Riding the Bullet (2004)

When a man finds out his mother is dying and tries to hitchike his way to the hospital, he is picked up by a stranger with a deadly secret.

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers:

Mick Garris (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)

Stars:

Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette, Cliff Robertson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Jackson	...	Alan Parker
David Arquette	...	George Staub
Cliff Robertson	...	Farmer
Barbara Hershey	...	Jean Parker
Erika Christensen	...	Jessica Hadley
Barry W. Levy	...	Julian Parker (as Barry Levy)
Jackson Warris	...	Alan - Age 6
Jeffrey Ballard	...	Alan - Age 12 (as Jeff Ballard)
Peter LaCroix	...	Mature Alan
Chris Gauthier	...	Hector Passmore
Robin Nielsen	...	Archie Howard
Matt Frewer	...	Mr. Clarkson
Simon Webb	...	Grim Reaper
Keith Dallas	...	Orderly
Danielle Dunn-Morris	...	Mrs. Janey McCurdy

Storyline

A young man hitchhiking back home to visit his mother is picked up by a mysterious stranger. As the ride goes on, the young man uncovers a terrible secret about the stranger, and is given a choice by the stranger. A choice that can mean life or death.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | suicide attempt | drug | obsession | severed head | 

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Taglines:

The dead travel fast

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and some nudity

Details

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 2005 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Riding the Bullet

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$101,107 (USA) (15 October 2004)

Gross:

$101,107 (USA) (15 October 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA), ApolloProMedia GmbH & Co. 1. Filmproduktion KG (I), Motion Picture Corporation of Europe (MPCE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The old red car with the white top is supposed to be a 1958 Plymouth Fury - the same make and model as Christine.

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Goofs

Alan sets down the envelope the tickets were in twice

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Quotes

George Staub: Nice to meet you, Hector. I'm George. George Staub

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Crazy Credits

FOR MOM, DAD, and CRAIG.

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Connections

Featured in Shooting the Bullet (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Incense And Peppermints"
Written by John Carter and Tim Gilbert
Performed by The Strawberry Alarm Clock (as Strawberry Alarm Clock)
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

S.K., you have enough money, please stop them from making more movie adaptations

I'm a Stephen King fan. Not a die-hard fan, I read his late works more out of respect than enjoyment, but I must admit he can weave a storyline when he wants to.

That's why I always cringe when I hear there is another King adaptation. It's always a very ugly experience for me. Not only am I barely standing watching it, I am also embarrassed that I actually liked the very story the usually atrocious movie is based on.

So here comes "Riding the bullet", the movie based on a story I rather enjoyed. I wasn't even expecting it, a friend brought it from a video store for the bunch of us to watch.

Need I continue? Again, since my friends know I have S.K. book collection and had read and liked the story, the experience was as close to embarrassment as walking in naked on grandma's 90th birthday. I found myself constantly explaining that "this was not in the book" and almost apologizing for how bad it was.

Why was it so bad? Where should I start? The main character in the book was a normal kid, a guy you can identify with. In the movie he is a death-obsessed freak who regularly talks with himself. But not the usual way, mind you, his other self makes a habit of walking up to him and disappearing in puff of smoke. Basically the whole introduction - which is, of course, "not in the book" - serves only to make him more dislikable. He likes to draw monsters and has hallucinations of shoddy Death creature with heavy-metal background music (oh, the movie is set in 1969 by the way, so good choice with the score, guys!). He whines and self-pities himself and is basically a jerk. But we're stuck with him for 2 hours, oh joy and happiness.

So, anyway, this moaning creep's mother gets sick and he goes on a trip to see her. On this trip a bunch of animals get roadkilled, he talks to himself and some other non-existing folks a lot and at some time David Arquette turns up and pretends he is scary. By the end, I was just waiting for the torture to be over. And it was a long wait.

I tried reading the story again yesterday. I couldn't. The whining freak permanently replaced the original guy. And boy, do I want to forget that face.

Thanks a lot guys. And please make more King adaptations, I can't wait.