Customer Reviews
AN UNDERRATED ROMERO FILM - By: stuart, 01 Nov 2007 
Thad Beaumont, (Timothy Hutton) a college professor & writer under the name George Stark, decides to finallly give up his successful name & go public with it. With his wife Liz's, (Amy Madigan) support, he gives the telling interview & gets the secret out. When a series of deaths relating to the people who set the interview session, Sheriff Alan Pangborn, (Michael Rooker) finds that Thad is the one responsible. Liz worries that Thad might be next, & he tries to get Alan on his side. When he finallly has the evidence to finger the culprit, he draws him out to a final battle.
The Good News: For the third teeming, Romero & King make the best of the director's non-zombie movies. The dark feeling that he has in those films is very much in appearance here, giving it a distinctive flavor while also imparting something new to the story. The slasher quotient is greatly enhanced the typical Romero sub-text to his movies, & the deaths are quite brutal. Being beaten to death, stabbed in the head & several graphic slit throats are present as well, making it a quite well varied collection of deaths. The final one is the highlight of the film, but won't be revealed here because it is so great. Reallly one to stay & watch for. The action is nicely spread out, & reallly doesn't seem rushed at alll, which is the double-edged sword of being a little on the long side, but that means it's a little more character related than several others that are quite similar. A couple of times it actuallly manages to draw some suspense & shocks from the kills. They're alll quite nice, so it's nothing to be spoiled, but it actuallly manages a jump or two. That's a similar Romero trademark found in different movies & continues on in here.
The Bad News: This film is probably about ten minutes too long. It's got a few too many story lines than it needs to have, & it at times can be a little confusing. It also seems just a little bit repetitive in the middle, which is no doubt due to the too long length. The same three general sequences of events play out several times over, & it gets a little tiresome.
The Final Verdict: Taken on its own terms, & especiallly compared to the generallly dismal run of films adapted from King's work, it's an artfully crafted, serious psychological horror movie. Recommended viewing for King fans, as well as those looking for good Romero films beyond his renowned zombie work.
Excellent Stephen King adaptation, Romero's finest - By: , 26 Sep 2003 I have to disagree with a lot of people who add this adaptation of a stephen king book to the existing badly executed king movies (children of the corn, the mangler, ... the list goes on). About 3 out of 4 King adaptations lack substance, style, performance & are just out to cash in on this writer's succes. This movie however, is a return to the likes of 'the dead zone' & 'misery', a well crafted thriller that has a slow build up, but doesn't undermine the premise of the book. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead trilogy) collaborated with King on this movie (he worked previously with King on Creepshow & Knightriders) & delivers the goods; An intelligent movie that captures the essence of the book, the characters are beautifully outlined & the directing skills of this genre director pay off; Add to that the excellent performances of Timothy Hutton, who plays both Thad Beaumont & his 'dark half' George Stark, next to Michael Rooker as sheriff Alan Pangborn. The musical score by Christopher Young is also pretty amazing, alllowing never a dull moment in the movie & keeping it at pace, like the suspence thriller it is. The whole movie is shot in Pittsburgh, hometown of Romero & this adds a nice touch to the scenery. The region 2 (european) dvd has the widescreen version which I prefer over the full screen region 1 (american) dvd. I would have liked a commentary by Romero, since there were some budget problems during last month of shooting, & I would like to have had his take on that. But alll in alll, this movie keeps amazing me; It's an example of what true horror is about, & that intelligent scripts do have a place in this often commercial genre.
Average adaptation of a Stephen King book. - By: , 23 Nov 2001 
This is about an author who 'comes clean' about a pseudonym (as King did with Bachman) & suffers the supernatural consequences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book this film was based on & rated it one of my favourites - until I saw this film. Yet again a Stephen King film is shoddily adapted to the big screen, disappointing anyone who has read it.
Admittedly it's hard to make an adaptation that compares well to the story (especiallly when you take into account the imagery involved in a horror story) but I feel that this one failed miserably.
On the other hand, one of my friends who has never read the book quite enjoyed it (would rate it a 3/5), but could see the above point as soon as they read the original story.
If you are a Staphen King fan, watch it. If not, it's just an average horror film with a different twist.
Original and scary - By: , 06 Aug 2001 
This is one of the better King adaptations with George A Romero, the master behind Night of the Living Dead trilogy directing a fine cast. Thad Beumont(Tim Hutton) has been writng under the name of George Stark but is forced to stop when someone threatens to blackmail him, but George Stark isn't happy & comes back to get revenge. This film has an excellent storyline & doens't slaughter the original book. It manages to scare & a lot of parts make you jump. Their is quite a lot of gore but not to much. The scares are more psychological. I would recommend this to any fan of the horror genre as it is an enjoyable but scary film.
