Norman Partridge’s novel Dark Harvest was a nice little surprise for me when I stumbled upon it more than ten years ago. I was perusing through Borders (R.I.P.) and was caught by the cover of the book, which features some sort of humanoid creature with a flaming pumpkin for a head. I was pleasantly enraptured by Partridge’s book which feels like a nice mix of Ray Bradbury and Richard Bachman.

And now comes word that the book will become a movie and none other than David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, Twilight: Eclipse) will direct. Slade seems like a perfect fit for the Halloween-themed film. Here’s the plot for the book:

Yes, Dark Harvest is about a small town whose teens hunt a supernatural pumpkin-headed monstrosity every Halloween. That’s a basic plot but the book contains a decent amount of heart, character and some inspired storytelling. I hope that all translates to Slade’s adaptation and he doesn’t just turn it into a straight-up horror film.

Slade is a good director whose movies often don’t live up to his talent, mostly because he has taken on some weak scripts. He’s got a keen eye, especially for all things macabre and haunting so Dark Harvest is right up his alley. But there’s a lot riding on the script here, written by Michael Gilio. Dark Harvest certainly contains a lot of the typical horror movie tropes but it’s also got a lot more going below the surface so hopefully Gilio and Slade are able to bring that to life. In the meantime, see if you can find a copy of Dark Harvest at your local bookstore. It’s a short, fun read that is perfect for the Fall season.