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Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
The highly successful HBO series Tales from the Crypt--the brainchild of Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump), Joel Silver (Die Hard), and Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon)--makes the transition to the big screen with a movie project sure to propel the Crypt Keeper to superstar status.
- GenresHorrorLiterature
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 8, 2024
3.5/5
I really enjoy reading novelizations not because they are good, although some are excellent, I read them to get a different take on a story I enjoy. Most novelizations are based on early screenplays or ideas, although some are based off of the final film.
This story started off quite similar to the movie but diverged more as the story went on. This was a fun story and a good read but it lacked the magic of the film.
I really enjoy reading novelizations not because they are good, although some are excellent, I read them to get a different take on a story I enjoy. Most novelizations are based on early screenplays or ideas, although some are based off of the final film.
This story started off quite similar to the movie but diverged more as the story went on. This was a fun story and a good read but it lacked the magic of the film.
November 14, 2018
Tales From The Crypt is always a hit or miss thing for me. This time out, it hit pretty nicely. When a cop witnesses a car crash and the victims come out of it smoking when they should have been dead, all hell brakes loose in a tiny New Mexico town. It seems that "The Salesman", an evil entity looking to recover the seventh and last key to control the world tracks Brayker, the good entity with the last key, to a boarding house with a crazy assortment of residents. Trapped in the house, things start to go bad People start to die in bloody was.
I have not seen the movie in years, so I think this goes along the same lines without much variations. I preferred this movie of the two Crypt movies that came out in the 90's. Can't say that I'm going out and watch this again. I would probably read the book again though sometime.
I have not seen the movie in years, so I think this goes along the same lines without much variations. I preferred this movie of the two Crypt movies that came out in the 90's. Can't say that I'm going out and watch this again. I would probably read the book again though sometime.
October 26, 2022
If you're a Tales From the Crypt or Demon Knight fan, then you'll love this book. It's subtly different to the movie, and while not as good, still pulls its weight and tells essentially the same story in an entertaining way. The characters are fun, and although they frustrated the heck out of me at times, I still enjoyed watching them all struggle to survive. This is a reasonably gory horror story, and the descriptions are quite fun to read - especially of the demons. The Collector/Salesman is no Billy Zane, but he's still a great character.
My biggest and only real bugbear with this book was the Crypt Keepers interludes. They were jarring, unnecessary and annoying to read, so it loses a star for that. Otherwise it's a fun read.
My biggest and only real bugbear with this book was the Crypt Keepers interludes. They were jarring, unnecessary and annoying to read, so it loses a star for that. Otherwise it's a fun read.
February 7, 2020
A fun, quick read, this is the novelization of a 1996 B movie, and while I have not seen Demon Knight, I am tempted after this. Very tongue and cheek to say the least, the Tales from the Crypt narrator is quick with puns and horror references. The story is supposedly the creation of the narrator (crypt guy) and several times he chimes in with a brief, humorous interlude. Not really very scary, but funny at times and a more than a little gross (mild spoiler, the only way to kill the demons is to stab out their eyes). Chock full of small town losers in impossible situations. Worth a read if you are a horror fan.
September 9, 2010
I really liked the movie better than the book. Must be Billy Zane! It was still a good read. I recommend it to all my buds!
January 10, 2022
Demon Knight has been at the top of my favorite cheesy horror movies since seeing it as a pre-teen so it's far to say I was over the moon when I learned of the novelization. Some of that excitement did ebb when I discovered it was actually adapted from the original script rather than the final version. Had it been the latter I feel confident in saying this would have been a 4-5 star read. Having read it I am unquestionably grateful for the changes made. I wish at the very least the book would have given more time to the Salesmen and kept some mystery about who the next keeper of the key would be. There was one death scene I wish would have made it into the film but I imagine at the time it wasn't in the budget so I'm happy to have at least experienced it in one form.
June 7, 2019
not a word for word
this is the story but better
this is the story but better
February 26, 2023
Everything you'd expect from TFTC.
June 26, 2009
The town of Wormwood is in for a worse dilemma than its questionable name or near-ghost town population - to be more specific, the Mission Inn is in for a hell of a time, thanks to man-on-the-run Brayker and his green, glowy tattoo hand. A chase between Brayker, who holds a magic blood-filled key, and a demon called the Salesman, who wants to gain seven keys that harness a great power, brings them both to the unfortunately named town, and Brayker shacks up at the inn with a bunch of hodgepodge lodgers (like those rhymes?) who both help and hinder Brayker's attempts to keep the key out of the bony, fiery clutches of the Salesman and his arsenal of undead spawn.
This is a novelization of the film of the same name, which was, of course, based off of the television series on HBO. Normally, I'm not into novelizations of movies and TV; most of the time, they're poorly written, follow-the-film garbage that can only state in bland vocabulary what the film already did in live action. But TftC:DK differs in writing style and intelligence level - it doesn't feel like some half-baked, lazily written scam for money to bank off of the film's popularity. It's got a witty narrator that makes reading the book a whole lot more fun and that carries that brand of saracasm that the Tales from the Crypt series is known for.
But there are still some problems, like the fact that the story is lacking in substance. That's not to say that the author, Randall Boyll, is at fault for this. It's the original script that drags this aspect of the book down; the plot happens all in one night and the backstory about the keys and the Salesman is too cut-and-paste to be of any substance. But it makes sense, at least in the realm of a B-movie Tales from the Crypt story, and the book has enough depictions of blood and guts and at least a hint at sex that keeps the entertainment value notched to high.
The voices of the characters are all diverse enough too, and it's great to see Boyll shift from each character and bring them together in the Mission Inn. But at some point in the story, I couldn't help but feel that each character was an intricately designed stereotype of all the main horror archetypes: the drunk, the slut, the normal girl, the nerd, the junkie, and the hero. Sure, they were fleshed out and the audience could associate pretty easily with each of them, but in the end they kind of faded back into their old stereotypes as they died and it was easy to forget that they had ever encompassed anything more than their two-dimensional personalities.
But what's to complain about! Demon Knight is a book you can pick up, read quick, and leave forever as a book that was a pleasant distraction. It's not a masterpiece, and not meant to be, but it's a decent diversion, and it's actually not a terrible novelization. It would be interesting to see what Randall Boyll could do on his own, without a pre-written, over-the-top outline of a story. But as it stands, you could do worse than Demon Knight. It's probably better to read than the movie is to watch.
This is a novelization of the film of the same name, which was, of course, based off of the television series on HBO. Normally, I'm not into novelizations of movies and TV; most of the time, they're poorly written, follow-the-film garbage that can only state in bland vocabulary what the film already did in live action. But TftC:DK differs in writing style and intelligence level - it doesn't feel like some half-baked, lazily written scam for money to bank off of the film's popularity. It's got a witty narrator that makes reading the book a whole lot more fun and that carries that brand of saracasm that the Tales from the Crypt series is known for.
But there are still some problems, like the fact that the story is lacking in substance. That's not to say that the author, Randall Boyll, is at fault for this. It's the original script that drags this aspect of the book down; the plot happens all in one night and the backstory about the keys and the Salesman is too cut-and-paste to be of any substance. But it makes sense, at least in the realm of a B-movie Tales from the Crypt story, and the book has enough depictions of blood and guts and at least a hint at sex that keeps the entertainment value notched to high.
The voices of the characters are all diverse enough too, and it's great to see Boyll shift from each character and bring them together in the Mission Inn. But at some point in the story, I couldn't help but feel that each character was an intricately designed stereotype of all the main horror archetypes: the drunk, the slut, the normal girl, the nerd, the junkie, and the hero. Sure, they were fleshed out and the audience could associate pretty easily with each of them, but in the end they kind of faded back into their old stereotypes as they died and it was easy to forget that they had ever encompassed anything more than their two-dimensional personalities.
But what's to complain about! Demon Knight is a book you can pick up, read quick, and leave forever as a book that was a pleasant distraction. It's not a masterpiece, and not meant to be, but it's a decent diversion, and it's actually not a terrible novelization. It would be interesting to see what Randall Boyll could do on his own, without a pre-written, over-the-top outline of a story. But as it stands, you could do worse than Demon Knight. It's probably better to read than the movie is to watch.
August 30, 2012
Worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews