A bit of self-congratulatory meta-horror from Stephen King (and directed with class by his longtime friend and cinematic collaborator, George Romero), The Dark Half chronicles writer Thad Beaumont’s attempt to “kill off” his pseudonym, George Stark (both played by Timothy Hutton) — a much more difficult (and literal) task than it might sound, as Stark has managed to manifest himself physically and is now terrorizing Beaumont’s friends and family, much to the chagrin of the local sheriff (Michael Rooker) who believes the author’s gone batty. A fascinating and entertaining examination of the concept of the alter ego that’s unfortunately given a rather lame explanation; still, Hutton is excellent in his dual role and is obviously relishing playing the over-the-top Stark, spewing sinister wisecracks and chewing the scenery. The whole thing, of course, can be seen as a pulp dramatization of King himself “killing off” his much darker and id-driven Richard Bachman persona; indeed, upon reading/watching The Dark Half, you begin to realize just how much more mean-spirited any Bachman book was compared to any of the author’s works written under his own name.
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[BoxTitle]The Dark Half[/BoxTitle] [Trailer]http://youtu.be/5iISe-Zy1b4[/Trailer] [Netflix] [NetflixAdd id="419832"/] [NetflixWatch id="419832"/]