Riding the Bullet (2004)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Mick Garris (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The dead travel fast

Plot:

When a man finds out his mother is dying and tries to hitchike his way to the hospital, he is picked up by a stranger with a deadly secret.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Hospital | Dilemma | Hitch Hiker | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jonathan Jackson	...	Alan Parker
David Arquette	...	George Staub
Cliff Robertson	...	Farmer
Barbara Hershey	...	Jean Parker
Erika Christensen	...	Jessica Hadley
Barry W. Levy	...	Julian Parker (as Barry Levy)
Jackson Warris	...	Six-Year-Old Alan
Jeffrey Ballard	...	12-Year-Old Alan (as Jeff Ballard)
Peter LaCroix	...	Mature Alan
Chris Gauthier	...	Hector Passmore
Robin Nielsen	...	Archie Howard
Matt Frewer	...	Mr. Clarkson
Simon Webb	...	Grim Reaper
Keith Dallas	...	Orderly
Danielle Dunn-Morris	...	Mrs. Janey McCurdy

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and some nudity.

Runtime:

USA:98 min | Argentina:98 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Trivia:

In the short story, George Staub's car was a Ford Mustang. The filmmakers decided to go with a red and white Plymouth as a nod to Stephen King's Christine. However Christine was a 1958 Plymouth Fury and George's car was a 1960 Plymouth Fury.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Alan's "inner voice" says, "You are not going to Toronto with Cheech & Chong here while your mom's lying in a hospital...." The story is set in 1969, when Cheech & Chong were still unknown comics working in Canada. Their first album wouldn't come out till 1972.

Quotes:

George Staub: Nice to meet you, Hector. I'm George. George Staub

Movie Connections:

Features "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Ride

S.K., you have enough money, please stop them from making more movie adaptations

I'm a Stephen King fan. Not a die-hard fan, I read his late works more out of respect than enjoyment, but I must admit he can weave a storyline when he wants to.

That's why I always cringe when I hear there is another King adaptation. It's always a very ugly experience for me. Not only am I barely standing watching it, I am also embarrassed that I actually liked the very story the usually atrocious movie is based on.

So here comes "Riding the bullet", the movie based on a story I rather enjoyed. I wasn't even expecting it, a friend brought it from a video store for the bunch of us to watch.

Need I continue? Again, since my friends know I have S.K. book collection and had read and liked the story, the experience was as close to embarrassment as walking in naked on grandma's 90th birthday. I found myself constantly explaining that "this was not in the book" and almost apologizing for how bad it was.

Why was it so bad? Where should I start? The main character in the book was a normal kid, a guy you can identify with. In the movie he is a death-obsessed freak who regularly talks with himself. But not the usual way, mind you, his other self makes a habit of walking up to him and disappearing in puff of smoke. Basically the whole introduction - which is, of course, "not in the book" - serves only to make him more dislikable. He likes to draw monsters and has hallucinations of shoddy Death creature with heavy-metal background music (oh, the movie is set in 1969 by the way, so good choice with the score, guys!). He whines and self-pities himself and is basically a jerk. But we're stuck with him for 2 hours, oh joy and happiness.

So, anyway, this moaning creep's mother gets sick and he goes on a trip to see her. On this trip a bunch of animals get roadkilled, he talks to himself and some other non-existing folks a lot and at some time David Arquette turns up and pretends he is scary. By the end, I was just waiting for the torture to be over. And it was a long wait.

I tried reading the story again yesterday. I couldn't. The whining freak permanently replaced the original guy. And boy, do I want to forget that face.

Thanks a lot guys. And please make more King adaptations, I can't wait.