You gotta check out Aaron Dries blog post, titled, "The Under-appreciated Films Of Stephen King." It's great!
Dries opens things up by saying:
When you’re as prolific as Stephen King—and when the ravens of Hollywood have picked at your bones for over forty years—you’re bound to hit some home runs. Take Carrie (1976) or The Shawshank Redemption (1994) for example, films so superbly crafted they’ll garner Oscar attention.
And then there are those other films. The not quite so polished gems.
But here’s the thing… I actually like a lot of those flicks that folks discredit. In fact, I like some of them quite a bit.
Dries gives us his list of favorites, and a short explanation as to why each one holds a special place in his heart -- and DVD collection. With each movie, he also includes a paragraph that reveals what he thinks is the best scene.
Here's Dries list:
1995, The Mangler
1990, The Graveyard Shift
1991, Sometimes They Come Back
1996, Thinner
2006, Desperation
1992, Sleepwalkers
1985, Silver Bullet (YES!)
1993, The Dark Half (YES, YES!)
1983, Christine
1997, The Night Flier (Oh -- now you're talking!)
Humm, he had me up until Sleepwalkers! But, honestly, it is refreshing to find someone who will defend this movie. For Sleepwalkers, Dries suggests, "My advice is unplug your brain, tap into your inner child and indulge in some EC Comic-inspired thrills."
Was Christine really "under appreciated"?
Now when it comes to The Night Flier, I'm a fan. A big fan! I love the movie, the tone, the darkness, the grittiness -- everything. I think it's all out creepy,and a delight. Dries declares the best scene is -- from beginning to end! He writes, "The film is a welcome alternative to the anemic vampire films of late, with one foot grounded in the modern world and the other in traditional Bela Lugosi lore. And unlike a lot of horror films (some of which are on this list), The Night Flier earns its deliriously gory finale."
Check out the full blog post, it's wonderful! aarondries.com
Thanks to Star Jameson
I don't think any of those films are underappreciated. Most are simply bad. The Dark Half and Sometimes They Come Back are average. Christine has received plenty of acclaim and the name is synonymous with haunted cars much as Cujo is synonymous with vicious dogs.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely things I like about most of those movies. Heck, even "Sleepwalkers" has the gorgeous Alice Krige. Ted Levine is great in "The Mangler," and "Graveyard Shift" ... well, that one's a stinker (albeit one I enjoy).
ReplyDeleteI've got zero love for "Thinner," though, and not much more than zero for "Desperation."
Good article, though! I never ever ever expect to agree with one of those 100%.
This Dries fellow sounds like a King fan after my own heart.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't deny a lot of the films aren't that great, a good deal of them are decent enough, and that includes Garris's The Shining and Stand (which I'm proud to see Dries approves of).
For me, the key to keep in mind about films such as these is advice King gives from Danse Macabre which might explain why he likes Garris's adaptations and why he could make something like Maximum Overdrive:
King: "I'm no apologist for bad film-making, but once you've spent twenty years or so going to horror movies, searching for diamonds (or diamond chips) in the dreck of the B-pics, you realize that if you don't keep your sense of humor, you're done for. You also begin to seek the patterns and appreciate them when you find them.
"There's something else that needs saying here too, and I might as well give it to you straight from the shoulder. Once you've seen enough horror films, you get a taste for really "crappy" movies.
"Films that are just bad (like The Comeback, Jack Jones ill advised foray into the field of the horror film) can be dismissed impatiently, with never a backward glance.
"But real fans of the genre look back on a film like The Brain from Planet Arous (It Came From Another World WITH AN INSATIABLE LUST FOR EARTH WOMEN!) with something like real love."
I think that makes all the difference between those who like Sometimes they come back or the "It" miniseries and those who don't
ChrisC
Completely agree about The Night Flier. I think it's one of the better vampire movies out there compared to a lot of the other ones that have been made. I admit Graveyard Shift is pretty crappy, but I'll still watch it when it's on the Sci-fi channel ;-) I loved the Dark Half. Probably the only one I would refuse to ever watch again would be Desperation. I couldn't even finish it.
ReplyDeleteHi guys! I'm so happy to see that my blog post over here at Talk Stephen King - it was quite a thrill, actually. Big fan of this site and I'm a regular prowler.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my list. It's purely personalised and everyone can -and should- have their own opinions about their favourites / hates. I'm a bit of a glutton for the B-grade, honestly, and a bunch of these films were highlights from my younger years, when my interest in horror was just budding. I think this is why Sleepwalkers makes it so high in the list - that film really appealed to the 12 year old watching it. (And I've tried showing it to friends now, and they all hated it haha).
Rock on!
Cheers,
Aaron Dries
Aaron Dries,
ReplyDeletethanks for the wonderfulpost, you made my day!
No worries. I had a ball writing it. And re-watching a lot of the films made me feel like a kid again.
ReplyDelete