This is a film I have been waiting along time to hit my television screen. The reason for that would be that back in 2000 when my uncle was running for public office, I was working on his campaign. And it just so happened to be that all the ladies I worked with happened to all be friends and they were all hardcore Stephen King fans. Well every night we would listen Stephen King Audio books. “Desperation” was one of them, and it really played with my imagination. So when I heard that they turned it into a mini-series on ABC I was excited to see how well they would adapt this fantastic novel into a film.
Well, I can’t say it was better than the book, but I did enjoy it all the same. The film started off really well, and was faithful to the book, with a few new lines added into the script to kind of update the story a bit. It was also a bit toned down for TV as well, but I didn’t care much. I always feel that less is more, and this film will make you feel uncomfortable almost until the end. However when the film comes to it’s conclusion, it seemed to just take a turn for the worse. Let me just say this, that the ending was not as good as the other 3/4 of the film. Desperation probably would of been a four star film in my mind if it didn’t end so poorly.
Acting wise, Ron Pearlman was probably the best thing this film had going for it. Seriously no one else could have played the part of the sheriff better. Even when I was listening to the audio book, he was the guy I pictured in my head, and that was probably the best casting of a character ever. His delivery of the dialogue right down to his moment and actions were so perfect, that if I saw him on the street I would of ran like hell. Probably one of the best performances Pearlman has ever given to a horror audience. The man is one hell of a great actor. However I also felt that the film had a number of great actors in it. Shane Haboucha who played the young god fearing David Carver was so great the kid could form his own cult. Utah. That’s how good he was. And what’s up with Stephen Weber, He’s a good actor but does he have some dept to pay to Mick Garris and Stephen King or something. He seems to be in all their films as of late, he’ll even be features in “Nightmares and Dreamscapes”.
As far as the effects, set design and production value go, I must say it’s all pretty dam good. There are some minor CGI effects that look a bit overdone such as the canyon that leads to the mind. And the CGI bugs are a bit much. But overall the set design and make up effects looked pretty dam good. So the production value was not half bad at all.
Overall I enjoyed watching “Desperation”. I though it was a pretty dam good adaptation of the novel. It was not true to the novel in some respects, but it was pretty dam close, like I mentioned above they did update the the film to take place in our time era, but not by many year. Mostly in the dialogue you’ll notice the changes, but overall, it’s not a bad flick and I enjoyed it.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
