The Uncanny
By William Lauder
1977 Arrow Books
Paperback, 140 pages
This is a novelization of the 1977 Amicus anthology film of
the same name. If you like the movie, you’ll like the book. I, as a crazy cat person
and a horror freak, love the film.
The book is a hoot, too, though I have to recommend it with reservations.
The writing is just terrible, but comically and endearingly
so. Lauder repeats himself frequently, especially with phrases that he seems to
like. “The silence was total.” is a good line… once, but he uses it at least
three times in the first story alone. Poor Donald Pleasance: when describing a
character played by him in the prose, Lauder uses the term “thyroid eyes”
countless times. Not much is added to the screenplay, though he does delve into
some back story here and there, but at 140 pages, you pretty much get the film
in words. By the way, Lauder is Allen Harbinson, who wrote (under his own name)
some sci-fi and some Elvis books. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that he ever
combined those two topics.
Being a tie-in for a somewhat obscure film, this title can
get fairly pricey on the secondhand market. I paid more than I usually do for a
paperback (over $20) but it’s worth it to add it to my collection. Moreover,
reading about evil cats while my own two felines lay upon me, purring, lazy as
sacks of shit, is priceless.
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