So, yes - we all know movies based on books can never be as good as the novel. Well, I should say - Readers understand that films adapted from novels will never be as good as the written word.
Some movies are adapted with the understanding that readers are the audience - at least that's the only explanation that I have come up with, so far. I think on some levels, this is true for the entire Harry Potter series. Movies - from the reader's perspective - should be seen as a supplement to the written story. While, with some films, I've gained a deeper understanding of characters and/or plot.
There are times, though, when something doesn't necessarily scare me - like clowns or spiders (okay, I do squeal a bit with spiders and maybe hold my breath while releasing this odd choking sound, but in the end - I know I'll kill it if I have to). So reading It wasn't incredibly scary in parts (SPOILER - can't believe I'm writing that considering the book came out over 20 years ago...). Like in the end, when they were chasing down the spider. I mean, sure, going into dark tunnels with creepy-crawly things everywhere and some murderous thing you're not even sure what it is, of course it's scary - but when it came down to a spider, I remember thinking, "Hmm. A spider? Really?" That doesn't mean King didn't find many other ways to scare me to death in the story - there was plenty of other creepy things (like drains - I agree, Mr. King. Drains are just about as creepy as they get... especially when they might have a "shit-weesel" swimming in the toilet - wrong book, same idea! See Dreamcatcher).
Stephen King is such a master of horror because he knows very well how not scary something can be if you name it too quickly. Who doesn't stop and think about King on Family Guy with his (oooo) "Haunted Lamp!" - or was it "Lamp Monster?" (Now I digress -King on Family Guy cracks me up! You gotta watch). It's the unknown that's really scary because we, as readers, fill in our own deepest fears. Once it is named - the same thing can happen to you - maybe spiders just don't scare you, either. (Just like clowns don't scare me - but Pennywise sure does.)
The thing is - Stephen King could write the story about a haunted lamp monster and scare the crap out of all of us - because we wouldn't know it was about a haunted lamp until half the people in the story had been either eaten, sliced, diced, smashed, slashed, or split (or all of the above), but by then, he's got us, up alone at night, trying to finish the last 40 pages of the 1200 page novel. Lights on, doors and windows locked (hopefully), and a phone within reach with 911 punched in and ready.
Just in case...
Coming Soon:
I will be reviewing Stephen King's new book: The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel next month!
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