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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Mick Garris
Tom Skerritt (Poltergeist III)
Steven Weber (Masters Of Horror : Jenifer)
Annabeth Gish (Double Jeopardy)
Ron Perlman (Hellboy)
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Aug. 31, 2006
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| PLOT When a group of strangers cross paths in the small town of Desperation, Nevada, they find themselves at the mercy of psychotic Sheriff Collie Entragian, who's possessed by spirits. |
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| THE REVIEW Years ago in the sleepy Nevada town of Desperation, the white townsmen had Chinese slaves in which they had do their labor. The men would get their chinese servants to dig in the mines of the town, well one day it just so happens that they unearthed an evil demonic spirit through a hole in the mine - almost as if they have opened a portal to another dimension. Furious and predictably blaming the poor Chinese workers the townspeople killed them mercilessly. Now year's later, the spirit is back and is now possessing the bodies of the unexpecting.... The film starts out with a somewhat normal cop being possessed, he is seemingly pulling over any tourist he can find, and it is quickly apparent that something about him just isn't right. He throws his victims in holding cell at the Police station in which he has virtually turned into a house of murder. All of the hostages have a distinct will to survive and with an unlikely leader in a young boy named David, whom is spiritually aware, they escape to find the source of the evil and also a way to stop it. Well usually when there is a Stephen King adaptation to be made, Mick Garris is usually the guy in the director's chair, as was the case with this film, DESPERATION. Mick Garris is the creator of the Showtime series MASTERS OF HORROR, but very few would actually call Garris a "master" in his own right, do to many a lack-luster efforts. But as far as I go I myself sort of enjoyed his interpretation of RIDING THE BULLET, although not the greatest in the world, it kept me entertained....and with the latest, DESPERATION it gives me hope that better things are soon to come from Mick Garris in the future.. From what I have gathered from fans, this film is one of the adaptations that's stays very true to the writings of King. Stephen King has always known how to deliver a story that is both frightening and smart at the same time but here in DESPERATION, surprisingly it has a rather strong religious element as well. During the film it is vividly apparent that King, while penning the novel had some self doubt about himself as well as his spirituality as his characters are often put in situations in which they question their belief and as well as the fact of if a "God" really exists. But don't let the spiritual aspect fool you here, this is still a Horror film, it may be made for TV but it is a very good one. It mostly centers around the possession of the spirit, how it can turn an innocent person into a vicious heatless killing machine - it starts off in the film taking the soul of the town's Sheriff Collie Entragian, once a kind and trusting officer. now he is acting strange, and it seems that with every passing moment his health and sanity are both deteriorating and the same time. When he captures the hopeless tourists that come into town he tells them that what he is doing is punishment for their wrong doings - This kind of reminds me of William Lustig's MANIAC COP series. The pace of the film is that of what you'd expect from television movie fare....this often is the reason in which made for TV films don't always succeed. But just like in the case of another Stephen King adaptation, IT, slow pace or not.... it had the acting to carry it home. The character's are very likeable especially the evil Sheriff Collie...talk about menacing and crude! I have always liked Ron Perlman, and here he does one hell of a job of putting on his game-face and becoming someone of pure evil....not to mention he's pretty funny too! Also we have another actor whom I have always admired, Tom Skerritt, here he plays an author whom is most known for his writings on Vietnam, he has slipped into a life of alcoholism and in the film he struggles to find himself. To make it short the whole cast contributes very well in the film each in their own way, but I have to hand it to Shane Haboucha, who portrayed the character of David. Haboucha may be young, but he had the presence that made the viewer pay attention to what his character was saying or doing.... I was highly impressed with his performance. DESPERATION, may seem a little lengthy at a little over 2 hours, but i'd have to say that this film is one of the better Stephen King novel adaptations I have seen in awhile. The film flows nicely for a made for television feature, at times it may be a little slow, but not so much that you would lose interest....the film gets better as it progresses. |
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| GORE
METER 4/10 I wouldn't say that DESPERATION is all that gory to me, but it is very well done seeing that this is a TV film, there are quite a few severed limbs throughout. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3/10 I can't remember the score being all that memorable, other than sounding typical. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I did not catch this on TV when it aired, so when I got this DVD in the mail from Lionsgate, I didn't know what to expect from it....the TV advertisements looked cool but I expected it to be boring like SLEEPWALKERS, or something of that nature. What I got was really not boring at all, it was a rather fun film.... a good way to kill some time - not great, but enjoyable nonetheless.....one of Mick Garris' best, that's for sure. I do recommend this, if for nothing else, Ron Perlman's performance alone. |
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