Riding the Bullet (2004)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Mick Garris (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The dead travel fast

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Hospital | Dilemma | Hitch Hiker | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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	...	Six-Year-Old Alan
Jeffrey Ballard	...	12-Year-Old Alan (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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:98 min | Argentina:98 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Trivia:

Based on a story of the same name by Stephen King that was written exclusively for the internet.

Goofs:

Continuity: Alan sets down the envelope the tickets were in twice

Quotes:

[Repeated line]
Alan Parker: Fun is fun. And done is done.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shooting the Bullet (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ride

Forgive them for they know not what they see?

Arguably this is the most outrageously stupid rating on the IMDb site! Seems to me, one in every four or five reviewers has the perception to SEE this film as it really is. I would say unequivocally this is the best interpretation of a Stephen King novel to date - Hell, King even admitted that much himself! It is a multi-layered work (both the book and the film) and that is where it has lost so many viewers. This was never about horror, things that go bump in the night etc - it's about CHOICES. It is not until the last six minutes of the film...that the essence of what has gone before is crystallized. The final scene, during the very end credits in fact, wherein Arquette is told to take a hike, is what this is all about.

Superb little turn by Cliff Robertson and the always watchable Barbara Hershey delivers another very good performance here. probably the flashbacks and the "Sliding Door" sequences were "lost" on some reviewers who were simply wondering when the first vampire was going to turn up! As for the insensitive and clueless reviewer who describes the "Bullet" as a "pathetic old roller-coaster" I am led to presume your life has unraveled thus far with little compassion and understanding, let alone sentimentality.

Magic IS out there but you must find IT I'm afraid.