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Based on the Novel By: Thriller Author Dean Koontz

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Hello Readers, and welcome to a new series where we’ll be digging into horror films based on horror novels not written by Stephen King as well as novelists whose works have been adapted multiple times without the same fanfare.. Our first author on deck is Dean Koontz.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love Stephen King. I’ve been a fan of his since I picked up a copy of Firestarter in the seventh grade, but it seems like everyone is adapting King at the moment.

That being said, let’s jump right into the film adaptations of Mr. Koontz. The list you’ll find below won’t include everything adapted from Koontz’s work. Think of this as a highlights reel. Take a look at the list and let us know which of the books/films you enjoyed most!

Who is Dean Koontz?

Dean Koontz is an international best-selling author who was born in Pennsylvania in 1945. His books blend genres in interesting and often exciting ways to create something is undeniably his own. In an extensive career that has lasted almost five decades, he has published over 100 novels as well as a number of novellas and short story collections.

The Adaptations:

Les passagers (The Passengers) (1977)

Les passagers is based on the novel Shattered which was first published under Koontz’s own name in 1973–a previous edition had been published under Koontz’s pseudonym K.R. Dwyer. The novel follows an artist named Alex Doyle who is making a road-trip across the country with his wife’s kid brother to their new home in San Francisco. Along the way, they find themselves stalked by a terrifying psychopath in a van.

French director Serge Leroy moved the action of the film from the U.S. to Europe. The film starred Jean-Louis Trintignant.

Demon Seed (1977)

Another early adaptation of Koontz’s work, Demon Seed was also first published in 1973 and focuses on a computer scientist who creates and artificial intelligence that becomes obsessed with humans, especially a child psychologist who happens to be the scientist’s wife.

The film stars the incomparable Fritz Weaver (Creepshow) and Julie Christie (Don’t Look Now).

Watchers (1988)

Dean Koontz Watchers

Dogs are often prominent characters in Koontz’s work, and this film from 1988 based on the novelist’s 1987 novel of the same name is no exception. In it, a boy takes home a stray dog only to discover later that it is a highly intelligent escapee from a genetics lab that is being pursued by another of the lab’s creations. The film went onto become Koontz’s only franchise, spawning three sequels.

Corey Haim (Silver BulletThe Lost Boys) stars in the film directed by Jon Hess (Alligator II: The Mutation). The film also features Michael Ironside (Total RecallScanners).

Hideaway (1995)

The novel Hideaway hit bookstores in 1992, and three years later, it hit the big screen.  The plot follows a man who, after being revived after dying in a car accident begins having strange visions about murdering young women. A name, Vassago, haunts him, and he must determine who this man is and why their connection exists in order to save his family.

The film starred Jeff Goldblum (The Fly), Jeremy Sisto (Wrong Turn), Christine Lahti (Evil), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), and Rae Dawn Chong (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie). It also featured Alicia Silverstone just months before she would become a household name for her starring turn in Clueless.

Phantoms (1988)

Listen, love it or hate it, this is one of the most underrated, highly entertaining, weird moves from the late 90s.

Two sisters return to a small, secluded mountain town in Colorado to find that almost everyone has vanished. Those who haven’t are dead. With the help of a former FBI agent turned sheriff, his deputies, and a very reluctant scholar, they set out to determine what has happened to their town. The answer is…wild.

The film boasts an excellent cast including Liev Schreiber (Scream), Ben Affleck (Gone Girl), Rose McGowan (Scream), Joanna Going (Interrogation), Clifton Powell (Deep Rising), and the incomparable Peter O’Toole (The Lion in Winter).

Odd Thomas (2013)

Based on a recurring character that first appeared in the 2003 novel by the same name, Odd Thomas centers on a young man who happens to be a psychic medium. He sees the dead everyday, but when a stranger shows up carrying a host of negative spirits called bodachs with him, Odd knows that things are about to get terrifyingly bad.

The film stars Willem Dafoe (Boondock Saints) and the late Anton Yelchin (Green Room), and might be one of the most heart-wrenching stories Koontz has ever told.

 

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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