BOOK REVIEW: HALLOWEEN: THE OFFICIAL MOVIE NOVELIZATION BY JOHN PASSARELLA

A few preambles.


I have not seen the new Halloween film. That review is in the more-than capable hands of my esteemed colleague, Tony Jones (Read the review here). This is my reaction to the book alone.


And while I may pretend that the book exists in a vacuum, I also have to acknowledge that this isn't really the case. So I want to make sure it's clear that whatever criticisms I may be putting down here, I can't really hang it on John Passarella. While I'm sure he was given some room to roam, because this is a novelization, it means he was handed this story, fully formed for the most part. The writing is actually entertaining and engaging. The issues I have with the story would be decisions that were made before Passarella even came into the picture.

To start on a positive note, one thing that set Halloween (the original Carpenter film) aside from the other two massive franchises of the decade was in its use of atmosphere and foreshadowing. Michael seems to be constantly on the fringe of the story, floating in and out as a vague presence in many scenes, lending a beautifully bleak feeling of what is coming. This all is aided of course by a fantastic score.

With that fact as a kind of marinade to my point here, in general I would say that I preferred the first half of the book and I felt like the use of similar tension and foreboding was done well. As the reader with extra insight I liked the feeling of hopelessness for these characters as they go about their lives, not knowing what's coming for them. Michael is appropriately frightening in his silent implacability. And naturally, most of those in charge don't seem to take him seriously as a threat. And as would be expected from this franchise, we all know he's going to escape. Still, when that scene finally arrived I thought it was done well.

One big promotional aspect for the film has been the return of Jaime Lee Curtis to her iconic role although, to be fair I'm not really sure why. Not that she isn't an outstanding actor (she is) but of the nine movies set in the original film's continuity, she's appeared in five. I can't think of any other franchise where an actor, save for the monster has appeared in so many installments. And this isn't even the first "return" she's made to the franchise. Maybe they should have called this H40.

I digress.

More relevant I think than just JLC's presence is that this is essentially the establishment of a new iteration of the John Carpenter universe, seeing another possibility for how things could have ended up for Laurie Strode following the fateful events of that night.

And as such, I think some great potential is present at the start of this book in the relationship Laurie has with her family. On one hand you have her daughter who grows up traumatized herself, having to live with a mother who is constantly paranoid and emotionally unstable, sure that there are monsters poised to strike out at them. And in the middle of this estranged pair is the granddaughter, now of a similar age to Laurie in the first movie.

Unfortunately, this dynamic never really seems to go anywhere. The focus jumps from one to the next, so much that the book ends up not really being about any of them. You get some broad brush strokes every now and then but for the most part, everyone just felt flat for me.

And as for Laurie as a character, I was kind of let down. I'm normally a fan of sequels in which we see how damaged our main character really is and how just because the monster might be beaten, her torture still carries on. I'm appreciative when a writer is willing to show their heroes as being broken. Unfortunately, I thought that Laurie in this became a little bit too much Sarah Conners from T2. We start from quiet, unassuming Laurie in the first movie and now she's somehow managed the resources and funds to amass a massive arsenal in her home, which is also outfitted with so many security features that it almost becomes cartoonish. And I'm not saying that's it's unbelievable that she could end up a fully loaded bad-ass. I'm more than willing to take that journey. It's just that the transition felt wrong and unexplained to me.

Frankly, I think I would have been more intrigued by a story exploring the effect violence can have on a family. Laurie's daughter has no memory of the first encounter with Michael. That's always been theoretical for her. But it's the reason why she's raised with guns and knives and self-defense training, rather than birthday parties and toys. Instead of standard slasher-flick fare, this could have been a great aspect to the story but I think by adding both a daughter and a granddaughter, it became too complicated for any of them to get a good amount of focus.

And in my biggest complaint, because I guess they just had to have a Loomis type character, the doctor who is shoehorned into this role is a fail for me. Michael's doctor has an arc in this story that has no narrative momentum to hold it up. And he ends up taking actions at the end that makes no sense to me. You can't have a character whose only role is to act as a twist.

The book has some great, brutal scenes involving peripheral characters but once we get everyone to Laurie's Bat Cave, much of the sense of peril kind of dwindled away for me.

After as many installments as this franchise has seen, I suppose it's inevitable for the plot to feel a little on the bland side. Still, for me, this book mostly goes down as a case of lost potential.