The Novel (Movie Spoilers)

After seeing this at a film festival last summer, I googled it, and discovered that the screenwriters actually co-authored a novel under the title "Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker." I figured it was just a promotional tie-in and tracked down a copy as a cool souvenir. To my surprise, it was actually a pretty well written thriller that's definitely not a just a hack-job novelization of the movie. There's real character development with three-dimensional individuals. If it was based off of an earlier script, this started out as a much more ambitious movie. Some of the differences:

* Cheryl gets a lot of backstory, including her relationship with her sister and Chuck Strang. Cheryl's entire failed relationship with Chuck is played out, culminating in her murdering him.

* There are no incestuous undertones to Cheryl's obsession with Billy; she's just plain nuts

* Cheryl's murder of the television repairman is much more ambiguous, and the reader doesn't learn what really happened until later in the book

* Rather than Landers being Billy's basketball coach, he's a stately, intellectual English teacher

* There's a lot of backstory on Landers and Brody, Landers' failed marriage, and his relationship with Brody. Landers is as much a major character as Cheryl, Billy, or Joe, and the final part of the novel is actually told from his point of view as he prepares to move away and start a new life following Billy's trial

* Likewise, Joe gets a lot of backstory, and we get inside his head and learn about his motivation. There are numerous scenes involving Joe and his son, and talk of Joe's failed marriage. (Not that it plays much role, but Joe's described as having a moustache).

For anyone who's a fan of the movie, it's definitely worth tracking down a copy to get a different perspective.