re: (Belated) Take Five: Stephen King

Buck Theorem — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:33:44 GMT

"Creepshow" - one of the best openings ever that perfectly embodies the sheer expectation of the horror fan (ghoul cackles; kid gleefully punches his fist into his hand with dark anticipation).

"The Shining" - a film that distills all King's cartoonish excesses into the lead actor, and then gets on with the real scary stuff elsewhere. It improves with each watch, its precision increasingly impresses and remains enigmatic and disturbing.

"Salem's Lot" - the best TV horror ever? If not, has to be prime candidate for the scariest.

"Carrie" - over-rated, though probably one of those to set the template for the teencore horror that now dominates the genre.

"The Dead Zone" - probably over-rated; good film, great Walken but minor Cronenberg.

But personal opinion aside, these choices are spot-on. This was fun! Oh, and "Cujo" is under-rated too.