The Dark Half Reviews

To be honest, it seemed to be a rather obscure adaptation of a Stephen King book (it was apparently a flop when it was released) but since it was directed by George A. Romero, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be a typical example of why I always had a hard time to care about Stephen King's work. I mean, the concept had some potential, Romero had managed to create a rather creepy mood (I especially loved the scene during which the main character was dreaming) and Timothy Hutton was a good choice to play this double-character. Unfortunately, as usual with King's stories, it became rather presposterous at some point and, above all, there was a total lack of psychology. Indeed, at some point, a reporter pointed out that the main character was displaying some sympoms of schizophrenia which would have been a great angle but this option was never explored. Still, even if they would have kept a more fantastical angle, they could have developed more the impact that it had on the characters. Instead, Romero gave us some rather misguided funny oneliners, something he also did in this trilogy of the Dead, but it was just rather misguided as it ruined the tone. Same thing with this George Stark character, I won't blame Timothy Hutton who did what he could, but the guy started as dark and ominous which was the right approach but, soon, he started to deliver some supposedly funny oneliners like Freddy Krueger which turned this character into a joke. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I guess it is worth a look but don't expect anything really amazing before watching the damned thing.