Category Archives: Horror

2007, Horror, Stephen King

The Mist (2007)

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From NetFlix:

After a brutal thunderstorm pounds a small town, the residents
discover a malevolent mist hangs over their homes, killing anyone
who remains outside. Trapped in a grocery store, a band of survivors
must make a stand against the deadly fog. Based on a story by horror
maestro Stephen King and directed by multiple Oscar nominee Frank
Darabont, this spine chiller stars Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden
and Andre Braugher

While watching this Stephen King horror story, daughter Kate and I recoiled in terror while Kate’s
boy friend Nigel yawned in boredom. I thought the story was quite an engrossing trip. And
the film influenced a dream I had that night.

Stephen King is too good to just present horror for horror’s sake. In this film he asks the question:
when put into a dangerous situation that may require bravery or sacrifice, how would most
people react ? Forget the silly monsters (which are really creepy). Marcia Gay Harden was
her usual well-acting self as a religious fanatic (read that “nuts”) who rabble-rouses to perfection.
I have never heard of Thomas Jane who put in a good performance as the lead (of course, since
he is from Baltimore).

There is no sex in the film. But this movie could scare the living daylights out of small children, as
well as adults named “Tony”.

Stephen King published a collection of his short stories called “Skeleton Crew”
in which the first story is the original “The Mist”. It is very similar to the film
plot. But to tell you the truth, I prefer the film plot over the novella.

Be afraid, be very afraid,

1978, Horror

The Fury (1978)

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From NetFlix:

Two years after the debut of Carrie, director Brian De Palma
delivers another bloody tale of psychic teenagers. When telekinetic
teens Robin (Andrew Stevens, son of Stella) and Gillian (Amy Irving)
become the target of a government baddie (John Cassavetes, who wants to
exploit their powers for weapons of mass destruction), the boy’s father
(Kirk Douglas) is determined to stop him. Watch for Daryl Hannah and
Laura Innes in their film debuts.

Believe it or not, John Williams wrote the orchestral music for this film. As you might expect, a horror film made in 1978 will seem dated. Certain parts of the film just don’t seem to work well. I give it a B. But I was never bored. It was a lot harder to produce special effects back then.

In this film:
o John Cassavetes is the bad guy. He was Rosmary’s husband in “Rosemary’s Baby”.
o Charles Durning plays a doctor. He was Tommy’s dad in “Rescue Me”.
o Amy Irving, the heroine(?) was the character Isabelle Grossman in “Crossing Delancey”
o Daryl Hannah has done a lot. She was the athletic android that hid among the toys in “Blade Runner”.

Not at the top of your list.

1990, Could Be Hard To Watch, Horror, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Stephen King, Suspense, Violent

Misery (1990)

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From NetFlix:

In this creepy thriller based on Stephen King’s book, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) rescues her idol, romance novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), after a horrible car accident. But she morphs from nurturing caregiver to sadistic jailer upon discovering that Sheldon plans to kill off his literary heroine, Misery, in his next volume. Bates’s disturbing performance as the psychotic Annie netted her a Best Actress Oscar.

The book is quite good especially compared to the movie. The movie vaguely resembles the book but still offers the same roller coaster ride. It’s just fun at a B level. Kathy Bates as the crazy captor and James Caan as the captive are a hoot. Bring along your strong stomach for some of the violence.