Archive | horror RSS feed for this section

July Horror/Thriller Scary Movie Night & Book Club Pick: Watchers by Dean Koontz

17 Sep

Watchers (1987) is the title that solidified Koontz as a bestselling author. It was thought Koontz would be the horror rival to King, but with Watchers Koontz decided to separate and move into more thriller/suspense territory. Watchers is part thriller, part horror, part human love story, part man-and-his-dog story, and part ethics morality. I fell in love with the dog and wanted nothing more than to see him, Einstein, succeed on every page.

Book cover for 'Watchers' by Dean Koontz, featuring a blue-toned nighttime image of a golden retriever against silhouetted trees and two humans walking in the background before a picnic table.

But, enter the genetically engineered killing machine loose in California and the government agency trying to cover it up.

This is one of Koontz’s most beloved novels. The movie, though, had a limited budget and only a 1.5-hour run time and not much of an emotional element. Instead, it was narrowed to being just a monster movie. Still a valuable watch (with a few eye rolls in between), but nowhere near the enduring test of literature as the novel.

The Book (1987): A Sci-fi Thriller that Dabbles in Horror

Travis Cornell is a former military operative with a secret, a secret Koontz doesn’t quite reveal in chapter one because before he can, or at least before you, the reader, think he is going to reveal it, in comes Einstein – a golden retriever sprinting as if being chased by the devil.

It’s Dean Koontz’s classic story structure to a T: throw your main character into terrible trouble and in every scene going forward have their predicament get subtly worse. Maybe a few wins in between but always one step forward, two steps back.

Travis doesn’t know it, but the dog does – the monstrous, grotesque, and intelligent Outsider is on the loose, and it’s after the dog, for they both are from the same lab and only one can win.

Einstein is an absolutely brilliant spin of the pen from Koontz. A dog with moods, ethics, humor, integrity, heart, and trauma. The Outsider has these qualities too, albeit far more beastly in execution. Both know what they are – genetically altered life forms that must live in the body and mind man made for them.

Watchers is a sci-fi thriller that dabbles in horror.

The Movie (1988): A Creature-Feature Monster-on-the-Loose Movie Starring Corey Haim.

Movie poster for 'Watchers' showing a young man crouched with a shotgun beside a golden retriever baring its teeth, illuminated by blue light from a shattered, fiery window. A police officer and patrol car with flashing lights are in the background.

There isn’t much more to it than that. (My guess is Travis Cornell was aged down to make room for teen heartthrob Haim.)

While the novel was a slow burn, the movie compresses much of the emotional core into more on-screen body-horror situations and imagery. It plays out like a made-for-TV movie, where the scares are more anticipated.

The novel’s commitment to showing how humans and animals can survive trauma, guilt, and emotional damage is essentially wiped clean in the novel-to-movie translation.

The movie is worthwhile as a fun Friday night flick, but don’t expect a direct translation from book to screen or even an accurate portrayal of Koontz’s characters.

Expect an 80s monster movie with a dog.

If you enjoy the movie, there are three sequels, too.

Have you read Watchers, seen the movie, or both? Comment below.

You can reserve the book in the BCCLS system here.

You can watch the movie on Hoopla here.

Hit subscribe to get weekly updates on posts from the Hoboken Public Library!

Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant

Tags: , , , ,

Radio/Movie Combo: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

6 Aug

Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel about a sinister carnival rolling into a small Illinois town one week before Halloween is one of his most iconic and thought-inducing tales. I’m a sucker for a classic Devil vs. Good tale.

Cover for Something Wicked This Way Comes, produced by The Colonial Radio Theatre. A dark silhouette of a figure in a top hat stands centered against a moody blue twilight sky, with a large Ferris wheel framing the figure from behind. The title "Something Wicked This Way Comes" appears in white hand-written script. "Ray Bradbury" is printed in large white letters at the top, with "The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air Presents" above the figure and "With Jerry Robbins and the Colonial Radio Players" along the bottom.

For those unfamiliar, Something Wicked This Way Comes is Bradbury’s 1962 dark fantasy horror novel about two teenage boys, Will and Jim, who confront a supernaturally sinister carnival led by Mr. Dark. The carnival preys on secret desires, offering wishes at a terrible price. The boys and Will’s father fight the carnival and Mr. Dark to save themselves and the town. I’d also consider it a coming-of-age story that pokes at the fear of growing old.

​The Radio Production.
I admit, I haven’t read the book, and while searching for it I found a gem – the live radio production, dramatized by Bradbury himself, from the Colonial Radio Theatre complete with a full cast, sound effects and original music.

This is Bradbury’s work, and not just a regurgitated word-for-word reading, which makes it a lot of fun to, frankly, close your eyes and watch the imagery flow.

The key sense, obviously, to tap into here is hearing – you hear the carnival arrive, Mr. Dark get defeated, the boys run for their lives, and even in the hesitation of the dialogue.

The Film (1983)

Movie poster for Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Two boys' faces emerge from swirling red and blue smoke at the top. Below, a man in a top hat and suit stands in front of a carnival featuring a Ferris wheel and tents. The title reads, "Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes" in white lettering, with the Disney logo at the top.

Directed by Jack Clayton with the screenplay by Bradbury, this film stars Jason Robards as Charles Halloway, a middle-aged, worn-down librarian, and Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark, the carnival owner who collects human souls.

This is early Disney storytelling, so the dialogue is a little cringy and the structure a bit wobbly, but overall it is an endearingly satisfying heroic-arc tale that honors Bradbury’s manuscript well.

Bradbury reportedly had issues with some production changes, but, in the end, the film was a general success, and Bradbury accepted the retelling.

My assessment. It’s imperfect, but it’s innocent in how the boys see the world. I also loved James Horner’s score.

If you haven’t read the book, start with the movie first, so you can better imagine the radio production.

Find the radio production in Hoopla here.

Reserve the movie in the BCCLS system here.

Comment below your thoughts once you’ve had a watch and listen.

Hit subscribe to get weekly updates on posts from the Hoboken Public Library!

Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries