I'm watching this for the first time in many years, and I have to say it tends to be boring at times. It's faithful to the book which I appreciate as I think it's one of few of King's works where he managed to control his worst impulses. I assume the miniseries was four hours long which means a lot has been removed for the two hour movie.
For those unfamiliar, the story is about a writer named Ben Mears who returns to his hometown to write a book and also to confront a terrifying memory from his childhood that took place in the Marston House which looms over the town. At nearly the same time, a vampire moves into the Marston House and begins to take over the town.
One thing King has excelled in is creating characters that are truly decent human beings. We love them and root for them throughout the story but I'm not sure this comes across as strongly in this movie as in the book as some of the acting is subpar and the editing does not allow time for the viewer to appreciate the characters and relationships. In fact, it doesn't even fully explain Ben's childhood experience.
However, there are also some good performances that help move the film along. James Mason alone makes up for any disappointments.
There are also some good jump scares, and the head vampire still looks terrifying. I'm disappointed this wasn't filmed in Maine, where the story is set, and the story is a good one, for sure. In my opinion it's one of the best vampire tales created since the original Bram Stoker novel.
Overall I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it before. It's subtle in many ways and there's nothing wrong with that.
For those unfamiliar, the story is about a writer named Ben Mears who returns to his hometown to write a book and also to confront a terrifying memory from his childhood that took place in the Marston House which looms over the town. At nearly the same time, a vampire moves into the Marston House and begins to take over the town.
One thing King has excelled in is creating characters that are truly decent human beings. We love them and root for them throughout the story but I'm not sure this comes across as strongly in this movie as in the book as some of the acting is subpar and the editing does not allow time for the viewer to appreciate the characters and relationships. In fact, it doesn't even fully explain Ben's childhood experience.
However, there are also some good performances that help move the film along. James Mason alone makes up for any disappointments.
There are also some good jump scares, and the head vampire still looks terrifying. I'm disappointed this wasn't filmed in Maine, where the story is set, and the story is a good one, for sure. In my opinion it's one of the best vampire tales created since the original Bram Stoker novel.
Overall I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it before. It's subtle in many ways and there's nothing wrong with that.
