The Dark Half
A few years after he found success as a writer, Stephen King tried an experiment. Whether to see if he could duplicate his success or just to see if he could publish a few books without the weight of expectation that comes with being a household name, he published a handful of novels under a pseudonym. Once it was discovered that Richard Bachman was really Stephen King, King stopped writing books under that name...but what if Bachman wasn't ready to retire?
That's the basic premise of The Dark Half, as scholarly writer Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) decides to retire George Stark, the pseudonym under which he writes pulpy thrillers (clearly inspired by Donald Westlake writing the Parker novels under the name Richard Stark). The problem is that "high toned son of a bitch" Stark isn't ready to be killed off, and he becomes a separate entity from Beaumont, intent on terrorizing him into changing his mind and murdering anyone who gets in the way of his rebirth. Hutton is terrific in the dual role, giving Stark an aura of oily menace and imbuing Beaumont with a combination of intelligence, fear, and resignation.
Adapted from King's novel by the great George A. Romero, there are a few moments that work better on the page (particularly in the climax involving a swarm of sparrows) but those issues are minor. For the most part it's a strong, well-paced, tense adaptation that belongs in the conversation when talking about good movies adapted from King novels. Unfortunately it often seems to get dismissed when discussing either King or Romero's filmography and that's a shame. Thankfully Scream Factory released it on blu-ray earlier this year, I hope that helps to put it on more people's radar, it definitely deserves to be seen. Just be careful...the sparrows are flying again.
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