Director: John Carpenter
Year: 1994
Country: USA/Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Sent to an insane asylum, a literary agent recalls how his search for a reclusive horror novelist who's disappeared into a small town in the middle of nowhere and began to experience the events of his stories coming to life and tormenting him while he struggles to maintain his sanity.
Review:
This was an incredibly fun and enjoyable entry. One of the biggest pluses is that there's a completely unnerving and insanely off-the-charts creepy atmosphere here, utilizing a ton of successful tactics to creep the viewer out. The mystery over the books and the effect they have on readers is great, making excellent use of a great concept and keeping the mystery alive through some really great scenes. That the story is so strong is another big plus, as it really allows for all the stuff to happen in the first place. It's really smart and unique, which allows for the good parts to occur since it's so detailed and flexible at the same time. That creepiness here aids the action really well, with even more fun once it gets to the town, as nearly everything from the repeated gag of the bicycle rider to the haunted hotel's paintings, the attacks by the kids in the alleyway chasing them off, and the general air around town is creepy.
Since they play off both short-term and for the long haul as well makes they are even better, as the repeat showings still get the jump while the one-time gags help deepen the mystery, and play off each set-piece for an impressive air of creepiness and suspense. There's also the way the film manages to keep the whole air of creepiness without ever showing the creatures, which this one could've done so for several different scenes, yet all we see are glimpses of humanoid, fish-like things, yet even that is debatable because the glimpses are done so fast that there's not even a completely accurate view. The gore in here really helps the film as well and holds the film up.
There wasn't too much wrong here. Among the minor flaws is the extremely confusing manner of the ending, as there's hardly anything in here that makes sense. The way the plot unfolds, the rationale behind the decision, and how the film resolves itself have little to no sense of what's happening, going all over the place, yet nothing is told or explained, and that makes what happens really hard to understand. The last flaw in here is that the film decides to hide its money shots, as it's impossible to determine what kind of creatures they are in the brief scenes they're in, and all the gore is off-screen. It's not a true detriment, but it is something that does have to be overcome, and they are the only things keeping it down.
Overview: ****.5/5
Far better than its reputation and one of the finer genre entries made, there's quite a lot to like here, which manages to hold this one up as well as it does against the few minor issues present that don't mean much anyway. Those who appreciate this kind of genre effort, who are curious about this one, or are fans of the creative crew will want to give this a shot, while most others out there should heed mild caution.
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