and now we've crossed the finish line with Halloween Ends. Was it a complete waste of time? No. Was it an audiobook I'd enthusiastically recommend to everyone? Also no!

Paul Brad Logan's adaptation does what it needs to do, and if you're already a fan of the film, you might enjoy revisiting the story in a different format. But for me, the narration and the awkward timing of the scares dragged the whole experience down. If you can get it included in a subscription or pick it up cheaply, then by all means, give it a go if you're curious.

But if Audible wants you to spend a precious credit on it? Don’t! There are plenty more horror adventures out there, and I've got a backlog to get through. Michael Myers can take a little break while I see what other horrors are waiting for me.

Cheers for listening along, and I'll see you on the next adventure!