Carrie (1976)

Stephen King's Carrie has been on the shelf, waiting for somebody to read it, for decades (my mother bought it in the 80s and never read it). It was February when I finally decided to read it and, being a King fan, I found it rather disappointing. It wasn't terrible but it sure wasn't great either. I still decided to check out this movie because Brian De Palma directed it and Sissy Spacek plays Carrie, and, like just the book, it was disappointing. 

Brought up by her religious fanatic mother (Piper Laurie) almost in isolation, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a shy 17-year-old whose classmates constantly makes fun of. When she gets her first period, she is teased by the girls more than before and the gym teacher (Betty Buckley) disciplines the girls severely. One of them, Sue Snell (Amy Irving), feels sorry for her so she asks her boyfriend (William Katt) to take Carrie to prom instead of her. Christ Hargenson (Nancy Allen), on the other hand, is determined to have revenge and, with the help of her boyfriend (John Travolta), starts plotting against Carrie. But Carrie has telekinetic powers and messing with her won't be a smart move.

It's not like there's something smart about Carrie though, especially the plot. If there's something the novel and the film have in common is that both have a mediocre to say the least plot, but while the book was beyond boring at the beginning but it got better as I kept reading, the film started well, it was interesting and engaging, but as the plot advanced, it became so tedious.

Also, the film feels more like a teen romantic drama than a horror. I get that the source material wasn't that good, but how did Brian De Palma manage to turn a horror into a barely scary teen movie? And how did he manage to ruin the scene where Carries gets the bucket in the head? You know it's coming, but if there's something King did in the novel is deliver tension and suspense there. De Palma failed and the main reason is that the scene is dragged on for too long and loses its effectiveness. And I was expecting more blood.

United Artists

I wasn't a big fan of the music either. It was effective at times but when that Psycho-like music came on when Carrie was using her powers to do things just didn't do for me. The effects are excellent but only if you keep in mind this is 1976 and they are not that scary.

That being said, there's still something that makes Carrie worth watching, the acting. Though she is too beautiful and skinny to play Carrie, Sissy Spacek gives a hell of a performance, she captures the character so well that you feel empathy for Carrie, just like in the book. Another outstanding performance is delivered by Piper Laurie who plays Carrie's mother with a fantastic manic energy.

Gerald's Game (2017)

2017 has been a hell of a year for Stephen King adaptations. From big to small screen, they were everywhere but I didn't care for most of them. Gerald's Game sounded intriguing though, and, after reading Dell's review, I added it on my watchlist. 

Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) are a married couple who decides to spice things up/save their marriage in their remote lake house. He handcuffs Jessie to the bed and decides to role play. Only things get too intense, Gerald has a heart attack, dies and Jessie, still in cuffs, must find a way out of this impossible situation while confronting the demons of the past with her own mind.

That right there, that last sentence I wrote, that's what made Gerald's Game a very interesting and intriguing watch for me. Because this film isn't really about a woman handcuffed to a bed who has to find a way to escape, we already know that's going to be quite difficult if not impossible (by the way, I loved the way her options were shut down while providing answers to why that isn't possible), but it's all about the main character.

This film/story is indeed a pretty good character study about a person who's gone through a lot of suffering and abuse; a person who isn't only trying to survive but to fight the ghosts from her past that has haunted her all her life, without her even realizing it in order to heal. Carla Gugino is terrific as Jessie, basically carrying the whole movie on her shoulders. She gives such an emotional and quite powerful performance and she delivers the physical and mental struggles of Jessie wonderfully.

Netflix

And now the other great thing about Gerald's Game, its director, Mike Flanagan. He had already blown me away last year with Hush when he managed to make me care for a character and understand her struggles right from the beginning. Well, he did it again and he once again proved what a great filmmaker he is. There aren't a lot of characters in this film and there's even less action, but he still was able to build up an incredible tension and suspense. This guy leaves me speechless every single time.

It (2017)

I'd be lying if I said It was one of my most anticipated films of the year. It just wasn't. I guess it's because I never saw the 1990s mini-series and I find clowns pretty stupid. Also, I didn't read Stephen King's novel up until recently. Reading that great book, however, made me interested in seeing it, especially when all the people I (virtually) know were saying what a great movie it was. That of course created some expectations Andy Muschietti's film wasn't able to meet, and instead of being happy and frightened, I left the movie theatre pretty unhappy and bored.

What I liked the most about King's novel was the non-linear story. The story, dipping in and out of the past and the present, was a puzzle slowly coming together which made it more interesting. I get that the writers didn't want the audience to know the fate of the kids while they still were kids, and it makes sense, but it took away from the story. 

As you probably know, it revolves around the town of Derry, Maine, where every 27 years bad things happen, from fatal accidents to (and especially) kids disappearing. It's now 1989 and a group of kids decide to face the evil responsible for these tragedies, Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård), while also dealing with some bullied that are making their lives impossible.

It starts off pretty well. The opening scene is spectacular, to be honest. It is dark, tense and the atmosphere set up through photography and score is amazing. After that, I'm still trying to understand what happened. The story doesn't flow smoothly at all; it goes from dick-joke scene to here's-how-this-kid-first-met-Pennywise scene, and before the scene reaches its potential of being scary, the story goes back on the kids having fun.

Which brings me to the next point, the film relies more on comedy than horror, a comedy that didn't really work for me. The atmosphere is pretty much gone 5 minutes in and the film just isn't scary. There are some jump scares here and there but nothing more.

The fate of the characters was even worse. Although each kid of the Losers Club manages to stand out thanks to their distinct personalities (not Mike though, his character is completely missing here and since Ben took his role of history buff, he doesn't have an important role in the story anymore), the development is terrible just like their backstories. Actually, not all the The other characters are equally bad, especially Henry Bowers who wants to kill the losers right from the beginning for no reason whatsoever.  Also, the themes of womanhood and sexuality that Bev's character brought to the book are nowhere to be found in this film.

But let's now look on the bright side because there is one. Part of it is Pennywise's defeat. Instead of doing a ritual and using psych powers to defeat the clown, they rely on physical strength meaning that the final battle is way more action-packed. And it works because of the tedious nature of the film. Also, this way that controversial sex scene was left out. It did have a meaning in the book (it was a connection from childhood to adulthood) but it would have surely got lost in the film.

The other great thing about It is Pennywise. While the character isn't that great, Bill Skarsgård was able to be creepy and disturbing while the film clearly was trying to be humorous. He was by far the best part of the film which kind of made me want to root for him.

PODCAST 262: Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah & Children of the Corn

This week Forest delves deeper into the Heisei era of Godzilla, with Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah - the Godzilla flick with time traveling UFO! Cory shares a few too many corny jokes as he revisits a Stephen King classic Children of the Corn.

CONTINUE READING

PODCAST 239: Dreamcatcher & Decoys [Arctic Weather Edition]

This week the Horror Duo embrace the arctic winter weather by discussing a pair of cold wintry alien flicks. Forest reviews the Stephen King adapted Dreamcatcher, complete with an unhealthy dose of "taco shits". Cory teaches everyone just why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover with the indie Decoys.

CONTINUE READING

Christine (1983)

Genre

Horror

Director

John Carpenter

Country

USA

Cast

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston, William Ostrander, Malcolm Danare, Steven Tash, Stuart Charno, David Spielberg

Storyline

Arnie (Keith Gordon) is just the typical highschool geek until he meets Christine, a bright red 1958 Plymouth Fury that will transform him into someone else. 

Opinion

After Brian De Palma's "Carrie" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", eventually came the time for John Carpenter to bring to the screen a Stephen King novel. Now I haven't seen any other work of his, but since many consider him the master of horror, I was expecting this film to be good. And it might have been good if it wasn't a horror but a dramatic film instead. "Christine" indeed isn't particularly scary or suspenseful. 

On the contrary of typical horrors, this one's problem is not the story. Stephen King actually had a(nother) good idea when he conceived an evil car that goes around killing people. It is arguably very fascinating, predictable maybe, yet fascinating.

So what did went wrong? John Carpenter's direction. He does set up the story pretty well but after there's nothing. His direction is lousy at its best. He focuses (too much) on the wrong things, like on the car, Christine. I know that's also the title both of the novel and the film, but he should have focused more on the characters, like King did.

The character development is practically nonexistent, and some, if not most of the characters do nothing in the film. Buddy Repperton, for example, is just there because the film needs a villain. 

However, Carpenter does something else other than screwing up with the characters: he does set up a good atmosphere through music that always fits the moment.

I'm not done yet, there's the cast. First, there are actors that look way too old to be in high school. Second, Keith Gordon in the lead role. He goes from geek to arrogant douchebag with such speed it's impossible to root for the character. Sure, the screenplay should probably blamed, not the actor, but he sure doesn't even try to improve the film.

The Shining (1980)

Genre

Horror

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Country

United Kingdom | United States

Cast

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Tony Burton, Lia Beldam, Billie Gibson, Barry Dennen, Lisa Burns, Louise Burns, Anne Jackson

Plot

With wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) in tow, frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the opulently ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Before the Overlook is vacated for the Torrances, the manager (Barry Nelson) informs Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy and slaughtered his family; Jack thinks it's no problem, but Danny's "shining" hints otherwise.

Opinion

Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is just brilliant. The Shining is strange, disturbing and scary - so scary that when you are not shaking, you can probably hear your heart beating - and it remains one of the best horror films ever made and one of the best even imaginable. 

The incredibly scary music brings the tension levels to unimaginable levels; the cinematography is excellent and the Steadicam is fantastically used.

Jack Nicholson's performance is outstanding, and he portrays the crazy father and husband in a manner no one else could do. Shelley Duvall plays the role of the wife quite well. Danny Lloyd is excellent as the kid, although he doesn't have much to express. 

Quotes

Dick Hallorann: Some places are like people: some shine and some don't.

Jack Torrance: [typed] All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Rating

8.5/10

PODCAST 5: Begotten & Stephen King's It

This week Forest and Cory are all over the place, a little black metal from Iraq mixed with season three of The Walking Dead and just a dash of killer clowns, suicidal gods and FULL FRONTAL NUDITY! "What" you ask? Well listen for yourself damn it! Oh yeah, and they talk

CONTINUE READING