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I have read lots of mixed reviews about Secret Window being a pile of crap and being a really brilliant scary story. This film really surprised me the first time I saw it and it surprised me even more second time round because I had actually forgotten what had happened in the film. Secret Window is a chillingly frightening story that is very dark and is a rather psychological story. After all, Secret Window is a Stephen King novel and he is an expert on writing novels about horror, fantasy and suspense so where can he disappoint with Secret Window? This film left me in great shock because there is a twist that becomes really effective to the story so this film isn't as predictable as you may think it is. Personally, I think this is a really enjoyable film. It is a very scary story but that is what I was expecting anyway because that's what King is amazing at creating.
It was very weird seeing Johnny Depp in a film like this because I don't think I've seen him in a psychological thriller before. His acting as Mort was pretty good to be fair because he is good at playing that charming guy in which Johnny is anyway. Mort is a single man who is about to get divorced and lives with his dog Chico in a cottage near a river in a forest. The location of the house makes it a rather haunting film as well. I read a review once and it said that only Johnny Depp's presence within the film with draw people's attention. I see what they mean but it is an entertaining film after all nothing dead serious worthy of Oscars and Golden Globes etc. Maria Bello has never been a good actress at all to be honest and has never made her characters very realistic and heartfelt but this film didn't make any difference because I couldn't feel any sympathy Amy had for Mort at all. I didn't really like Bello in World Trade Center either. She rather annoyed me in that. Timothy Hutton for some reason made me laugh because he is a real slimeball especially when he and Mort point fists at each other. John Turturro made John Shooter a very mysterious, threatening and terrifying character to cross because he was haunting and stalking Mort for "stealing his story".
The director did a good job I think for entertainment but I wouldn't call David Koepp's directing and script absolutely masterful that deserves to be remembered as a landmark of cinema. I think Frank Darabont would have done a good job at directing Secret Window because he has directed two Stephen King novel adapted films previously: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. That is something that I would have wished for this film but it was still good enough with David Koepp as director anyway.
Overall, Secret Window is a spine-chilling piece of entertainment that I find slightly underrated. It isn't a masterpiece but it does have one of the best and most underrated film plot twists of all time. Johnny Depp's performance obviously isn't top-notch but is an entertaining performance from Depp which I was expecting anyway. So, lastly it is a film that didn't go over or under my expectations. It hit exactly where I was expecting which is why I really like this film.
8/10
