Ο Χασάπης Του Χόλυγουντ

by Ron Renauld

Βιβλιοθήκη Του Τρόμου #43

Genres: Horror

284 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Grace Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How dare these folks give this novelization 3 stars 😤

As a kid I was addicted to movie novelizations. I would watch the movie in the theatre with my parents, then beg them to buy me the (usually Point) novelization so I could read it and relive the movie in my head. This book was no different...it was awesome to relive the movie BUT with the added perspective of being in our disaffected protag Eric Binford's head.

Also this novelization is based on an earlier draft of the script, when the character of Dr. Moriarty, who tries to help Eric, was more prominent.

Anyway if you're a fan of cinema, old horror films, and probably the best Marilyn Monroe look-alike you'll ever see, watch the movie, then read the book. One of my all time faves with one of my favorite actors in the lead, Dennis Christopher 🖤

[Lisa of LaCreeperie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 actually. Enough like the film but just different enough to be interesting. Really enjoyed it! 👍🏼

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric living with his Aunty, his room was his haven, plastered everywhere were movie posters, life-sized cardboard stars, move memorabilia. His savings poured into his obsession, his mind a jungle of movie trivia. Marilyn was his favourite and adorned most of his room. She had become the love of his life. Life outside of movies was an out-take, spoiled footage left on the editing floor. He will get stood up by a Marilyn Monroe lookalike and guide his Auntie down a fight of stairs in an electric wheelchair. Her body tumbling over. He curls up in the fetal position. He will dress as Dracula stalking the streets and chases a prostitute who trips on a toy impaling herself on a fence, rupturing her neck veins, Eric sucks the wound, blood dripping down his chin. Dressed as a mummy he stalks his boss with a heart condition causing a heart attack as he kicks his medication away. Pumps a Thompson machine gun into a greedy producer who sells his idea. Eric is having too much fun, he had taken all his favourite scenes and put himself into the masterpiece.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book after seeing and loving the movie. As a fan of the movie, I thought that the book did a good job fleshing out the characters. Marilyn and the characters involved with the police's investigation have chapters in their perspective. One thing that I wasn't sure would be able to successfully make the transition to print was the movie's frequent references to classic films. I think they pulled that off well, though. Even though they can't include recordings of Dennis Christopher's impressions, I was still able to picture what they were describing.

[Ross Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a movie tie-in for the film of the same name. It is one of those rare instances of a novelization that is actually better than the film. A young man who works for a company behind the scenes of the film industry is fired. Due to his obsession with classic films, he begins to murder people using the great murder sequences from classic films. The movie was, at best, mediocre. The novel actually fills out the characters that the film failed to do.

[Amanda M. Lyons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of my problem with the book related to it essentially being a script made into a novel. I saw many of the plot points long before they came and when I didn't I found myself wondering how that worked. I'll still probably try watching to movie sometime but the book was just ok.

[Zeke · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as good as the movie it’s based on. It fills in some scenes and fleshes out a few of the characters, but the novelization still falls flat in the same places as the film.

The Marilyn character makes an irritating amount of stupid decisions, especially toward the end, and her attachment to Eric is forced (both the film script and novelization were clearly written by men). Moriarity’s psychologist subplot goes nowhere, even if the chapters devoted to him are a nice break from Eric’s descent into madness. The famous film producer picking up Eric while he hitchhikes — and then stealing his movie idea — makes no sense; I was half-expecting this who scenario to be revealed as a fantasy. The twist of who Eric’s biological mother is goes completely unexplored and really adds nothing at all to his character.

Still, it’s a fun and fast read for fans of Golden Age slasher films, and visiting an early 80s Los Angeles is spectacular for movie buffs. There are a few parts of the book that were not in the final film, and it makes you wonder if including those omitted parts would have strengthened the movie. If you are a slasher buff and you enjoy the 1980 screen version, you’ll probably get a kick out of this.