From Fangoria: “I’ve been writing the novelization column for over two years now, and over that time, the trend of writing new adaptations for older films has become increasingly popular. Which is good, because I’ve exhausted a hefty portion of my existing collection, and the older ones tend to be pretty expensive to track down. I love doing the column, but I do not love the idea of dropping three figures on a battered old copy of the New Nightmare novelization, you know?
The fun thing about these newer adaptations is that the authors are actual fans of the films they’re covering. Max Allan Collins, Dennis Etchison, Alan Dean Foster, and all of the other writers whose names frequently adorn the covers of the novelized versions of our favorite movies were working from the script for a movie they hadn’t even seen yet, let alone had any deep appreciation for. But that’s not the case for the releases from Stop The Killer, Encyclopocalypse, and other boutique labels that have increased their output over the past couple of years.
Echo On Publications is another fast-growing supplier of such fare, having already tackled such beloved genre mainstays as In The Mouth of Madness, Session 9, and the Maniac Cop trilogy, among others. All authored by Christian Francis, these releases restore deleted scenes, add backstories for the characters, and generally just give you MORE of a story you presumably already love.
And who doesn’t love From Dusk Till Dawn? Robert Rodriguez’s 1996 action/horror blend performed decently enough at the box office, but found even more success on video and cable to become a genuine cult classic, spawning two sequels and a TV show. At the time, Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay was published, offering a few glimpses of excised material, but now Francis has given it the full-blown novelization treatment.