A writer's fictional alter ego wants to take over his life...at any price.A writer's fictional alter ego wants to take over his life...at any price.A writer's fictional alter ego wants to take over his life...at any price.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 11 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Stephen King, the story of this film was part autobiographical, as it was inspired by the events that led to him revealing his own writing pseudonym of Richard Bachman.
- GoofsNear the end, when George Stark is holding Thad (Timothy Hutton)'s twins, his gun is a Colt 1911 (as he's had throughout the movie). When Thad moves closer, the gun changes to a Beretta 92FS. After Thad takes one of the twins, George's gun is again a 1911 when he tucks it in his waistband.
- Quotes
Man in the Hallway: What's going on?
George Stark: Murder... You want some?
- SoundtracksAre You Lonesome To-night?
By Roy Turk & Lou Handman
Performed by Elvis Presley
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Music
Featured review
good idea, OK execution and a couple of problems
In 1968, young Thad Beaumont has a brain tumor removed. It turns out to be an undeveloped twin. The sparrows swarm supernaturally. 23 years later, Thad (Timothy Hutton) is a college professor and a successful writer under the pen name George Stark. He's married to Liz (Amy Madigan) with young twins. Fred Clawson discovers that he's the secret pulp novel writer and blackmails him. His publishers accept killing off George Stark even with a fake tombstone. They try to publicize transitioning to the safer Thad Beaumont writing. Then the people involved start getting killed off by a mysterious figure and Thad is the prime suspect for Sheriff Alan Pangborn.
I like the basic idea and I think the movie is well made. However, a couple things keep bothering me. First, the whole idea of 'killing' off Stark doesn't make sense. Clawson's blackmail is based on the fact that it would hurt business. Yet they close up the Stark business themselves. A better reason has to be written to explain killing off Stark. It may be as simple as Thad being tired of the violent imagery.
The second is that I don't understand why the sheriff doesn't arrest Thad on that first night. It seems like he has enough evidence. It would be more compelling if he had less evidence. It would be more tense if the killer's face isn't revealed so early. They should stretch out the questions until the third act. The overall work is good. Timothy Hutton is a compelling lead. If only the movie could fix my concerns, this could be great.
I like the basic idea and I think the movie is well made. However, a couple things keep bothering me. First, the whole idea of 'killing' off Stark doesn't make sense. Clawson's blackmail is based on the fact that it would hurt business. Yet they close up the Stark business themselves. A better reason has to be written to explain killing off Stark. It may be as simple as Thad being tired of the violent imagery.
The second is that I don't understand why the sheriff doesn't arrest Thad on that first night. It seems like he has enough evidence. It would be more compelling if he had less evidence. It would be more tense if the killer's face isn't revealed so early. They should stretch out the questions until the third act. The overall work is good. Timothy Hutton is a compelling lead. If only the movie could fix my concerns, this could be great.
helpful•73
- SnoopyStyle
- May 10, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- La mitad siniestra
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,611,160
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,250,883
- Apr 25, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $10,611,160
- Runtime2 hours 2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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