Director: Daphne Baiwir
There are few modern writers as prolific as Stephen King. In the past five decades he has produced over 60 novels and 200 short stories, mostly (but not exclusively) in the horror genre. Such proliferation leads to Hollywood calling, with King’s works being adapted into films and TV shows for almost as long as he has been writing. This new documentary by Daphne Baiwir (The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland) presents an overview of the good, the bad and (some of) the ugly using interviews with many of those behind them.
In a time when someone like Netflix can produce a six-part limited series based on a single real-life event, a documentary about nearly 100 films and TV shows could have been sprawling, akin to David A. Weiner’s excellent In Search of Darkness documentary trilogy. Instead, Stephen King on Screen clocks in at 100 minutes which is both impressively tight and frustratingly brief.
A little fragmented to begin with, the documentary soon settles into a nice groove of covering individual films one at a time, using talking head interviews with the people responsible for the films as well as their fans and peers. Of course not every film or TV show can be included here, but most of the big-hitters are present: The Shining, Christine, Carrie, Stand By Me, It (both versions) and of course The Shawshank Redemption, all supported by lots of clips of the films themselves.
Shawshank gets extended coverage, and thanks to him also directing The Green Mile and The Mist, Frank Darabont has the most to say. He also seems to be one of the few filmmakers who actually has a friendship with King. Thanks to this, his stories and a little archival behind-the-scenes footage of King visiting the Shawshank set (where he gets “electrocuted” in the film’s famous chair and is rather embarrassed when a birthday cake is produced) is about as much as we get of actual Stephen King, since he seems to have had no personal involvement in this film whatsoever.
A notable absentee in the adaptations covered here is Maximum Overdrive, which King himself directed. It is a bizarre tale of people in a gas station under siege by sentient vehicles and household appliances, and although a cult favourite of some, it is actually almost unwatchable, having been made when King was at the peak of a cocaine and alcohol addiction. The choice to omit this film is understandable; however it highlights the biggest issue with this documentary. Stephen King on Screen offers no real insight into the Great Man himself. Nor does it try very hard to link the films and stories with him or with one another. His long-running addictions and dark times directly fed into his work and his subject matters, and for this to be barely touched seems like a missed opportunity to create a stronger more insightful narrative. His well-publicised, near-fatal car accident and his hatred of Kubrick’s The Shining are mentioned, but the tight runtime never allows anything but a whistle-stop tour.
King on Screen showcases an impressive catalogue of adaptations that, although it includes more than a few stinkers, is still testament to an amazingly creative mind. More so, it does whet the appetite to dig deeper into King’s life and works, and to visit or revisit the films covered. All but the most loyal of King fans will doubtless learn here of the existence of one or two real obscurities that may be worth hunting out. But like this documentary, it is advisable to avoid Maximum Overdrive.
Signature Entertainment presentsStephenKingonScreenon Digital Platforms 26th June & Blu-ray 18th September.
The Reviews Hub Score:
Strong but surface level
