Book Review- Stephen King goes to the movies

Title: Stephen King goes to the movies

Author: Stephen King

Synopsis: The book consists of five short stories of Stephen King's that were made into movies, as well as his personal commentary, all-new introductions, and behind-the-scenes insights.

Review: Since it was a collection of only five stories, I decided to do mini-reviews for each of them. Here they are.

1408:

Synopsis: The story revolves around a writer who stays in a hotel room that is a little different from the norm.

Review: Very, very creepy. The whole story plays out more like a hallucination than a typical "haunted place" story. No ghost actually appears throughout the entire story, instead everything seems to be more in the mind of the main character. The main part of the story is actually a description of a recording on a voice recorder. This may appeal to those who aren't such big fans of the usual "monster" story with blood and gore

The Mangler:

Synopsis: A worker in a laundry is killed in an accident involving a sheet-folding machine. However, there is no possible way the accident could have occured- or is there?

Review: This story is quite dark and involves quite a lot of black magic. There is also a graphic description of a worker's arm being ripped off by the machine which may not be suitable for sensitive readers(eg. yours truly). However, one thing that doesn't ring true(for me) is the police officer's sudden transition from non-believer to the other end of the scale. Other than that, this story is good for people who are fans of the traditional "possessed (fill in the blank)" story.

Low Men in Yellow Coats(Film title: Hearts in Atlantis)

Synopsis: A story of a young boy's friendship with the mysterious old man next door.

Review: Okay, this was the only story which I didn't like. Some individual scenes are good but the story doesn't come together as a whole. It's a bit too long and draggy and the slightly darker aspect of the story is ignored. All in all, the story works better as a collection of short scenes.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption(Film title: The Shawshank Redemption)

Synopsis: The story of life in a jail.

Review: It's nicely told, with believable plot twists. It's told in first person and thankfully, has a very strong narrator. It's also got a very fantastic plot twist at the end. The characters are believable and never does the story go into the realm of improbability.

Children of the Corn

Synopsis: A couple on a holiday run across a dead body. They take it to the nearest town, intending to turn it into the police, only to discover a very deadly secret about the town and its children.

Review: This is a terrifying account of what can happen when blind trust takes over all sense. The children in the story are just plain terrifying and the corn- let's not even go there. However, nearing the middle of the story, the narrating style takes an odd direction, but still remains understandable.

General Review: Very good stories, nice characters and strong plots overall. A definite must-read for Stephen King fans and anyone who enjoys stories of this sort.