Stephen King Goes to the Movies

Stephen King has been one of the most celebrated horror authors ever since he started breaking into mainstream fiction in the late 1970s. Many of his books, and some of his short stories have been adapted to, or referred to, in films. Now there is a 'new' release from the master of horror, which celebrates some of the stories that have been adapted to film: "Stephen King Goes to the Movies."

The "new" means that even though the stories are old, there are new insights from the King himself. This does mean that there are only about 12 or 13 pages of new content. Seeing as how those pages of new content are covering different topics, like how the story came into being, and where directors and actors were right with their decision for character portrayal, it is worth it.

These stories cover King from the early days of his career to the current day. They mark off the high notes of cinematic King lore. Even though they are reprints of old stories, it is a good buy - if you don't have the original books that these shorts are in. So, rather than buying three or four books, you'll be able to get six of his most memorable short stories in one book.

Sadly, the biggest flaw with this book is the fact that it neglects so much as well. It doesn't pay attention to "Apt Pupil," which is on King's top 10 film adaptations. It completely forgets about one of Stephen King's short stories that happened to be adapted into the film "Quicksilver Highway," which he worked on with Clive Barker. It ignores "Stand by Me," which is one of the most beautiful King short story-based films ever released. It ignored "Secret Window," which, for the style of movie, worked. It even forgot "The Mist," which through the special features of the DVD, you learn was one of the few films based off his own work that made him jump.

Even though what is in the book is incredible, there is only so much that it tries to take on. This is but a glimpse in to the mind of Stephen King, though there is so much more that can be taken on. Sure that would make the book longer, but for hardcore King fans, do you really think we would care? We love and respect King as a writer because most, if not all, his material speaks on many levels to us.

He talks religion and spirituality with us. He talks science and the existence of aliens with us. He takes all of our questions about the world and works them into different contexts, making even the most mundane topic frightening or exhilarating. He makes some of the most apathetic of his readers actually think about and research things.

There are only so many ways that you can take different topics, but he finds new ways and leads them into the light. He is a storyteller who has inspired many potential writers. He has also given so many different storytellers in different media a bigger break, including Mick Garris and Sam Raimi, to name two who were helped by Stephen King, whether it was by his praise or by the opportunity for film adaptations.

Sure, one of the complaints about Stephen King is that his writing style is too formulaic, pulpy even. However, is that necessarily a bad thing? It's familiar, even though he still finds ways of taking readers off guard, even if it is through being painfully vulnerable ("Hearts in Atlantis" being a shining example). The sign of a good writer is that he/she is able to knock avid readers, who are hardcore fans of theirs, off balance with a wide array of believable emotion. Stephen King is always able to do that while making readers laugh, cry, squirm, wonder or scream in surprise or confusion.

In that respect, "Stephen King Goes to the Movies" is absolutely perfect to show the depth and range of his repertoire. Fans of Stephen King SHOULD, without a doubt, buy this book.