A Good Marriage: Why Does Darcy Live In The Amityville House?

I'm sure there are spoilers here.  If you don't want spoilers, don't read reviews.

Approaching a movie with absolutely zero expectation can be a good  thing.  I have not read many other reviews of the movie because I spotted early on that it was getting a lot of negative press, and I didn't want to pick up on others complaints.  I want the whining to be my own.

The script, written by King, certainly has  the marks of a literary undertaking. Nice, tight, opening narration that is truly haunting.

I thought the main characters, Joan Allen as Darcy and Anthony LaPaglia as Bob played well against one another.  Early scenes make the "good marriage" almost a little -- too good.  But that's petty.

The scene where Darcy discovers the truth  is, indeed -- horrifying.  Music, tone, visuals, acting -- it all works.  The realization begins with the discovery of naughty magazines. . . but there's more for her to turn up.  Interesting, the scene's setting is exactly how I imagined it when I read the novel.  Of course, all that's really presented is the work bench.

When the full realization of what's going on settles on Darcy, the viewer feels her horror.  What I like about the  movie is that it plays with the theme much more than the book does.  What if an unsuspecting wife found out her husband was a terrible serial killer?  Here's what's fun about the movie: He knows she knows.  Of course, that's also what doesn't work!  Because a serial killer who has their nasty secret discovered isn't really too friendly about the situation.

There are moments you think, "How does Stephen King get inside a serial killers head."  The scary thing is, I don't think it's that hard.  Fleeting thoughts others have and (hopefully) push aside, writers more willingly embrace.  And then, when Bob the serial killer's secret is exposed and he thinks he can move on with  life with someone knowing his secret -- I think maybe King fell out of the serial killers head.  Our friend Mr. Bob doesn't seem bright enough to be a serial killer in the second half of the movie.  Not that they give an IQ exam when applying.

What seems unreal to me is just how quickly Bob fesses up.  Usually if a guy gets caught doing something -- especially something really bad -- he tries to worm his way out.  He doesn't go, "Hey, you were in my stash, and now you know I'm that bad guy.  But hey, we can still be cool, right?"  I don't think that's how it would work.  Do you?  And, to make it more unbelievable, it's not she who confronts him, leaving him speechless and confused with no explanation.  But he knows she knows before there is a confrontation. This gives him time to think things through and offer an excuse. Instead, he chooses confession.

Darcy doesn't plan and act fast enough.  This is not the Darcy we know from the novel; this is a very different woman.  She misses so many good opportunities.  She could stab him while he sleeps.  She could drop the car on him while he's working under it.  Why does she not movie faster?  She wanted to spare her children the pain.  And she needed time to plan.

A lot of the movie is flashes going through Darcy's head.  The newscaster talks to her; scenes are played out -- but in her imagination.  It gives the viewer pause when this is done more than once; is this really happening, or is the writer playing with me again?  It lessens suspense.  When something truly scary happens, the viewer is numb; is the camera going to pan out in a moment and we're just playing games in Darcy's head again?

There's a plot hole in A Good Marriage that King himself has addressed when discussing a stories plot.  "Why doesn't she just call the police?"  yeah. . . why?  I think the short answer is that she is afraid people will think she's in on it; that at the least she knew, and at the worst, she participated in the murders.  In fact, Bob uses exactly this logic on her.  So, instead, she carries out a murder of  her own.

Now consider -- in a house that could possibly soon be crawling with investigators, she commits murder.  Her not getting caught at that point is not a matter of how skillful  she is as a murder, but how skillful He is as a serial killer.  Any single clue he left behind at any crime scene could lead a massive police force into her home to investigate, and ultimately expose not only him, but her.  She cleans up the blood; forgetting police use a thing called luminol.  What she is counting on is that the police will  never follow Bob's trail home.  But doing away with him doesn't remove the clues he's left behind. Know what would be easier?  Calling the police.

When Darcy does act, it is great because the viewer doesn't know when it's going to come.  BAM!  How long will she wait?  How many opportunities will she pass up?

There is one case that I know of where a serial killer was outed by a family member; that's unabomber.

So there's a lot of whining here for me to conclude with this -- I liked it.  Yep, I did. I liked the book,  and I like the movie.  It's certainly not my favorite Stephen King movie, but is a good film.

There are three scenes I really enjoyed:
1. Darcy's discovery of naughty Bob.  Moving from the anger of finding a bad magazine to the real horror of who she is married to is powerfully portrayed.
2. The moment she acts.  The fight scene actually reminds me of Misery.
3. Her confession.  This part  I think works much better than the book.  The retired cop reveals how difficult it is going to be for her to put up with people talking about the "good ole days."  She will have to keep close to her heart the fact that Bob was actually a very naughty boy.

Favorite lines:
"I enjoy the hunt."
"I'm powerless over my nature."
"I'll just do it once, get it out of my head."
"All good things come to those who wait."
"Here I am Bobby, on top -- just the way you like it."
"Two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead."
"The only thing I have to do is pay my taxes.  It's not for me to punish you."
"You did the right thing."

What if. . .
Know what would have been a messed up Twilight Zone ending -- if she killed him and then after his funeral, the killing's began again. (No, I don't really want the story to make that turn.)

What I would have really liked -- if Darcy had been able to make him suffer just a little more.

Out of curiosity,

does Darcy's house

Look like this house?

Did Darcy ever  think, "Hey, maybe I'm living in the Amityville house with a serial killer."  no.  Okay.

Here's a note about the House I found interesting: 

This old off-white home, slightly creepy in its emptiness and subtle dilapidation, and yet a real potential gem with that backyard idyllic farm, caught the eye of location scouts. . . 

The house belongs to Historic Hudson Valley (you can tell because it enjoys the same new stretch of farm fencing) which wasn’t using it for anything lately. It used to house offices but has since become too deteriorated. So it’s a win for them to get the house fixed up and a win for the village, said Giaccio. (patch.com)

Reading The Other Guys

Waiting for Revival has me reading a few other horror writers.  The journey is both fun, and frustrating.  It's frustrating because I know how King writes.  I'm used to the way he builds characters, brackets thoughts, and slowly moves a plot.  Other writers have their own style.  It's fun because the journey can feel very new.

Of course, I read "non-King" all the time.  But I don't read much horror other than Stephen King.  I typically love Follett, classics, Dickens, Poe, Grisham, Clancy and more.  But what about Little, Mccammon, Koontz, Rice and other horror writers?  Well, the truth is, I don't read them much.  I DID; before I went into "King immersion."

Anne Rice used to be a particular joy to read.  Then her books kept getting -- well, bigger and bigger.  I wondered, "Does this lady have an editor?"

So here's what I've  been reading:

1. Dean Koontz, Lost Souls.  

I got this for the car, and actually, it's hard to follow.  Not because of the story, but because the narrator is dry as a pinewood coffin.  The plot moves quickly -- like lightening.  And, I didn't realize when I bought the audio book that I was picking up mid-series.  In fact, it's book FIVE.  Imagine stepping into the Dark Tower with Wolves of the Calla.  Might leave you with some questions, right?

At first I was thinking, "Why isn't he doing more to introduce these characters?"  Well, he did; in the other four novels.  So, Koontz is about to go on pause.  But not because I'm not enjoying his writing.  In fact, one of my favorite Dean Koontz books is Midnight.  (And the one about the dog. . . but I can't remember the books name.)

2. Robert Mccammon, Swan Song.  

I've been listening to this one also while I run.  I need to run more.  The book is fantastic every time I read it.  There's a tunnel scene which I actually think is much scarier than the one in The Stand.  But the two probably should not be compared too closely.  (I know, I have a blog post that does just that.)

Mccammon has a style that is very similar to King's.  A lot of character building, scene set up and a slower plot pace than, say, Koontz.  Mccammon also does something that is reminiscent of Stephen King; he mames some key characters early on.  OH MY!  There is a scene in which a boy has to cut off a man's hand with a meat cleaver.  Let's just say, it's horror at its very best!

And he sucked in his breath and brought the cleaver down with all of his strength on Colonel Macklin’s wrist. 

Bone crunched. Macklin jerked but made no sound. Roland thought the blade had gone all the way through, but he saw with renewed shock that it had only penetrated the man’s thick wrist to the depth of an inch. 

“Finish it!” Warner shouted. 

Roland pulled the cleaver out. 

Macklin’s eyes, ringed with purple, fluttered closed and then jerked open again. “Finish it,” he whispered. 

Roland lifted his arm and struck down again. Still the wrist wouldn’t part. Roland struck down a third time, and a fourth, harder and harder. He heard the one-eyed hunchback shouting at him to hurry, but Macklin remained silent. Roland pulled the cleaver free and struck a fifth time. There was a lot of blood now, but still the tendons hung together. Roland began to grind the cleaver back and forth; Macklin’s face had turned a pasty yellow-white, his lips as gray as graveyard dirt.

. . . it goes on like  that for quite a bit.

3. Jay Anson, The Amityville Horror

I've been reading this before  bed.  Go figure.  It's a mix of scary and stupid.  The scary thing is, this stuff might have actually happened.

The stupid part is the way the story is told.  It feels like children telling a ghost story.  "And then, there was black stuff that came out of our faucet.  And then she started levitating off the bed.  And then the window shut on the girls hand.  And then there were flies all over the window and a voice said to get out.  And then there was a marching band that George heard in the living room, but when he chekced there was no marching band.  And then there were spooky eyes peeking in on us but when we ran outside there were only pigs tracks in the snow."

Anyway, there were some real murders that happened in the house.  My interest was rekindled after seeing a documentary on Netflix titled, "My Amityville Horror."

The only reason Amityville is in any way scary is you think, "This might have happened.  Who  knows!  Demons are real.  And there were real murders that happened in that house!"  Not to mention, the place  just looks haunted.  Who wants a house that looks like it's looking at you?

4. William Malmborg, Text Message.

I've enjoyed this book quite a bit so far; though it reads very much like Richard Laymon.  The books moves very fast.  I would say it's a page turner, but I'm reading it on my phone (seems fitting for a book called Text Message.)

. . . so tell me what non-King horror books you've been reading.

Amityville Legos

What does the Amityville Horror in legos have to do with Stephen King?  Nothing.

photo credit: www.facebook.com FREDDY IN SPACE