Martin and Cronenberg - Videodrome

[allthingshorror]

NEL (July 1983)



IN the world that lies ahead of us all, reality and hallucination will merge and interchange.

SO when Max Renn saw the flesh of his stomach swell and redden as though a giant worm was moving beneath the skin, was that imagination - or reality?

And when the skin split and the flesh parted like giant lips, soft and bloodied. When he could sink his fingers, his whole hand, deep inside, feeling and probing through the wall of his own stomach. As the juices, thick and warm, clung and sucked gently at his finger-tips, drawing him in. As the bile rose, hot with revulsion in his throat...was that a nightmare - or reality?

I had never seen this cover in my life before today. A bit of a treat really

[vaughan]

Ah, Videodrome. A favorite of mine.

That cover.... it looks like a still from the movie was used. However, the basis for it served for the UK Quad.

Most people remember the cinema poster for this movie as being blue, with the figure of a man crawling through.... but the UK Quad was quite different - red, with a drawing of Harry's character facing as she is here.

This is strikingly similar, although it's only a small part of the UK Quad.

How do I know? I have the original theatrical art on my wall. :-)

[dem bones]

This far less attractive NEL edition is also dated July 1983, but you can understand them quickly scrapping it in favour of the above.

Jack Martin – Videodrome (Nel, July 1983)

'Jack Martin' is Dennis Etchison who also wrote the The Fog tie-in. Novelisations are usually just about the easist reads you'll find this side of The Slime Beast but i've never managed to finish either of them.

[Johnlprobert]

The 'blue cover' came out first and was quickly replaced by the Debbie Harry photo. Both were available in my local WHSmiths when the movie came out.

Either way, and despite the critical plaudits he has earned as a writer of 'literary horror' Jack Martin / Dennis Etchison was a bloody terrible noveliser. His attempt at Halloween II tries to turn a crappy hospital slasher movie into a work of literary merit. It's horrible.

And I couldn't finish Videodrome. Seeing as the script doesn't make much sense by the end I suppose it was hardly likely that Mr Martin would simplify everything, perhaps throw in a few murders and a car chase and make it fun for us Tie-in fans. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

[vaughan]

Must admit, I like the blue cover. It's a classic piece of movie art, imo.