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The Dark Half (1993)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
23 April 1993 (USA)
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Tagline:
Serious writer or serial killer? George is in two minds. more
Plot:
A writer's fictional alter-ego wants to take over his life...at any price. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Drag Me To Hell soundtrack hits stores
(From Fangoria. 17 August 2009, 9:42 AM, PDT)
George A. Romero's Survival Of The Dead...
(From Fangoria. 21 July 2009, 3:41 PM, PDT)
(From Fangoria. 17 August 2009, 9:42 AM, PDT)
George A. Romero's Survival Of The Dead...
(From Fangoria. 21 July 2009, 3:41 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
A film that deserves far more than it's given credit for
more (55 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Timothy Hutton | ... | Thad Beaumont / George Stark |
 | Amy Madigan | ... | Liz Beaumont |
 | Michael Rooker | ... | Sheriff Alan Pangborn |
 | Julie Harris | ... | Reggie Delesseps |
 | Robert Joy | ... | Fred Clawson |
 | Kent Broadhurst | ... | Mike Donaldson |
 | Beth Grant | ... | Shayla Beaumont |
 | Rutanya Alda | ... | Miriam Cowley |
 | Tom Mardirosian | ... | Rick Cowley |
| Larry John Meyers | ... | Dr. Pritchard |
| Patrick Brannan | ... | Young Thad Beaumont |
| Royal Dano | ... | Digger Holt |
| Glenn Colerider | ... | Homer Gamache |
| Sarah Parker | ... | Wendy & William Beaumont |
| Elizabeth Parker | ... | Wendy & William Beaumont |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
122 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:16 |
Singapore:M18 |
South Korea:18 |
Philippines:R-18 |
Sweden:15 |
Ireland:18 |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:M |
Finland:K-16 |
France:-16 |
Germany:18 |
Norway:18 |
Spain:18 |
UK:18 |
USA:R
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
According to director George A. Romero star Timothy Hutton was quite difficult to work with at times, Hutton even quit the film for a few days during the production.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Near the end, when George Stark is holding Thad's twins his gun is a Colt 1911 (as he's had throughout the movie). When Thad moves closer, the gun changes to a Beretta 92FS. After Thad takes one of the twins, George's gun is again a 1911 when he tucks it in his waistband.
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Quotes:
George Stark:
You always were the clumsy one, old hoss.
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Soundtrack:
Are You Lonesome To-night?
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FAQ
How closely does the movie follow the novel?Is this movie based on a novel?
Does Stephen King have a cameo appearance in "The Dark Half"?
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more (55 total)
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Somewhere in the dark recesses of over-fluffed and processed Stephen King movie adaptations, there lies this jewel of a film: "The Dark Half."
After having it watched it about three times, I'm still quite at a loss as to why this movie has been, more or less, forgotten or simply passed over by the horror movie community. Not only is it a fairly neat adaptation of a great King novel, but it's also directed and written by a true horror movie icon: the one and only George Romero. Isn't this the kind of "team-up" that fans would, under normal circumstances, go absolutely bananas over? I know that I did.
Anyway ... the movie is about a writer, Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), whose past - quite literally - comes back to haunt him. As a young man, he wrote pulpy crime novels (that I can only imagine were directly inspired by Richard Stark's hardboiled, master thief, Parker) that sold well ... though his literary yearnings tended to veer toward a much less marketable direction. We learn that when he was writing those pulps, his personality suffered. He drank, yelled at his wife, probably slept around, too. Having successfully exorcised that particular demon, when we meet him, Beaumont has a couple kids and an office at some New England university, teaching - you guessed it - creative writing. But when the bodies of folks close to him (i.e.: his agent, biographer) begin cropping up, the small-town police fun finger is pointed at Beaumont. But ... there's a much more sinister twist in this jet-black yarn. We learn that Beaumont indeed has a "dark half."
The direction is perfect, the writing is perfect, the acting is perfect. What more do you want in a film? I'm not exactly certain what King's response was to this film ... I've heard rumors that if he's not directly involved in the production process, he generally scoffs at the final film product. (For example ... he's all but urinated on all the goodness that was Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of "The Shining," which not only marked a substantial turning point in horror cinema, but it's also one of my personal favorites.) Then again ... from what I understand to be true of King and Romero both ... they're friends. Hell, they made "Creepshow" together ... which is another favorite of mine, though I'm more than just a little bit guilty about it.
"The Dark Half" also does one hell of a job at creating a genuinely creepy atmosphere. And who could listen to "Are You Lonesome Tonight" again the same way ... after hearing its soft melodies during a particularly uncomfortable dream sequence?
All of this, compounded with the fact that Timothy Hutton is a damned fine actor (albeit sinfully unknown by most these days) ... makes "The Dark Half" an explosively well made horror/thriller. The proverbial mind meld of King and Romero made "Creepshow" an instant cult classic. So, I ask again ... why was "The Dark Half" a blink-or-you'll-miss-it flop? Maybe these horror titans just can't share the same marquee, anymore.
I dunno.