Doctor Sleep

"Doctor Sleep" (2019, Mike Flanagan, Intrepid Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the film adaptation of Stephen King's 2013 follow up to his novel, "The Shining". It's also a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic film adaptation of "The Shining".

Mike Flanagan continues to impress with his spooky style and crafting. As a big fan of both The Shining and also the novel of "Doctor Sleep" itself, I was pleased to thoroughly enjoy this film.

Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) and his mother Wendy (Alex Essoe) move to Florida after the events at the Overlook Hotel. Danny is deeply affected by what he saw and learned in the Rocky Mountains, but he's also being dogged by the hungry spectres of the hotel who have followed he and his mother. Luckily, the spectre of Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly) is also still around and with his help, Danny is able to find a way to lock the Overlook's ghosts away.

Years pass and we find Danny (Ewan McGregor), now "Dan", has followed his father's footsteps and become an unemployed alcoholic with anger issues. But when he is contacted through the Shining by a young girl called Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who believes that she and other children with the gift are in danger at the hands of the devious True Knot gang lead by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), he finds himself and his friend, Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis) are the only ones able to offer their help.

It's a great tale and the film is perfectly cast, with possibly the exception of Jack Torrance who is a smidge unconvincing as a young Jack Nicholson. Essoe, however, is fantastic as Wendy without feeling too much like an impersonation. Carl Lumbly also brings Hallorann back to the screen exceptionally.

McGregor gives his usual great performance and delivers Dan Torrance right from the pages of the book. Kyliegh Curran also gives a strong performance throughout giving Abra the right level of spunk and optimism.

Our villains are perfectly villainous. Rose the Hat is page perfect, and manages to be monstrous but also demonstrates her own misguided determination to maintain her 'family'. The True Knot are fabulously brought to life and perfectly cast. It's almost a shame we don't get to know them better but the screen time we get with them is fun, dark and twisted .

The recreation of the interior of the Overlook is lovingly done and stands extremely well as a side to side comparison with Kubrick's film. The ghosts also are great fun and recreated with a fan's eye. Some scenes in the exterior of the hotel are a little less shiny, but overall don't mar the film.

All in all, I found this film to be exactly what I would have asked for. I look forward to it being released with some behind the scenes or documentary footage.

[Image: Intrepid Pictures, et al]

Hani

In the Tall Grass

"In the Tall Grass" (2019, Vincenzo Natali, Copperheart Entertainment, Netflix) is based on Stephen King and Joe Hill's novella of the same name.

The pregnant Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and her brother, Cal (Avery Whitted), hear a child's call for help coming from a large field of very tall grass while stopped at the side of the road. Concerned for the child, they enter the grass and get lost themselves and separated. During their time in the grass they meet young Tobin (Will Buie Jr.), his father, Ross (Patrick Wilson) and mother, Natalie (Rachel Wilson). It becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems in the grass and eventually Travis (Harrison Gilbertson), Becky's ex, will come in search of the pair. A twisty tale with time loops, ancient magic, mystery, madness and murder.

The story itself is pretty interesting and the time looping elements flesh out the overall plot. Will Buie Jr.in particular gives a great performance as the various versions of Tobin. There's also a fair amount of gore, which I hadn't anticipated.

However, the film suffers from a drudging pace, and although the grass is certainly menacing, I found it a long 90 minutes.

[Image: Netflix]

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IT: Chapter Two

"IT: Chapter Two" (2019, Andy Muschietti, New Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, Rideback, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the sequel to 2017's "IT" based on Stephen King's classic, "IT".


It's 2016 and we return to Derry, Maine to witness the violent and upsetting end of a man called Adrian in front of his boyfriend, Don. Adrian's death, however, does piqué the interest of our friend, and long time Derry man, Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) who has been diligently (read 'obsessively') scanning the newspapers and airwaves for any sign that Pennywise has returned to feast on the people of the town once more.


Mike contacts the members of the Loser's Club one by one and finds that they have all but forgotten him due to the creature's defences. Reluctantly, they mostly agree to return to the town, but they're a little fuzzy on why...


Losers Club leader, Bill (James McAvoy), has become a successful writer and is working on a film based on one of his books. Richie (Bill Hader) is a successful comedian. Beverly (Jessica Chastain) has swapped her relationship with her abusive father for an abusive, but wealthy, husband. Eddie (James Ransone) has put his hypochondria to good use and become a successful risk assessor. Stanley (Andy Bean) is happily married and working as an accountant. And Ben (Jay Ryan) has buffed up and become a successful architect.


The gang head back to Derry, minus one, and as, their memories start to return, so do their fears. The creature begins almost instantly to launch an attack on the, now adult, Losers Club as well as getting their old childhood bully, Henry Bowers (Teach Grant) back in town to further hamper the Club's attempts to put a stop to It once and for all.


I enjoyed the first instalment, but feel that the second chapter flowed better as a film and had slightly better pacing than its predecessor. The younger casting had been so strong that I had been apprehensive as to how the adult casting would compare, but I felt that they were extremely well matched and I had no issues believing them to be the adult versions of the younger actors. Bill Hader particularly, steals the show somewhat with an emotional portrayal of motor-mouth Richie. The Losers are all broken as adults, and we feel for them all.


Bill Skarsgård gives just as excellent performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown as he did in the first film. Although the film relies perhaps a little too heavily on CGI to achieve all the effects, which makes sense when you have a shapeshifting, human eating monster on the loose, the most effective part of the monster is Skarsgård's disturbing and engaging performance. There is a scene with the clown make up mostly removed which further solidifies how effective his performance is.


The film is punctuated with humour, much like its predecessor, and then plummets to some serious lows (I won't deny feeling a little tearful near the end) but overall sticks to the Losers conquering evil themes of the novel. We also enjoy one of Stephen King's cameos as a pawnshop owner who sells Bill back his old bike.


Although three hours is a long run time, if you enjoyed the first film, you are unlikely to be disappointed by the follow up. But equally, if you disliked the previous instalment it's unlikely that this film will swing you in another direction.

[Image: Warner Bros. Pictures, et al]

Hani

Pet Sematary

"Pet Sematary" (2019, Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Paramount Pictures) is the second film adaptation of Stephen King's haunting novel of the same name. My thoughts on the 1989 film can be found here.

Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) moves from Boston to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), young daughter, Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and toddler son, Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie). The point was to get away from their hectic and busy lives in the city, but after a student called Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) is killed in a traumatic accident things begin to get strange for the Creed family. The deceptively quiet country road right by their house turns out to be treacherously busy with fast moving, large trucks and their elderly neighbour Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) knows one or two local secrets more than he should maybe share. Including, the mystery of the pet cemetery in the woods and... what lies beyond...

An interesting retelling that stays true to the spirit of the novel whilst making some key changes. I don't dislike the changes and found them to add a new dimension to the plot. As a big fan of the novel and the 1989 film, I hadn't really known how I would feel about this version, but I found it enjoyable overall.

The film offers a few jumps and jolts throughout and I found the development and reveal of the scenes with Rachel's sister Zelda to be a well realised. The local childrens' tradition of burying their pets in the 'sematary' in creepy masks had a nice Wickerman feel to it which I felt complimented the plot overall.

Clarke and Seimetz give good performances as the Creeds, however, it's hard to contend with Lithgow's Jud who really steals the show. Even as a die hard fan of Fred Gwynne's famous take on the character, I really enjoyed Lithgow's performance. His regret was palpable by the end of the film. Jeté Laurence really shows her stuff as sweet little Ellie... and then some! And Obssa Ahmed gives a nicely creepy, and somewhat less sarcastic, performance as Pascow. The makeup for Pascow is also very juicy... mmm, exposed brain.

The effects are overall very good and the film enjoys some good pacing. The strangest thing for me was the cemetery and burial grounds themselves which felt very much like a movie set and didn't show the depth and realism I was anticipating.

Louis' spiral in his despair and his desperation to get his family back is, as ever, sad and extremely dark. Overall, I felt the changes in the plot in this respect were a refreshing option and allowed us to experience a more talkative and grim analysis of human beings' inability to accept death. Church (Leo, Tonic, Jager and JD) was also extremely well realised.

For me the ending was even more haunting than both the novel and the initial '89 film and worked very well.

Overall, it hasn't dislodged the 1989 film from its pedestal for me, but it was entertaining and dark. While some of the changes didn't quite hit home, and some of the scenes felt like they had not been taken to their full promise, the overall film was an interesting take on the novel and an entertaining retelling.

[Image: Paramount Pictures]

Hani

Sleepwalkers

"Sleepwalkers" (1992, Mick Garris, Columbia Pictures) is a film based on a short story by Stephen King.

Charles (Brian Krause) and his mother, Mary (Alice Krige), are the last surviving creatures of a clan of shapeshifting energy vampires called Sleepwalkers. They are also terrified of cats. As well as being mother and son, the couple are, well, an incestuous couple. *shudder*

Charles meets Tanya (Mädchen Amick) at school and begins a romantic relationship with her in an attempt to feed from her life energy to keep himself and his mother alive. Unfortunately for Charles, things do not go to plan. Especially when a local police deputy sheriff (Dan Martin) and Clovis, the police cat, catch up on the would-be feast.

The film clumsily straddles the genres of campy horror comedy and a more serious vampire movie. It begins somewhat strongly but tapers off into a bit of a farce around the halfway mark. Although, that's not to say that it is not enjoyable; it is. It's just perhaps more enjoyable for more humorous reasons than initially intended.

Mary plays out as the most interesting character with her flimsy nightwear and penchant for setting bear traps in which to snare the neighbourhood felines who have taken to sitting on her lawn. And Charles is a somewhat sympathetic character up until he begins his games of cat and mouse (pun intended) with both Tanya and with the deputy sheriff.

The film enjoys some fun, physical effects and an entertaining ability of the Sleepwalkers to make themselves invisible, into cat creatures or to add a glamour to any given object.

A sincere yet cheesy piece that also enjoys a short cameo from both Mr. King and Mark Hamill as well as a small but memorable role for Ron Perlman.

Come for the intriguing premise, but stay for the batshit crazy action. Killer corn on the cob!

[Image: Columbia Pictures]

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IT (2017)

"IT" aka "IT: Chapter One" (2017, Andy Muschietti, New Line Cinema, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, KatzSmith Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures) is based on Stephen King's amazing novel of the same name.

On a stormy day, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) gives his little brother, Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), a sailboat made of paper to play with outside. But, when innocent little Georgie's sailboat floats down a storm drain, he makes the acquaintance of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård) and meets a gruesome end. For Bill and his band of misfit friends, however, it is just the beginning as he tries to find out what happened to his baby brother, and they are all taunted by IT...

What a thrilling experience it was to see a horror film in a cinema and actually get a few scares! I had been apprehensive as Tim Curry's rendition of Pennywise is so iconic that I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role, but Skarsgård has really made this version of the clown creature his own. Not only is he bitter-sweet, off-balanced and straight up freaky, but he's also so well designed. The clown is just different enough to mark this character as a whole new imagining.

The film stays pretty close to King's masterpiece, and although obviously not every plot point could be squeezed into the run time, I didn't feel that it was rushed or lost any of the pacing. Of course, we still have the next part of the book to cover, and, having now seen the first instalment, I have high hopes for the second battle.

The 80s vibe and styling is excellently achieved. From the clothing to the background advertising, it feels very authentic. I'm really enjoying the 80s love at the moment.

The Losers Club are perfect. All the actors give such a great, realistic performance and bring the roles to life. I can only hope their adult counterparts in the next movie can continue with such style. The characters in this story have such horrid background stories and face some traumatic situations and the movie does well to lighten the tone with some humour now and again. This also just makes the darker scenes all the more cutting.

Aside from leading man, Bill, who gives a fantastic performance and holds the club together, we are joined by Bev (Sophia Lillis); lone girl of the group who, as well as being bullied relentlessly at school also has a traumatic and horrifying home life. Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor); love sick, overweight romantic who is also the new kid at school. Richie (Finn Wolfhard); a motormouth who masks his own personal demons with humour and crassness. He's also a face you'll recognise from "Stranger Things" (and he really proves his mettle with a quite radically different and equally iconic character). Stan (Wyatt Olef); a quiet, smart Jewish kid who manages to get a good few quips in when Richie takes a breath. His father is the local Rabbi and he feels under pressure to make him proud. Mike (Chosen Jacobs); a home-schooled kid raised by his grandfather after his parents met a grissly end. He doesn't want to be an outsider, but equally he isn't sure if he wants to join the others when he knows what he's let himself in for. And, Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer); a hypochondriac fuelled by his mother's blatant Munchhausen's by-proxy.

Keeping the Losers Club terrified even before Pennywise awakens, we have the local gang of bullies, led by Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton), son of a local cop who constantly belittles him, Henry feels like he has to terrorise others to make himself feel more like a man.

While Skarsgård's Pennywise does a fair bit more chatting that Tim Curry's did, the film benefits from taking more from the book and enjoys some truly disturbing images. The scares are frequent, quick paced and effective and the plot moves along smoothly.

All in all, it was my most satisfying cinema trip in some time!

[Image: Warner Bros. Pictures, et al]

Hani

The Dead Zone

"The Dead Zone" (1983, David Cronenberg, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Lorimar Film Entertainment) is an adaptation of a Stephen King story.

Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is a schoolteacher in the small American town of Castle Rock. After spending the day with his girlfriend and colleague, Sarah (Brooke Adams), he declines her offer to spend the night at her place and drives home in a storm. He is involved in a terrible accident and ends up in a coma.

Five years later Johnny awakes not only to find that Sarah has married another, but also that his coma has caused Johnny to develop certain psychic abilities. He reluctantly helps the local police with some cases, but his abilities lead him to more and more trouble. Johnny decides to try to use his powers to stop a huge catastrophe, but he may not live to tell the tale...

A relatively slow moving film, that remains engrossing regardless of its pace. Walken brings the role to life in his usual characteristic and intense manner. More of a thriller than a horror, the film manages to make you almost forget entirely that you're watching a film about supernatural abilities: it seems so matter of fact and normal. It's also quite true to the source material and feels like its made by a master, despite being more mainstream than Cronenberg's usual films.

Poor Johnny gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this film. Poor guy.

[Image: Dino De Laurentiis Company, et al]

Hani

Sometimes They Come Back

"Sometimes They Come Back" (1991, Tom McLoughlin) is a horror thriller based on a short story by Stephen King.

Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) is a high school history teacher who has returned to his home town 27 years after the brutal killing of his elder brother, Wayne (Chris Demetral), at the hands of older bullies, who also died that day. He has accepted a job at the local high school and brought his wife, Sally (Brooke Adams), and young son, Scott (Robert Hy Gorman) with him. Upon moving back into his childhood home, he begins to hear and see spooky things. Things that remind him of that terrible day in his past. However, when some new students enter his class; kids that he recognises, kids who he remembers from his past, who can't possibly be really there, he realises that things aren't as they appear.

The film is undeniably cheesy, but manages a distinct charm and covers some pretty sad themes. The acting is pretty solid and, as much as it has that 'movie of the week' feel to it, I enjoyed it. The plot uses a lot of flashbacks but they are well paced throughout, teasing the backstory without getting too samey. And the antics of the murderous, ghostly, teen gang were entertaining, if dark.

Hani

Needful Things

"Needful Things" (1993, Fraser C. Heston, Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line Cinema, Columbia Pictures) is the screen adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name.

Castle Rock is a small town in Maine, USA. The locals are unsettled when a mysterious man named Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) opens an Antiques store called "Needful Things". Slowly different town residents enter the shop to find that Gaunt just happens to have something that is really sentimentally valuable to them. Each resident 'buys' a treasure with Gaunt 'kindly' agreeing to accept favours as part payment. The favours, it transpires, come in the form of cruel pranks played on each resident's neighbours.

Gaunt seems to be very reasonable, knowledgeable and always open, but his true colours begin to show and it becomes evident as time goes on that Gaunt has twisted intentions.

Some films of King's work are admittedly sub-quality. Needful Things is not one of them, in my opinion. The characters are portrayed by recognisable actors and the action is suitably paced but with very little gore. It's more a study on human psychology than a horror film. The plot is uncomfortably familiar, which is possibly why a lot of people don't like this film; it's maybe a little too close to home. Imagine someone could give you something that you really want and the price seems so small... What morals would you shirk in your desperation to get it?

Although it's not a scary film, in the usual sense of the word, it's an entertaining yarn.

[Image: New Line Cinema, et al]

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Carrie (2013)

"Carrie" (2013, Kimberly Peirce, Misher Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Screen Gems) is the remake of the classic 1976 film and is also based on the 1974 Stephen King novel of the same title.

You can find my review of Brian De Palma's 1976 film here

I was unsure of what to expect when they first announced a Carrie remake. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie had created the characters so well that I couldn't contemplate who could do a better job.

This version remains relatively true to the plot and characterisation, however, it does have several flaws... On the whole, it's a good teen horror flick, but just doesn't pack the punch that the original did.

Carrie White (Chloe Moretz) is a young, naive schoolgirl who is bullied at school and is victimised by her extremely religious and troubled mother (Julianne Moore).

The flaw here is that Moretz is textbook gorgeous with very clearly dyed hair... something I doubt Carrie White would have access to. But she gives an excellent performance, switching from tearful to panicked to angry very convincingly. Her being so nice and normal looking makes it slightly more difficult to empathise with her as the victim, however. She looks like she should be popular.

Whilst the terrible relationship between mother and daughter is definitely captured, this version doesn't show as many of the small scenes which really built up the angst that the older film does. Moore gives a stellar performance as the mother, however, and really gives Laurie a run for her money! Absolutely terrifying!

Small nuances and details are present throughout the film which really give a nice edge. Things moving slightly around Carrie for instance before she sets her powers loose.

Carrie, knowing nothing of bodily functions and puberty, is panicked to find herself bleeding from below in the locker room. She is ridiculed by her hateful classmates and is saved only by her gym teacher, Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer), who appears to be the only person remotely on her side.

The updating of the story is done quite well, with mobile phones, YouTube, etc... managing to add to the plot rather than detract from it. The styling of the film is very High School Musical though, and often you began to think you were watching "Mean Girls" more than a retelling of a modern classic.

Life is seeming to turn around for Carrie, however, when a boy asks her to prom. The prom scene was good. It wasn't as good, in my opinion, as the '76 version though. It lacked some of the build up that the older film possesses and we were disappointed to see so much apparent CGI in the blood scene. But on the whole, it got the point across: Carrie has been pushed too far and now she knows just what to do!

The effects on the whole are excellent. There's even some nicely placed gore and a fair bit of action.

I found the ending to be a slight disappointment though. Crucial things were skipped and I just didn't get the same thrill as the old one gives.

On the whole: excellently acted, nicely pieced together and with nice special effects. Moretz plays the part well, but I think her look was a bit too pretty for the character. It all seemed a bit pointless remaking it though, when the original is still very poignant to this day. And it didn't do anything so fabulously different to merit a remake!

[Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]

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Misery

"Misery" (1990, Rob Reiner, Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment, Columbia Pictures) is the film adaptation of Stephen King's fantastic novel "Misery".

I hold this film in high esteem because it captures a lot of the themes from the novel and the changes it makes are beneficial for the on-screen adaptation. It doesn't just chop and change features for laughs and creates a few levels of intrigue and dread without trying to go too deep.

The casting is also flawless with James Caan as author turned captive, Paul Sheldon and Kathy Bates frankly makes the role of crazy 'number one fan', Annie Wilkes, her own. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part. She is truly terrifying.

In case you've been under a rock since 1987 (when the book was published), the plot is simple: Paul Sheldon is the author of a successful fictional series called "Misery" (named after his title character). He is caught in a terrible car accident, and is horribly hurt. The car crash scene is very arty with the music. Love it.

He wakes to find that he's been saved by Annie Wilkes, a strange lady who proclaims to be his number one fan and a nurse. She nurses him back to health, but upon reading his pre-copy of his latest novel and discovering that he intends to kill off her beloved Misery, Annie gets nasty. Real nasty.

An excellent study of jailer and captive behaviour and a tense mental game of wits, I'd rate this film as one of my favourite King adaptations as well as an excellent psychological thriller.

While there are certainly 'eep' moments, this film is not a gory film or a jump-infested spook fest. It's a slow building dread, which eventually unleashes some real mental scares.

Also, there's a pretty epic fight scene that still makes my eyes water at a certain part!

[Image: Castle Rock Entertainment]

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The Shining

"The Shining" (1980, Stanley Kubrick, Warner Bros., Peregrine Productions, Producers Circle) is one of my all-time favourites. I love the book, but then again, it's Stephen King, what's not to like? It's a truly creepy read, and if you haven't already, I highly recommend!

Despite not being particularly true to the novel, Kubrick's film is an outstanding piece of cinema, and really a film that everyone should see at least once.

With a disturbing score that is reminiscent of Italian horror films such as "Suspiria", where a harrowing, off-key backing track really builds tension and unease! It really sets my teeth on edge, which is just how Jack is feeling!

Struggling novelist, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) has taken a job as an off-season, live-in caretaker of the salubrious and remote mountain hotel, The Overlook Hotel. He, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) move in and settle in for a long winter.

Danny and his 'imaginary friend' Tony are not keen on the hotel, but he plays on regardless, despite being troubled by terrible visions of the hotel's bloody past.

Wendy carries on doing Jack's job while Jack, who is becoming increasingly 'grouchy' as the days tick on, sits in the large main hall and writes.

But soon Jack's grouchiness is leaning more into insanity as the bloody events of the hotel's past seem destined to repeat again and again, "forever and ever and... ever..."

A creepy film which has given me the shivers in large hotels since the tender age of six (when I first watched it), it is responsible for many an iconic scene including the creepy Grady twins and that wonderful "Here's Johnny!" moment.

Nicholson is in his element playing the creepy, ever maddening husband, while poor Shelley Duvall plays the traumatised wife and mother to a tee!

Gripping but relatively quiet, until Jack gets his axe that is, it is a film that is both extremely late 70s, early 80s in telling and in dress sense, but it still remains an effective piece that can thrill and shock viewers to this day.

[Image: Warner Bros.]

 

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Carrie (1976)

"Carrie" (1976, Brian De Palma, United Artists) is the movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name.

The story, in case you've been living under a rock, is about Carrie White (Sissy Spacek); a strange and put-upon misfit teen with no friends or social skills who's mother is an abusive and unsupportive religious nut.

Carrie's mother (Piper Laurie) tells her nothing of puberty and thinks of everything to do with anything to be unclean and sinful. And so, when Carrie finds herself bleeding from an intimate place in the girls' shower room at school she panics and is resultantly ridiculed by all of her peers until a well-meaning teacher, Miss Collins (Betty Buckley), intervenes.

Throughout the film timid young Carrie becomes stronger and begins to exhibit telekintetic powers which finally manifest with tragic consequences after the bullies (including John Travolta) get the better of her in the infamous Prom scene.

A great book and an equally great adaptation, I really like this version. Spacek's performance as Carrie is really excellent, especially in that tear-filled slow motion prom scene. Typical of King stories, however, I would say it is not scary in a conventional sense... well, except for that key iconic end scene. That hand coming from the grave always gave me the chills as a kid!

Looking forward to the remake to compare.

[Image: United Artists]

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1408

"1408" (2007, Mikael Håfström, Dimension Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) is a haunted hotel room film based on the book of the same name by Stephen King. This is a King book I haven't yet got to reading, but it's on my list, and has just moved swiftly up the list thanks to this film!

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a sceptical writer who travels around America staying in supposedly haunted hotel rooms and giving them shining, ghost-filled reviews in his cheap thrill books. He has come to live this way after the death of his daughter, Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony) and the resulting separation from his wife, Lily (Mary McCormack). He's lost his drive to write real books and is lost.

His PO box is always overflowing with invites and flyers from Haunted Hotel owners, but there's one hotel in New York that he feels compelled to visit after receiving an anonymous flyer, The Dolphin Hotel.

He travels to New York and tries to check into room 1408. The hotel's manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) attempts several times to dissuade Mike from staying in that room, offering him bribes and free evidence. But Mike is determined, and is eventually given the keys. Olin takes him to the floor, but not the room, and warns him that over 56 people have died inside 1408 and no one has lasted more than an hour.

Mike sits in the room for a while, telling his tape recorder about the shabby, boring appearance of the room, its drab decor and lack of any supernatural phenomenon. And then, the room makes with the scary!

The film is quite intense, elegant and jumpy. The scares flip smoothly from psychological to 'boo' moments and Cusack gives his usual high level of character acting for the tense surroundings. Mike begins as a sceptic, slowly slides into intrigued and shocked, falls into terror and tries to bounce back into control. It's a good rollercoaster effect and Cusack pulls it off brilliantly.

The version I watched was the Director's cut which has the, what I like to call, 'British Audience Ending'; we're rarely upset with a sad, brutal ending. The 'real' ending, if you like, was quite a lot different, due to negative responses at test screenings. I haven't actually seen this ending so can't really offer comparison, but I really liked the ending in this one and thought it fitted with King's usual story telling very well.

I think this film is quite classy for the modern horror as it manages to entertain and scare its audiences with no sex. Not that I don't love a good sleazy 80s slasher, but I'm finding that a lot of modern horror films feel the need to have boobs and torture to the max and it's getting boring. What I liked about "1408" was that it's scary and has some gore and grisly bits (there is a very good scene with a blue light), jumps and thrills without pandering to the 'Saw'-seekers.

Keeping with King's recurring theme of  'places that are just wrong' "1408" is more than a haunted hotel story, and the evil cannot be truly beaten. Really worth watching.

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Hani

Children of the Corn

"Children of the Corn" (1984, Fritz Kiersch, New World Pictures) is based on Stephen King's story of the same name, but is not identical story-wise.

The children of Gatlin, Nebraska have rebelled, killing all of the adults and following the teachings of a strange Preaching boy named Isaac (John Franklin) who tells of a demon named "He who walks behind the rows". The demon is responsible, so says Isaac, for the failure of the corn crops and desires to be worshipped with the blood sacrifice of adults. Gatlin, previously a farming community, has become a backwoods cult deadzone, where no adult is safe from Isaac and his blood thirsty followers, even those who have grown up there...

Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) stumble upon the town when given bad directions from a local garage owner who's paid off by the Gatlin kids to send straggling adults their way.

With the help of two non-believing children, Job (Robby Kiger) and Sarah (Anne Marie McEvoy), can Burt and Vicky avoid being lead to slaughter? And can they defeat Isaac and his right hand boy, Malachai (Courtney Gains)? And is there really a demon back there behind those rows of corn?! Well, watch and see.

While dated and a little slow in places, this film doesn't disappoint with sudden action. From rampaging, murderous children to road accidents, there's a lot going on. There's a small amount of gore, and a fair few parts always make me think this story must have inspired some of the storyline in "Silent Hill", but on the whole it's hardly a shudderfest and is best approached with relatively low expectations and an understanding that it is, afterall, a B-Movie.

[Image: New World Pictures]

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Pet Sematary

"Pet Sematary" (1989, Mary Lambert, Paramount Pictures) is an excellent film based on the novel by Stephen King, about a cemetery which can bring the dead back to 'life'.

I saw this movie when I was 16 and I cried my eyes out at it! Seriously! And then I read the book this year (after finally getting over my fear of reading it) and guess what? Yep, I cried my eyes out all over again! On the bus to work at 6am, no less. Every day for a week! You can imagine what my colleagues were thinking!

Anyway, I can now watch the film without the aid of tissues. See, the story is so sad! And after reading King's explanation of his inspiration for the plot, I can see why it must have been a traumatic book for him to write! (Basically, he moved into the house pretty much described in the novel and almost lived the events of it! And being Stephen King, he drew on the aspect of the creepy little pet cemetery which was nearby).

A truly chilling tale, even for childless and free-living me, this film (and the novel, too), not only plays on the gory deaths, ghosts, 'zombies' and creepy woods, but also on the basic human instinct to protect the things and the ones we love. Can anyone really blame Louis for his actions?

Well, to cut a long story short, Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) finds his idyllic life in the Maine countryside with his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby), daughter Ellie (Blaze Berdhall) and baby son Gage (Miko Hughes),  is turned upside down by a tragic accident. Accidentally given way too much inspiration by friendly and lonely old neighbour, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne - yes, Mr. Munster himself!), Louis sees there is only one solution to his terrible predicament! Of course, it will totally work out fine and no one will get hurt at all! Yup....

This film isn't long at only 98mins, and keeps your attention very well. Just like in the book, you begin to like some of the characters, and you enjoy the little happy family scenes. It lulls you in to a sense of happiness before it brings in the horror, and that's what makes the plot work. You experience the shock and the slow build up of dread with the characters almost in a 'real time' way.

Of course, there's some jolts to keep you interested along the way. Some brutal deaths, gory ghosts, scary babies and a pretty unfriendly cat to mention a few. This film had me upset as a teen, and I appreciate it for that. While it's not jump-out-of-your-seat scary, it's creepy and has some excellent gore scenes that still give me the shudders now!

Definitely one of the best King adaptations, he wrote the screenplay, and it shows! It follows the book's plot faithfully. The only thing I think I missed in comparison to the book is some of the character development. Louis isn't as rounded a character, and you don't get the lovely bonding scenes between the old man and young man. But I've never found a film that could convey as much as a good story can, and I think this film is fantastic! It's most certainly worth your time!

[Image: Paramount Pictures]

"Sometimes, dead is better!"

Hani

Thinner

"Thinner" (1996, Tom Holland, Spelling Films International, Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment) is an adaptation of the Stephen King book of the same name. It's a story with a not so hidden message: Be a nice person and don't piss off any gypsies!... Or else!

This film has suffered from a lot of criticism, but I watched it with an open mind and can't really understand the harshness of some people's views. Yes, it's a simple plot, and yes it features primarily unlikable characters, but is that really so worthy of a damning review? I think not. For a start, I rarely like a lot of characters in horror films... Like most people I always wind up rooting for the bad guy! However, in a film such as this there is no particular bad guy or good guy. Just people being all grey and in-betweenish. Some are dicks and some are cruel, and some don't deserve their fate and that's that. Maybe that's why some people don't like this film?

Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) is a morbidly obese lawyer. His wife, Heidi (Lucinda Jenney), is trying to get him to lose weight, but he's just not very motivated: he likes his food, he likes his booze and he's got money, why bother losing weight?

Their daughter, Linda (Bethany Joy Lenz), is his pride and joy, and out of all the characters, he relates most casually to her. His wife is a bit of a moan, so I can't blame him for that! ;)

Billy has just won a case for a known criminal and gangster, Richie "The Hammer" Ginelli (Joe Mantegna - yes, the voice of Fat Tony from 'The Simpsons'!) - so you know he's due some bad karma!

Aside from being fat, lazy and with a dubious set of morals when it comes to his profession (but then again, he's a lawyer!), I didn't see him as too bad a guy, really. His mates on the other hand...

There is a gypsy carnival in town, which is causing a stir, particularly amongst the local Judge, Cary (John Horton) and Police Chief (Daniel von Bargen), who are prejudiced against the gypsies and sexist to the young gypsy girl, Gina (Kari Wührer).

When driving home one night, and while otherwise occupied... Billy accidentally runs over an elderly gypsy woman, killing her! He finds a way to get around that whole problematic law thing about cars and killing folk, however, which results in him being faced with the wrath of the Gypsy leader, Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine), who curses him.

Naturally, the curse begins quite positively, as Billy is still eating like a horse, but is losing weight. It isn't until he realises that the weight loss won't stop that he becomes worried!

I found this film entertaining, and although the 'twist' was quite obvious, this is more from having read a lot of Stephen King stories, rather than it being uninspired. The characters are unlikable because this is their purpose to the message. I was confused, though, as to whether there was a secondary hidden message about being content and a nicer person and being thin, hungry and devious.... But maybe I'm over thinking it.

The effects are good, and quite gruesome, but not in a particularly gory way (most of the time). In particular, the thin Billy stuff is quite shocking. It's all a bit schlocky, which I like, and for some reason I felt this film was from earlier than '96!

Not many Stephen King adaptations are done successfully, but I like this one. It's got a good simple plot, some angry gypsies, curses, revenge, brutal off-screen deaths, back-firing revenge attempts, gangsters, fat suits, car chases, skeletal people... What more do you want?

Give it a chance, even if you haven't read the book!

[Image: Spelling Films International, Paramount Pictures & Lions Gate Entertainment]

Hani

IT

"IT" (1990, Lorimar Productions, DawnField Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Tommy Lee Wallace) is one of the classic Stephen King adaptations. It's one of the few King books turned films that have actually been done well! If not completely accurately, but when has that ever happened? This is the made for TV version, which is the superior version in my book.

The fabulous Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself!) stars as the child-eating-fear-demon (well really, he's more of an interdimensional-being, but whatever!), who often takes the form of Pennywise the 'dancing' (read 'insane') clown. Pennywise plays with his victims, either luring them to their death like a Kelpie, or by simply scaring them to death by transforming into their worst fear. We see him lure a small girl to her death at the start of the film.

When Mike (Tim Reid, who is the dad from 'Sister, Sister') is at the scene of the crime, he spots an old photo lying on the grass. The photo is of a small boy, who he recognises as the deceased younger brother of one of his old school friends, Bill. Bill's baby brother, Georgie (Tony Dakota) was one of Pennywise's victims in the 60s, when Mike and his pals were all children. It was Georgie's death which started the group's adventurous involvement with crazy clown man.

Mike calls up all his old friends, who have since moved away from the small Maine town of Derry, and have forgotten most of their childhoods and all about Pennywise, thanks to the creature's magical defences. The gang make their way back to Derry at the pleading of Mike, and slowly begin to remember what had happened there.

The film is really following one storyline, the group vanquishing 'IT'. But the film shows two stories, the group battling IT as children, and then again as adults when the creature rises again.

As children, the group were: African-American Mike (Marlon Taylor) who is facing the still very racist bullies at school, talented writer Bill (Jonathan Brandis) who blames himself for the death of his young brother at the hands of the demented Clown, lone girl in the group Beverly (Emily Perkins) who has an abusive father, funny guy Richie (a young, but remarkably completely recognisable Seth Green), hypochondriac asthmatic Eddie (Adam Faraizl), competent and intelligent Ben (Brandon Crane) who is bullied for being fat, but by today's standards, he's pretty normal and Stan (Ben Heller), who is introduced as a Jewish boyscout and a birdwatcher.

As adults, the group are: still-in-Derry, Mike (Tim Reid), horror writer (who's totally based on Stephen King himself) Bill (Richard Thomas), fashion designer in an abusive relationship, Beverly (Annette O'Toole), TV comedian Richie (Harry Anderson), virgin limo business owner Eddie (Dennis Christopher), famous, and no longer fat, architect Ben (John Ritter) and real estate broker Stan (Richard Masur).

The film is quite long at 195minutes, and the DVD is one of those ones where you have to flip it over half way through to see the rest of the film. This is because the film was shown as a two parter on TV.

Despite the length, the film isn't boring and the special effects are excellent. There's a lot of blood, but it's not gory, usually coming from sinks, balloons and other odd places. The film and characters are very 80s. Since it came out in 1990, this isn't a criticism. Most of the characters, except the main characters, are unlikable and cruel. But this is on purpose, to build up group dynamic and emphasize the group's status as losers.

Pennywise is the epitome of creepy and really a complete and utter nightmare monster. A real modern classic in that respect. Tim Curry is one of the masters at creating demented characters, and really brings the fear guzzling creature to life, probably fuelling quite a few people's fear of clowns over the years, too!

The dialogue isn't always the smartest, but that isn't the most important part of the film. And the end left me a little non-plussed. The undertheme, as common to King books, is about being the oddball, beating the odds and bullying (whether it be by greaser teens, or by monsters).

A classic and an excellent film all round, I recommend "IT" as a must see!

[Picture: Lorimar Productions, DawnField Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television]

Hani

The Mist (2007)

"The Mist" (2007, Frank Darabont, Darkwoods Productions, Dimension Films) is based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King.
A wild thunderstorm causes some carnage to the house of the Draytons, David Drayton (Thomas Jane), Stephanie Drayton (Kelly Collins Lintz) and their son Billy (Nathan Gamble). It also damages the house and car of their dickhead neighbour Brent Norton (Andre Braugher).

David agrees to take Brent to the shops in his undamaged car, taking young Billy with him, and leaving his wife in the house. The supermarket is teeming with people who are panic-buying after the freak weather.

Just then a sudden thick mist rolls in, accompanied by a yelling madman, Dan Miller (Jeffery DeMunn), who warns everyone to stay inside and avoid the mist as he has seen someone 'taken by it'.

The power goes down and the store becomes reliant on its back up generator. Several people run out into the mist and can be heard screaming in agony.

Everyone backs into the shop and awaits there, terrified. One woman, desperate to get back to her children, runs out into the mist solo.

A run-in in the backroom brings it to the attention of everyone that there is indeed, something in the mist.... or some things!

The film does well to analyse human nature and to demonstrate how one convincing and fanatical person can quickly turn people against one another. The "crazy Christian" woman fanatic-type-person, Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), starts as a minority figure. A crazy person that the others avoid and laugh at, but as the fear spreads and the panic grows, she becomes stronger, more convincing. The others flock to her and she becomes dangerous and twisted. She begins to appear to make sense, to be a redemption for the terrified people, but the power goes quickly to her head and she soon begins to think of herself as the second-coming. She can do anything, right? She has god on her side! And if she has to kill a few people, well he'll understand, right? Somehow, I think both King and Darabont are men after my own heart. I'm not the biggest fan of religion. Especially fanatics. By all means, have faith, just don't push it on me. If I'm stuck in a shop with you, surrounded by man-eating mist monsters, and you wont stop preaching all day and all night, I'll damn well use up all the duct tape stock! Geese!

I do love Ollie Weeks (Toby Jones) in this flick. He's the assistant manager, and his unassuming character quickly steals the show as a capable, gun-toting sensible dude!

A lot of the characters are quite menacing and tense. Which really adds to the plot and the pace. The people are suspicious, scared, angry and soon, without hope. They react like pack animals, and turn on one another. Plus, some truly horrific injuries really bring you to the edge of your seat.

The monsters are surprisingly good, considering movies which rely on so many special effects usually lose their impressive effect after so long. "The Mist" manages to keep some mistique by shrouding the creatures in mist. The animals, insects and creatures are scary because, for all intent and purpose, they're pretty organic. They've clearly come from another world, another climate and have adapted differently. They're not monsters, they're just creatures. They're doing what comes naturally to them! Now, I'm not saying 'let's conserve these crazy gigantic bug-monsters'! Hell no! Kill 'em all! I'm just saying, well done guys, these creatures are scary!

The creatures vary from lobstery things and tentacled things, to gigantic locusts and pterodactyl-y things and... spiders! Arachnophobes beware, here there be spiders!

The ending is severe. Harsh, even. Extremely harsh! Stephen King is never this harsh. The brutal ending is needed though, I think if this movie had ended like the book or like "The Birds" it would have felt unfinished.

And watch out for familiar faces!

A good, tense movie. If you have a bug-fear, you may find this movie uncomfortable. If you fear for humanity you will find this film will not soothe those fears. But since when did horror exist to make you feel good about humanity?

[Picture: Darkwoods Productions]

Hani 

Creepshow

"Creepshow" (1982, George. A. Romero, Warner Bros.) is the first and best of the "Creepshow" movies. It was directed by Romero, written by Stephen King, starred Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson (amongst others)!

The film is based around a comic book called "Creepshow" and is lead (but not strictly speaking narrated) by The Creep, who is the fun but bad influence on young Billy.

There are 5 short stories of much better quality than those seen in "Creepshow 3"; "Father's Day", "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", "Something to Tide You Over", "The Crate" and "They're Creeping Up on You".

"Father's Day" is an odd one, but nicely disturbing with a good ending. I just really didn't understand 1) why daddy dearest was so desperate for cake; I've never given my dad a Father's Day cake! and 2) why he waits so long to exact his revenge for his murder... unless there's more in a bottle of Jim Beam than I imagined! But it's enjoyable. And also, keep an eye out for the murder weapon throughout the other tales!

"The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" stars Stephen King himself. Jordy is a bit of a simpleton. Jordy finds a meteorite on his farm. Jordy imagines the lavish riches such a thing would bring him. Jordy accidentally breaks open the meterorite and he and all his home (and later other areas) becomes infected with some kind of alien plant. Jordy doesn't make it to morning. Very slapstick, very funny!

"Something to Tide you Over" is actually scary! But it's not the 'monsters' that give me the creeps in this short; it's Leslie Nielsen's jealous-husband character. He ruthlessly, imaginatively and slowly kills his wife (Gaylen Ross) and her lover (Ted Danson), but doesn't expect them to return for revenge - obviously they do! The idea behind this short is scary because theoretically, this could be done by anyone. Nielsen clearly thrills in his insane display and the couple's deaths are slow, tense and scary. Although, with all Nielsen's filming equipment around, I was waiting for someone to get electrocuted!

"The Crate" is fabulous. A Professor (Fritz Weaver) at an American college opens a chained, nailed-shut and bolted crate with the janitor (Don Keefer), who had found the object under the college stair case, locked behind a metal grill. Now, it could just be me, but if I found a box which was so locked up, I'd probably get a few more people around when breaking into it (note that I didn't for one minute think that I'd be smart enough to leave it alone!)
Anyway, what's in the crate is like a cross between one of the creatures from "Critters" and a carnivorous baboon. There's death and mayhem (my one complaint being that they appeared to be using water in place of fake blood and thought by shining a red light on it, it would look convincing....it didn't), followed by yet more death and mayhem. Really the 'Crittoon' (as I've dubbed him) just seems to want to be left alone!

The Professor turns to a friend (Hal Holbrook), well he makes some panicky noises at a friend..., who sees this creature as an opportunity to get rid of his overbearing, bitchy wife (Adrienne Barbeau). Holbrook's character convinces his drunken wife to go under the stairs and voila! No more wife! Simple, right? Well... then he has to get rid of the evidence...

Now the final tale, "They're Creeping Up on You", is about cockroaches. It's disgusting and makes you itch. I'm impressed that E.G. Marshall, who stars in this short as the horrid businessman, was happy to film with so many horrible little things! Although to me they were horrible HUGE things (we do not get bugs that big in Scotland)! *shudders*.
His character is cruel and deserves his gruesome end. Very disturbing!

All in all, a great anthology of horror and 3, 2, 1 is a good order to watch this set of movies in; end on a good note!

[Picture: Warner Bros.]

Hani