The Boogens

Tellier and Weverka (writer for TV's The Waltons, among other shows) did a fine job novelizing this tale of awakening tentacled monsters from an old mine. A quick read (less than 200 pages), THE BOOGENS has plenty of suspenseful moments and believable characters to make it a fun time-waster. No, it isn't really scary, but it remains a well-made treat nonetheless. Collectors of good movie tie-in books will have fun comparing it to the screen version.-----Martin Boucher

It's obvious that, prior to, or perhaps during, production the cult classic monster movie The Boogens got a hefty rewrite. This novelization of the film's early script gives its fans a chance to see what might have been. While the basic concept is the same, the reopening of an abandoned mine unleashes a horde of tentacled beasts, the cast is larger and includes an easy to hate villian, the monsters are far more gross (unlike the toothsome critters in the film, these boogens are tentacled pods, think jellyfish, that digest their strangled prey by sitting on them - yuck), and the tone far darker. Fans of the film will no doubt find this an interesting read. Recommended.