Horror in Haddonfield: The Untold Stories of Halloween Book Review
Written by Andrew Grevas
Published by Tucker DS Press
Will be available in Hardback and Paperback
Book will be published October 7th, 2025
Pre-order the book here or here
Horror in Haddonfield: The Untold Stories of Halloween, written by Andrew Grevas and set to be published October 7th, 2025 by Tucker DS Press, is a new book about the incredibly popular Halloween movie franchise that started way back in 1978 with the John Carpenter directed original. Featuring both interviews with people involved in the making of the franchise as well as essays about the various movies, it’s a book that should impress, inform, and entertain fans of an entertainment property that has, as of 2025, produced 13 movies. And all 13 movies get their time in the spotlight in Horror in Haddonfield.
Horror in Haddonfield features eleven chapters, with the movies separated into various “eras” like “The Carpenter Era,” “The Jamie Lloyd Era,” and “The Zombie Era.” Within those eras, Grevas presents his own analysis of the movies that appear and then follows with the interviews he obtained with the people involved in those movies. For example, in “Chapter 2: The Carpenter Era,” Grevas talks with, among others, cinematographer Dean Cundey, who worked with all three directors of the first three Halloween movies, as well as Lance Guest (“Jimmy” from Halloween II), and the immortal Tom Atkins (“Dr. Daniel Challis,” Halloween III: Season of the Witch). This sort of mix of interviews with actors, writers, and directors/technical people appears throughout the book, and just about every interview provides fascinating information and perspective about what it takes to make a Halloween movie. There’s only one interview in the book that’s really lacking, and it isn’t due to a lack of effort from author Grevas (you’ll know the interview when you read it).
My favorite sections of the book concern the Jamie Lloyd movies (the interview with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers director Dwight H. Little is fantastic) and the Rob Zombie movies. As a full on nerd of Halloween 4-6, I am always on the lookout for information and analysis about the three movies that are sometimes referred to as “The Thorn Trilogy,” and author Grevas manages to squeeze out perspectives and production history I was totally unaware of. As for the Rob Zombie movies, they rarely seem to get any sort of positive coverage or analysis (to say that Zombie’s two movies are polarizing within Halloween franchise fandom would be a massive understatement). I’m not a big fan of Zombie’s movies (I like his part 2 way more than his part 1, but I can’t say that I really actually like either one of them), the interviews author Grevas gets with people involved with the Zombie movies, as well as Grevas’ own analysis, makes me want to give the Zombie movies another watch. The Zombie chapter in Horror in Haddonfield makes me wonder if I missed something with those movies. There’s also an amazing interview with a big star of the Jamie Lloyd movies that gets its own chapter, and the interview subject definitely deserves the focus and attention.
Grevas’ interview style is warm and inviting, and he asks all the right questions, which is exactly what you want with a book like Horror in Haddonfield. Grevas’ essays are clear and incisive, and you can tell throughout the book that Grevas is a mega fan of the Halloween franchise. Grevas had to write a book about the Halloween movie franchise. That’s another thing you want with a book like Horror in Haddonfield. An actual appreciation for what Michael Myers, Dr. Loomis, Silver Shamrock, and all the rest mean to the franchise and the fandom. Grevas also managed to get some great images to put throughout the book, which is always a plus.
Now, if you’re not necessarily a fan of the Halloween movie franchise but you like reading about movies and how movies are made, Horror in Haddonfield is something you should check out. You will learn something you likely didn’t already know, and that’s always a great feeling when reading a movie book. So, again, even if you’re not a fan of the Halloween movie franchise, you should still give Horror in Haddonfield a look. Maybe it will make you a fan of the franchise. I mean, it could happen.
I loved Horror in Haddonfield. Author Andrew Grevas has managed to assemble a terrific group of interviews with people involved in the Halloween movie franchise, as well as provided the kind of franchise analysis that only a devoted fan of Halloween could provide. That’s exactly what you want with a book like Horror in Haddonfield. If you’re a fan of the Halloween movie franchise or just like well written movie books, be sure to get your copy when Horror in Haddonfield is unleashed upon the world October 7th, 2025.
Read Horror in Haddonfield: The Untold Stories of Halloween. Read it, read it, read it!
