As has become quite apparent in the barely two weeks since its release, Halloween Ends is a massively polarising property.
In an unprecedented move, co-writer Paul Brad Logan has taken on the mantle of panning the novelisation, which follows previous efforts from Tim Waggoner and John Passarella.
While always a nice collectible for fans, does this version of Halloween Ends shed anymore light on the murkier sides of its plot? Well yes and no.
We do get more insight into the life of Corey Cunningham, but not enough to fully justify the amount of the story he takes up, in place of Michael Myers.
Logan does gives us more backstory on Michael’s escape following Halloween Kills, which includes stealing a bin truck plus his odd connection with the homeless man who watches the sewer cave he resides in for the best part of 4 years.
Laurie also gets more plotholes filled in as we hear she hunted Myers for a full year following the 2018 massacre, and after reaching her breaking point, on Lindsey’s advice got proper mental health support.
We finally find out the fate of Ben Tramer plus there is even a cameo from Dr Loomis in a flashback to post-1978 Laurie, dealing with her trauma.
These are the parts which make Halloween Ends the novelisation a more structure read than its film version, albeit these nuggets only really reside in the first half of the book before reverting to the plot of the film, barring a slightly less hopefully ending.
While not essential reading, this novelisation is fascinating, and you wonder what the reaction would have been if some of these extras would have made it into the film.
Halloween Ends by Paul Brad Logan is available in paperback and e-book formats now from Titan Books.
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