A Bloody Good Time 1.28.10: Stephen King Month Part 4 (The Best Films)

Posted by Joseph Lee on 01.28.2010

Stephen King month ends and we celebrate the best he has to offer.

Logo courtesy of Benjamin J. Colón (Soul Exodus)

Welcome to A Bloody Good Time. Tragically, our Stephen King month has reached the end of the road. I really liked discussing King and hearing others opinions on his works. As you know, I shouldn't have to write about him again, as extensively as I've covered here. But I do have an idea for a future column that has a sort of "odds and ends" look with various smaller lists. That won't be for a while.

Let's get to the feedback before we celebrate King's best films.

MBD has a complaint, but not with me: Tim Curry is a severely underrated talent. His work in It, LEGEND, and even fucking Fern Gully are just haunting. What a a great character actor who rarely gets his due.

You won't hear me argue against that. Tim Curry is an amazing actor. He also has no problem with makeup, as you can tell from both It and Legend.

Twitch says: Pennywise is a great choice and I look forward to the R-rated remake that's been discussed for IT. Love the miniseries, but would like to see what they can do with more freedom. And while Gage was deffinitely scary, it was Victor Pascow that really frightened me the most as a child.

Pascow never really scared me because I knew he was just trying to help. Now Zelda...that's a different story. As far as the It adaptation goes, I'm not as interested in that as others. The miniseries was flawed but a two hour film will have to cut a lot out and who can they get to top Tim Curry?

The Ogre shares his love of Leland Gaunt: Loved his "Oh, you're no fun!" attitude at the end of the movie. Actually, the movie's ending was far better than the book's magical lightshow for that very reason, and is one of the few times that I've agreed with a movie's deviations...

I agree with this. Sometimes subtle is better. Actually, most times subtle is better. And dead is better all the time.

Guest#0021 shames me: Annie Wilkes shoulda been on the list. Whether you consider Misery a horror film or not, you have to admit that Kathy Bates' performance was definitely that of a horror villian.

D'oh! I completely forgot about her. Otherwise she would have made it, and quite high too. I really felt dumb when I realized I had done that. Include her in the top five and reduce Christine to an honorable mention.

Volourn gets "holier-than-thou" on us: Sick freak. Cheering on mass murder because the murderer was teased a bit. That's ridiclous. there was nothing cheerable about Carrie during the scene. During the rest of the movie like when her mother tried to murder her and she defends herself? Yeah, but not the dance mass murder. Espiciailly since it went from her not being able to contro, things to premediated ala locking the door just so she inhumanely burn and torture more.

Yeah, um it's a movie, guy. I suppose you've never cheered on Jason Voorhees as he slaughters the typical line up of stock characters in Friday the 13th characters? Or cheered on John McClane as he took down the bad guys with lethal force? You must not get a lot of fun out of life.

And those kids that hurt Carrie totally deserved what they got.

Guest#8523 replied: Andy from the Shawkshank redmption

Read the rules.

Speaking of which, here are the rules for this month. I'd suggest reading them but if you haven't yet you probably won't now:

1)This is only about his films. So if a book or story hasn't been adapted, it won't be included.
2)This can include his original work for the screen or television.
3)This cannot include any films that were not horror. So as good as something like The Green Mile is, it's not a horror film and won't make an appearance anywhere.
4)This will not include sequels to any of his other films. Yes, the Children of the Corn series is generally horrible but King didn't write the stories and probably didn't even have any involvement at all.

As I said at the start, Stephen King Month has reached it's finale and now we're going to count down my personal favorites. Some of you may not agree, some of you may agree 100%. But these are the best King films and I won't be swayed otherwise. These films, nor the man who wrote the stories, need no further introduction so let's get to it! Oh...there will be spoilers here. But that's been a given with this whole month.

Honorable Mention: The first half of It. A creepy, atmospheric coming-of-age tale with a horrifying performance from Tim Curry and some of the best child actors you'll ever see. I mean the kid playing Henry Bowers was spot on. It's too bad the second half featured some terrible adult acting and a bad looking giant spider that barely moved. Otherwise It would make this list.



#10: Storm of the Century(1999)

I like Randall Flagg over Andre Linoge, but I prefer Storm of the Century as a miniseries which is why it gets the nod here and not The Stand. Andre Linoge, who got his due in last week's characters list, is just one of the many reasons I love this miniseries. He's a big part, because Colm Feore is great in this role. There's no doubt about that. He carries a large portion of the film on his back and with someone else, it may not have been as good. Andre Linoge himself is a sinister character that really isn't so much evil, but he just doesn't care about human beings because they are less than him. He isn't anymore evil than a kid with a magnifying glass over an ant hill (does anyone actually do that?). King wrote a character that isn't so much malevolent as he is all-powerful and uncaring about those beneath him. This is a force that can't be stopped, much like a bad storm. You just have to hope to survive.

But as I said, Linoge is not the only reason Storm of the Century is King's best miniseries. Tim Daly is another big real. The voice of Superman from Superman: the Animated Series plays the sheriff of this small town and he is very good as the lead. The rest of the cast varies, but there's never a performance that is really bad, at least bad enough to ruin the experience for me. Storm of the Century eventually boils down to a simple choice: do we give Linoge one of our children or do we all die? Either choice would have surprised me at that point as neither option is good for the town. In my opinion, Storm of the Century has a bleak ending that actually works, and isn't there for the sake of it. It's a very underrated film, but the best of any miniseries based on King's work. I highly recommend it.



#9: The Dead Zone(1983)

Last week Johnny Smith made the list and the character is only as good as the story he is within. That's why David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Dead Zone makes this list. It's not the best King translation but it's still really good and features the previously mentioned performance of Christopher Walken as the man who can see the past, present and future just by touching someone. But as with Andre Linoge in Storm of the Century, he's not the only reason to watch this classic 80's movie. The acting is top notch, sure. You have a cast that not only has Walken, but Martin Sheen and Tom Skerritt as well. Sheen is playing the villain, Greg Stillson, who is destined to bring about the end of the world via nuclear weapons. He's a good villain almost as much as Walken plays a good hero.

The story is a movie about a psychic from his point of view. Anyone one of us may wish we had that ability but Johnny does not. He doesn't want it but he still uses it to do what is right, as I explained last week. Sheen's performance as Stillson is a charismatic leader who is also secretly crazy and somewhat evil is typical for the type of things King likes to write. Morality tales disguised as horror, religious nuts and charismatic forces of evil. He uses these motifs a lot and it usually ends up as some of his best work. Of course this was also turned into a television show for five years which shows that this story has a lot of legs, possible more than King envisioned when he wrote the book. Then again, does any author imagine how successful their work will be when writing it? I'd like to think they just focus on telling a good story. The Dead Zone is a good story.





#8: Misery(1990)

Hopefully including Misery here will make up for my boneheaded decision to completely forget about Annie Wilkes last week. But I'm not giving it a pity spot on this list. Misery definitely deserves to be here. But let's talk a little about Annie Wilkes before the movie itself, because she makes the movie. Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for her portrayal (hooray! horror gets mainstream award nods!) and out of all the performances from that year, she was the best. Annie Wilkes is obsessed with the man she saves/abducts at the beginning. She's also really, really crazy. She'll do anything to get Paul Sheldon to write her favorite character back to life. Including breaking his ankles and murdering people who try to interfere. When you think of the role now, you think of Kathy Bates. Honestly, if this movie were remade, Kathy Bates would probably be the best choice again. There's no one else to play this character.

King's genius with this story is it's two people interacting in a room for the most part. There's very few extraneous characters here. It's two great actors in James Caan (who carries his weight just as well) and Kathy Bates squaring off in a game of cat and mouse. Just like that game, you know Annie's just toying with Paul. She plans to kill him. You can just tell. Caan has to play the game better and outwit her before he ends up dead, and it's a completely suspenseful film that keeps you on the edge of your seat through nearly the entire picture. The fact that this movie came from Rob Reiner, of all people, is a little astounding. Reiner's not bad, but this kind of story isn't his forte. That doesn't change the fact that he adapted it with ease and skill.





#7: 1408(2007)

Rose Red was an example of King trying the haunted house story with very awful results. He already had a great haunted house story with 1408, even if it is set in a hotel room that is in itself a malevolent force. This is a haunted room that has more than just ghosts, it has otherworldly powers capable of making you hallucinate the most real feeling things only to strip that away and make you realize you may never escape. Not until your dead body is dragged out. That's what is up against writer Mike Enslin, played by John Cusack (essentially playing himself, like always) who decides to debunk the tales of a haunted hotel room by staying in there. He soon learns to regret this decision as the room won't stop until he is dead.

In my opinion, this is one of the times where the adaptation ends up being better than the story it is based on. 1408 is just a really fun ghost story. Cusack is essentially giving a one-man performance as he spends most of his time reacting to what happens around him. It works very well. Cusack carries this movie, because he might as well be the only one in it. This movie also provides some very unsettling visuals and haunting imagery. You know you're in a King story when someone smashes a portrait of a ship and somehow begins to drown when water rushes out. All of this is very bizarre and on the impossible side, and the fact there's nothing that can be done makes it worse. The best part about this story is how Cusack is slowly driven insane. At certain points you begin to wonder if it's even the room anymore, or if it's all in his head. That's the sign of a great horror film that messes with your head. It takes the horror out of the supernatural and places it directly in reality, in the corridors of the main character's mind. 1408 will go down as one of the best King adaptations and a great ghost story as well.





#6: Needful Things(1993)

First of all, that's just a cool poster for a cool movie. The only thing I remember is the stupid floating heads treatment for the VHS release. It had Ed Harris with a gun and Max von Sydow's shadow looking evil over the town. I like this better, even if it doesn't make much sense.

Needful Things is a movie that isn't really scary, and is only horror in the sense that the devil (maybe) is causing a town to lose it's mind and destroy itself. A scary situation, but here it's portrayed almost a little tongue in cheek, making Needful Things a sort of dark (very dark) comedy. Really, unlike other films on this list, this one does hinge on the main character. Leland Gaunt makes this film, as does Max von Sydow's portrayal of him. He just becomes the role and creates a character that even though you know you should root against him, he's really charming and you can't help but like him just a little bit. He's doing terrible things, but look how much fun he's having!

The rest of the town slowly goes crazy due to this, causing fights, murder and lots of property damage. Gaunt just smiles and observes. He almost has a smirk through the whole film. It just seems like even if he fails he doesn't really care. He'll move on to the next town and start over. Ed Harris plays a good foil, but this isn't his movie. As I said, this movie is actually pretty funny if you have a dark sense of humor, and maybe some of it shouldn't be played for laughs but the performances and direction suggest that it is. We can't let Gaunt have all the fun, can we?





#5: The Mist(2007)

Controversy! Yes, even though I did not like the ending to this film and included it as my #1 dumbest King film moment, I still love this movie. I have good news for you all. I went back and re-watched it and while the end is not as bad as I remembered...I still don't care for it. I still don't think that the characters would have done that given everything they had went through in the course of the film. That said, Tom Jane's acting wasn't as bad as I thought previously so that cuts it down a little bit. It's a good bleak ending, but it's not really fitting of the story that was being shown, in my opinion.

But let's get to the story itself because it's a really cool one. A storm hits a small New England town and the morning after features a heavy mist everywhere. It only gets worse as the day goes on and it reaches the point where you can't even go outside. Nor would you want to, once you see what is hiding out there. Otherworldly monsters, looking like something pulled directly from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft appear and begin killing anyone foolish enough to travel. But in addition to that, the film borrows some elements of John Carpenter's The Thing by forcing all of these people in an enclosed location and letting them interact. Paranoia, fear, hate and other various emotions are running wild. The religious nut Mrs. Carmody (I still say Marcia Gay Harden should have won awards for this performance) doesn't help matters as she quotes scripture and tries to turn it into a battle of the faithful vs the faithless. In all of this commotion is Thomas Jane, who will do anything to save his son above anyone else. It's a lot going on, but it all works. It makes for a very tense and suspenseful movie. When you're not jumping at the monsters, you're wondering when someone else is going to lose their mind.

The Mist makes Frank Darabont three for three for King adaptations, and even if I don't agree with his choice of ending, it obviously worked for a lot of people. The ending doesn't really hurt the movie for me anyway. I can ignore it and see what an awesome atmospheric ride the entire film was until that point. That's why this film is great and that's why it's on the list.



#4: Creepshow (1982)

I love movies that like to throwback to earlier periods, especially if I love what they're throwing back to. That's why I was such a huge fan of Grindhouse even if Death Proof was less than stellar. In the case of Creepshow, it's one big homage to the E.C Comics era where horror and suspense comics were all the rage, much to the chagrin of mothers everywhere. Much like Tales from the Crypt, which also premiered in the 80's (although Creepshow was first) this combines both elements of horror and comedy to make one enjoyable ride for everyone. Some of the stories are really silly (such as "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" or "Father's Day"), but some are actually really creepy ("They're Creeping Up On You").

Creepshow was directed by George Romero who knew exactly what to do with the material given to him. King wrote everything here, even the stories that were not based on previous works. They all work to some extent, and even if they didn't, the segments are short. There are four main stories and one wraparound. Whether it's seeing Leslie Neilsen and Ted Danson in the same story or watching Stephen King act by himself in a comedic story, Creepshow can only be described in one word: fun.





#3: Carrie(1976)

You'd think I would have written enough about Carrie last week given that I wrote about the two characters of Carrie White and her mother. But here we are again, and we're writing about Brian de Palma's award-winning adaptation of Stephen King's very first novel. While Carrie isn't very scary (not to me, anyway), it's a very interesting psychological look at this girl who's had enough. Carrie just wants to be liked, and just when you think she's going to be accepted, she gets tortured some more. In the same sense that you would root for Jason or Freddy to dispatch their victims, the audience is left rooting for Carrie to kill everyone. Not because she's cool (she's actually quite awkward), but because the assault on her is an assault on the audience, and this nice girl doesn't deserve to have pig's blood dumped on her.

With great performances and a great story, the only thing this needed was great direction to really put it over the top. Well it has De Palma behind it, so you know you're going to get that. The prom scene in particular features a great look to it and the shots and cuts are one of the many reasons Carrie is a classic. In my opinion, it's not so much a horror movie but a great tale of revenge. Carrie does indeed get her revenge, and it is glorious. Fun fact, Angela Bettis, whose character of May seems like it was modeled a great deal from Carrie White, ended up playing her in the (bad) remake. Okay, it was only fun for me. Go see Carrie if you never have.





#2: Pet Sematary(1989)

This is going to be a hard one to write up, mainly because I think I've said everything about this movie that I can say. Pet Sematary was my very first horror film (as I've mentioned elsewhere). Yes, this was the film that turned me into who I am today, and can you think of a better introduction to the macabre genre that is horror? That's why it's a sentimental favorite, but there's a lot of reasons why it ranks this high on the list. Pet Sematary isn't just a horrific tale of caution, it's a tragic and horrific tale of caution. This film has just as many heartbreaking moments as it does scary ones. Okay that's not entirely accurate, but it still is full of emotion in addition to being full of horror.

Louis Creed discovers the MicMac mountains behind the local pet cemetery (spelled "sematary" by the kids, hence the title) thanks to neighbor Jud Crandall. What he learns is that the power of the burial ground can bring back the dead. The problem is, as Jud poignantly declares: "sometimes dead is better". They come back evil, ready to kill and murder. It's not your loved ones that come back, but evil forces using them as vessels. Unfortunately for Louis, he never really learns his lesson and the tale becomes more and more tragic as we see poor little Gage meet his end and become a scary little bastard. Then when he is confronted and taken care of, the spirit leaves and we see normal Gage again, just to kick us in the gut a little harder. Pet Sematary is a dark, bleak and depressing horror film that just happens to be scary as well. I wouldn't have it any other way.





#1: The Shining(1980)

Jack Torrence may not have received the #1 spot on the top characters list last week, but Stanley Kubrick's The Shining definitely is getting the top honors when it comes to the best films based on King's work. This film has everything you could want in a horror film. Fully developed characters with a backstory and a plot that slowly reveals more and more of what is going on until the insane finale. Great performances from a cast that is at their very best. A spooky, isolated locale with a haunting atmosphere. Terrifying moments that shock the viewer. Gradually building tension that caps off with a satisfying conclusion. Stellar direction and musical cues. Please, if I'm forgetting something that The Shining has that makes it the best King adaptation ever, let me know.

I just love this movie and it manages to get better every single time I watch it. It may be blasphemy, but it comes close to topping the novel it's based on. It doesn't completely become better, but it's close. I like a different element of it with every viewing and find something new to appreciate. Whether it's Nicholson's performance or Kubrick's direction, this film is just flawless and one of the best horror films of all time. In fact, when I made my countdown of the top 100, this ranked in at #19. Stephen King may not have liked what had been done with his novel, but this version of The Shining still remains an all-time classic.

That's it for the best Stephen King films and that also concludes Stephen King month. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next week sees the release of Adam Green's Frozen, so I'm going to devote a column to "Man vs Nature" type horror. See you then.