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The Dark Half

The book The Dark Half was made into the movie The Dark Half.

Which one did you like better, the book or the movie?  There are 4 votes for the book, and 7 votes for the movie.

Book details for The Dark Half

The Dark Half was written by Stephen King. The book was published in 1989 by Guild. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

Stephen King also wrote Cat From Hell (story), Graveyard Shift (story), The Boogeyman: (story), The Raft: (story), The Body: (story), Trucks (story), Cycle of the Werewolf (story), The Mangler: (story), Children of the Corn (story), The Woman in the Room: (story), Night Flier (story), Apt Pupil (story), Riding the Bullet (story), The Crate and Weeds: (stories), The Lawnmower Man: (story), The Shining (1977), Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (story) (1982), Christine (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), Misery (1987), Secret Window, Secret Garden (1990), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1993), The Green Mile (1996), Hearts in Atlantis (1999) and Dreamcatcher (2001).

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Movie details for The Dark Half

The movie was released in 1993 and directed by George A. Romero, who also directed Creepshow (1982) and Monkey Shines (1988). The Dark Half was produced by MGM (Video & DVD). More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, Robert Joy, Kent Broadhurst, Beth Grant, Rutanya Alda, Tom Mardirosian, Larry John Meyers, Patrick Brannan, Royal Dano, Glenn Colerider, Sarah Parker, Elizabeth Parker (II), John Ponzio, Chelsea Field, William Cameron, Rohn Thomas and Molly Renfroe.

 

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Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving u... Read More
Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticized finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction.

Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable, pseudonymous alter ego George Stark (the bestselling "dark half" to Thad's light), who then assumes an evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to lethally defend his role in Thad's creative endeavors. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies, and his own survival as an artist. Romero skillfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, and Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favors a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon