Stephen King

This weekend was Crazy about Stephen King weekend on AMC. I was a little puzzled at the films AMC decided to include in their lineup for what could have been a promising weekend. I don't know about you, but when I think of King, it conjures up images of Sissy Spacek covered in blood, or Tim Curry clowning around as Pennywise. But there was no 'Carrie' to be had this weekend, no evil clown tempting children into the sewers with promises of floating balloons. AMC went with the crap, for the most part. 'Graveyard Shift'? Really, AMC? Of all the movies you could have picked, why did you pick one that most people have probably never even heard of? And it's not like this is a diamond in the rough film. It's terrible. "Oh, giant rat creature is eating folks for no reason. Where did it come from? Fuck you, that's where!"
Than there's 'Cujo'. I'm sure when it was made is was terrifying. But I live in a world of smartphones and 4G networks. In the world I live in, if my car breaks down and there's a rabid dog outside trying to get in, one quick call gets me a cop and a tow truck. Even if I'm in a bad service area, I could still make a call to 911. Than there's 'The Shining'. I'm sorry if you like this movie, but I just can't concentrate on what's going on. I'm too busy marveling at how someone as unattractive as Shelly Duvall got an acting career in the first place, let alone ended up in a Kubrick film alongside Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers.
'Sleepwalkers' is one of the 2 films they showed that wasn't terrible. It's funny, has a great cast, and an interesting take on the whole vampirism story. There are a ton of cameos in this movie. Stephen King has a cameo in all his movies, but in this one we get horror greats like John Landis, Tobe Hooper, Clive Barker, and Joe Dante! If you don't know who they are, I'm sad for you.
'Pet Semetary' is a film that has always made me cringe. To this day, I can't stand with my back to a bed. I'm terrified of the whole 'Achilles tendon slicing' thing. When Eli Roth did it in 'Hostel', I made myself watch that scene once, and haven't watched it since. That scene comes up, my cowardly ass is hitting the skip to next scene button on my remote. The other reason this movie makes me cringe is the horrible decisions made by the main character. But that's a topic for another post.