Nightmare

by Michael Gingold

For George Tatum, the bad dreams were to blame for the atrocities he’d inflicted on those people in Brooklyn back in 1978. Since then, the experimental drug program had worked for a while and his doctors at The State Hospital for The Criminally Insane believed he was cured. But the childhood trauma that triggered his rage was still there, quietly seething in the dark recesses of his damaged brain. Now George is free again, and the psychotic carnage of his past can remain silent no longer. First came the girl in the 42nd Street grindhouse. Then the woman in Myrtle Beach. Now George is heading south, inexorably drawn to the young family on the Florida coast – especially the boy, C.J. Over the next six days, George’s grisly visions will return. The butchery will escalate. And the ultimate nightmare is about to begin.

200 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[David Denoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for any novelization that adds things not originally in the film it is based on. Gingold is clearly a fan of the original source material and had no problem crafting a unique retelling of an 80s lesser known slasher. The extra kills are great as are the deleted scenes in full description that we’ve only seen stills of.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give it a 3.5 if I could because it’s snappy and enjoyable enough, but leans more on the 70s-psycho-sexual-stalker side than I tend to prefer.