Desperation

This is certainly no miracle. Desperation suffers from the usual faults of TV adaptations, namely cheapness, absence of notable actors, clichés, and also the inability, due to the involvement of an average director, to convey the atmosphere that King is able to create in his novels, into reality. One great advantage is the casting of Ron Perlman, and in the first half, his presence manages to lift the film to a decent three stars. Then the film drops a grade lower. At times, the story and actions of the characters are a bit illogical, but it's hard to say whether it's due to the screenplay or the source material, because I haven't read the book. In any case, the usual ingredients and motifs of King's work appear in the story, including a religious fanatic, an alcoholic, and a liberal-minded Democrat - all of which are part of King's personality - he drank like a fish and sought solace in religious fervor, and in America, he belongs to left-leaning Democrats. Otherwise, I didn't notice King in this case - not even in a small role as a pizza delivery guy - maybe he got tired of it as he got older or he played one of the many corpses... Overall impression: 40%. (21.04.2009)

King's original is not one of his very best and I would say it's a pretty mediocre novel. The best thing about the novel are its characters, and they weren’t cast well in the movie. Honorable exceptions to this include the excellent Ron Perlman in the role of Collie, who overshadows everyone and his departure is strongly felt in the second half. Tom Skerritt is also cast quite well (although I already had Kris Kristofferson's face in mind) and Cynthia and Mary were also very good choices. Mick Garris basically made what I expected him to make: a normal retelling of the book with some of the scenes cut out. In terms of TV movies, it's better than average, but if you're deciding between the book or the movie, choose the book. (26.04.2008)