Review of The Dark Half (1993) by Monsieur R — 22 Oct 2010
With no apparent apologies or intended homages to Hitchcock, this film repeatedly invokes swarming birds, slamming into glass windows and clawing through household woodwork, whenever something ominous is a-brewing.
Now there's a big tip-off that the director's scraping around in his shallow bag of tricks looking for a badly needed dose of suspense.
A serious author (Timothy Hutton) discovers he harbors an alter-ego who pens grisly murder novels. When Hutton confronts his doppelganger, it comes to life, goes on a killing spree and ensures all the clues all point to Hutton.
Drawn from a 1989 Stephen King novel, with certain autobiographical influences. King, for a time, simultaneously authored a number of works under the nom de plume Richard Bachman, during which time he wrestled with the possibility of discovery - and why his pen name was not nearly as successful as his own.
Hutton delivers both roles to film - climaxing, of course, in Hutton vs. Hutton via less-than-clever camerawork - and he's basically unconvincing as an object of fear. In fact Hutton is almost comical when dressed up in a scummy Vaseline-laden hairdo/mullet and a bad Elvis accent.
Not anywhere close to the quality of horror seen in other King-based films such as "Carrie" or "The Shining." Even "Pet Sematary" was more captivating than this. Just be glad you are not the career insomniac I am, or you'd have to watch this kind of stuff on late-late night cable TV all the time.
RECOMMENDATION: Primarily to King completists; others are advised to give the film a wide berth.
This review of The Dark Half (1993) was written by Monsieur R on 22 Oct 2010.
The Dark Half has generally received mixed reviews.
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