Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in It Chapter Two
Some of the best horror films of all time have come from literary classics. Frankenstein and Dracula haunted bookshelves before terrorizing the silver screen, and the tradition has continued ever since with modern masterpieces like The Exorcist and The Shining.
Possibly the book is scarier by design in this case because the 2004 version of The Stepford Wives seems less concerned with scares and more focused on laughs. The 1975 adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel starring Katharine Ross carried the same darkly satiric tone as its source material, but the Kidman version is cartoonish by comparison. While the novel was an international bestseller, the 2004 Stepford Wives was a high-profile box office failure that was quickly forgotten.
The film had a strong opening weekend but quickly slipped down the charts with poor word of mouth scaring off anyone but the most ardent horror enthusiasts. Multiple versions of The Haunting of Hill House exist with warm reviews, but The Haunting currently sits at a 17% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. While The Haunting is a largely forgotten adaptation, Jackson’s novel is considered a timeless work of classic horror that influenced the majority of haunted house tales to come after it.
The essential misstep in so many King adaptations is not understanding that less is more. The 2019 film attempts to add horrific visuals to shock the audience, but the manipulation of a grieving parent’s wish is emotionally devastating if allowed. The original film from 1989 was closer to capturing the hopelessness of the novel’s ending, but technology might still not be where it needs to be for this story to be adapted properly.
Although author Clive Barker wrote the screenplay for the 1986 film, he’s gone on record as not being happy with the film. Audience reception was equally unkind, pointing out that the costume for the monster was poorly crafted and reduced any chance of taking the film seriously. Although Rawhead Rex fell flat in cinemas, it did nothing to Barker’s popularity as a horror novelist, with his Books of Blood anthology series still highly regarded by his fans.
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