It

Fear is a powerful force. In It an evil entity lives in the sewers and emerges every twenty-seven years to feed off of fear by taking people, especially children. In the opening scene, we watch mesmerized in terror, awaiting little Georgie’s fate as he meets Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), holding his lost paper boat in the storm drain. By the end of the scene, we know exactly what kind of horror film we’re in for. It’s going to be gruesome, disturbing and intense. Prepare for the nightmares.

Months after Georgie’s disappearance, his older brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) believes he might find Georgie in the sewers. Bill and his friends set out to explore, but bullies in pursuit of the new kid detour them, thankfully. The new kid, Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), has been researching Derry’s history and found some disturbing facts. Facts that might lead them to Georgie. And Betty. And Patrick. The more they find out, the more each of the kids encounter what they’re most afraid of. And that damn clown pops up to scare them at the perfect moments.

For full disclosure, I have not read the book by Stephen King the film is based on, nor have I seen the tv mini series from 1990. Maybe that helped me enjoy this film on its own so much. I’d love to hear how this film compares to its predecessors.

The scariest moments of It work mostly with jump scares and creepy images that get so in your face you can’t look away. It may sound cheesy, but even with some obvious CGI, man oh man is it effective! I found myself cursing with fear every time Pennywise barred his gruesome teeth. I nearly jumped out of my seat during the garage scene.

My favorite scene is not one I expected at all and stands apart from the rest of the movie. Caution, mild spoilers ahead! When Beverly (Sophia Lillis) is alone in her bathroom, she hears voices down the drain of her sink. She inspects, looking closer, when suddenly hair lashes out, wraps around her and pulls her closer and closer! She struggles and screams and just as we’re afraid she’ll go down too, blood shoots out of the sink like a geyser. It shoots in her screaming mouth! It flies in the air and coats the entire bathroom. It’s like Johnny Depp’s death in Nightmare on Elm Street on steroids. It’s like the elevator from The Shining opened in there. Tarantino movies don’t use this much blood! To top it all off, Beverly’s father can’t see the blood. It makes Beverly wonder if she’s losing her mind.

What makes It such an enjoyable film is the great cast of kids. Bill and his friends are a fun batch of outcasts. Richie (Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things fame) is the skeptic full of dirty wisecracks. Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) is the little hypochondriac, giving us plenty of unwanted facts about AIDS and gray water. Ben is the new, lonely and smart kid that bullies pick on because he’s fat. Stanley (Wyatt Oleff) is the Jewish kid who doesn’t want to get into trouble. Mike (Chosen Jacobs) is the home-schooled black kid who lost his parents. And Beverly is the pretty girl the whole town has the wrong idea about. The bullies that plague the kids are just as well cast and strike fear in us just as strong as Pennywise does.

I don’t see It earning any Oscar nominations (okay, maybe one for makeup) or going down in film history as anything amazing or groundbreaking. But if you’re a horror fan, I highly suggest going out the theater soon to see It. It’s a wonderfully crafted bit of terror that can really make you jump on the big screen. The characters keep you emotionally invested and engrossed while the horrors keep you on your toes and your adrenaline pumping. I can’t wait to see how Chapter 2 goes.

“Time to float!”

Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary is a tragic and twisted tale that can draw a universal audience.  Death and loss are concepts that are often introduced to children by the passing of a pet.  The opening credits show spooky images of a burial site for local pets, complete with the voices of children of the past saying bye to their pets.  Children always wish their deceased pets could come home again, and here Stephen King imagines the horrors if they actually did.  

In the film, Louis (Dale Midkiff), his wife Rachel (Denise Crosby) and two small children move to an old house along busy road.  Day and night, big trucks charge by, claiming the lives of many animals.  Many of them were buried in the local pet cemetery, just a short hike from Louis’s home.  When his daughter’s cat is found dead on the side of the road, Louis’s neighbor, Jud (Fred Gwynne), shows him a place just beyond the pet cemetery to bury it.  A place a ghost warned Louis about, where the ground has gone sour.  And the cat comes back, but it’s a soulless monster.

Pet Sematary is one of my favorite books by King, and I must admit that while this film is a very faithful adaptation, the book is much better.  My biggest complaint is the acting.  Midkiff leads well enough, but Crosby irks me too much.  Especially in the flashback scene where she’s explaining about her sister, Zelda.  Nothing in her voice sounds genuine to me, but eye-rollingly fake.  At least we have Gwynne’s drawl and his overall Munster appearance to remind us this is a horror movie.  Oh, and keep an eye out for Stephen King’s cameo in a funeral scene.

What’s important is that the horror and tragedy are portrayed well in the film.  The gruesome image of Pascow (Brad Greenquist) is not an easy one to shake, his character provides some of my favorite scenes.  If only Louis took his warning more seriously.

And the tragedy is far greater than that of cats and dogs, so much so that I don’t have the heart to speak of it, let alone spoil it.  The movie doesn’t quite make me cry, but parts of the book had me bawling. Let’s just say that even in the most awful circumstances, sometimes dead is better.  

“The soil in a man’s heart is stonier.”

Stand By Me

There’s a short window of time where boyhood seems to peak before snapping off to adolescence and movies like Stand By Me capture it in all its raw glory and terror.  Directed by Rob Reiner, the film is based off Stephen King’s story, The Body, where four twelve year old boys take a two day hike out to find a the body of a dead kid.

Stand By Me is more grim and realistic than many movies that use a similar formula.  The Goonies has a greater air of whimsy and The Sandlot is more rooted in boyhood mischief.  For me, Stand By Me creates a stronger emotional connection.  I feel sorry for each boy, and their problems are not comical or cute.  Chris (River Phoenix) comes from a rough family and is assumed to be a bad kid, so he goes with it.  Teddy (Corey Feldman) nearly had his ear burnt off by his now institutionalized father.  Vern (Jerry O’Connell) is a fat kid no one takes seriously bullied by his trouble making older brother.  And poor Gordie (Wil Wheaton) has become invisible to his parents since his hero older brother died a few months ago.

Setting off on this adventure is a great way to escape their troubles and little town for a while.  Best of all, they think they will come back heroes, with their pictures in the paper, interviewed on tv and all.  Like most adventures, the journey is the best part, where they laugh, narrowly escape trouble and feel invincible.  But we are reminded now and then that they’re on their way to find a dead kid, maybe it shouldn’t be a party.  And they are not the only ones looking to find the dead kid.

The moment everyone remembers from Stand By Me is the train trestle scene.  Earlier it is said that the dead kid they are out looking for was probably hit by the train while crossing the bridge, and we are afraid that history will repeat itself.  The moment they set across, the tension starts to pull tighter.  I cringe and laugh as dorky little Vern crawls in an effort to be extra cautious.  Then the train looms around the bend and poor Gordie and Vern scramble and run for their lives.

What makes Stand By Me stand out and become a great movie is the writing.  It received and Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay.  The dialogue exchange between the boys flows flawlessly and sounds authentic.  Best of all it can range from childish conversations about what the hell Goofy is and crude insults, to their secret fears and personal struggles.

Stand By Me is a classic that I am happy to have finally seen.  The young cast is convincing and drive the film perfectly.  Sutherland and his gang are perfect baddies that I love to loathe.  And when it’s all done and the credits are rolling to B. E. King’s Stand By Me, I wish I had had some kind of adventure with friends like Gordie and Chris in the twilight of childhood.

“-This is my age! I’m in the prime of my youth, and I’ll only be young once!

-Yeah, but you’re gonna be stupid for the rest of your life.”

Children of the Corn

Children of the Corn is one among the slew of horror movies derived from Stephen King stories.  Among the King film greats like The Shining, Carrie and 1408, Children of the Corn hangs around the mid to lower end, but it’s not the worst.

The film takes place in Gatlin, a small town in Nebraska, surrounded by corn on the ground and religion on the radio waves.  When a young couple happen upon an accident (or murder?) they go to the nearest town for help.  But the town is deserted, except for a mob of children.

The first two thirds of the film are pretty great; they’re engrossing and creepy. The opening credits with Sarah’s crayon drawings set a wonderful tone.  I love the isolation of our two leads (Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton), and the dried cornstalks everywhere, especially when they appear on the car.  The way the children are all so brainwashed into this crazy religion, believing in “He who walks behind the rows” is fantastic and sadly believable.  Isaac (John Franklin) and Malachai (Courtney Gains) are both forces not to be messed with, and the power struggle between them is truly intriguing.

Yet, the final act is where everything falls apart.  “He who walks behind the rows” is much more menacing and malevolent before any visualization of the creature is present.  And the special effects are laughably awful.  At times, they are nothing more than a cheap animated blob that covers up a character as he or she are killed.  This film needed to stay with what makes Jaws great: what you don’t see is what scares you.

Chilren of the Corn is not a bad movie, but it certainly isn’t great.  It’s enjoyable, memorable, has a decent amount of blood and can scare a younger, more impressionable crowd.  And I personally feel that it is a decent film companion of King’s short story.  Perhaps it is better to grab some friends, some drinks and go all Mystery Science Theater 3000 on it.  There are plenty of great jokes to make along the way.

“Outlander!  We have your woman!”

Carrie (1976)

The story of Carrie White is one that I always found very sad and sympathetic.  Her home life is terrifying; she seems to have been regularly abused, mentally, verbally and physically by her overly religious mother.  This seems to have affected her social skills, and she hides behind her flat hair in a meek shell.  At school, she is the subject of senseless bullying and torment.  She’s an easy target for the other girls, who seem like they could make the cast of Mean Girls gasp in horror at their antics.  When she finally finds her ability to fight back, it may be more than she can handle, and anyone who crosses her will pay dearly.

The film begins with a scene that feeds into any school yard outcast’s nightmares.  While showering after gym class, Carrie (Sissy Spacek) discovers she is bleeding.  We realize it is only her first period, but she has no knowledge of this process and goes into hysterics, begging her classmates for help.  They laugh and start pelting her with feminine hygiene products, chanting “Plug it up!” while poor Carrie cowers in the shower, certain she’s dying.  The cruelty and humiliation is almost too much to bear, and Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) is not much protection.

After the incident, one girl feels sorry for Carrie while another hates her more than ever.  Sue (Amy Irving) decides to do a good deed and let her popular boyfriend take Carrie to the senior prom.  When Chris (Nancy Allen) hears of it, she makes sure Carrie’s prom experience is one no one will ever forget.

What makes this a horror film is Carrie’s new found power of telekinesis and the shocking mother-daughter relationship.  The telekinesis seems to be a milestone that arrives with her new step into womanhood.  Moments of intense fear, anger or aggression seem to trigger random accidents around her: a light bulb bursting, an ashtray flying off a desk or a boy falling off his bike.  All the while her powers grow stronger.  At home, Carrie’s life feels like an oppressive hell.  Her mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), beats her with religious texts, drags her across the floor and locks her in a closet to pray to a disturbing image of Christ with glowing eyes and arrows sticking out of him.

Some of the best scenes of the film are at Carrie’s home featuring the troubling mother-daughter dynamic.  Both Spacek and Laurie were Oscar nominated for their performances.  Spacek brings out Carrie’s vulnerability and constant fear so well.  Later when Carrie starts to assert herself more and be more comfortable around her peers, it’s refreshing and a triumph.  To contrast, Laurie’s portrayal of a this terrifying mother gives me the creeps perfectly.  When she gets on a roll with her quotes about sin, nothing can stop her, she becomes a force.  While her character can seem so outlandish, Laurie makes her believable, like a nightmare you cannot shake.

While Carrie is not your typical slasher or supernatural scary movie, it is an essential and a classic.  It was based off of Stephen King’s debut novel and does the work justice.  If while watching the film, you feel weighted down in the focus on the social world of Carrie’s high school, just wait until the end.  The ending makes it all worth it.

“Pimples are the Lord’s way of chastising you.”

The Shining

Of all the films based on Stephen King’s work I have seen, The Shining has to be my favorite.  Purists can scoff all they want, complaining that Stanley Kubrick didn’t stay true enough to the novel.  I must say that both works are amazing in their own ways.  Read The Shining during a snowy winter, you might not sleep well for a while. However, the horror that engulfs the Torrance family shown in the film, is like no other movie I will ever see.

When Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes caretaker for the Overlook hotel during the winter, he and his family make the long journey through winding mountain roads to move in.  For five months, they will be the only living people within the huge building.  As an aspiring author, and recovering alcoholic, Jack welcomes the loneliness, hoping it will fuel his focus on writing.

For his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), cabin fever is not the only fear within the Overlook.  Little Danny has an uncanny ability to sense and see things, brought to him by Tony, whom his mother thinks is an imaginary friend.  Before even seeing the Overlook, Danny is granted horrifying visions of blood flowing out of an elevator and flooding the hotel halls.  Inside are memories of madness and murder that can manifest and take hold of the new caretaker.  Danny’s gift, called the shining, may be the only thing that keeps him safe.

One thing that always strikes me about The Shining is how huge the Overlook hotel is.  Outside, its size is overshadowed by the mountains and views around it. However, once we see the inside, it makes everyone seem so small.  As we watch Danny ride around on his big wheel, the hallways seems to twist and continue for miles.  It seems so easy to get lost in there, just like the hedge maze outside.  The cinematography works wonders here, framing every shot perfectly to make me feel that this family has been swallowed up by a monstrous hotel.

My favorite scene of the film takes place in that grand parlor that Jack has set up as a writing space.  After a scare and some shocking discoveries, Wendy has had enough and wants to take Danny to a doctor, but she must first discuss it with her husband.  Since he is not in the room, she takes a peek at what he has been writing, only to find one maddening sentence typed over and over.  Jack comes in, making her jump in fright.  What happens next perfectly shows their opposing characters.  Wendy professes weakly through tears that she wants to take Danny to a doctor.  To counteract that, Jack mocks her, gets angry and slowly leads her around the room, him always advancing while she backs away keeping a distance between them.  It’s like a very tense waltz, where Jack is in complete control, even though Wendy is holding a bat the whole time.  We can never imagine her landing a decent blow against Jack, especially the pathetic way she holds that bat.

God, I really do love The Shining.  It’s creepy, visually amazing, intense, grows on the characters and has some amazingly freaky moments that always scare me.  There are big moments that  rely on things you cannot even begin to explain, but they are so good that even party-poopers won’t care.  Blood flows out of an elevator, a barkeep and party appears out of thin air, those creepy twins pop up now and then, room 237 is one of the creepiest moments and then there is the guy in a dog suit.  And that last half hour climax of the film is something I can never turn away from.  If you have never seen The Shining, it is a must-see, especially around Halloween.

“Danny isn’t here, Mrs. Torrance.”

Misery

All the ideas behind Stephen King’s Misery terrify me.  Driving in a blizzard, flipping the car, breaking bones and possibly losing a manuscript is bad enough.  But being saved and dependant on an emotionally unstable woman with unlimited medications is scary.  Her holding Paul captive, destroying his best work and forcing him to write for her is pure torture.

Paul (James Caan) is a novelist, famous for his series of romantic novels about a young woman named Misery.  He hates those novels and is putting them in the past, ready to write for himself now.  However, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), his savior from the blizzard, nurse to his shattered legs and complete caregiver, is Paul’s number one fan and loves his Misery novels.  She even named her big hairy pig Misery.  When she discovers Paul’s new manuscript, she becomes furious that it’s nothing like the Misery stories.  With the sympathy of a disappointed mother and the control of a madwoman, she forces Paul to destroy it and write a new Misery novel.  Paul has no choice since he is helpless, unable to walk, dependant on Annie’s care and has no way to escape.

Kathy Bates’ Annie is one of the scariest women I’ve ever seen in film, and it earned her an Oscar.  Watching her is like watching a volcano, never knowing when it will erupt.  One minute, she seems friendly, helpful even loving to Paul.  Then, in an instant, her mood explodes into rage.  These moment shook me more than I was prepared for.  In these moments, Annie goes from plain and creepy and seems to lose herself in her crazed rage.  The camera keeps low and zooms in on her face slowly, her eyes seem glazed and unfocused as all the muscles in her face rant.  I love how even in her more docile moments, she can look like a lazy-eyed shark: ugly, even stupid, but still menacing.  Even in her laced collar dress, she is still so menacing.

That might be one of my favorite scenes in the movie, when Paul and Annie have dinner together.  It’s a part of Paul’s plan to drug Annie and escape.  He has been meticulously saving his medication and finally found the occasion.  Of course, Annie is bowled over and giddy about the idea of sharing a special meal with Paul.  I’m sure she feels like a lady in that frumpy dress, just as I’m sure Paul despises every moment he has to spend sucking up to her.  When the moment Paul sees his chance to drug Annie, we hold our breath thinking it’s too good to be true.  I nearly cried when Paul’s plan was ruined by Annie just being a clumsy oaf.

What makes Paul work so well is that we are completely on his side. No one wants Annie to win.  Our spirits are crushed when any of Paul’s plans goes amiss.  Throughout the film, I kept wondering what else can Paul do?  From what I could come up with, he’s been very brave and done all he could against his captor.  And for a middle aged guy confined to a bed, he’s charming, with a sharp mind.  His sense of wit and humor help defend him from Annie and keep him alive.

When I think about Stephen King coming out and telling the world that Misery was inspired by his substance addictions, the ideas in film become much clearer and more terrifying.  Annie is a personification of his addictions, nursing him, bringing him relief from the pain, but keeping him captive and isolated from the world.  To break free is next to impossible, frightening and could kill him.  Annie as a character is intriguing enough, but as a personal taboo issue King was battling within while writing the novel brings both the novel and film to a whole new level.

Misery is a great movie about something as simple as being captive and powerless.  At first glance, this seems like an odd film for Rob Reiner to direct, especially right after When Harry Met Sally, but he does a fantastic job of keeping the tension tight.  Best of all, he focuses on the relationship between Paul and Annie, which is all you really need to keep the story moving forward.  The small side plot where the local sheriff trying to find Paul just smooths out the rest of the world.  From start to finish, there are plenty of tense moments in fear of Annie that keep us at the edge of our seats.  And the unforgettable sledgehammer scene is one of the most painful moments in film for audiences to watch.

“I am your number one fan.  There is nothing to worry about.  You are going to be just fine.  I am your number one fan.”

The Green Mile

Based on a novel by Stephen King, The Green Mile focuses on the experiences Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) has while working as a prison guard on a death row block in Louisiana during the depression.  He’s a more soft spoken man than you expect to find in this line of work and the way he approaches his job is not as a cliche prison guard.  He treats The Mile just as he would an intensive care ward in a hospital; firmly, but with a sense of calm serenity.

The new guy, Percy (Doug Hutchison), is a terrible addition to The Mile’s team.  He got the job through family connections and only wants to watch a prisoner “cook” up close.  Percy is a small guy who tries to make himself look tougher by instigating conflict whenever possible.  We love to hate him.

When a new inmate is brought to The Mile, Percy ushers him, annoyingly calling out, “Dead man walking.”  The inmate in tow is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a huge black man accused of raping and murdering two little white girls.  I’d like to think that the bigger the prisoner, the louder Percy tries to be.  Though Coffey’s size and build are threatening, he is surprisingly meek.  Not many men on death row ask to keep the lights on or admit to being afraid of the dark.

Other prisoners waiting for their execution are Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and ‘Wild Bill’ Wharton (Sam Rockwell).  Eduard, usually called Del, is  grungy looking Cajun man who speaks French now and then.  He finds a mouse, names it Mr. Jingles and trains him to fetch a spool, becoming very attached to the creature.  His execution is the most horrifying scene in the film.  Wild Bill is a young man who’s antics are on the verge of psychotic, including pissing on the warden as he passes his cell.  His entrance to The Mile may be one of the best tricks he puled off in his short life.

Within the world of figuring out each prisoner, getting to know them in their last chapter in life and then executing them, comes a tale of life’s mysteries, healing and forgiveness.  Things get a little supernatural, but it does not affect the southern 1930’s feel.

While it took me weeks of spare time between summer jobs to read The Green Mile, the three hours that encompass the film feel more drawn out.  To be clear, I had watched the film once a few years before reading the novel and then again just recently for this review.  My feelings about the pacing of each medium have remained consistent.  It really doesn’t bother me that the film is long and keeps a slow, thoughtful pace, it’s needed just to get the story across well.  Simply, the novel was something I could enjoy savoring and taking slow, especially after a long day’s work in the summer heat.  The film could be just as satisfying in a gulp.  That being said, I encourage everyone to check out both the film and the book, maybe you’ll see things differently.

“I’ve done some things in my life I’m not proud of, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt in real danger of hell.”

The Shawshank Redemption

Adapted from the Stephen King novel, The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of life in prison for Andy Dufresne (Tim Robins) who was charged with double murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.  One for each victim.  Andy is innocent, but that doesn’t make a bit of difference in Shawshank.  “You’re gonna fit right in. Everyone in here is innocent, you know that?” the inmates joke.

Inside, Red (Morgan Freeman) has been in prison for twenty years already.  He’s the guy people go to when they want something smuggled in; cigarettes, posters, playing cards with naked ladies on them, you name it.  He also narrates the film, helping the viewer understand how Shawshank works and how people see Andy.  “I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn’t normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place.”

Andy runs into troubles at Shawshank.  For a while he’s ritually beaten and tormented by a gang called The Sisters.  He’s also subject to random inspections where the guards flip his cell upside down.  But through it all, Andy stays strong and starts seizing opportunities.  When he learns about the prison library, run by old lovable Brooks (James Whitmore), he starts writing letters to Congressmen to get more books.  With Andy’s previous work with banks, he helps the gards with their taxes and even gets his friends to help, breaking the mundane rituals of prison life for a while.

The story grabs our attention right away and gets more interesting as it goes with more depth to Andy.  There’s more to lose, more to gain, a dream of going to Mexico and a mysterious treasure in a Maine hayfield.  But after being sentenced to “the hole” we’re afraid that our good guy Andy is nearing his breaking point.

In my opinion, the ending, after the main action has passed just seems too long.  We see familiar images, understand what’s going on, only a few things really need to happen and it just feel like it needs to end one wary or the other (Freeman narrating a little faster would be a start).  And quickly if you please, I need to piss too, and I hate to ask the film for permission.  Really, it could have been wrapped up in one of those cheesy montages without leaving anything out, but it just wouldn’t feel right.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”