Book Review // Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization by John Passarella

The season is upon us! Halloween is getting closer, pumpkin spice lattes are haunting my dreams, and there appears to be a bloke in a pale mask hanging around the yard between the laundry. Yep. It's Halloween!

So naturally, it's time to revisit one of my favourite horror movie franchises, but this time in book form.

The Details

Title: Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization
Author: John Passarella
Format: 376 pages, Kindle

The Blurb

In 1978, Laurie Strode survived an encounter with Michael Myers, a masked figure who murdered her friends and terrorised the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, on Halloween night.

Myers was eventually apprehended and committed to Smith's Grove State Hospital.

Forty years later, the memories of that nightmarish ordeal still haunt Laurie.

And now Myers is back.

After escaping during a routine transfer, Michael leaves a trail of bodies behind him as he returns to Haddonfield. But this time Laurie is ready. Years of survival training have prepared her to protect herself, her daughter Karen and her granddaughter Allyson.

Unfortunately, Allyson has become separated from her family and is enjoying the Halloween festivities when Michael comes home.

And we all know what happens when Michael Myers comes home…

The Review

Firstly, the reason I'm reading this is pretty simple. I bloody love the movies. Micheal is a classic slasher, killer, horror, that makes you wonder what the hell is lurking around the corner (I love the idea of the boogeyman, and how sadly they do exist). That feeling that something is watching you. That little bit of dread when you know something is there but you can't quite see it. And Halloween delivers all of that perfectly.

So how does the movie work as a novel?

Pretty bloody well, actually. John Passarella does a great job of recreating the events of the film while building up the tension, dread, horror and action. If you've seen the movie, you obviously know what's coming, but that doesn't stop the story from working. In fact, there are moments where the written format arguably makes things even creepier.

More Than the Movie

The big reason to read this novel isn't simply to experience the movie again. It's the extra detail. We get much more access to the characters' internal thoughts and feelings. We get to understand what they're thinking when Michael appears, what they're feeling when they discover his victims and how the events of that night affect them, and then there's Michael.

Getting a little more insight into Myers himself was easily one of my favourite parts. I'm always fascinated by the idea of the slasher villain as this almost unknowable force, so seeing inside his head, even just a little, adds something really interesting to the story. It gives you another perspective on the character without completely taking away that mysterious boogeyman quality.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the pacing. There's very little wasted space here. The characters are well written, the story keeps moving and Passarella manages to expand on the movie without making it feel like he's simply padding the runtime. Would I have liked the story to be longer? Maybe, just a little bit. Some aspects felt rushed or could have used an extra page. But I also understand why it isn't. We're working with a known story, a relatively tight timeframe and a movie that already gives us most of the major events. That's probably the biggest problem with reading this after watching the film. The surprises aren't really surprises. You know who's in danger. You know Michael is coming. You know what happens. So some of the shock value is naturally reduced. If I'd read this book before watching the movie, I suspect I'd have rated it even higher.

Final Thoughts

Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization is an above-average movie novelization and a bloody good bit of Halloween reading. It captures the atmosphere of the film really well while giving us something the movie can't, access to the thoughts and feelings of the characters and a little more insight into Michael Myers. It's tense, creepy, violent and atmospheric. Exactly what I want from a Halloween story.

It might not completely reinvent the movie, but it doesn't need to. Sometimes it's just nice to spend a few hours with the boogeyman.

Happy October, everyone!

Now… where the hell did I put that pumpkin spice latte?