Connect with us

News

Dark Tower: What Constant Readers Would Like to See in This Movie and Beyond

Published

on

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a Stephen King fan.  After picking up Carrie when I was 9 to now I have read just about every piece of work the master of macabre has released.  There was one work of his that I left unread for a very long time.  That was the Dark Tower.  I simply wasn’t interested in it.  Unsure of what it was, I couldn’t place a finger on why it was, or what about it that did not appeal to me I just felt it wasn’t necessary.  Throughout my 33 years of being a huge fan, The Dark Tower always seemed to elude me.  Even as an adult, when a picture of me and my children was picked for the special collage on the back of Wind Through the Keyhole, did I simply not find interest.  Then it happened.  My wife had to say something about it.  She asked me, “How can you be his biggest fan and not read everything he has?”  That was it.  No one was going to question my adulation of my role model, my mentor, my hero.  It was then that I decided to embark on the journey that is The Dark Tower.  This was just last year.

The Books:

Seven books make up King’s Magnum Opus, with Wind Through the Keyhole being a between novels addition, to make an even eight.  I got through The Gunslinger easy enough.  The novel wasn’t that long and the prose was easy enough to understand, as the Gunslinger chased the Man in Black through the desert.  Second came The Drawing of the Three.  The Drawing of the Three began to garner a bit of interest in me and began making me question why it was that I hadn’t read these before. With the visual landscape of a beach and the addition of each character in full detail was enough to keep me occupied.  The idea that each character was added from New York at a various point in time was intriguing to me.  However, nothing could prepare me for the addition of Odetta Holmes/Susanah Dean.  Susanah’s character was so complex yet so simple. She was so plain yet so intricately woven into the mind of the reader.  This book dealt with drug addiction and the results of actions.  The following book, The Wastelands, added another character.  Perhaps one of the most fun characters and one of the most loyal, Oy, was a character that I quickly latched on to.  King interweaves pop culture and fantasy in this book with the use of ZZ Top.  At the end of the book the characters board the train Blain the Mono, a train that is hell bent on derailing itself unless the Ka-tet (the name of the small knit group of characters) can beat it in a riddle contest.  After this book I was hooked especially through to the  next and perhaps best book in the series Wizards and Glass.  If you’re interested in following the Gunslinger and his Ka-tet along the path of the beam I won’t waste any of your time and suggest you pick up the books and begin reading.

My point is this, there are several characters and several worlds within the path of the beam that is known as The Dark Tower.  There are several ways to get there and many trials to face.  I was very happy to realize that there was so much more to the books than i initially realized and was very excited to explore these worlds and these characters.  Yet, it is with baited breath that I await the motion picture adaptation of this work.  There has been already so many overhauls as far as characters and story plot that I fear this is going to be something King calls his constant readers are going to despise.  I hope not but I can’t help but feel something is amiss when King’s quote about the movie is, “It starts sort of the middle of the story rather than the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it because it is the story.”

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand by King on the release of so many film, as this is the year of King. But, why is it we can’t get the works that we fell in love with? Sure, some of his 80s films left a lot to be desired but they at least tried to show some sorm of resemblance.  This year we’ve received the Mist television show, The Dark Tower gets released next month, and It follows in September.  The movie It seems that, at least for us constant readers, with be closer to the source material.

I hope I’m wrong about this movie, I really do. However, as a constant reader, I am growing tired of seeing new imaginings or adaptations. I long to see the works that he created in the books that I fell in love with.  I plan on seeing this film in the theater because, simply, I’m intrigued. I just hope that a series that took me so long to get into in the first place, doesn’t get destroyed in an hour and a half film.

To view the poster click here: https://ihorror.com/movie-poster-dark-tower/

To watch the trailer click here: https://youtu.be/GjwfqXTebIY

 

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Pages: 1 2

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading