Secret Window

[in_the_blue]

We saw this movie last night. I have but one question: When did Stephen King go from edge-of-the-seat terrifying to predictably dull?

Ho-hum.

I haven't read the story but I would hope it's a far sight better than the film, even though Johnny Depp looked cute in the torn bathrobe, and I loved his bed-head.

Did anyone else see this and think Do... not... seek... the... treasure! every time Turturro's character appeared?

Bring back Captain Jack Sparrow!

Comments

[mincot.livejournal.com]

I think it was when he stopped dealing with childhood fears--the monster in the closet, the thing in the drain, the nastiness that whenever you turn to something familiar to escape it rips off its familiar face and is right there after you again. I think he's somehow dealing with his version of adult and aging fears--the body parts that betray you and that liquefy, the sheer squickiness that aging bodies can produce--without also seeing the wholeness and the beauty of age, as he also showed the power and beauty of childhood and young adolescence.

Things that squick and liquefy are nasty, but I've dealt with them, either by taking intimate care of elderly relatives or dealing with them second-hand through discussions of ebola and other nasty diseases. Maybe I'm just not yet where King is--my body has only recently begin to let me down, and that mostly because I'm so gol-durned FAT--or maybe I never matured, but I find the childhood terrors far more compelling and powerful and SCARY than the ones which King invokes now.

I'm not saying that he should stop growing as an artist in the ways that he needs to grow. But I find where he is going less interesting than where he used to be.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Thank you - that was eloquent and thoughtful.

I think a lot of the problems I have with his work these days stems from two things: first, he refuses to work with any editor (who might catch some of the more repetitive things he's doing), and second, I find myself wondering if he's out of ideas. He's so prolific and has been for so long... I suspect some level of burnout. Maybe it's to do with dealing with fears on a different level as you suggest.

[drachenaugen.livejournal.com]

I loved that movie! I think it was great, and the best part was (spolier ahead) that that bitch of an ex-wife dies XD Really, that character just made me sick (though in the book...she doesn't die, personally I like the movie ending better).

[severus---snape.livejournal.com]

Have you read the short story? Please do. You'll feel better. It's in Four Past Midnight, in case you didn't know. I'd read it again but Dark Tower 7 is out of Tuesday and that'll have my attention for a while, I'm guessing.

I could tell from the trailer alone that this just wasn't the same story. Please don't blame Stephen King for it...

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it, but I will. Thanks for restoring my faith.

I do remember the days and nights I spent reading Stephen King's work with such fervent mania that I simply couldn't put the things down. It's been a long time since I read something of his that wouldn't let me sleep because it was so compelling and so well-written.