*What STEPHEN KING topic should I cover next? ... Also, COMMENT your requests for 2022!!* Click the link in the description box or go to www.buyraycon.com/ryan and use code HOLIDAY to get 15% off sitewide!
The void, ginger snaps trilogy, hellraiser, fear street movies, what we do in the shadows, over the garden wall and near dark. And for Stephen King: Salem's Lot
I always thought the creepiest thing about Stephen King was Stephen King himself. The guy just looks like someone you would see on a list of people not allowed near playgrounds.
Only Stephen King could write a mostly-coherent book whilst outta his mind on drugs. Heck, he forgot he wrote Cujo, because he was drugged off his face.
King always utilizes the wholesome, small town America foil as a backdrop for the evil doings and spooky goings on in his work-but unless you’ve read his stuff, you don’t realize how weird and out there he can get. In addition, he has a pitch black sense of humor that makes an appearance in many of the most extreme parts of the stories.
King is also an absolute goofball. It's really cool listening to his lectures and hearing him talk about his writing in the audio versions and his books. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft has a lot of intimate details about the man and his life, then Joe Hill(One of his kiddos) discusses times he spent around his father, those poor kids got their pop's looks worse than Bruce Willis's kids got his.
He didn't just initially title it "Cancer", it was "Cancer of Evil". Thank the universe for Tabitha King telling him in no uncertain terms not to title it that.
I found it interesting that the main characters primary strengths lie with their loyalty, kindness and generosity. They are very sensitive men. Even Lt Underhill. A far cry from the bullet eating action heroes of films that previously tackled similar scenarios. King even clearly frames the archetypal 'tough guy'; showing the traits would normally make him the hero, as the villain. That doesnt make these other characters sissies, far from it. They all show a willingness to put themselves in harms way for what they think is right. To me this was King showing us that brave men still cry for others and may have been similar to his own circumstance at the time; many men are far from the warmongers, the killers, the destroyers. They bleed, they weep and they feel pain too.
When I think of my own personal hero, my dad, I also see a man who can be tough but also will drop everything to nurse someone through an illness or injury. It really is the best example of a man I can think of.
So well put👏👏👏 I can't remember where I've heard it, but there was a line in a movie (I guess). And it says: Being brave is not about not being afraid. It is about having the strenght, the will, the determination of doing what is right; eventhough you are afraid.
King wrote this while high on pain meds while recovering from his near fatal accident. I know it’s a flawed story, but it’s not that bad either. It’s actually impressive that he was able to craft a coherent horror story while he was impaired. Also, I’d love to see a video on Doctor Sleep. Good job, Ryan!
Never thought I'd see Ryan analyze Dreamcatcher! The novel is a wild ride, not only because of the crazy material but also because it's also a long, crazy book. I actually wrote a paper on it for the final essay in my English 101 college course. I wrote about the absurdity of the premise and plot but also the story behind King's mindset behind it. I got an A on it so I guess my prof thought it was good.
That sounds really cool! I really like breakdowns of fiction; do you think I could take a look at that paper? Would love to read it and hear the thoughts of someone who studied it in academia!
Oh man. I feel for that bathroom talk. I went to the doctor deeply concerned, told myself not to be meek, it could be a real issue. It's hard. Then it sucks when they blow you off and you think "in 30+ years I've never had this, it's said to be bad, you won't even test me? Am I too calm talking about it?!"
Just a little tip for the next time you go to the doc and your worries get ignored (hopefully it won't, but just in case). Request that they write down that they refused to do further tests or exams on your spacific concern and why. They will have to document it and this allows others that read your chart to see that you have an on-going concern, when it was brought up, and that it wasn't treated. It can help convince other's that its something worth looking into if you brought it up multiple times and it isn't something that just went away. If you have a genuine concern, the doctor has a duty to help you. (also, I hope everything is going okay.)
I've been in the same boat, I have a small lump that grows and swells in my chest, its a noncancerous lump according to the doctors I've seen so far but all of them have recvomended that I get an ultrasound, but ultrasound technicians continue to delay me.
I think you should cover either Children of the Corn, Salem's Lot or Cujo. I would like to see more Alien horror next year and just sci fi horror in general.
I'm actually shocked that you didn't mention that Mr. Gray is most likely another manifestation of the IT creature, as Pennywise itself was only a manifestation as well, sometimes also taking the name of Mr. Gray.
I loved this book when I was younger! Right after I read it I saw the trailer for the movie and was super excited to see it, especially since Jason Lee was one of my favorite actors at the time. The only thing I really remember from the movie is how disappointed I was by it.
The first time I watched this and saw Thomas Jane talking into a pistol like it was a telephone, I started looking around because clearly someone must've been playing a prank on me
I hadn't actually heard the whole cancer angle, but he is right about the whole body horror thing being in everyone's bathroom. Again, especially with the permeation of sensational media and King's deep, dark look at what he caters to as far as an audience, PLEASE review The Night Flier! It is an underrated gem!
While it's not Ryan, and I'd like to see him talk about the Night Flier too, here's a review from In Praise of Shadows. ruclips.net/video/tGOR4ZoQXGg/видео.html
Before I watched this video I thought Stephen King was referring to people reading the newspaper in the bathroom as the bad news that everyone experiences. I was way off
King wrote other stories about bathrooms. "The Moving Finger", an appendage that comes out of a bathroom sink; and "Sneakers" about a haunted bathroom stall. Thanks Stephen!
I will never understand how every actor in this movie, especially Morgan Freeman could say something as ridiculous as "sh** weasel" without bursting into laughter.
Had a colon cancer scare in my twenties so I definitely get how it just brings to mind all the most dehumanizing ways you can go without a shred of dignity. Trying to project that onto a monster that might be killable sounds almost cathartic. I also understand how that is just absolutely not palatable to most folks. Great video, as always, Ryan.
I think an interesting video idea in the future could be one about "Let The Right One In". I watched it recently and was not expecting it to be as good as it was. The themes, characters, and even violence mixed together really created a unique experience and is the only vampire movie ive seen that I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish.
Not to mention the movie came out in 2008. The same year another "vampire" movie that which we do not speak of (you know which one) came out and completely overshadowed it.
ngl, Im terrified to look into the long walk. I know what it is from a 1 sentence summery, but it just seems too heartbreaking to fully read (and I think a movie is coming out for it soon, so watching it would make me a crying mess). I know it would be a fantastic story, but I'm not sure my little heart can take it.
@@diem1095 fair its definitely a story that leaves ya with that pit in your chest but its good enough to convince people in my life that considered King a complete hack that he does in fact have talent. Wild how good a mans first book written in college can be.
I agree with the “too many cooks” metaphor, the movie is brought down a lot by too much stuff that goes nowhere. Finding an anomaly in your stool is fucking terrifying though, not gonna disagree with King on that one
Always love stories involving a bunch of childhood friends go on potentially deadly and sppoky adventures, like Moster House, IT, Dreamcatcher, Stranger Things, Super 8, Stand by Me, etc.
It happened to me too, but with IT. I was five. After that my mom had to go to the bathroom with me for a whole year because I was too scared to go alone 😂
I was impressed by how Ryan brought forth the point of how dehumanising death can be when most people are found. Loved this movie back in the day, to be honest, it has still holds an impact on me.
King's toilet horror metaphor is weird, but I get it. Then again I've been living with ulcerative colitis for over 10 years. The first time you look into your toilet and see blood that isn't menses, it's pretty terrifying. I guess since I've had to come to terms with the "shame" of living with a bowel disease, the gross out body horror in Dreamcatcher doesn't affect me as much as it might someone else. It just seems like the dude's having a flare up, albeit on an apocalyptic level. The pain of an alien parasite shooting out of your ass has to be comparable to IBD.
Ever since I was diagnosed with crohns and had many really bad episodes with hours on end on the toilet, cramping in pain I really have a newfound appreciation for the toilet
I already commented on this, but I was diagnosed in my 20s and people treated me so badly. All my friends called me melodramatic because I couldn't control my flares. I've since radically changed my diet, which helps,but it's still chronic and affects my daily life. I'm sorry for the pain you live with, physical and emotional.
I came here to make a very similar comment, having had a cocktail of UC, GERD, and other digestive issues for years. As a dude, seeing blood in the toilet was an altogether new and terrifying experience, but is so common place now that I don't even blink.
@@AdmiralAwsm Yeah having your gut practically hold you at gun point to keep you in/near a bathroom at all times for years and years at a time kinda changes a person. It ruined the entirety of my 20s for me. You kinda have to cultivate a sense of humor about it just to deal. So... idk. I can't write off toilet horror as a concept entirely. When Green Inferno came out I wasn't in remission, so when it got to that scene where they're all caged up and the character with an already established bowel issue starts freaking out and didn't have their medication to control it... 😐
Dreamcatcher is one of his best books!! it's very rich in lore and the bond between the friends. it was also the first time King wrote about his being hit by a car. I really enjoy it.
That explains...so much. As explained in the video, while recuperating from the car accident, King was prescribed the notorious painkiller, OxyContin. And a common side effect of OxyContin (besides addiction) is constipation. And conspiration can be quite painful. Especially when you add a collapsed right lung, multiple fractures on your right leg, scalp lacerations, and a broken hip.
You really hit the nail on the head with "Bleak for bleakness' sake" - that was something that stood out to me about Dreamcatcher, and ultimately made finding something to enjoy in it hard. Like another commenter, I'd love your take on Doctor Sleep - something that had just a little bit of hope mixed in to the horror.
Shame the movie was... Not the best adaptation they could've made. To be fair tho, the book has almost no fat while being a chunky bastard, so my simpaties to the film makers
I wonder if King wrote this since he might have been "trapped" in the bathroom himself. Opioids cause constipation, especially if taken long term like months.
That is actually where the concept of the "shit weasel" came from. King said that his constipation brought on by coming off the oxy is what inspired their method of....birth?
My favorite part of the DT series (spoilers if you havent read it) is when he makes himself a character to basically be like "what if youd killed me in that accident, and I turned out to be the key to saving reality?? What then asshole?!"
Stephen King movies are a huge guilty pleasure for me because even though they tend to be bad, they are always pretty fun. Also, when I was a kid the toilet monsters actually made me paranoid of the toilet, haha
toilet parinoia follows you into adulthood if you watched videos like "Plummer pulls 11 foot snake out of toilet" or "huge spider hiding under toilet lid". the horror goes from superntural based to ecological. Either way, the fear or toilets.....is very real.
@@diem1095 lol, thankfully it went away at some point in my teens; i thankfully don't live in Australia so I've never had to worry about massive toilet snakes and spiders lol
I actually really enjoyed this book. Each power was significant to the characterization, and some of the lines from the book have still left an impact on me, however mundane they are. For example, the part where the psychiatrist keeps track of who sits on the couch and who uses the chair. And I just loved Mr. Grey as a villain. He was a fun guy to root against.
Same. I love the trope of friends reunite to stop evil and this book delivered that. Plus the aliens were scarier in the book than in the movie. I'm a huge fan of this ridiculous cast too. Tom Jane, Donnie Walhburg playing against type, Jason Lee showing his range before (during?) My Name is Earl, and Morgan Freeman chewing the scenery. Dreamcatcher is just a fun movie to revisit from time to time.
I guess I'm in the minority but Dreamcatcher is one of my favorite King books. I had actually given up on his books for some years because I felt like his story endings were so awful it was just frustrating to read a great story and then have it seem like he just got tired of writing and called it a day. I got Dreamcatcher by accident by being too slow to return a book club decline notice. I decided to go ahead and give it a try and finished it in 2 days. I also like the movie and think it's one of the better older adaptions. Most of the adaptions the last few years have been pretty good. I would like to hear you cover Castle Rock.
@@proto-geek248 the ending? It was left open ended, but it was a finished ending if that makes sense. It didn't seem like a word count or something was hit and that was the ending. It's been so long now but one of the anthologies he wrote it in the late 80s every story just stopped. It wasn't even like they were cliffhangers just I hit chapter x and I'm done.
@@towalmoore Absolutely awful movie. Aliens are going to travel across the galaxy to have a sarcastic one-liner battle with each other? IN ENGLISH!? Dumb. Love King but this is crap.
@@proto-geek248 I admit I have a soft spot for Thomas Jane and enjoy some of the other cast as well. I won't argue it's King's best work though I think it's better than some. I also think in many movies you have to suspend disbelief where many things, but particularly aliens, are concerned. The best example I can think of aside from myriad movies where everyone knows fluent English is Signs. Aliens that can't handle water travel who knows how many years to take over a planet largely made of water. Maybe the takeaway is that despite having better technology than we do they aren't any smarter 😉
@@towalmoore I can't suspend that much disbelief lol. The thing is, I liked the way Dreamcatcher started, then it just, well, you know. Like Rose Madder, interesting beginning, dumb twist. And Jane was great as Punisher.
My aunt convinced my mom when they were kids that there was a witch in the toilet that would grab her if she didn't go fast enough. So... Anyways, I actually enjoyed the film and book. Jonsey getting Mr. Grey addicted to bacon, and then tricking him into eating it raw so that he'll retreat when the food poisoning sets in is still hilarious. Mostly because bacon and mayo sandwiches are definitely addictive. Plus, Mr. Grey is Pennywise. They all have the shining. And King brings back the memory warehouse in Doctor Sleep.
Holy shit. I watched this movie on tv one year when i was a kid. I was absurdly sick, terrible flu, i could barely get off the couch to get to the bathroom to throw up. Every now and then i just get hit with memories of this movie and could never find out what movie it was. I was starting to convince myself that it was just a crazy ass fever dream and the movie didn’t exist. To find out it’s actually from Stephen King is mind blowing to say the least lol thank you for talking about this movie so i could finally confirm that i didn’t dream this movie up lol
My problem with Dreamcatcher was that it feels like 2 different stories in 1 On one hand the story of the adult friends (several IT deja vu’s also) with special powers dealing with their everyday life is a pretty interesting thriller. Then everything gives a 180 turn as the average B movie (with black humor) then destroying all the buildup as I mentioned before.
Dreamcatcher is the first Stephen King movie I ever saw and it was a huge favorite in my house, especially for sleepovers as a teenager. It’s one of those movies where I know the books is different, I know a lot of people aren’t huge fans, but this movie will always hold a special place in my heart and it is a comfort movie of mine. I also love when Morgan Freeman plays a villain! One of my other favorite movies of all time, is Lucky Number Slevin. I feel like it had a solid cast and was some of it goofy, yeah but I liked they’re performances. One of my favorite parts of the movie, is Jonesy mind and how he organizes it all. That concept has stuck with my 17 years later. I really appreciated this video because it is a favorite of mine and I always like the way you break the story down and analyze it. Thank you!
Tbh props to king for being able to write a full novel while in pain and loopy on pain meds. I can't even write a book when I'm in a perfect physical and mental condition.
This movie has the best and most accurate quote about my hometown. A throwaway line from the script that I adore and say frequently, "You know, Pittsfield's a better place to come from than to go back to."
I personally never found King’s books scary in the paranormal sense. What drew me to his books wasn’t the horror elements, but the visceral and graphic description of the evil nature of humans. I still remember the recoil, shock, and fear young me felt when reading on the physical assaults in Under The Dome, IT, The Stand, and Misery, and realizing that the ones I should fear were not ghosts, or vampires, or aliens, but humans.
Definitely brings me back to early childhood. 😆 I forgot how terrified I was about a monster coming up through the pipes and into the toilet. I'd flush and frantically wash up before sprinting out.
I had the opposite - I got scared coming OUT of the bathroom (specifically opening the bathroom door outwards). I think because it's the smallest room in the house, usually the only one that locks, and very well-lit.
I've had a slight fear of a spider, or snake being in the toilet since I was fairly young. Every now and again, I just have to check to be sure there's nothing there that'll bite me.
I really love and respect the portrayals of the characters in the movie, especially Jonesy, but the book is FAR superior. The story is much tighter, especially the ending. I understand why they needed to change it to fit a primarily visual medium, but it's still disappointing that they changed the main point of the climax. It's a good movie, but it's a stellar book.
I love the stuff with Jonesy and the alien talking and the library type thing in his head. Was really cool to me and my favorite thing about this movie
DreamCatcher was a phenomenal film. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Slasher films aren't the only horror genre I enjoy. Creature features are great films, and it's always pleasant to get one that's more than that. Great video. Thanks as always.
In one of his short story collections one of my favorites was about a guy that gets trapped in a public bathroom stall and has to find a way to scape. King is King because he can draw you into every imaginable type of story and he is willing to play with any idea he wishes to, always doing so with sincerity and honesty
I remember skipping school with a girl I liked and go see Dreamcatcher in this small, old movie theater of the kind that still had proper marquee posters and a single popcorn cart in the lobby. I think that was the last time I saw a movie in a theater that wasn't a multiplex, as smaller/single screen theaters were already slowly dying. I remember the surprise of seeing "Final Flight of The Osiris" before the movie, building up an insane hype "The Matrix Reloaded" failed to live up to (mileage may vary, Osiris was the last thing I genuinely liked of the Matrix franchise). I don't really have a point here, I just liked this weird movie and the memories of that day come back whenever I revisit it.
As an Australian who has encountered an ACTUAL snake in a truck stop bathroom: this is a perfectly rational fear. Finding scorpions in you shoe is more likely though.
Dreamcatcher was the first King book I read, and honestly it's the only one that made any lasting impression on me. I was scared to sit on the toilet for weeks! Honestly I think it's kind of genius - we all have to defecate, we all fear parasites, pit two and two together and I think especially with the book rather than the film, where our imagination can run riot, it's bloody terifying. I was too young to understand everything he was trying to get across, but the simple idea of shit monsters... well it scared me shitless.
This story actually takes place in Derry, the town from It and actually references what happens post the events of that novel plus has a teaser that as far as I know King never followed up on.
Have you considered critiquing the miniseries of The Shining he made? I know you don't like to badger films for their negatives, and it doesn't have much else but it could be a good laugh at least.
The final episode did garner a strong viewer discretion warning for the graphic violence Jack commits on Wendy. Steven Weber felt horrible for the things he had to do to Rebecca De Mornay. He said they couldn't look at one another after filming completed.
I never focused on the S-weasel aspect. It's a pretty straight forward story of the alien in Duddits knowing what was going to happen and using four nice kids who stuck up for him to combat the coming threat.
maybe is just me, but I unironically enjoyed this movie. The whole aliens in the bathroom was something that left my memory as soon as I ended the movie, as it didn't interest me, nor I found it to be of importance. What fascinated me was the group of friends dynamic. How all of them had superpowers, but they still went on to have very normal lives, But this fact served as a nexus to keep them close even after they went their separate ways. I wanted to see more of them, how they applied their supernatural abilities to their everyday lives and how human they felt in their interactions with each other. It felt like a very human and sincere movie about people, friendship and lasting bonds.
I kind of get where king is coming from with the toilet horror lmao. Realistically, learning that you have/might have an undiagnosed serious illness sounds freaking terrifying
As someone who has a digestive related chronic illness, this is less funny to me. The idea of battling something in the bathroom isn't that weird to me. Thanks for covering this Ryan, I personally enjoy the weirder King stuff,but it's definitely not for everyone
i read a book based when i was a kid on an actual event where a snake got loose into an apartment's pipes through the toilet and kept popping up in random bathrooms and its still on my mind sometimes when i go to this day. the crapper can TOTALLY be scary
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors (one I also feel very conflicted recommending to people because obviously) but the man cannot stick a landing in his longer works to save his life. Dolores Claiborne and Revival are two notable exceptions for me as far as novels go but I think he really excels more at his short stories.
@@TheBfutgreg I think the original printing cut the wrong bits rather than fixing the actual pacing issues in the middle-end of the story and while the uncut version makes more sense it still flounders to actually resolve. Generously, resolution may not be the point in The Stand since it’s pretty clearly about the cyclical nature of mankind to destroy himself. I think that theme was done much better in the Dark Tower series. Also the concept of Fran, relatively fresh from an emergency c-section and pregnant again, choosing to travel across the country and away from all community and medical care because she’s homesick and thinks the Boulder Free-Zone is getting bogged down in bureaucracy is absolutely hilarious to me.
True, his endings tend to be pretty bad if the book reaches a certain lenght. BTW, was The Stand his 1000+ pages book about the world ending? Cus I can't remember anything about it besides something about a devil disguised as a man and some virus at the beginning XD.
My grandmother got me into modern horror/sci-fi when I was a kid, with an emphasis on King’s books. This brought back a LOT of memories, we would rent every schlocky film adaptation of his work and they would reignite my fear of the dark for another few years. Thanks for your videos Ryan!
I remember watching a documentary as a child of a fish that could swim up your piss stream, enter your body and live inside it as a very painful parasite. It made me absolutely *terrified* of going to the bathroom. So like, King's idea of those shit weasels is absurd and borderline comedic but also... I kinda get why it would be scary 😅
Films I would love to see covered on here: The Changeling (1980) Needful Things The Sleepaway Camp series Prom Night (1980) Last House on The Left Amazing video as always Ryan, I can't wait for whats coming in 2022.. In case you don't do another before the end of the month. Merry Christmas!!
Dude, i dead ass to this day have a slight fear of sitting on the toilet in the dark because i saw a snippit of this movie as a kid all those years ago lmao
Duddits wasn't an alien in the book, just a much more powerful psychic, and I think that was better than what the movie did. He was basically dying the entire trip with Henry and taking out Mr. Grey does kill him still- I felt that making him an alien last minute like that really cheapened the emotional impact of his death on Henry and Jonesy.
It feels like King wanted to do something comparable to David Cronenberg's The Fly, but that was a tightly focused story that stuck to its central themes from beginning to end.
Here’s a possible subject for 2022: Terrifier. A movie that is made up if two incredibly disjointed parts: Incredibly explicit gore porn and a charismatic, hilarious performance from its main villain that simply doesn’t mesh with the nastiness of the rest of the film.
I grew up next to the Quabbin. I saw this in the closest theater to the Quabbin. It was surreal and fun to see the ending to this where the film was filmed and set.
As someone with a knee-hip injury, I greatly appreciated the books detail, about life with dealing with such disabilities. It helped me understand, that it wasn't my fault that I was injured, and that even though I'm "young", there's absolutely nothing wrong. With feeling depressed and discouraged at time
i'm gonna be honest here, I'm actually quite new to horror media, I've never read a Stephen King novel, nor any other horror novel for that matter, but your channel has opened my eyes to the genre in ways I could not have predicted. Dreamcatcher's concept messes me up, our unwillingness to acknowledge the distasteful parts of our basic bodily functions is an idea that should be explored more I think. Speaking of distasteful bodily functions, have you thought about taking a look at Ginger Snaps? I think you mentioned it in your video on An American Werewolf In London, the way the werewolves function in the film is very interesting, more like an infectious disease rather than a quick albeit painful transformation. Another thing that could be interesting is a look at The Magnus Archives, it's a horror-tragedy fiction podcast that is way deeper than you'd expect, not in a "METAPHORS METAPHORS METAPHORS" way but in characterization and story.
I hope you read some SK. I was hooked from the first novel I read from him in high school, class of 79! Start with Carrie, then The Stand. You will understand why he is the Master of Horror Fiction!
HOLY SHIT!! I know this comment is late but man.... I remember being about 4 and coming downstairs one night to see the scene where they find the fat guy, and that's the moment I first remember liking being scared. Thank you Ryan genuinely for giving back a part of my childhood I thought I would never remember again.
It's very funny how a book with a very similar concept called The Troop (a bunch of people go out into the wilderness and encounter some kind of strange parasite that causes body horror and horrible changes) is so similar in that the monsters tend to be gastrointestinal but it's so much more terrifying. Considering it's ability to mix together ideas from Thinner and Dreamcatcher, I think The Troop is a good example that it's often King's execution and not his conceptions that lead to his books falling flat.
It'd be cool to see your take on "The Relic" from 2017. One of the horror films from the last few years that was able to hit really close to home, for me.
I read the book that this film was based on when I was in high school. I personally found that for as ridiculous and chaotic this story was; the deaths of the characters who died in the novel were all very visceral and hard to read at times due to how we got to know the characters prior to their repective demises. The novel is by no means one of King's best works but it stuck with me after I read it due to how bizarre and sad the premise was.
I’m a late 90’s baby and I remember as a young kid I sorta had a fear of the toilet due to seeing the toilet scene from dream catcher but being so young I remembered nothing else about the movie besides just the toilet scene. just now watching this video has flooded in memories of this movie
Not a lot of people know that this movie was directed by the guy who wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, Lawrence Kasdan. It's also written by the guy who wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride, Wiliam Goldman. So much talent for such a strange movie.
There’s a deep fundamental reason why I am drawn towards your content…. It’s deeply rooted in the fact that every night since as long as I can remember I’ve had nightmares. But even more so I have a morbid fascination with horror.
Dreamcatcher was one of my first Stephen King books and I enjoyed it. Then the movie came out and while I did not hate it I always thought it was one of those it should have stayed as a book. Seeing this bring back memories of reading this book and being horrified at the bathroom and cheering when josey tricks mister grey. Also still use the phase SSDD when people ask me how I am doing at work as a joke.
You're right about death being degrading. A lot of people die on the toilet, and a lot of long illnesses have pretty humiliating finales. Fortunately, the deceased is past caring at that point!
Stephen King made me scared of the bathroom with his short story The Moving Finger. It's in one of his short story collections, and it's such a ridiculous premise. However, when I read it back in high school, I was living with my dad in the mountains, rather isolated, and we had a plumbing system that made knocking noises sometimes as water moved about. I was terrified to go into the restroom for AGES because of that story. 😂
*What STEPHEN KING topic should I cover next? ... Also, COMMENT your requests for 2022!!*
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Noroi please -w-
The void, ginger snaps trilogy, hellraiser, fear street movies, what we do in the shadows, over the garden wall and near dark.
And for Stephen King: Salem's Lot
I always thought the creepiest thing about Stephen King was Stephen King himself. The guy just looks like someone you would see on a list of people not allowed near playgrounds.
I’ve love to see a video on Doctor Sleep, keep up the good work Ryan!
I'd love for you to cover Frailty.
As for King, Doctor Sleep, or Misery, if you haven't covered it already.
To be fair, handwriting this whole book while high on painkillers it’s amazing it holds together as a story better then you’d expect.
Only Stephen King could write a mostly-coherent book whilst outta his mind on drugs.
Heck, he forgot he wrote Cujo, because he was drugged off his face.
He has prior with writing high let's be fair. Most of his early books owe an awful lot to Bolivian matching powder 😁
I guess its kind of effective then, because I sure felt like I was high on painkillers when I watched it
King always utilizes the wholesome, small town America foil as a backdrop for the evil doings and spooky goings on in his work-but unless you’ve read his stuff, you don’t realize how weird and out there he can get. In addition, he has a pitch black sense of humor that makes an appearance in many of the most extreme parts of the stories.
King is also an absolute goofball. It's really cool listening to his lectures and hearing him talk about his writing in the audio versions and his books.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft has a lot of intimate details about the man and his life, then Joe Hill(One of his kiddos) discusses times he spent around his father, those poor kids got their pop's looks worse than Bruce Willis's kids got his.
Yeah - the people who have only seen his films have no idea how absolutely insane his stories actually get.
@@josephmayfield945 Right? I watched a lot of his movies as a kid and once I started reading the stories I was like "wtf"
@@josephmayfield945 sometimes, for the better. I got the metaphor, but I am cool just following his antics, no need to get close and be sewer bros.
Right? IT is completely insane, compared to the filmed versions...
He didn't just initially title it "Cancer", it was "Cancer of Evil". Thank the universe for Tabitha King telling him in no uncertain terms not to title it that.
As opposed to Cancer of Good?
@@tituslafrombois1164 You see why she told him not to name it that way now?
@@tituslafrombois1164 don't ask me, I wasn't the guy on painkillers.
Cancer of Evil sounds kickass. What's wrong with it?
@@gryla5290 probably the redundancy
I found it interesting that the main characters primary strengths lie with their loyalty, kindness and generosity. They are very sensitive men. Even Lt Underhill. A far cry from the bullet eating action heroes of films that previously tackled similar scenarios. King even clearly frames the archetypal 'tough guy'; showing the traits would normally make him the hero, as the villain. That doesnt make these other characters sissies, far from it. They all show a willingness to put themselves in harms way for what they think is right. To me this was King showing us that brave men still cry for others and may have been similar to his own circumstance at the time; many men are far from the warmongers, the killers, the destroyers. They bleed, they weep and they feel pain too.
When I think of my own personal hero, my dad, I also see a man who can be tough but also will drop everything to nurse someone through an illness or injury. It really is the best example of a man I can think of.
So well put👏👏👏
I can't remember where I've heard it, but there was a line in a movie (I guess). And it says:
Being brave is not about not being afraid. It is about having the strenght, the will, the determination of doing what is right; eventhough you are afraid.
@Nadine It might be, I really can't remember :)
it's crap.
@Nadine wtf is neurodivergent neurotypical dude?
King wrote this while high on pain meds while recovering from his near fatal accident. I know it’s a flawed story, but it’s not that bad either. It’s actually impressive that he was able to craft a coherent horror story while he was impaired.
Also, I’d love to see a video on Doctor Sleep.
Good job, Ryan!
Excellent comment. Truly shows his talent.
Lmao you listen to the hip hop artist known as “future” then get back to me
@@trilliam8806 ... What does that have to do with anything?
@@tituslafrombois1164 future makes all his music on opioids lmaoo
Oh! You mean that thing that Ryan said happened, actually happened?? Wowza
Never thought I'd see Ryan analyze Dreamcatcher! The novel is a wild ride, not only because of the crazy material but also because it's also a long, crazy book. I actually wrote a paper on it for the final essay in my English 101 college course. I wrote about the absurdity of the premise and plot but also the story behind King's mindset behind it. I got an A on it so I guess my prof thought it was good.
That sounds really cool! I really like breakdowns of fiction; do you think I could take a look at that paper? Would love to read it and hear the thoughts of someone who studied it in academia!
I actually kinda enjoy the book and the movie was just such garbage
Tg
One of my favorite King novels
@@mafazabrar4349 Oh it's loooong gone. This was almost ten years ago.
Oh man. I feel for that bathroom talk. I went to the doctor deeply concerned, told myself not to be meek, it could be a real issue. It's hard. Then it sucks when they blow you off and you think "in 30+ years I've never had this, it's said to be bad, you won't even test me? Am I too calm talking about it?!"
Just a little tip for the next time you go to the doc and your worries get ignored (hopefully it won't, but just in case). Request that they write down that they refused to do further tests or exams on your spacific concern and why. They will have to document it and this allows others that read your chart to see that you have an on-going concern, when it was brought up, and that it wasn't treated. It can help convince other's that its something worth looking into if you brought it up multiple times and it isn't something that just went away. If you have a genuine concern, the doctor has a duty to help you. (also, I hope everything is going okay.)
I've been in the same boat, I have a small lump that grows and swells in my chest, its a noncancerous lump according to the doctors I've seen so far but all of them have recvomended that I get an ultrasound, but ultrasound technicians continue to delay me.
So, you liked the movie, huh?
I always really liked the wintry setting of this movie. An alien invasion in the snow is super cool looking.
Watch the thing if you haven’t seen it
Snow is cold... just like space 😉
Quite true.
I think you should cover either Children of the Corn, Salem's Lot or Cujo.
I would like to see more Alien horror next year and just sci fi horror in general.
Children of the Corn could be fun!
@@RyanHollinger oh most definitely.
I always wondered who "The one who walks behind the rodes" was.
The original story was dark.
@@RyanHollinger My Mom used to work with a guy that got a part in the second film. Wild.
@@mandalorianhunter1 it’s pretty heavily implied to be a manifestation of Randall Flagg. Nick has a vision of him in that form in The Stand.
Cujo would be sick
I'm actually shocked that you didn't mention that Mr. Gray is most likely another manifestation of the IT creature, as Pennywise itself was only a manifestation as well, sometimes also taking the name of Mr. Gray.
I think is more likelly that Mister Gray is Pennywise's child.
Maybe is another alien of the same species but it uses other methods to kill/eat people
@@feliperisseto9113 I doubt that, who’s pennywise gonna be shagging?
@@feliperisseto9113 the evil giant alien spider's little gray man baby trying to follow in mother's footsteps
Haven’t read dreamcatcher, but liked the movie A LOT. I understand why so many people hated it, but i think it’s a interesting history and characters.
Its a good if strange book, if you liked the movie you should check it out!
@@gonzotehclown seconded
I liked the movie too! It's like et vs the thing with some kids with the shine and it has so much potential.
I loved this book when I was younger! Right after I read it I saw the trailer for the movie and was super excited to see it, especially since Jason Lee was one of my favorite actors at the time. The only thing I really remember from the movie is how disappointed I was by it.
I agree
The first time I watched this and saw Thomas Jane talking into a pistol like it was a telephone, I started looking around because clearly someone must've been playing a prank on me
I played enough Legend of Zelda to know that the real horror lurking inside the toilets is a scrawny hand in need of paper.
Corona made us all feel like that.
😂😂well it does give you a piece of heart doesn't it?
Reading this book was such a weird experience. It was slow, but you could picture PERFECTLY every single scene. It felt like watching a movie on acids
I hadn't actually heard the whole cancer angle, but he is right about the whole body horror thing being in everyone's bathroom. Again, especially with the permeation of sensational media and King's deep, dark look at what he caters to as far as an audience, PLEASE review The Night Flier! It is an underrated gem!
While it's not Ryan, and I'd like to see him talk about the Night Flier too, here's a review from In Praise of Shadows.
ruclips.net/video/tGOR4ZoQXGg/видео.html
@@rdp16rulez Thank you!
@@PoeticProse7 No problem.
Before I watched this video I thought Stephen King was referring to people reading the newspaper in the bathroom as the bad news that everyone experiences. I was way off
King wrote other stories about bathrooms.
"The Moving Finger", an appendage that comes out of a bathroom sink; and "Sneakers" about a haunted bathroom stall.
Thanks Stephen!
The Moving Finger gave me nightmares, for sure. Kings brain is honestly so perplexing...
god, my mom told me about the moving finger when i was a kid, freaked me the hell out
i had nightmares about pennywise after she told me about it
Plus IT moving through the sewer system
I will never understand how every actor in this movie, especially Morgan Freeman could say something as ridiculous as "sh** weasel" without bursting into laughter.
Honestly says a lot about their acting ability.
@@animeotaku307 Agreed.
I'm gonna assume there's a LOT of bloopers
maybe they all went out for drinks after the first day and just said it at each other until it lost all it's power
multiple takes
Had a colon cancer scare in my twenties so I definitely get how it just brings to mind all the most dehumanizing ways you can go without a shred of dignity. Trying to project that onto a monster that might be killable sounds almost cathartic. I also understand how that is just absolutely not palatable to most folks. Great video, as always, Ryan.
I think an interesting video idea in the future could be one about "Let The Right One In". I watched it recently and was not expecting it to be as good as it was. The themes, characters, and even violence mixed together really created a unique experience and is the only vampire movie ive seen that I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish.
I HIGHLY recommend checking out the book then!
A beautiful film
Brilliant film. So good.
Not to mention the movie came out in 2008. The same year another "vampire" movie that which we do not speak of (you know which one) came out and completely overshadowed it.
Have you watched the original? It's well worth it too - Swedish, I think? A slightly different take on the story. A lot of people prefer it :-)
King is at his best and his worst when he writes from his personal experiences and feelings, without it we wouldn't of gotten the long walk
ngl, Im terrified to look into the long walk. I know what it is from a 1 sentence summery, but it just seems too heartbreaking to fully read (and I think a movie is coming out for it soon, so watching it would make me a crying mess). I know it would be a fantastic story, but I'm not sure my little heart can take it.
@@diem1095 fair its definitely a story that leaves ya with that pit in your chest but its good enough to convince people in my life that considered King a complete hack that he does in fact have talent. Wild how good a mans first book written in college can be.
*have.
Wouldn't "have" not wouldn't "of"
The episode of X-files called “Fluke” made me terrified of toilets/port-a-potties when it aired.
Flukeman!
The host
The X-files seriously gave me a lot of sleepless nights as a kid lol
I agree with the “too many cooks” metaphor, the movie is brought down a lot by too much stuff that goes nowhere. Finding an anomaly in your stool is fucking terrifying though, not gonna disagree with King on that one
Very true.
Always love stories involving a bunch of childhood friends go on potentially deadly and sppoky adventures, like Moster House, IT, Dreamcatcher, Stranger Things, Super 8, Stand by Me, etc.
Omg yes! I have a thing for this theme!
How could u forget stand by me!
Stand By Me... or The Body by Stephen King is my all time favorite
I legit watched this when I was a kid and was scared of the toilet for years, I still get a wave of anxiety thinking about it sometimes
It happened to me too, but with IT. I was five. After that my mom had to go to the bathroom with me for a whole year because I was too scared to go alone 😂
The book terrified me, honestly. And Damien Lewis gives a REVELATION of a performance. Hell, Jason Lee was GREAT.
Lewis's performance impressed me a lot when I saw it as a kid - being disturb whenever he would switch between Gray and Jonsey.
I was impressed by how Ryan brought forth the point of how dehumanising death can be when most people are found.
Loved this movie back in the day, to be honest, it has still holds an impact on me.
King's toilet horror metaphor is weird, but I get it. Then again I've been living with ulcerative colitis for over 10 years. The first time you look into your toilet and see blood that isn't menses, it's pretty terrifying. I guess since I've had to come to terms with the "shame" of living with a bowel disease, the gross out body horror in Dreamcatcher doesn't affect me as much as it might someone else. It just seems like the dude's having a flare up, albeit on an apocalyptic level. The pain of an alien parasite shooting out of your ass has to be comparable to IBD.
I've had some blood in the bowl after I finished. Hemorrhoids are no fun, but thankful it wasn't bowel cancer
Ever since I was diagnosed with crohns and had many really bad episodes with hours on end on the toilet, cramping in pain I really have a newfound appreciation for the toilet
I already commented on this, but I was diagnosed in my 20s and people treated me so badly. All my friends called me melodramatic because I couldn't control my flares. I've since radically changed my diet, which helps,but it's still chronic and affects my daily life. I'm sorry for the pain you live with, physical and emotional.
I came here to make a very similar comment, having had a cocktail of UC, GERD, and other digestive issues for years. As a dude, seeing blood in the toilet was an altogether new and terrifying experience, but is so common place now that I don't even blink.
@@AdmiralAwsm Yeah having your gut practically hold you at gun point to keep you in/near a bathroom at all times for years and years at a time kinda changes a person. It ruined the entirety of my 20s for me. You kinda have to cultivate a sense of humor about it just to deal. So... idk. I can't write off toilet horror as a concept entirely. When Green Inferno came out I wasn't in remission, so when it got to that scene where they're all caged up and the character with an already established bowel issue starts freaking out and didn't have their medication to control it... 😐
The scene of the animals running away always gives me chills. It's beautiful and haunting and it does a good job at changing the tone of the movie.
Dreamcatcher is one of his best books!! it's very rich in lore and the bond between the friends. it was also the first time King wrote about his being hit by a car. I really enjoy it.
Give it to Kasdan to ditch it in favor of batshit insanity
That explains...so much. As explained in the video, while recuperating from the car accident, King was prescribed the notorious painkiller, OxyContin. And a common side effect of OxyContin (besides addiction) is constipation. And conspiration can be quite painful. Especially when you add a collapsed right lung, multiple fractures on your right leg, scalp lacerations, and a broken hip.
Nah, not one of his best but I enjoyed it. It's definitely not as bad as everyone says it is.
It sucks. Easily one of his worst.
You really hit the nail on the head with "Bleak for bleakness' sake" - that was something that stood out to me about Dreamcatcher, and ultimately made finding something to enjoy in it hard. Like another commenter, I'd love your take on Doctor Sleep - something that had just a little bit of hope mixed in to the horror.
Shame the movie was... Not the best adaptation they could've made. To be fair tho, the book has almost no fat while being a chunky bastard, so my simpaties to the film makers
I wonder if King wrote this since he might have been "trapped" in the bathroom himself. Opioids cause constipation, especially if taken long term like months.
That is actually where the concept of the "shit weasel" came from. King said that his constipation brought on by coming off the oxy is what inspired their method of....birth?
@@jesseperry9602 thank you 😊
As someone with IBS I already feared the toilet.
Stephen King still has a lot of amazing stories, though: like the Body and the Dark Tower series.
Its those little moments that didn't translate
My favorite part of the DT series (spoilers if you havent read it) is when he makes himself a character to basically be like "what if youd killed me in that accident, and I turned out to be the key to saving reality?? What then asshole?!"
Stephen King movies are a huge guilty pleasure for me because even though they tend to be bad, they are always pretty fun.
Also, when I was a kid the toilet monsters actually made me paranoid of the toilet, haha
toilet parinoia follows you into adulthood if you watched videos like "Plummer pulls 11 foot snake out of toilet" or "huge spider hiding under toilet lid". the horror goes from superntural based to ecological. Either way, the fear or toilets.....is very real.
@@diem1095 lol, thankfully it went away at some point in my teens; i thankfully don't live in Australia so I've never had to worry about massive toilet snakes and spiders lol
I actually really enjoyed this book. Each power was significant to the characterization, and some of the lines from the book have still left an impact on me, however mundane they are. For example, the part where the psychiatrist keeps track of who sits on the couch and who uses the chair. And I just loved Mr. Grey as a villain. He was a fun guy to root against.
Same. I love the trope of friends reunite to stop evil and this book delivered that. Plus the aliens were scarier in the book than in the movie. I'm a huge fan of this ridiculous cast too. Tom Jane, Donnie Walhburg playing against type, Jason Lee showing his range before (during?) My Name is Earl, and Morgan Freeman chewing the scenery. Dreamcatcher is just a fun movie to revisit from time to time.
The only way to keep those monsters from coming out the rear end is shouting a Harty "HOYEVER" before they burst through.
I guess I'm in the minority but Dreamcatcher is one of my favorite King books. I had actually given up on his books for some years because I felt like his story endings were so awful it was just frustrating to read a great story and then have it seem like he just got tired of writing and called it a day. I got Dreamcatcher by accident by being too slow to return a book club decline notice. I decided to go ahead and give it a try and finished it in 2 days.
I also like the movie and think it's one of the better older adaptions. Most of the adaptions the last few years have been pretty good.
I would like to hear you cover Castle Rock.
and you liked this one? 🙄
@@proto-geek248 the ending? It was left open ended, but it was a finished ending if that makes sense. It didn't seem like a word count or something was hit and that was the ending. It's been so long now but one of the anthologies he wrote it in the late 80s every story just stopped. It wasn't even like they were cliffhangers just I hit chapter x and I'm done.
@@towalmoore Absolutely awful movie. Aliens are going to travel across the galaxy to have a sarcastic one-liner battle with each other? IN ENGLISH!? Dumb. Love King but this is crap.
@@proto-geek248 I admit I have a soft spot for Thomas Jane and enjoy some of the other cast as well. I won't argue it's King's best work though I think it's better than some. I also think in many movies you have to suspend disbelief where many things, but particularly aliens, are concerned.
The best example I can think of aside from myriad movies where everyone knows fluent English is Signs. Aliens that can't handle water travel who knows how many years to take over a planet largely made of water.
Maybe the takeaway is that despite having better technology than we do they aren't any smarter 😉
@@towalmoore I can't suspend that much disbelief lol. The thing is, I liked the way Dreamcatcher started, then it just, well, you know. Like Rose Madder, interesting beginning, dumb twist.
And Jane was great as Punisher.
My aunt convinced my mom when they were kids that there was a witch in the toilet that would grab her if she didn't go fast enough.
So...
Anyways, I actually enjoyed the film and book.
Jonsey getting Mr. Grey addicted to bacon, and then tricking him into eating it raw so that he'll retreat when the food poisoning sets in is still hilarious. Mostly because bacon and mayo sandwiches are definitely addictive.
Plus, Mr. Grey is Pennywise.
They all have the shining.
And King brings back the memory warehouse in Doctor Sleep.
bacon and mayo sandwiches? are you insane?
So good dude
In the book there’s A plaque dedicated to the Losers Club and graffiti saying "PENNYWISE LIVES"…
Holy shit. I watched this movie on tv one year when i was a kid. I was absurdly sick, terrible flu, i could barely get off the couch to get to the bathroom to throw up. Every now and then i just get hit with memories of this movie and could never find out what movie it was. I was starting to convince myself that it was just a crazy ass fever dream and the movie didn’t exist. To find out it’s actually from Stephen King is mind blowing to say the least lol thank you for talking about this movie so i could finally confirm that i didn’t dream this movie up lol
So my takeaway is… I can watch Ryan talk about literal shit for 20 minutes and still be thoroughly entertained.
"20 years ago" Damn, bro. Why you gotta do me like that?
Hit me right in the old...
My problem with Dreamcatcher was that it feels like 2 different stories in 1
On one hand the story of the adult friends (several IT deja vu’s also) with special powers dealing with their everyday life is a pretty interesting thriller.
Then everything gives a 180 turn as the average B movie (with black humor) then destroying all the buildup as I mentioned before.
Dreamcatcher is the first Stephen King movie I ever saw and it was a huge favorite in my house, especially for sleepovers as a teenager. It’s one of those movies where I know the books is different, I know a lot of people aren’t huge fans, but this movie will always hold a special place in my heart and it is a comfort movie of mine. I also love when Morgan Freeman plays a villain! One of my other favorite movies of all time, is Lucky Number Slevin.
I feel like it had a solid cast and was some of it goofy, yeah but I liked they’re performances. One of my favorite parts of the movie, is Jonesy mind and how he organizes it all. That concept has stuck with my 17 years later.
I really appreciated this video because it is a favorite of mine and I always like the way you break the story down and analyze it. Thank you!
Tbh props to king for being able to write a full novel while in pain and loopy on pain meds. I can't even write a book when I'm in a perfect physical and mental condition.
This movie has the best and most accurate quote about my hometown. A throwaway line from the script that I adore and say frequently, "You know, Pittsfield's a better place to come from than to go back to."
I totally love dreamcatcher with all its flaws. Very underrated. My personal guilty pleasure
It was a wild experience when I saw it as a kid! I had not seen anything like this before and was both disturb and amazed.
I personally never found King’s books scary in the paranormal sense. What drew me to his books wasn’t the horror elements, but the visceral and graphic description of the evil nature of humans. I still remember the recoil, shock, and fear young me felt when reading on the physical assaults in Under The Dome, IT, The Stand, and Misery, and realizing that the ones I should fear were not ghosts, or vampires, or aliens, but humans.
I genuinely loved this flawed yet very enjoyable film!
Definitely brings me back to early childhood. 😆 I forgot how terrified I was about a monster coming up through the pipes and into the toilet. I'd flush and frantically wash up before sprinting out.
I had the opposite - I got scared coming OUT of the bathroom (specifically opening the bathroom door outwards). I think because it's the smallest room in the house, usually the only one that locks, and very well-lit.
I've had a slight fear of a spider, or snake being in the toilet since I was fairly young. Every now and again, I just have to check to be sure there's nothing there that'll bite me.
I really love and respect the portrayals of the characters in the movie, especially Jonesy, but the book is FAR superior. The story is much tighter, especially the ending. I understand why they needed to change it to fit a primarily visual medium, but it's still disappointing that they changed the main point of the climax. It's a good movie, but it's a stellar book.
Like you always do, you made a very odd strange story sound very compelling
I love the stuff with Jonesy and the alien talking and the library type thing in his head. Was really cool to me and my favorite thing about this movie
DreamCatcher was a phenomenal film. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Slasher films aren't the only horror genre I enjoy. Creature features are great films, and it's always pleasant to get one that's more than that. Great video. Thanks as always.
fancy seeing you here. sorry about your mom. hope youre getting more out of your summer camp experiences these days.
I thought it was an appalling film
I watched it when I was in middle school and I remembered just weeping at the scene when Duditz sacrificing himself.
whenever I am very sick in the bathroom... I do think of the Shitweasels. It absolutely worked mr king
In one of his short story collections one of my favorites was about a guy that gets trapped in a public bathroom stall and has to find a way to scape. King is King because he can draw you into every imaginable type of story and he is willing to play with any idea he wishes to, always doing so with sincerity and honesty
I remember skipping school with a girl I liked and go see Dreamcatcher in this small, old movie theater of the kind that still had proper marquee posters and a single popcorn cart in the lobby.
I think that was the last time I saw a movie in a theater that wasn't a multiplex, as smaller/single screen theaters were already slowly dying.
I remember the surprise of seeing "Final Flight of The Osiris" before the movie, building up an insane hype "The Matrix Reloaded" failed to live up to (mileage may vary, Osiris was the last thing I genuinely liked of the Matrix franchise).
I don't really have a point here, I just liked this weird movie and the memories of that day come back whenever I revisit it.
As an Australian who has encountered an ACTUAL snake in a truck stop bathroom: this is a perfectly rational fear. Finding scorpions in you shoe is more likely though.
Dreamcatcher was the first King book I read, and honestly it's the only one that made any lasting impression on me. I was scared to sit on the toilet for weeks! Honestly I think it's kind of genius - we all have to defecate, we all fear parasites, pit two and two together and I think especially with the book rather than the film, where our imagination can run riot, it's bloody terifying. I was too young to understand everything he was trying to get across, but the simple idea of shit monsters... well it scared me shitless.
This story actually takes place in Derry, the town from It and actually references what happens post the events of that novel plus has a teaser that as far as I know King never followed up on.
This movie is ridiculous and silly, but very watchable. That’s definitely an achievement.
GREAT cast, GREAT mystery, a bit crazy, bloody, trippy, solid music, GREAT atmosphere, wtf is there not to like?!
Have you considered critiquing the miniseries of The Shining he made? I know you don't like to badger films for their negatives, and it doesn't have much else but it could be a good laugh at least.
Good choice.
Maximum Overdrive. King made it himself.
Ryan would probably go mad from how dull the miniseries can be. Yes, it follows the source material more than the Kubrick version, but at a price.
The final episode did garner a strong viewer discretion warning for the graphic violence Jack commits on Wendy. Steven Weber felt horrible for the things he had to do to Rebecca De Mornay. He said they couldn't look at one another after filming completed.
I never focused on the S-weasel aspect.
It's a pretty straight forward story of the alien in Duddits knowing what was going to happen and using four nice kids who stuck up for him to combat the coming threat.
maybe is just me, but I unironically enjoyed this movie. The whole aliens in the bathroom was something that left my memory as soon as I ended the movie, as it didn't interest me, nor I found it to be of importance.
What fascinated me was the group of friends dynamic. How all of them had superpowers, but they still went on to have very normal lives, But this fact served as a nexus to keep them close even after they went their separate ways. I wanted to see more of them, how they applied their supernatural abilities to their everyday lives and how human they felt in their interactions with each other. It felt like a very human and sincere movie about people, friendship and lasting bonds.
I kind of get where king is coming from with the toilet horror lmao. Realistically, learning that you have/might have an undiagnosed serious illness sounds freaking terrifying
As someone who has a digestive related chronic illness, this is less funny to me. The idea of battling something in the bathroom isn't that weird to me. Thanks for covering this Ryan, I personally enjoy the weirder King stuff,but it's definitely not for everyone
i read a book based when i was a kid on an actual event where a snake got loose into an apartment's pipes through the toilet and kept popping up in random bathrooms and its still on my mind sometimes when i go to this day. the crapper can TOTALLY be scary
The only thing I liked about the book was the little nod to IT that it had, apart from that, I couldn't tell you a thing about it. Great video Ryan!
At least Douglas ("Duddits") was not an alien in the book. I almost groaned aloud at his being an alien at the end of the movie.
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors (one I also feel very conflicted recommending to people because obviously) but the man cannot stick a landing in his longer works to save his life. Dolores Claiborne and Revival are two notable exceptions for me as far as novels go but I think he really excels more at his short stories.
What are your thoughts on the Stand?
@@TheBfutgreg I think the original printing cut the wrong bits rather than fixing the actual pacing issues in the middle-end of the story and while the uncut version makes more sense it still flounders to actually resolve. Generously, resolution may not be the point in The Stand since it’s pretty clearly about the cyclical nature of mankind to destroy himself. I think that theme was done much better in the Dark Tower series.
Also the concept of Fran, relatively fresh from an emergency c-section and pregnant again, choosing to travel across the country and away from all community and medical care because she’s homesick and thinks the Boulder Free-Zone is getting bogged down in bureaucracy is absolutely hilarious to me.
True, his endings tend to be pretty bad if the book reaches a certain lenght. BTW, was The Stand his 1000+ pages book about the world ending? Cus I can't remember anything about it besides something about a devil disguised as a man and some virus at the beginning XD.
My grandmother got me into modern horror/sci-fi when I was a kid, with an emphasis on King’s books. This brought back a LOT of memories, we would rent every schlocky film adaptation of his work and they would reignite my fear of the dark for another few years. Thanks for your videos Ryan!
I remember watching a documentary as a child of a fish that could swim up your piss stream, enter your body and live inside it as a very painful parasite. It made me absolutely *terrified* of going to the bathroom.
So like, King's idea of those shit weasels is absurd and borderline comedic but also... I kinda get why it would be scary 😅
Films I would love to see covered on here:
The Changeling (1980)
Needful Things
The Sleepaway Camp series
Prom Night (1980)
Last House on The Left
Amazing video as always Ryan, I can't wait for whats coming in 2022.. In case you don't do another before the end of the month. Merry Christmas!!
Probably worth a mention that the novel's ending was a bit different, especislly with Dudditz and the aftermath.
merry christmas! thank you for another wonderful year of videos! even the absolute bonkers ones
Dude, i dead ass to this day have a slight fear of sitting on the toilet in the dark because i saw a snippit of this movie as a kid all those years ago lmao
Duddits wasn't an alien in the book, just a much more powerful psychic, and I think that was better than what the movie did. He was basically dying the entire trip with Henry and taking out Mr. Grey does kill him still- I felt that making him an alien last minute like that really cheapened the emotional impact of his death on Henry and Jonesy.
It feels like King wanted to do something comparable to David Cronenberg's The Fly, but that was a tightly focused story that stuck to its central themes from beginning to end.
Here’s a possible subject for 2022: Terrifier. A movie that is made up if two incredibly disjointed parts: Incredibly explicit gore porn and a charismatic, hilarious performance from its main villain that simply doesn’t mesh with the nastiness of the rest of the film.
I'm honestly surprised you've never covered Cabin Fever yet, they seem right up your alley.
I grew up next to the Quabbin. I saw this in the closest theater to the Quabbin. It was surreal and fun to see the ending to this where the film was filmed and set.
I watched this and the thing a lot around the same time as a kid and theyre forever combined in my head
I tried to read Dreamcatcher as a teenager and the book made me so upset, so mad, I tore it in half and threw it across my bedroom.
As someone with a knee-hip injury, I greatly appreciated the books detail, about life with dealing with such disabilities.
It helped me understand, that it wasn't my fault that I was injured, and that even though I'm "young", there's absolutely nothing wrong. With feeling depressed and discouraged at time
i'm gonna be honest here, I'm actually quite new to horror media, I've never read a Stephen King novel, nor any other horror novel for that matter, but your channel has opened my eyes to the genre in ways I could not have predicted. Dreamcatcher's concept messes me up, our unwillingness to acknowledge the distasteful parts of our basic bodily functions is an idea that should be explored more I think. Speaking of distasteful bodily functions, have you thought about taking a look at Ginger Snaps? I think you mentioned it in your video on An American Werewolf In London, the way the werewolves function in the film is very interesting, more like an infectious disease rather than a quick albeit painful transformation. Another thing that could be interesting is a look at The Magnus Archives, it's a horror-tragedy fiction podcast that is way deeper than you'd expect, not in a "METAPHORS METAPHORS METAPHORS" way but in characterization and story.
I hope you read some SK. I was hooked from the first novel I read from him in high school, class of 79! Start with Carrie, then The Stand. You will understand why he is the Master of Horror Fiction!
I come from a bitter place and you are sour
Salems lot is a masterpiece once you read Stephen king you'll be hooked
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HOLY SHIT!! I know this comment is late but man.... I remember being about 4 and coming downstairs one night to see the scene where they find the fat guy, and that's the moment I first remember liking being scared. Thank you Ryan genuinely for giving back a part of my childhood I thought I would never remember again.
It's very funny how a book with a very similar concept called The Troop (a bunch of people go out into the wilderness and encounter some kind of strange parasite that causes body horror and horrible changes) is so similar in that the monsters tend to be gastrointestinal but it's so much more terrifying.
Considering it's ability to mix together ideas from Thinner and Dreamcatcher, I think The Troop is a good example that it's often King's execution and not his conceptions that lead to his books falling flat.
The troop was amazing. King is a hack imo
It'd be cool to see your take on "The Relic" from 2017. One of the horror films from the last few years that was able to hit really close to home, for me.
When you summarized the plot threads i thought to myself " that's a lot of drugs."
This movie is one of my FAVOURITE Stephen King adaptations. This and Misery.
I read the book that this film was based on when I was in high school. I personally found that for as ridiculous and chaotic this story was; the deaths of the characters who died in the novel were all very visceral and hard to read at times due to how we got to know the characters prior to their repective demises. The novel is by no means one of King's best works but it stuck with me after I read it due to how bizarre and sad the premise was.
I’m a late 90’s baby and I remember as a young kid I sorta had a fear of the toilet due to seeing the toilet scene from dream catcher but being so young I remembered nothing else about the movie besides just the toilet scene. just now watching this video has flooded in memories of this movie
Not a lot of people know that this movie was directed by the guy who wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, Lawrence Kasdan. It's also written by the guy who wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride, Wiliam Goldman. So much talent for such a strange movie.
There’s a deep fundamental reason why I am drawn towards your content…. It’s deeply rooted in the fact that every night since as long as I can remember I’ve had nightmares. But even more so I have a morbid fascination with horror.
Dreamcatcher was one of my first Stephen King books and I enjoyed it. Then the movie came out and while I did not hate it I always thought it was one of those it should have stayed as a book. Seeing this bring back memories of reading this book and being horrified at the bathroom and cheering when josey tricks mister grey. Also still use the phase SSDD when people ask me how I am doing at work as a joke.
You're right about death being degrading. A lot of people die on the toilet, and a lot of long illnesses have pretty humiliating finales. Fortunately, the deceased is past caring at that point!
Respect to Stephen king for even publishing a book about this and man the book is brutal
Stephen King made me scared of the bathroom with his short story The Moving Finger. It's in one of his short story collections, and it's such a ridiculous premise. However, when I read it back in high school, I was living with my dad in the mountains, rather isolated, and we had a plumbing system that made knocking noises sometimes as water moved about. I was terrified to go into the restroom for AGES because of that story. 😂