Product Details

• Actors: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, Robert Joy
• Directors: George A. Romero
• Writers: George A. Romero, Stephen King
• Producers: George A. Romero, Christine Forrest, Declan Baldwin
• Format: PAL
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Danish, English, Norwegian, Swedish, German
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005OA81
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,517 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Dark Half" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticized finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction.

Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable, pseudonymous alter ego George Stark (the bestselling "dark half" to Thad's light), who then assumes an evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to lethally defend his role in Thad's creative endeavors. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies, and his own survival as an artist. Romero skillfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, and Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favors a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), the writer hero of George A. Romero's terrific new horror film (based on a Stephen King novel), believes that the creative process involves recognizing the lawless, instinct-driven unconscious, and then surrendering to it. "Let it party. Give it the car keys and let it ride," he says. Thad releases his instincts in the form of nasty, violent thrillers written under the pseudonym George Stark; one day, his literary alter ego comes to life, and that's when the fun (for the audience) begins. King and Romero give the mystery of the creative impulse a thorough airing-take it for a long, recklessly speedy ride, with the top down the whole time. Hutton-an underrated actor-plays Stark, too, and he attacks his juicy dual role greedily. He makes a great grinning psycho; he gives the villain a perverse, Elvis-like charm. Stark's razor murders are brilliantly staged by Romero, whose work in this picture is his sharpest and most inventive since "Dawn of the Dead" (1979). The picture zooms from exposition to climax with a crazy, headlong momentum that's fuelled by the entertainers' conviction that the low road they're travelling is really the best-the most direct and the most scenic-way to get from here to there. Also with Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, and Robert Joy. Screenplay by Romero; cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Only Half Good., December 3, 2003

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tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Half [VHS] (VHS Tape)

THE DARK HALF is about a famous writer, Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), who has been writing very successful thrillers under a different name, George Stark. When a little weasle from out of town threatens to blackmail Beaumont and blow his cover, he decides to let the world know that there is no George Stark and that he has been writing the best-selling books all along. But, what if there really is a George Stark? And what if George Stark wasn't totally real, but a part of Thad that was cut away a long time ago? And what if that George Stark came to life and starting killing people like the characters in his books do? That pretty much sums up the plot of THE DARK HALF. The movie ends in a climatic battle of the wills between Thad and George.

The film contains some pretty decent acting, especially by Timothy Hutton who plays both Beumont and Stark. The directing is done by horror master George Romero and is almost faultless. Nevertheless, more so because of a lackluster script than anything else, the movie never reaches it's full potential. The movie has a great premise, an interesting plot, and begins as an enthralling thriller. However, about a third of the way through, things start to loosen up and fall apart. The mood changes and instead of an enthralling thriller, the movie feels more like a semi-suspenseful dark comedy. In the last act, the movie picks up steam again, but not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the second act. It's not a film I would recommend to buy, but it's a great movie to rent.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not Great Adaptation, August 21, 2000

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Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Half [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Dark Half is my favorite Stephen King book and so naturally I wanted the movie to be just as good. Unfortunately I can't say that it is, although the film is somewhat true to the book. However, what comes across as eerie, creepy, or cool in the book comes across as silly and corny for much of the movie. The surgery scene, for example, where "George" is incised from Thad's head is hilarious if you haven't read the book, what with the eyeball staring out, almost as if it's saying "Feed Me"! In the book it was pretty darn scary. Performance wise, Timothy Hutton is right on, either as Thad Beaumont or George Stark. and the story is, like I said, pretty true to the book. But even the presence of the sparrows is laughable, again, if you haven't read the book. Now when I saw this I did have flashbacks to the actual reading of the book, and there were some genuine chills. But the book slays the movie any old day. Bottom line, if you're a serious Stephen King fan and you have to have everything with his name on it, go ahead and buy this movie. Or if you loved the book and want the film adaptation buy it as well. But if you're an occasional Stephen King fan or if you haven't read the book first, stay the hell away from this movie. I have to give George Romero credit for sticking with key elements of the book in his script, and some pretty good direction. But what scares in a book, in the mind's eye, doesn't necessarily translate to the silver screen!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Underrated adaptation from Romero, June 10, 2007

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N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dark Half (DVD)

Stephen King's The Dark Half is one of the few big screen adaptations of his work to actually be pretty good. Zombie meister George Romero adapted King's tale, which features Timothy Hutton as a writer attempting to put an end to his popular, horror writing, pen name alter ego, but gets a big surprise instead. Soon enough, he's literally struggling with himself while trying to protect his family, all concluding in one of the most memorable endings you'll ever see in a big screen King adaptation. While it may be longer than it had to have been, Romero successfully weaves a film that does King's work justice while also putting a bit of his own spin on it at the same time. The gore and makeup effects are very well done as well, and the cast, which also includes Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, and Robert Joy (who would be in Romero's Land of the Dead a little over a decade later) also take memorable turns, but it's Hutton who shines above the rest in one of the best performances of his entire career. All in all, The Dark Half is not only an underrated King adaptation, but it's one of Romero's most underrated films as well, and regardless of you being a fan of either or both horror maestros, The Dark Half is definitely worth a look.