By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Two of the top providers of new paperback horror-film adaptations are joining forces.
Severin Films has announced that it has entered into a partnership with genre specialist Encyclopocalypse Publications to co-produce original novels, novelizations and reprints of classic horror paperbacks, tied to Severin’s extensive movie catalog. First up will be Brad Carter’s novelization of CRUEL JAWS, Italian director Bruno Mattei’s notorious 1995 sharksploitation film that “borrows” plot elements, characters and footage from Enzo G. Castellari’s THE LAST SHARK (a.k.a. GREAT WHITE) and Joe D’Amato’s DEEP BLOOD. Carter expands on the movie’s storyline to tell of a genetically engineered monster shark that terrorizes the coastal town of Hampton Bay. Featuring new cover art, photos from the film and an all-new foreword by SHARKSPLOITATION documentary director Stephen Scarlata, the book is available in mass market and trade editions from Encyclopocalypse (where every order comes with a free digital copy) and other on-line book retailers; an audiobook is currently set for release next spring.
“We’re beyond thrilled to partner with Severin,” says Encyclopocalypse president Mark Alan Miller. “Their passion for creating, rescuing and releasing cinematic treasures is evident in every frame of their work. We look forward to contributing to that ethos by releasing perfect companion pieces to some of your favorite releases, beginning with CRUEL JAWS. Brad Carter’s adaptation of Bruno Mattei’s sharksploitation classic is a brilliant, fully realized love letter and we’re excited to bring these books to both Severin’s die-hard fan base and genre lovers everywhere.”
“We are entering a new golden age of movie novelizations, with Encyclopocalypse Publications leading the charge,” says Severin co-founder/president David Gregory, “and Brad Carter, whose outstanding Severin novelizations also include MARDI GRAS MASSACRE and NIGHT OF THE DEMON, as one of the genre’s very best scribes. We look forward to what this new partnership brings to the world of literature.”
