BEFORE: This is my last film based on a Stephen King story - for now, anyway. Of course there were highs and lows, and a number of very prominent directors - Kubrick, Rob Reiner, David Cronenberg, George Romero, and John Carpenter. I probably should have mentioned them each at the time, but I haven't been in the habit of name-checking directors - maybe that's a mistake on my part. And I didn't get to "Cujo", "Needful Things", "Salem's Lot", "Pet Sematary", and several others - so I guess I'm leaving the door open, but before next Halloween I'm hoping to have hit the 1,000 movie mark and be on some form of hiatus.
Tonight's film also focuses on an author as the central character - and once Shock-Tober is over, I'm going to pick up that thread again, at least for a few days.
THE PLOT: A writer is accused for plagiarism by a strange man, who then starts haunting him for "justice."
AFTER: There are a great many things in common between last night's film and tonight's film - both films showcase a troubled yet successful author, who is tormented by a stranger that seems to be killing people who are close to him. But in a way they're like reflections of each other, since in last night's film it SEEMED like a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation, some kind of split personality in the main character, but the reality (if you can call it that...) turned out to be something quite different.
There's a certain arrogance to a twist ending - when done well, it might force you to re-evaluate the parts of the movie that preceded it. But too much of a twist often seems like a giant "F-You" to the audience. I'm dancing around the big reveal here, because I like to at least TRY to maintain a spoiler-free zone.
But if the main character here, Mort Rainey, starts to develop a SIXTH SENSE about the PSYCHO that's stalking him, it might make him want to FIGHT back with a CLUB. Damn, is that too obvious?
Divorce, infidelity, writer's block - what causes a man to snap? I guess take your pick - throw in alcoholism, trying to quit smoking, and being in a cabin out in the woods, and there's no shortage of triggers. But does it all add up in the end? I'm not so sure. You always here about the guy on the news who loses it and kills twelve people, and his neighbors say things like "He was a nice guy, kept to himself, didn't make much noise..." Once, just once, that's all I ask, I want to see someone being interviewed on the news saying, "Yeah, that guy was just wound way too tight...we all figured he'd kill a bunch of people some day, and we just tried to stay out of his way."
NITPICK POINT #1 - When presented with an accusation of plagiarism, Mort compares a story side-by-side with his own. Wouldn't he be familiar with a story that he wrote himself? Shouldn't he be able to instantly recognize the similarity to his own story, or at least to his writing style? Why the need to break it down, sentence by sentence? If the prose is so good, why isn't it memorable?
NITPICK POINT #2 - Mort very prominently picks up a UPS package at the local post office - which is impossible, according to the policies of both the UPS and the USPS. In fact, a postal worker even comments how this is both unusual, and against the rules. So why write it into the script, only to point out its implausibility? Why not have the package shipped via Express Mail, or have him pick it up at the UPS Store?
They say March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. This October came in like Jack Nicholson, and is going out like Johnny Depp...
Also starring Timothy Hutton (carrying over from last night, nice...), John Turturro (last seen in "Clockers"), Maria Bello (last seen in "Thank You for Smoking"), Charles S. Dutton (last seen in "Q&A"), and Len Cariou (last seen in "About Schmidt") as tonight's ineffectual small-town sheriff.
RATING: 6 out of 10 screwdrivers
SPOOK-O-METER: 8 out of 10. Scary to think what troubles lurk in the hearts of men...
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