The Dark Half (1993)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

George A. Romero

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
George A. Romero (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 April 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Serious writer or serial killer? George is in two minds.

Plot:

A writer's fictional alter-ego wants to take over his life...at any price.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Alter Ego | Book | Sparrow | Surgery

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Timothy Hutton	...	Thad Beaumont / George Stark
Amy Madigan	...	Liz Beaumont
Michael Rooker	...	Sheriff Alan Pangborn
Julie Harris	...	Reggie Delesseps
Robert Joy	...	Fred Clawson
Kent Broadhurst	...	Mike Donaldson
Beth Grant	...	Shayla Beaumont
Rutanya Alda	...	Miriam Cowley
Tom Mardirosian	...	Rick Cowley
Larry John Meyers	...	Dr. Pritchard
Patrick Brannan	...	Young Thad Beaumont
Royal Dano	...	Digger Holt
Glenn Colerider	...	Homer Gamache
Sarah Parker	...	Wendy & William Beaumont
Elizabeth Parker	...	Wendy & William Beaumont

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Trivia:

John Hurt and 'Michael Gough' were considered for major cameos.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Toronado, a luxury car, was never offered with a 4-speed manual.

Quotes:

George Stark: You are disturbing the peaceful mood I'm in. You are destroying the frame of mind I'm in. You are disturbing my peaceful frame of mind

Movie Connections:

References Duck Soup (1933)

Soundtrack:

Are You Lonesome To-night?

Not much of a surprise here, but I liked the book better.

Granted I was not all that wild about the novel in this case, however I still prefer it over this movie made by one of the master's of horror George Romero. Not all of the problems I had with the flick though are the source material or anything that George could have done differently. From what I understand, the company behind this movie went bankrupt so parts of this movie are underdeveloped and the music in the last third of the film is just looped music from the first two thirds of the film. So what is this film about? Well a writer who writes under two names has essentially revealed and buried his alter ego named Stark. A guy who writes a bit more violently than the other half. Well something happens and the alter ego seemingly comes to life and begins to stalk the writer and kill those who get in his way. Meanwhile, the writer learns things relevant to the fictional Stark taking on a life of his own. As for following the book this film does rather well, unfortunately the book is not the greatest so the film being not quite up to the book becomes not good or bad. You will see when watching this film it is a lot like other stories in Stephen King's collection as it mirrors to some extent "The Shining" and "Secret Window" as you will find common themes of people with duel personalities.