A Look at horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy and how they influence other mediums and genres. Also a look at how my own writing is influenced and shaped by my experience with the genres.
Stephen King's Storm of the Century. A film that looks at what price will we pay for safety, and an evil that has walked the world for centuries.
Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King. The short story and a look at the upcoming series Chapelwaite based on it.
1408 The film review. A look at the film based on the story by Stephen King.
1408 A review.
1408 isn't your typical horror movie, and for me, that makes it something special. Starring John Cusack as the lead, the novelist Mike Enslin, it is a film that looks more at the psychological effects of horror. This is not a slasher horror or typical haunted house-like scenario. The film takes place, largely, within the confines of hotel room 1408, but there is enough outside said room to leave you with a few questions on what is real and what is entirely in Mike's head. The film opens up with Mike driving in the rain and stopping off at a small hotel for the night, the novelist investigating the reports of paranormal activity and reviewing how believable they are. This is so he can add them to the next book in his long-running series of paranormal investigations, something that he seems almost reluctant to do. Mike comes across as a weary character, intelligent but bored of the world around him, with no real belief in the very subject he investigates. Mysteriously, he is sent a postcard with room 1408 written on it, and he is intrigued enough that he begins to investigate the Dolphin Hotel and said room. Meeting with the inability to book the room, his curiosity is piqued further, and he begins to look for a way to stay the night in 1408. Eventually, with aid from the lawyer from his publishing house, he finds a loophole, and Mike has his in.
Upon entering the Dolphin, the manager is called to deal with the booking, and we are introduced to Samuel L. Jackson's character, a debonaire man with poise and a well cultured, practiced, approach to dealing with individuals such as Mike. He starts with an opening intended to convince Mike to take another room, an upgrade that he ensures Mike he will like, but our lead is resolute and continues to ask to take 1408. At this point, they move onto the manager's office, and the conversation continues. Mike is offered an expensive bottle of whisky as part of a bribe as the manager seems eager to keep Mike from the room, and it soon becomes evident that he truly believes that Mike would be in danger within 1408. L Jackson's performance throughout is solid, you can feel his concern and conviction as he speaks, Mike remaining steadfast, though thrown slightly, as he is informed of the additional, natural, deaths that have occurred in the room. Deaths that he had not been aware of in his own research into the room over the Dolphin's long history. This detail comes with a file, one that Mike is eager to look into, and he attempts to manipulate the other man into believing he will stay out of the room as long as he can have access to the file. However, Mike takes his drink and asserts that he still wants to stay in the room, frustrated the manager tells him to take the file anyway, that 'he won't want to stay in the room after he reads the damned thing'. Mike becomes combative after the manager mentions his work and his surprise at Mike's character in meeting him, highlighting his first novel, one that he rather enjoyed. Mike states he is unfazed by everything he has heard here and is determined to stay in the room, knowing that there is nothing out there to be afraid of, no ghosts or ghouls exist.
We cut now to the lobby, the manager brings out a metal key, and Mike comments on the use of a key being a nice touch to the mystique. He is informed that the electronic keys simply don't work in that room. Again Mike is dismissive, stating that he is unimpressed with their specter. The manager laughs at this and states that he has said no such thing about a ghost or specter. When asked what it is then, he merely states, 'It is, an evil f*@king room.". Mike is thrown a little by this. Together they go up to the fourteenth floor in a nearby elevator, Mike commenting that it must be dirty in there. The manager relays that the room gets a light turnover once a month, that it is treated like a room filled with poison gas, maids work in pairs and the door remains open at all times, the stay no longer than ten minutes at a time. Again we are informed, that accidents happen and that a few years back a maid got locked in the bathroom and after a few minutes, she had been found to have removed her own eyes. Though surprised Mike seems reluctant to truly believe what he is told, he is far too much of a skeptic to fall simply for what he is told. The manager leaves him at the elevator, he does not go onto this floor except that time of the month, and Mike wanders off reading through the file.
After a slight detour, Mike finds himself in 1408, and it fails to reach his expectations. It simply looks like any other room in such a hotel. He begins to believe he has been tricked and quickly sets about getting himself ready for his overnight stay. It is interesting how the room begins to work on Mike. It starts subtly, with an increase in temperature, and the mints on the bed. I found it a nice little touch. Mike is bewildered at first, but he quickly sets about running through how it could have been done, moving through the room in the belief that someone else must be there. Things quickly begin to spiral for Mike, an incident leading to the injuring of his hand as the window slams down onto it and then the tap blasting through scalding water as he attempts to clean the wound. The room is attacking him to mess with his equilibrium, it is throwing him from one event to the other, working to unbalance him as other elements are brought to bear. Mike begins to believe that he has been drugged by the Manager, not ready to face the idea that what he is experiencing is real, far better to believe he is dealing with a drug trip. He is quickly trapped in the room, the handle coming away from the door, and he begins to experience moments from his own life. His daughter on the tv, his father in the bathroom, and we begin to discover elements to Mike that we had not been privy to before. The room continues to work on Mike, making him see a woman attempting to attack him, showing a version of himself in a room in the building opposite, and soon making him believe that there is no way out of the room. This is to force a belief of isolation, to take away any hope of escape. Again the room isn't attacking him directly, it is crumpling the bedrock of his belief in what is real, as it attempts to break both his spirit and his mind. The hardest hitting of these attacks is those that concern his daughter, Katy. It is shown, through various flashbacks, that she passed at a young age. A loss that Mike has not recovered from. As a viewer, we are often left to wonder, if the room is merely showing him painful images of his past, or if it is actually using Katy somehow. It is unclear, at times, just what the room is capable of.
As the hour unwinds, Mike finds himself suddenly free of the room, emerging from the water at a point we have witnessed earlier in the film. Mike had gone surfing and had been knocked from his board and rendered unconscious, this time awakening in a hospital bed. Mike believes his time in the room had merely been a bad dream, a vision that he had escaped from, and finds himself renewed, his life taking on a redemptive arc as he begins to write about old wounds and the experience within 1408, his life is once more on track. Unfortunately, he can never shake the feeling that he will awaken once more to the nightmare, and soon, that proves to be the case. This is done very well, and it goes on long enough that you start to believe that it might have all been a dream, up until the moment the very walls come down around him. Again, the room is all there is, Mike sure that he had been out, and he finds himself facing what appears to be the image of his daughter. Here it is left ambiguous as to whether this is Katy, or the room merely showing him a facsimile of her, as he holds her in his arms, and she begs to stay. As Mike falls to rage, he finds himself on the bedroom floor with everything back to as it had been with the phone ringing. The room offers Mike the chance to checkout, commit suicide, or live the hour over again. The room shows him others doing so as he wanders about the room, even threatening his separated wife before Mike finally comes to his own conclusion to this encounter. Mike, finally, taking the route of a less selfish man, decides to take out the room, and spare any others from this hell he has endured. Making a homemade Molotov cocktail, he sets the room ablaze, himself trapped within, and calmly sits smoking his last cigarette as the room begins to burn around him. Finally, to ensure the room's demise, Mike tosses the ashtray through the window, the surge of oxygen causing the fire to erupt and spread to the rest of the room. Mike is last seen on the room floor, laughing hysterically, as we hear Katy speaking to him.
I always liked the premise that the room is simply evil, that it cannot affect a death but rather pushes the guests into taking their own lives, madness being the only other option. It is a unique twist that I have rarely seen done elsewhere. A lot of this film rests, squarely, on Cusack's shoulders, and he does a great job. He emotes the terror, confusion, and anger of Enslin brilliantly and conveys his loss and pain equally well but with more subtlety. This one is for people that enjoy more cerebral horror as it lacks any of the cheap gimmicks that work in other horror films to keep the film moving forward. It is very much a character study and looks at what evil is and how it can manipulate. I would recommend that anyone give it a look but if you're after blood and guts, give it a miss.
I'd give it a 4 out of 5 personally, but I could easily see why it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Let me know what you thought of the film and any others that you might recommend. TTFN, and have a good one.
A look at Stephen King's IT two iterations on screen, the Movies and the Original Mini-series starring Tim Curry. Two unique takes on the source material.
Stephen King's IT 1990 mini-series Vs the 2017/2019 films.
I love IT. I read the book when I was thirteen in school and saw parts of the original mini-series before that. I had to wait until I was older to watch the whole thing, unfortunately. I was never entirely comfortable with clowns afterwards, and that is in large part thanks to the creepiness of Tim Curry's performance embedded in a youthful psyche. And that is what makes the comparison so difficult for these two particular versions of the same medium. How do you compare something you saw as, pretty much, a child versus that as an adult? Nostalgia makes it difficult as you often find yourself reminded of things from that time and mindset. Now, like I said, the min-series proved creepy. I'd even say there were some scares that were worse than that, but looking back and rewatching it isn't a series that relies on constant jump scares. Pennywise is even less intimidating until he isn't. Maybe it's being a product that is over thirty years old now but there is a quaint atmosphere to the 1990 version, brought on in part by being set in the early sixties. This era seems less harsh than the one that comes after with the worries and dangers in this time seeming almost benign in many ways. Though there are some subtle hints in the portrayals of certain relationships that could hint at something darker behind the scenes. Here we have the children, led by, the gone too soon, Jonathan Brandis with a very young-looking Seth Green and Emily Perkins in the mix. The series sets up the adults and children in a constant back-and-forth. Events play out often in flashbacks as the adult versions are dragged back to the town of Derry on the strength of a promise. Bill is played by The Walton's Richard Thomas, who I will ever see as John-boy, and loved in the Battle Beyond the Stars. Annette O'Toole plays the older Beverly with John Ritter playing the adult Ben. Like in the books, we see these people struggle with a lack of memory regarding their childhoods and the events in Derry, only Mike still remembers Pennywise and anything beyond the promise they made. Pennywise haunts them all as children, appearing to each of them in turn and yet failing to do more than instil a little fear. But even their fears are less dramatic than I remember on the rewatch, smaller somehow, and I wonder how much films have changed for the impact to have lessened such. The presence of Harry Bowers always on their trail, the school bully filled with hate and vitriol seems diminished from memory, with his two cronies always in tow. In many ways, Bowers is set up as a villain as much as Pennywise, though far less frightening in one aspect but a far more realistic concept, a bully being something many children are forced to endure growing up.
The first film of the duo is centred entirely on the children, and that works in my opinion. It always you to see the events, now set in the eighties, take place without any of the confusing back and forth that can break up the story. It begins with Georgie's death and the introduction to the new version of Pennywise. And I have to admit there is something deeply disturbing with Skarsgard's portrayal of this monster, the drooling, the wandering eye and the speech pattern are all little notes that separate it from Curry's iteration. The new look to the costume and face paint is somewhat off-putting too, though I think it makes him appear more dangerous from the outset. Curry's you could mistake for just a clown, I don't get that vibe from Skarsgard's version. It is a creative choice and for the most part, it works. In this film, Pennywise seeks the children out in turn, and the use of their fears is done to far better effect, though the overuse of CGI is rather obvious at times, lessening some of the innate dread. He mocks them and shows little fear of them, but there are hints in the portrayal that speaks to his concern, why can he not seem to finish them off when the chance is presented to him? It takes time for the group to come together, as it does in the book and mini-series alike, and before long we are discovering, through Ben this time, the history of Derry and the dark events that plague its history. I liked that in this version the house of Neibolt street is used, that terrible place where the well lurks beneath and the source of where IT resides. Of note, the scene in Bill's garage plays out with a wonderful creepiness that builds to all-out terror as the children realize that IT has come for them. It is great acting on the part of the children as they panic as the projector continues to flick through image after image until Pennywise's skewed grinning face leers at them from the picture. It is worth noting that in this version Georgie's body has not been found and Bill still holds out hope that his little brother is alive somehow, waiting for him to save him. And Bill is determined to do just that, no matter what it might cost him. In Niebolt street we get another taste of Pennywise attempting to pick them off, separating them, and using their fears to enhance their taste to his inhuman senses. It is as the clown is about to devour Eddie that Bill refuses to believe what is before him, sure that it is all an illusion, and we see Pennywise becoming aware of that change. There is a look on his face and body language that speaks of anger and disbelief, well done by Skarsgard considering the makeup and costume adorning him. In the ensuing fight, Ben is cut, Eddie lays about with a broken arm from his fall, and for the first time, Pennywise is hurt, slinking off into the well as the children seek to get Eddie to safety. It is at that moment that the losers come apart, Eddie was taken away by his mother and then the rest as Bill and Richie square off. For the first time, they make themselves vulnerable to IT. In time Pennywise comes for Beverley but not before convincing Henry Bowers to slay his abusive father and then in turn hunt down the losers for it. It is worth noting that the Henry Bowers of this iteration is far more aggressive and vile than his previous counterpart, ready to shed blood and it is hinted that he could go much further than that. We flash to Beverley with Pennywise and, after a strange little dance, we get to see the deadlights for the first time, Beverley's eyes turning white as she begins to float free of his hands. It is after this event that Bill discovers that she has been taken and together the rest of the losers go into the house on Niebolt street after her. It is here that a crazed Henry is waiting and he goes after Mike, fully intending to kill him. Thankfully Mike survives and charges Henry, sending him tumbling down the well, seemingly to his death. The events unfold with Stan becoming separated and fed on by the crooked woman, Pennywise chased off by the rest of the losers before Bill goes racing off, seeing Georgie for a moment. Here Bill moves on past a floating Bev and hunts down his brother, Georgie coming forth with his arm missing and seemingly alive. Again this whole scene is very different from the mini-series, far more realistic and grim, with the bodies of the dead children floating high above them. In the earlier version, they are in the sewers, in the central crossroads beneath the town and it taunts them with images of pain and loss. Here it plays out with Bill knowing that this is not Georgie and killing him, placing the bolt against his head, and firing. From here on out it becomes a fight between Pennywise and the Losers. A physical brawl that moves back and forth with Pennywise throwing their fears at them as it desperately seeks to survive their assault. It doesn't, slinking back to the opening behind it as it begins to come apart, the children surrounding it before it flips back into the opening, speaking a final word, and vanishing from sight. Only now do the children begin to float down as Bill holds his brother's raincoat and grieves for his lost sibling.
The second film takes us to the events of the Adults and I have to admit that, whilst still a good film, it pales in comparison to the first. James McEvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader are all great choices and play the parts brilliantly. I have to admit that, though only in the film briefly, Andy Bean as Stan is the perfect casting, he looks just like a grown-up version of Wyatt Oleff. They are dragged back by Mike, just like the mini-series, but this version of Mike seems less grounded than the previous version, a man very much haunted by the events of his childhood. This series of events plays out much faster than that of the mini-series and, to me, it seems almost rushed. The losers come together at the Chinese restaurant in but a few scenes. Mike seems off, far too eager for the others' return, and Bill seems unsure as to why he has even returned. It is not long before they are together again and the events play out with Mike filling in the blanks and they find a moment of peace together amid the meal. It does not last long as Pennywise begins to work on them and the meal descends into utter chaos. The effects are well done, and the baby-headed cockroach thing is particularly disturbing, but overall the scene is a little overdone for my liking. Here follows one of the biggest changes as Mike takes Bill back to the library and mentions the Ritual of Chud. Something that is far more important in the book. Here Bill is dosed by Mike and we get some of the histories of Derry and the coming of IT. It is a big change, that shows something of how this entity can be defeated, though that comes much later. Like the mini-series we get them reliving old terrors as Pennywise visits them as they return to places within Derry, there are several flashbacks that reveal events that we did not see in the first film. We get much more of the events that played out in the book, though altered to suit the film and in a different order. From the get-go we see Bill being pulled away from the rest of the group, a young boy hinted at being Pennywise's next victim and goading Bill with his inability to save Georgie and the coming doom of this boy. Predictably, driven by his guilt, Bill races to save the boy only to watch him being torn apart by a gleeful Pennywise. As these events unfold the rest of the losers struggle with Bowers' return, poor Eddie is stabbed in the face, and in turn, stabs his old bully. Eventually, Bowers will reach his demise as he attempts to kill Mike in the library, Richie doing the deed before the rest of the losers rush in. Quite a change from his demise in the mini-series and Mike's hospitalization. Here we get all the remaining losers going back to Neibolt street and the house there as Bill rushes to confront Pennywise, believing that he is the reason the rest are in danger from this curse. Here we get one of the creepiest displays as the film takes a note right out of the thing, Richie even using the line from the scene of the 1980s classic. Watching spider legs come out from young Stanley's severed head was so familiar and yet done with great effect, given the improvement in special effects. All of these smacks of stalling tactics by Pennywise as the Losers backtrack their way into the sewers and find the remains of the ship and the trapdoor that leads down into the ground below. As a note, this is very different from the 1990 mini-series and the warning by a Pennywise head as it hovers over them and mocks them, warning them to turn back or 'they'll lose their little minds.' Here they descend into where IT originally impacted, under Derry since the beginning, and they quickly set about using the ritual of Chud at Mike's behest. Typically it does not go to plan and we quickly discover that Mike lied to them and that the Native Americans that attempted the ritual all died. Now we get an entirely CGI Pennywise with multiple legs and spikes as he mocks and jeers the terrified losers. That choice loses some of the fear of him, he looks cartoonish and less intimidating to me. The fight plays out with the losers separating and facing old fears before overcoming them and coming back together. Some of these work better than others, Bill facing his guilt over Georgie's death at least progresses the character and allows him to face IT without fear. It is here that Eddie manages to hurt Pennywise as he saves Richie from the deadlights, his belief the deciding factor here. He rushes to Richie's side and the predictable happens, Eddie is stabbed through the chest and waved about before Pennywise tosses his body aside. Bloody, and broken, he tells of choking the leper, of making it small and this feeds into what plays out next. All of this is very different from the spider monster that the adults in the mini-series faced, with only Eddie and Beverley free to fight it, Eddie dying to protect his friends before Bev injures this form. Here it is about the power of their belief, of using Pennywise's power against him, making him small in their minds and reality. Shrinking him down until he is nothing more than a puddle of a head with a tiny body that lays there defenceless before them. His heart is pulled out and together they crush it, killing Pennywise finally. The choices here aren't for everyone but it does play out quite well. With IT's death, the chamber around them falls apart and they are forced to flee, having to leave the slain Eddie behind. Here is another change as here the end of the film shows that they retain their memories of one another, in the mini-series, the memories faded once IT is slain. I prefer this choice as I felt the previous ending robbed them of everything they had experienced, of the growth of their characters, and the love they have for one another. And here we finally get an explanation for Stan's suicide, something that bugged me even in the book.
I will always prefer the original, I can't help it. Nostalgia has a lot to do with it but for me, I just prefer Curry as Pennywise and somehow the story feels tighter somehow. Don't get me wrong, the films are really good and I would recommend watching them. For me, though I will forever be drawn to watching the mini-series if I'm given the choice. Decide for yourselves and give them both a try and if you enjoy them, look for the book. It is quite a read but well worth it.
Until next time folks.
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