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Sometimes They Come Back

Sometimes They Come Back is a tight, moody, TV series that mostly works
Sometimes They Come Back is a tight, moody, TV series that mostly works

Hello horror pals! Slick Dungeon here, back to review another Stephen King adaptation. This time, I am reviewing the 1991 made for TV series, Sometimes They Come Back based on a Stephen King short story of the same name. There will be spoilers in this review so if that bothers you, head out to the train tracks with your brother, run away with the car keys, go watch the film and come on back here to read the review. Just watch out for ghosts!

Sometimes They Come Back Background

Along with several other stories, Sometimes They Come Back was originally meant to be a part of the anthology film, Cat’s Eye. But this one was considered strong enough to be its own movie. Plus, Cat’s Eye was running over budget so a new production for the film was planned.

The movie tells the story of a high school teacher who comes back to his home town for work, only to find memories of the past haunt him. And some of those people from the past are back. The only problem? They’re dead. Either the man is having hallucinations or a malevolent force is awakening.

But does this adaptation still hold up? Let’s take a look and find out.

A return home

Jim Norman takes a job as a teacher in his old hometown of Liberty, Missouri. He has a wife names Sally and son named Scott. Jim and his parents had moved away years ago after the tragic loss of his older brother Wayne.

When they were kids, Wayne protected Jim from a group of greasers attempting a mugging in the middle of a train tunnel. As a result, Wayne is murdered, and most of the group of greasers die, hit by the train. One member of the group of thugs survived and still lives in Liberty.

Despite the bad memories, and maybe to bury them, Jim agrees to return to teach at the high school in town. But soon after he arrives, he has horrible dreams.

The kids aren’t alright

Soon after Jim has nightmares, some of his students die. They are killed by people who look exactly like the greasers who killed Wayne. And even worse than that, these greasers show up one by one in Jim’s class. The police are rightly suspicious about Jim’s close connection to the dead students.

It’s eerie how they all come into Jim’s class and sit down like everything is normal. They badger the teacher and he flies off the handle at them more than once. We know who these people are but for Jim it’s hard to tell if he is hallucinating or witnessing a supernatural phenomena. And things are about to get worse for him.

reenacting the crime

After antagonizing Jim to the breaking point, the greasers challenge Jim to a confrontation and threaten to kill his son Scott. One thing leads to another and Jim finds out a few things about these ghosts. For one thing, his own brother, Wayne is stuck in limbo because of them. Until something is done about Wayne’s murder, he can’t find peace. But in order for Wayne to come back, someone has to die, similar to how the greasers came back after the students died.

Jim seeks out Carl who is still alive but living a miserable life. Carl’s guilt is stronger than ever. He knows what he did was wrong. And he wants to make amends. But he leaves with the greasers.

Jim has to go back to the tunnel where his brother died. His family has been kidnapped and the greasers want to reenact the scene. Only this time, they want Jim to die too. Carl tries to stop the greasers. But one of them kills Carl. This is bad for Carl but it’s good for Jim and Wayne. Wayne and Jim rescue Jim’s family and send the greasers straight on to Hell. They’re hit by the train once again and Wayne finally gets peace.

Sometimes They Come Back is more mood than horror

There are a few scares in this one. I’m always just a little creeped out by a movie where someone comes back from the dead. And there are instances of violence. But, in this one the horror is fairly quiet most of the time. The oppressive mood and feeling of dread does most of the work here. The most eerie scenes are not when the greasers are committing overt violence but when they show up at school to taunt Jim. They carry an attitude about them that Jim finds unsettling and it in turn unsettles the audience.

Overall, I enjoy this one but there are admittedly much better Stephen King movies out there. If you want something dark and moody, with a bit of gore and violence, this is a good one to watch.

Eerily yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Graveyard Shift

Brad Dourif has a great turn as the exterminator in Graveyard Shift
Brad Dourif has a great turn as the exterminator in Graveyard Shift

Hello horror fans, it’s Slick Dungeon here. I’m back to review one of the least seen and most disliked Stephen King adaptations of all time. I’ll be diving into Graveyard Shift in this review. There will be spoilers so if you care about that, run it past your horrible boss, take a little time off from the cleanup crew, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review.

Graveyard Shift Background

Graveyard Shift started off as a Stephen King short story in an issue of Cavalier magazine. But it wasn’t until the story showed up in the Stephen King collection Night Shift that it gained popularity. The story tells the tale of a crew of workers, abused by management, forced to work in harsh conditions who have to face a dark terror in the old mill.

As far as Stephen King stories go, this one is enjoyable and frightening. As far as a movie? There’s not much good to say about it. Upon release the film made a decent $11.5 million gross domestically, and took the top spot at the box office in the first weekend. But negative word of mouth crushed any real success for the film. Even now, it’s got a 0% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

But there is one, and only one, standout part of the movie, and his name is Brad Dourif.

I’m going to give you my review of the film. But just to cut to the chase, it’s not one I recommend.

Looking for Work

John Hall is a widower and a drifter. And he needs work. Badly. So, when he’s hired to work a rat infested mill by a corrupt foreman named Warwick, John is thankful. But he’s a realist and sees the problems here right away. Warwick is greedy, misogynistic, corrupt, and all around a terrible fellow.

Warwick’s mill has a rat problem. And I mean, a big rat problem. They are everywhere. Warwick hires an exterminator named Tucker Cleveland to take care of the problem. But even with his best efforts, and intense hatred towards rats, Cleveland can’t rid the mill of the rats.

As Hall begins work in the mill, he strikes up a romance with a coworker named Jane Wisconsky. But Warwick has his eye on her (and on the rest of the women in the mill). Warwick and his pals bully Hall relentlessly.

The Clean Up Crew

A select group of workers, who Warwick particularly hates, are assigned to a clean up crew. Their task? Clean up the basement, rid the place of rats, and have the mill up to inspection standards. And this will be no easy feat. People start disappearing as a strange creature keeps snapping them up while in the basement.

Warwick doesn’t care when people go missing. But he does send Cleveland to go to the cemetery, where he thinks the source of the rat problem is. Cleveland does his best to eliminate rats but he dies when a stone coffin falls on him.

Meanwhile, the cleanup crew does their best to get rid of the rats. They shoot them, turn fire hoses on them, and hit them with slingshots. Eventually they discover a network of tunnels that leads to the creature’s lair. Soon only Hall and Wisconsky are left. They stumble upon Warwick who has been trapped by the creature and driven insane. A scuffle ensues and Warwick stabs Wisconsky. The creature, a huge bat, rat hybrid tries to kill Hall but he gets the thing caught up in the equipment and kills it. An extended version of the movie shows Hall punch out his time card as well as Wisconsky’s. But the movie just ends with the mill still open and under new management.

Graveyard Shift is silly and ridiculous

If you are looking for a humorous horror film, this one would count. Although, I don’t think that’s intentional. There are moments clearly meant for comedy and those are the best in the movie. And every one of those scenes involves Brad Dourif as the exterminator. You’ll recognize him from his role as Wormtongue in the Lord of the Rings and as the voice of Chucky from the Child’s Play movie. To me, he’s the only reason to watch this movie at all.

To see an over the top, completely outrageous performance in an otherwise ridiculous film, watch Brad Douriff in this. Otherwise, don’t waste your time on this one. It’s not worth it.

Ridiculously yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Misery

James Caan stars as writer Paul Sheldon in Misery
James Caan stars as writer Paul Sheldon in Misery

Hello horror fans! Slick Dungeon here and I’m back to review yet another Stephen King movie. This time, I’ll be talking about the exercise in toxic fandom known as Misery. The film features James Caan as author Paul Sheldon caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it stars Kathy Bates in her tour de force performance as Annie Wilkes, Sheldon’s number one fan. There will be spoilers in this review so if you haven’t seen it yet, drive your car through the snow, get in an accident, be fortunate enough for a good Samaritan to help you recover, ask them to rent the movie for you, give it a watch, and come on back here to read the review.

Misery Background

This is the second Stephen King film Rob Reiner directed. His first was the highly acclaimed Stand by Me. And Misery proved to be another critical success earning an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Kathy Bates for Best Actress.

Luckily for the world, the producer of the film, Andrew Scheinman read the novel on an airplane, recommended it to Rob Reiner who then asked William Goldman to write the screenplay.

Several big name actors were considered for the role of Paul Sheldon, including, but not limited to, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro and Robert Redford. They all turned it down. The actor who got closest was Warren Beatty but he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. James Caan won the role.

But the real star of this film is Kathy Bates who plays Annie Wilkes. We almost had an Annie played by Bette Midler or Angelica Houston. I think this casting choice was much better because Kathy Bates was not well known at the time and it just works for the part.

A crash in Career And in Reality

Paul Sheldon is a famous, wealthy writer, known for his hit Victorian romance novels starring a character named Misery Chastain. Feeling unfulfilled in his creative life, Sheldon writes a new book. This one is a serious literary effort which is likely to lose him money but gain critical stardom.

After meeting with his agent in Colorado, Sheldon drives towards his home in New York. A blizzard hits and road conditions become extremely dangerous. In white out conditions, Paul crashes his car and sustains major injuries.

A Good Samaritan

Annie Wilkes finds Sheldon, brings him back to her home, and tends to his wounds. The author has a dislocated shoulder and two broken legs. Annie does have some skill she can put to use because she was a nurse at one point. The conditions outside remain horrendous so she can’t get through to a hospital and the roads are not clear. But she also tells Sheldon, “I’m your number one fan.” It’s the line that sticks in your memory the longest after watching this movie.

Paul is at the mercy of this woman. She discovers he has a manuscript for his latest Misery novel in his bag and asks if she can read it. Sheldon doesn’t have much choice but to allow her. And things get serious from here on out.

Toxic FAndom

It starts small. Annie tells Sheldon how much she loves the new manuscript but she has one criticism. There is too much swearing. Sheldon patiently explains that the type of characters he is writing about would use profanity. Annie flies off the handle and yells at Sheldon in the most disturbing manner possible. She calms down. But this woman is unhinged.

But then Annie discovers Misery dies at the end of Sheldon’s latest novel. She burns the only copy of the manuscript right in front of the author and tells him she never called anyone for help. No one knows where Sheldon is. And he is at the mercy of Annie’s whims.

A New Misery Book

Annie forces Sheldon to write a new book. He takes advantage of any downtime he has. He snags a bobby pin so he can pick the lock to his door. At the first opportunity, he gets in his wheelchair and snoops around Annie’s house while she is gone. He finds disturbing newspaper clippings about Annie involved in a trial where she was suspected of infanticide at the hospital she worked at.

Annie finds out Paul has left his room and she is outraged. In the most brutal scene of the entire film, Annie puts a wooden block between Sheldon’s legs and breaks his ankles with a sledgehammer. I don’t care who you are, if you watch that scene and don’t cringe in pain, you are not human.

Paul needs to finish the novel. Otherwise, Annie will kill him. But she’s so unhinged she’s likely to kill him even if he does complete it.

The sheriff

Meanwhile, the local sheriff investigates the disappearance of Paul Sheldon. It takes forever but this guy figures out Annie Wilkes has something to do with the case. He visits Annie only to die by shotgun moments later. This guy is the most useless sheriff in all of the Stephen King books, and that’s saying something.

The Final Showdown

Annie wants to commit murder suicide with Paul. But he’s crafty enough to convince her to let him finish writing the book. He hides lighter fluid in his pants. Once Sheldon finishes the novel, he asks Annie to have dinner with him. Annie brings her gun. Sheldon doesn’t let Annie read the manuscript. Instead he lights it on fire and says, “I learned it from you.” There’s a massive struggle. Annie shoots Sheldon. But Sheldon wins the fight, bashing Annie’s skull with a metal doorstop shaped like her pig named Misery.

Living past trauma

Eighteen months later, Sheldon is back on his feet. He’s got the literary acclaim he wants but everywhere he looks he still sees Annie. And people still say to him, “I’m your number one fan.”

Misery in Conclusion

The name Misery works on multiple levels in this film. First, it’s the name of the character in the fictional novel series and it’s a perfect name for a Victorian romance. Second, it’s what Sheldon goes through in the course of the story.

Stephen King said when he wrote the book this was basically a metaphor for his struggle with cocaine addiction. And I can just see King imagining bashing cocaine in the face with a metal doorstop.

In a weird twist of fate, years later Stephen King would get hit by a car himself, although it doesn’t seem he was kept locked up by a toxic fan.

Whatever you think of the story, the movie is memorable for the incredible performance of Kathy Bates. And it’s one of the King films that will endure for as long as film does. This predates other capture films like Saw but it’s an escape film nonetheless.

As far as psychological thrillers go, this is top tier film making. To me, it’s incredible how well this film holds up. When you think about the way fandom can be lately, with the audience dictating how a creator should make something, it feels more relevant than ever before. I think more creators should take a page out of Sheldon’s book and fight back against their “number one fans” if it doesn’t serve the story well. But that’s just my opinion on the matter.

Fanatically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Creepshow 2

Creepshow 2 features three more adaptations of Stephen King stories
Creepshow 2 features three more adaptations of Stephen King stories

Hello horror fans! Slick Dungeon here and I’m back to review another of Stephen King’s anthology films. He’s back with his second film to emulate EC horror comic vibes with Creepshow 2. There will be spoilers in this review so if that bothers you, hop in your car, head out to the abandoned lake, skip getting on the raft, go back home instead, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review!

Creepshow 2 Background

Originally, Creepshow 2 was going to feature five different stories but due to budget, two had to be cut. The film was directed by Michael Gornick who had been the cinematographer on the first film. Legendary horror icon George A. Romero who directed the first film wrote the screenplay for this one. While this film did make a respectable $14 million at the box office, critics did not take to it and it currently sits with only a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

With the horror icon power of this movie, one would think this would become a King classic. I’ll admit I am one of the few that enjoys this film but I will also admit I think there is only one story here that is actually scary. Why didn’t this work? Let’s take a look at the stories and find out.

Old Chief Wood’nhead

Ray and Martha Spruce are an elderly couple who own the general store in Dead River. Dead River is a small town all of the locals frequent. There is a local Native American tribe in town and the elder of the tribe, Benjamin Whitemoon, owes the couple a debt. To make good on what is owed, Benjamin asks Ray to keep his tribe’s most sacred treasure until they can come up with the money. Ray and Benjamin have clear respect for one another and are both important community leaders.

Outside of this little store is a wooden carving of a Native American warrior named, “Old Chief Wood’nhead.”

Late at night, the nephew of Benjamin Whitemoon and two of his thuggish friends break into the store and steal the turquoise jewelry that makes up the tribe’s sacred treasure from Ray and Martha. In the scuffle, both Martha and Ray are shot to death. Old Chief Wood’nhead comes to life and relentlessly pursues the killers. In the morning, Benjamin finds the treasure by his bed and the wooden carving holding his nephew’s scalp.

This one has a decent setup but it certainly feels outdated. And it goes on for far too long. I doubt this would be made again today. Also, there are not any good scares here as it looks pretty fake. It might have worked at the time of release but just doesn’t play well now.

The RAft

This is the scary one. The raft is a simple story of four friends who decide to go out on a lake in the middle of October. They’re just four college kids looking for a good time, not trying to hurt anyone. There is a raft in the middle of the lake and they decide to swim out to it. But, on the way, one of them notices a strange black sludge in the middle of the water.

A feeling of dread overwhelms one of them and he encourages those still in the water to hurry up and get on the raft. But, the sludge gets closer. One of the girls reaches her hand over the side and the sludge grabs her and drags her down to the water. And it consumes her and melts her skin in the process. One by one, the remaining three are inevitably destroyed by this strange black sludge.

I’m not sure what it is about this one but it terrifies me. I’m a decent swimmer but if I’m ever invited out to swim to a raft in the middle of a lake when there is black sludge in the water? I’ll take a hard pass on that.

The Hitch-Hiker

This one is pretty standard campfire story stuff. A woman hits a hitch-hiker with her car because she didn’t see him when she was running late. She was especially anxious to get back home because she was having an affair. And if she was late, she had not good excuse. So her husband would know she was cheating on him. As you can guess, the hitch-hiker comes back.

There are a couple of good gory moments in this one but no genuine scares. It feels rather uninspired. And it’s overly predictable.

Creepshow 2 in Conclusion

In addition to the stories I mentioned above there is a prologue and epilogue story. But it’s the same basic premise as the first movie’s prologue/epilogue. It’s nearly as good this time. I do find entertainment value in the whole movie but I’d be fine just watching The Raft and skipping the rest of the movie too. Creepshow, the original movie is much more original and fun. I recommend that one over this one any day.

All in all it’s not a bad watch, it’s just not a great one either.

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Creepily yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Stand by Me

The film classic Stand by Me stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell
The film classic Stand by Me stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell

Hello horror fans! It’s me Slick Dungeon and I’m back with something a little different. While Stephen King is known for terrifying the living daylights out of us, he transcends beyond horror with flashes of absolute genius relatable to anyone. After watching so many fear inducing film adaptations of his, I thought I would take a breather and watch this time honored classic about four boys coming of age. It’s a brilliant film, still moving to this day, and it’s written by the same guy who made us all afraid of killer clowns in the sewers. I am, of course, talking about Stephen King’s Stand by Me. There will be spoilers below so if you haven’t seen the film, grab your three best friends, gather around the television, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review.

Stand by Me Background

Stand by Me is based on the Stephen King novella, The Body. The story is a precursor to some of the other genius writing we see in King’s work such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. While the story does involve four friends, on their last weekend before middle school, trying to find a dead body, this is not a genuine horror story. Instead, it’s a coming of age story about confronting fears, understanding the world we live in, and most of all, friendship.

The film is directed by Rob Reiner and has a top tier cast. It stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell. Plus there are appearances by Keifer Sutherland and John Cusack. The film earned over $52 million at the box office, far exceeding the production cost of $8 million.

But not only was it popular, this film was critically recognized more than any other of King’s work prior to this film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and for two Golden Globes, one for Reiner as director, and one for best picture.

So what is it about a story about four boys trying to find a dead body that works so well and still stands the test of time? Let’s find out!

Remembering Old Times

The year is 1985. Gordie Lachance finds an article in the newspaper about the stabbing of a man named Chris Chambers. Chris was his childhood best friend. Richard Dreyfus, who plays the adult Gordie narrates us into the past. When Gordie was 12 years old he, Chris and his two other friends, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio went to find a dead body. The dead boy was Ray Brower and he was the same age as these boys.

Gordie says he grew up in the town of Castle Rock, Oregon. If you’re a Stephen King fan, you know the problem with that statement. King’s fictional town of Castle Rock is in Maine, not Oregon. But that doesn’t make the film any worse for it.

In 1959 on Labor Day weekend Vern overhears his big brother talking about finding a body. Vern’s brother doesn’t want to tell the police about it because he and his friends recently stole a car. Vern tells his friends about the body and where to find it and the four of them agree to go out and find Ray’s body, thinking they will become celebrities.

Overcoming Tragedy

Gordie had an older brother named Denny who recently died. Gordie’s father paid attention to Denny but ignored Gordie. But Denny was kind to his younger brother and Gordie misses him. At the same time he struggles with his father’s lack of interest and the town knowing everything about his brother and nothing about him.

The boys set out for a two day walk. But first, Chris takes his father’s pistol in case there are bears. Chris and Gordie run into the local thugs, Ace Merrill and Chris’s older brother “Eyeball.” Ace takes Gordie’s Yankees hat, a gift from his older brother. These older boys are bullies and the villains of the film.

A Long Walk With Friends

The adventure starts and the boys insult each other in good fun along the way. They cut through a junkyard but make a lot of noise. This brings out Milo Pressman, the owner of the junkyard, along with his dog, Chopper. Milo crosses the line and calls Teddy’s father a “loony” which sends Teddy into a rage. The boys hold Teddy back but Milo does more psychological damage by saying Gordie is nothing like his brother.

The hike continues with more joking and insults. Chris tells Gordie to keep writing, even though his father doesn’t approve. None of them thought to bring any food for the trip. When they reach a railroad bridge the four of them have to cross quickly as a train comes. Gordie and Vern barely make it.

The boys do manage to get to a store to get something to eat and as they sit around the campfire, Gordie tells an absolutely disgusting story but it entertains the group.

Friends are There for EAch Other

While I could go into a lot more detail about the film, the main thing that happens is these boys start to grow up. They insult one another constantly but they are also there for each other. They support one another when it counts. Teddy is reassured by his friends when his father is called a “loony”, Gordie gets pep talks from Chris, Chris spills his heart out to Gordie about being perceived as a bad kid, and Vern is accepted for all his foibles.

The next day the boys walk across swamp water and end up with leeches all over them. When Gordie finds one in the most private of places, he faints. The boys consider going back but Gordie is determined to go on. He has a need to see Ray’s body.

The Body

The boys do come across the body of Ray Brower. Gordie loses it. He breaks down crying, asking his friends, and the universe why he had to die. When he says it, it is clear Gordie doesn’t mean Ray. He’s talking about his brother. Gordie still feels the loss and the unfairness of a kind person taken from him too soon. And Gordie asks Chris why his father hates him. Chris tells Gordie it’s just because Gordie’s dad doesn’t really know who he is. At that moment, Gordie realizes he doesn’t want the fame for finding the body.

Ace and his thugs show up to claim the body, wanting to be local heroes themselves. But Gordie pulls out the pistol Chris brought along and makes Ace back off. The thugs leave and the boys cover Ray up with a blanket. They go home and part ways, deciding to leave an anonymous tip.

The whole meaning of the story is summed up in the present day of 1985. Gordie, who is a writer, tells us what became of his friends. And he ends the story he is typing on his computer with, “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

While the whole movie had lots of events happen, it’s this last line it was really about. Best friends who are twelve years old. And it makes the film a brilliant piece of work.

Stand By Me In Conclusion

Stand by Me is the type of film that appeals to anyone. It’s not a horror film, although there are gross moments and one dead body. It is cast so perfectly I can’t really convey it here. The twelve year old boys show true camaraderie and friendship onscreen and their performances hold up to this day. The directing here is spot on, no mistakes in the film, with the single exception of saying this takes place in Oregon.

If you like films about coming of age like The Outsiders or My Girl, are prepared to cry just a smidge, and want to see a movie that just works, this is one to watch.

The Enduring Legacy of Stand by Me

Over thirty years after this film came out, critics still praise it. Personally, I recently re-watched E.T. and soon after re-watched Stand by Me. I was struck by how both movies are nearly perfect. They are classics that simply endure.

Since this film came out, many other films have tried to emulate it. Some have done well with the same type of coming of age story but others struggle to find their footing. I think the secret of Stand by Me is that the goal of seeing Ray Brower’s body was never the point. It was capturing a moment in time in the lives of these children. Like lightning in a bottle, this film capture the same magic. And for that, it will forever be a classic.

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Adolescently yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Silver Bullet

Gary Busey stars as Uncle Red in Silver Bullet
Gary Busey stars as Uncle Red in Silver Bullet

Hello Halloween month pals, Slick Dungeon here. Have you ever had one of those summers where a werewolf just ravaged your home town? If so, you can relate to Silver Bullet, the silly, campy, but still somehow entertaining werewolf film based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. There will be spoilers in this review so if you haven’t watched the movie, strap yourself into your modified wheelchair, hang out with your eccentric uncle, watch the movie, and come on back here to read the review.

Silver Bullet Background

This story actually started out as… a calendar? Yes, that’s right. There was a calendar that was going to be illustrated by the amazing Bernie Wrightson with short vignettes by Stephen King. But King just couldn’t keep it that short so it ended up as a novella, but still with illustrations by Wrightson.

Eventually, this story became a film starring Corey Haim, Everett McGill, Gary Busey, and Megan Follows.

This one sharply divides audiences. Some people think this is one of the worst werewolf films of all time, while others find it campy and humorous. Almost no one thinks it’s a quality film, but I find some entertainment value here.

Siblings

The story is narrated by Megan Follows as Jane Coslaw. She relates the story of what happened to her and her brother in 1976 in Tarker’s Mills, Maine. Jane has a rough life because she’s often expected to look after her little brother, Marty who is paraplegic, played by Corey Haim.

In town a series of murders happens. First, a railroad worker is decapitated. Then a pregnant woman is slaughtered. An abusive father dies in his greenhouse. And finally, Marty’s best friend, Brady Kincaid dies. What do all of these murders have in common? They are brutal and bloody. Almost as if an animal had attacked them.

These events will ultimately bring Jane and Marty closer together than ever before.

Vigilante Justice

After Brady’s death the townsfolk get sick of nothing happening and the lack of justice. They decide to take matters into their own hands. Despite protestations from local law enforcement, the group goes out looking for the murderer. Three of the party die in a brutal attack.

The local Reverend starts having nightmares of werewolves attacking him, and he wakes up saying, “Please God, let it end.” Not suspicious at all…

Uncle Red

Things get worse in town, more people die, Fourth of July fireworks are canceled and a curfew is put in place. Jane and Marty have an eccentric and alcoholic uncle named Red, played by Gary Busey.

Red is seen as a loser by his own sister and the whole town knows he’s a drunk. But he’s the cool uncle who genuinely cares for his niece and nephew. He’s one of the few people who treat Marty as a whole person, rather than someone to be pitied because he is in a wheelchair.

Speaking of wheelchairs, Red is good at making stuff. So he makes an awesome motorized wheelchair for Marty and names it the Silver Bullet.

Marty goes out with his sweet ride and a bunch of fireworks in the middle of the night. As he’s lighting these things off, the werewolf shows up. Marty blasts the creature in the eye with one of the rockets and he escapes. He tells Jane all about it.

The One Eyed Man

Because Marty snagged this thing in the eye, he tells Jane she needs to look out for someone with one eye. Jane goes around town collecting recycling to take back to the church. She doesn’t care about the recycling but it’s a good excuse to look everyone in the eye. Jane has no luck until she ends up back at the church to turn in the recycling.

Sure enough, Reverend Lowe has only one eye. I guess his dream was suspicious after all. Jane tells Marty who the werewolf is. Marty writes anonymous notes telling the Reverend he should kill himself. But that’s not what the man does. Instead, he tries to run a kid in a wheelchair off the road. What a great guy. A passerby saves Marty from certain doom.

Convincing Adults

Even with all the carnage that has befallen the town, it’s tough to convince adults there is a werewolf on the loose. Uncle Red is skeptical but he chooses to believe his nephew. Red does the smart thing and enlists the help of the Sheriff. The Sheriff goes to Lowe’s house where the Reverend has locked himself in his own garage to try to end the killings. But that doesn’t work because Lowe kills the Sheriff. And he knows to go after Marty and Jane next.

The Real Silver Bullet

What’s the only thing that can kill a werewolf? Say it with me, a silver bullet. Jane has a silver cross and Marty has a silver medallion. They convince Red to take these items to a gunsmith to make an actual silver bullet.

You know what happens from here. The moon is full, the werewolf comes out, there’s a scuffle, and Marty shoots the werewolf right in the eye. And we see it’s Reverend Lowe after the werewolf reverts back.

At the end, Jane says after that she was able to tell Marty she loves him. It only took killing one werewolf so I guess it could have been worse.

Silver Bullet in Conclusion

I’m the first to admit this film is not even close to for everyone. But, I think there is some entertainment value here. It’s silly and campy and it makes you laugh. Gary Busey is fascinating to watch and it’s made better because he improvised a ton of his lines. You shouldn’t expect Shakespeare out of this film. Heck, you shouldn’t expect Creepshow out of this one. But, if you can switch your brain off a bit and just enjoy the ride, watch it as a comedy rather than horror, you can have a good time watching this one.

Want More?

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Howlingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Salem’s Lot (2024)

Salem's Lot (2024) is the latest adaptation of the Stephen King book of the same name
Salem’s Lot (2024) is the latest adaptation of the Stephen King book of the same name

Hello horror fans, Slick Dungeon here! I’m back to review yet another Stephen King adaptation. And no, you are not experiencing déjà vu. I already reviewed Salem’s Lot but that was the Tobe Hooper directed version from 1979. Today I want to talk about the newest adaptation, the Salem’s Lot (2024) version you can only catch on Max. This is a newer adaptation so I will keep the spoilers to a minimum but if you can’t stand spoilers, watch the movie in daylight and come on back here to read the review!

Salem’s Lot (2024) Background

This film has a bit of a convoluted history. In 2019 it was announced Gary Dauberman who wrote It and It Chapter Two would be writing the next adaptation of Salem’s Lot. James Wan was attached as a producer and production on the project began with Lewis Pullman as the lead.

Unfortunately for the movie, and the world, COVID-19 hit. The film was delayed and set to release on April 21, 2023. But this film lost that release date due to the release date of the Evil Dead Rise film.

It was then supposed to come out on Max in October of 2023 but the writer’s strike was in full force at this time. In February of this year, Stephen King questioned on social media why it had no release date. And soon after that, Max announced it would air in October of 2024 and here we are.

It’s a project that could have been yet another fully finished bit of media, simply hidden from us for tax write offs if had not been for an author with an exceedingly large following. But, now that it has debuted, the question remains if it is worth viewing. Let’s find out.

The Premise

Like the book and previous adaptations, the story centers around an author named Ben Mears. He returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, since shortened to Salem’s Lot, obsessed with a huge, supposedly haunted house. As he starts to mingle with the townsfolk, Ben notices strange things happening and believes the epicenter of these events is the Marsten house. He has to team up with a group of people to stop an immense evil from destroying everyone in his hometown.

For a more in-depth breakdown of the plot, you can look at my post about the 1979 version of Salem’s Lot here. Many of the events are similar, however, the 1979 version is a miniseries and has a bit more room for subplots and side characters. And the third act of the 2024 version varies greatly from the third act of the 1979 version but I don’t want to give that away in this review.

The Good

The good news about this version is it was not shelved permanently. The story is still set in the 1970s just like the book. The performances here are all good performances. No one seems to go too far or be too reserved in their emotions.

And there are definitely a few good, scary moments. Enough to make you jump out of your seat a time or two but not so many that you are always on the edge of your seat. The set and production design are excellent and in a lot of ways this version feels more believable than parts of the 1979 version.

It stays largely true to the novel but it’s obviously condensed considering it’s a lengthy book.

The Bad

While it’s exciting to see another adaptation of Salem’s Lot this version feels a bit underwhelming. It doesn’t have the gravity of the 1979 version and it definitely doesn’t pack the punch the book did. There are moments that feel like they are on the edge of greatness but it doesn’t ever manage to get there. It and It Chapter Two were both adaptations that deviated a little from the book but really had an impact. Yet, Salem’s Lot feels more sluggish and too rushed all at the same time. It would have made more sense for this to be a miniseries of some kind in my mind but at least we got to see it at all.

The Ugly

I’ve got to make an argument here for practical effects. While there are some creepy moments and good scares in the movie, there are also some distracting scenes. These are the ones involving CGI. Giving the vampires glowing eyes and making crosses glow with computer effects is fine and all but there are moments here which just feel silly because of the CGI. And there are some parts where vampires burn. I know it is very difficult to do but CGI flames just do not look the same as real fire. It takes away a good amount of the horror we should feel when we see something burning. I understand the reason for the choice, I just wish it could have been done a different way.

On top of that, this film was made now to look like the 1970s. Having recently watched the Tobe Hooper version, which was actually made in the 1970s, there is no comparison. Hooper’s version looks and feels like the decade while this one looks like it is trying way too hard to reproduce that look.

Salem’s Lot (2024) in Conclusion

There’s a lot that can be said for and against this version of Salem’s Lot. While it has some high points, there are definite problems with it, and one gets the feeling if it could have more room to tell the story we might have seen something amazing.

But I also want to take us back for just a minute to when Stephen King wrote Salem’s Lot. This book was one of the first to take the idea of vampires invading a small town. This predates things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Vampire Diaries, TruBlood, and even The Lost Boys. It felt new to the audience first reading it. Now, we have had all that media. To see people in a small town figure out, and be surprised by, vampires getting burnt by crosses feels quaint and obvious.

I’m not the kind of person to tell people how to make a movie or show and I appreciate the work that went into any kind of entertainment. But, if I was able to make a wish and have this movie done differently, I have two ideas that I think might make it better.

First, and most obviously, is to make this into a solid one or two season series, where we can go into all of the characters, subplots and nuances from the book, but still set it in the 1970s.

The other idea, I think, is to keep it movie length but place it in our current time period and have the vampires have to deal with all the things like social media, cell phones, a huge amount of lore known by the general public and still be able to surprise people. One series that did this pretty well was Midnight Mass, so it can be done. And I’d absolutely love to see Stephen King be the screenwriter for that because I am sure he’d have some thoughts.

But that’s just my feeling about it. What’s yours?

Do you prefer this version, the Tobe Hooper version, the 2004 version, or the book? Let me know in the comments!

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Vampirically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Cat’s Eye

Drew Barrymore stars in Cat's Eye
Drew Barrymore stars in Cat’s Eye

Hey horror fans, Slick Dungeon here to guide you through yet another Stephen King adaptation. This time, I’m taking a look at Cat’s Eye, a three part anthology film of King’s short stories. Unlike Creepshow, this film never quite hits the mark so I don’t recommend it. But if you insist on watching it and don’t want spoilers, grab your cat, fight off the troll in your wall, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review!

Cat’s Eye Background

Two out of the three stories in the film were adaptations of prior short stories of Stephen King’s. The third story is original to the film. All three feature a cat, and Drew Barrymore with the third story emphasizing the two. While the film may have done well and been well received at release, it does not hold up well and there are far more entertaining King films out there.

The movie did make $13 million and was generally liked, although some critics didn’t enjoy it. It still has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes but for my money, this one really isn’t worth the watch anymore. But let’s take a look at the three stories depicted and see what they are all about.

Quitter’s Inc.

Want to quit smoking? Willing to go to extremes that are definitely illegal? Try Quitter’s Inc. James Woods stars in this one as Dick Morrison. Dick is trying to quit smoking so he goes to Quitters Inc. At his first meeting there, Dr. Vinnie Donatti tells Dick they have a 100% success rate because of their unusual practices. Anytime Dick tries to smoke, some new and increasing horror is going to befall Dick’s wife and daughter.

To show he means business, Donatti shows Dick a cat in a box and turns on some jolts of electricity, torturing the poor cat. He tells Dick in no uncertain terms, this will be his wife if he smokes. And that he has people everywhere watching Dick’s every move.

Well, smokers are gonna smoke and sure enough, Donatti has his people do shady things like follow Dick’s daughter to school, threaten to rape his wife, and eventually does put Dick’s wife in the cage. After seeing her tortured, Dick tells his wife everything.

We fast forward in time and Donatti is proud of Dick for quitting smoking but wants him to lose weight so he prescribes diet pills. Dick asks what happens if he gains weight and Donatti says his wife will lose a finger. At dinner that night, Dick and his wife toast Quitter’s Inc. to their friends and Dick notices his friend’s wife is missing a finger.

This one is pretty silly and campy but it is kind of entertaining. And James Woods does put in a decent performance

The Ledge

The second story in the anthology is The Ledge. This one is about a gambler named Cressner. A former tennis pro named Johnny Norris has been seeing Cressner’s wife. Also, the cat from the first story escaped Quitter’s Inc. and Cressner bets on whether it can cross the street without getting run over by a car.

This is probably the most forgettable of the stories. Cressner bets Johnny he can’t make it around the ledge of his building on his penthouse floor. If he does, Cressner will grant his wife a divorce and reunite her with Johnny. While Johnny scrambles across the precarious ledge, Cressner does everything he can to make it more difficult.

Johnny makes it and Cressner does, sort of, honor the bet. He reunites Johnny with his wife’s severed head. Johnny attacks Cressner and with a little help from the cat, he gets Cressner’s gun and the tables turn. Cressner is not as good as Johnny and he falls to his death.

This premise could have been intriguing but it feels a bit dull. And it’s not even close to horrific, with the exception of the moment the severed head is revealed.

General

The third story is about the cat who Drew Barrymore’s character, Amanda, says is named General. Amanda believes there is a monster in her wall. Amanda’s mother doesn’t want General to stay in Amanda’s room because she has the superstitious belief that cats steal children’s breath.

As you might guess, Amanda is right about the monster. It’s a little troll who lives in her walls and it’s the one trying to steal her breath. General, the hero cat, saves Amanda and the cat gets to stay.

This one doesn’t work well in my opinion but maybe it did at the time. If you’re wondering what the monster looked like, you can see it below.

The monster in the third story of Cat's Eye is a little troll who lives in a wall.
The monster in the third story of Cat’s Eye is a little troll who lives in a wall.

Ultimately, I just can’t get behind this one. It’s too far out there but if you’re looking for something pretty silly, this one can work.

Cat’s Eye in Conclusion

Stephen King has more than 80 adaptations on film and television. Not all of them can be great. In my opinion this one is one to skip. You’re better off watching either of his Creepshow films if you want an anthology of horror. And while the performances are fine, not all of the effects hold up with the passing of time. There are some funny moments so looking at it as a comedy/horror makes a little more sense. Sadly, this is not the worst of King films but it is far, far from the best.

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Cattily yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Firestarter

Drew Barrymore stars in Firestarter
Drew Barrymore stars in Firestarter

Hello horror fans! Ready for another review from your old pal Slick? Well, good news! This time I’m reviewing the Stephen King classic starring Drew Barrymore about a little girl who can set way more than your heart on fire. I’m talking about Firestarter. There will be some spoilers here so if you haven’t watch the movie, burn yourself some popcorn, lock yourself away in a room owned by a mysterious government agency, watch the movie, then escape your way out and come on back here to read the review!

Firestarter Background

Firestarter, based on a Stephen King book of the same name, was set to be directed by John Carpenter. Unfortunately, Carpenter’s brilliant film The Thing was not a box office success. Carpenter was replaced with Mark L. Lester.

The film stars Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Martin Sheen, George C. Scott, and Heather Locklear.

Despite some star power here, this was anything but a critical success and Stephen King himself disliked this adaptation. There has been a remake but that film also is far from the greatness of the novel.

Why does such an interesting premise from a book make for a poor film? Let’s dig into it and find out.

College Experiments

Two college students, Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson need some money so they volunteer for medical experiments. The experiments are run by a shadowy government agency called The Shop. As Andy and Vicky get to know one another while waiting for the drugs to kick in, horrors happen around them. All the other volunteers for the experiment die. Andy and Vicky not only end up with psychic powers, they fall in love.

It’s sort of a sweet scene with a horrific background but in the book, both the emotions of the main characters, and the extremes the experiment goes to are better explored.

A FAmily Matter

Fast forward in time and Vicky and Andy are married with an 8 year old daughter named Charlene. Everyone calls her Charlie and like her parents she has an ability, although hers is far more dangerous. Her mother can read minds, her father can psychically influence others but Charlie? Charlie can set things on fire with her mind.

One day, Andy comes home to find Vicky murdered and Charlie kidnapped. Andy does what any dad with his powers would, he rescues his little girl by blinding the government agents and the two are on the run.

Present Day

Everything I just talked about is conveyed in flashbacks through the film but we start with Andy and Charlie on the run at the airport. Andy gets money by manipulating pay phones to get quarters and Charlie sees a man she doesn’t like and sets his feet on fire. It’s accidental but not lethal.

Ultimately, the father and daughter get away from the agents from The Shop and find a farm. The couple that own the farm take the pair in. Andy admits to the farmer what is going on when a bunch of government agents show up.

To get away, Andy tells Charlie to let her powers out and boy does she. She burns the hell out of all those agents. And if there are any highlights to the film, it’s when Charlie lets loose with her powers.

Isolation and Capture

Andy and Charlie get away and find a small isolated cabin owned by Charlie’s grandmother. Sure enough, government agents come but they are sneaky enough Andy doesn’t notice them. The agents tranquilize and capture both Charlie and Andy.

The Shop wants to understand Charlie’s powers and one agent who disguises himself as a friendly janitor named John wants to kill her.

Charlie Becomes the Firestarter

At the government facility, they drug Andy to keep his power under control. They tell Charlie she can see her father if she uses her powers in their experiments. Andy manages to hide the drugs and regain some of his powers and he plans an escape.

Charlie, after using her powers in these experiments gets much stronger with them. She makes water boil, she sets cinder blocks on fire and she is capable of immense destruction.

Escape and Death

Andy implements his escape plan but Charlie wants John to go with them, thinking he is her friend. Andy knows John is the one who captured the two of them and a major fight and chase ensues. In the scuffle, Andy dies.

Charlie is majorly distraught but now she has an immense power set at her disposal. She makes quick work of any remaining agents and it’s the one part of the film that looks the best.

After all the destruction, Charlie hitchhikes her way back to the farm couple that took them in. The movie ends with the farmer taking Charlie to Washington, D.C. to tell her story.

Firestarter in Conclusion

This is a film with all style and no substance. The scenes with the fire look fantastic. And it’s entertaining to watch. But the performances are not particularly nuanced and so much of the narrative from the book is missing this feels like an incomplete story. However, it has had an influence. There are so many stories now about kids having experiments done on them and gaining powers. Think Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy, and The Dankest Minds.

I would love for there to be a TV series that could show us all the nuance, background, and manipulation we see in the novel. And actors who could really nail the parts. Until we have that, my recommendation is to read the book and skip the movie.

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Hotly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Children of the Corn

John Franklin stars as a young cult leader in Children of the Corn
John Franklin stars as a young cult leader in Children of the Corn

Hello Halloween month friends, it’s Slick Dungeon! I’m here to review the worst corn maze in history as we take a look at the adaptation of the Stephen King story Children of the Corn. Some people think it’s an overrated bad film with a dumb ending but others are convinced this is a cult film that will carry on to the future. Either way, there’s a whole franchise of these films now but I’m just going to be reviewing the first one. There will be spoilers in this review so if that offends thee, doff thy hat, take a seat, watch the movie and make your way past He Who Walks Behind the Rows, and read the review.

Children of the Corn Background

The film Children of the Corn is based off of a short story written by Stephen King. He also had first try at the screenplay but his version was rejected for one that would place more emphasis on violence than the character development of the protagonists.

The movie was directed by Fritz Kiersh and starred Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, John Franklin and Courtney Gaines.

The book and movie take place in a fictional town called Gatlin, Nebraska where the corn grows tall, the harvest is golden and the children are anything but sweet. How did an eerie story about some mysterious entity in a corn field gain notoriety and become a cult classic with eight sequels, two reboots and a short film? Let’s take a look at this one and find out!

Prayers for a Good Harvest

Gatlin, Nebraska has had a rough year. Despite its massive cornfields, the crops failed. Townsfolk turn to church and prayer to help out. But there is a child among them who has different ideas. While the whole small community is at church one day, nine year old Isaac Croner takes all but two of the children in the town out to the cornfield to have a talk with them. There are only two children who don’t make it to Isaac’s sermon. These kids are Job and Sarah. Job is not allowed to go because his father doesn’t trust Isaac and Sarah has a fever so she’s too ill to attend.

Isaac’s sermon must have been some convincing stuff because what happens next changes the town of Gatlin forever.

No one Was Expecting This

After Job and his father come out of church they go to the local diner. While there a boy named Malachi shows up and so do a few other kids. One of them closes and locks the door. Isaac is watching from outside and gives a nod to Malachi. And the children, except for Job and Sarah, kill almost all of the adults in town.

It’s a violent and bloody scene and it’s still disturbing to watch. It sets up for an interesting premise where a Lord of the Flies style event is happening because the children decided it should happen.

Time Passes and the Harvest Continues

Three years go by with these children running the town of Gatlin. I do think this is a far stretch of the imagination to think no one has noticed this situation outside of the town. Granted it is a small town but surely the people who died had some relatives outside of the area. It does seem the children tend to kill outsiders who try to interfere but I can’t fully believe no police intervention would have happened by this point. But let’s leave that aside as the story continues.

A married couple, Vicky and Burt are on their way to Seattle where Burt is going to his new job as a physician. Along the way they have to go through the town of Gatlin. In Gatlin a boy named Joseph is escaping and he says he’ll come back to help Job and Sarah. Job and Sarah are part of the community because they are children but they are scared of Isaac and Malachi. They don’t fully buy in to all of what the two cult leaders say.

Joseph is caught by Malachi on the way out. Malachi slits Joseph’s throat with a scythe and Joseph stumbles onto the road. This happens so fast that Burt doesn’t see Joseph in time and runs the boy over. Once Burt gets out of the car he can tell there is more to the story because the boy’s throat is slit in a way that couldn’t have happened from the car accident. From this point, things are about to get much worse for Vicky and Burt.

The Search for Help

Burt realizes they need to find a town where they can get some help. He loads Joseph’s body into his car but he also goes searching in the corn to see if he can see where the boy came from. He finds a bloody suitcase and grabs it. As he’s walking in the corn there are strange sounds. And Vicky is being watched by someone as she waits in the car. Presumably this is Malachi but it’s never quite revealed. And Burt makes it back to the car before anything worse happens. Vicky and Burt head out of there but they stop at a mechanic’s shop. The elderly man, Diehl, tells the couple they should go on to a bigger town than Gatlin to get help. He also gives them directions.

After the couple leave, Malachi shows up to question the old man. It turns out he made a bargain with these kids. Diehl gives them fuel in exchange for his own life. He says he didn’t help the couple in any way but Malachi kills him.

Children of the Corn

Despite getting directions, Vicky and Burt get lost because the kids have switched around all of the road signs. Ultimately they end up stuck in Gatlin and decide to take a look around the town. There is still evidence of the violence that occurred three years ago. As they are looking around some of the empty houses, they find Sarah and she explains the situation a bit. Burt goes off to explore some more while Vicky stays with Sarah.

Burt comes across the church and finds an odd ritual happening. A boy who is about to turn nineteen is carving a pentagram into himself with a knife and the other children drink his blood. Burt interrupts the scene but the kids are angry with him. Job finds Burt and helps him to escape.

Meanwhile, Malachi and his friends find Vicky and they take her to the cornfield and place her on a cross to be sacrificed.

He Who Walks Behind The Rows

Things get pretty bad here. Isaac gets angry with Malachi for killing Diehl. Malachi has a little in cult coup and decides in addition to Vicky and the boy from the church being sacrificed, Isaac will die as well.

How are all these people supposed to die? There’s some mysterious entity in the corn called “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” Whatever this thing is, it’s malevolent and the children worship it.

Burt comes to rescue Vicky with some help from Job. Before he gets there, the boy from the church and Isaac are both forced to walk into the cornfield and the entity kills the two of them. The effects in this section really do not hold up well.

Isaac comes back from the dead, possessed by the entity and kills Malachi. But Burt does rescue Vicky. Together they and Job and Sarah figure out the way to stop this entity is to burn the cornfield. It takes a bit of trying and fighting against a huge storm but Burt soaks the corn field with gas and tosses a Molotov cocktail into the field which kills the entity.

The film ends with Burt and Vicky promising to look after Job and Sarah for at least a little while.

Children of the Corn in Conclusion

This movie, and even the story, takes a lot of suspension of disbelief. While the premise is truly interesting, the third act feels like a let down. The idea of a bunch of creepy kids in a cult who kill adults is certainly terrifying. But the execution of it, with this weird supernatural phenomena makes if feel a bit less intense than it could have.

I do enjoy the movie and I can see why it’s a cult classic. But, I just can’t fully get behind it. I’d love to see a story like this without the supernatural element and a bit more realism about how the town could stay so isolated for so long.

Somehow this film sparked a ton of sequels. None of them, except for the remake/reboot, have much to do with the original story. If you want a night of silly horror films that get progressively stranger, you can have quite a lot of fun watching these movies.

Out of all of them, I really only recommend this one for the casual viewer but I don’t consider it nearly one of the best of Stephen King films. There are worse ones though, and we’ll get to some of those in future reviews.

So, until next time may your corn grow high and your kids stay out of the cornfield!

Want More?

Want to see some of my other King reviews? Take a look here!

Looking for a good King read? Check out this one!

Do you love this movie or hate it? Let me know in the comments!

Harvestingly yours,

Slick Dungeon