Stephen King's Rose Red

Rating:
Summary: Scary as well as mysterious and interesting!
Review: This DVD contains a mini-serie of two episodes based on a script by Stephen King. It is long, 245 minutes (if I remember correct?), but this is by far one of the best King-screen-adaptions I have ever seen. Talented actors (delievering remembarable performances here), impressive camera-work, good effects, yes, a surprisingly well done production - and that for a TV-movie.

I have seen many (perhaps most) horrible thrillers based on Stephen Kings' books. Christine, It, Sleepwalkers and so on and on. B-movies based on great books though, but it is a shame that all these past productions reflects all the great work from this famous, talented actor. The most famous and critically acclaimed "The Shining" (Jack Nicholson) after all is more Stanley Kubricks' than it is Kings', only vaguely based on the book of the same name.

Rose Red was a surprise, and I would nearly call this a masterpiece. It doesn't give you the impression that the production-theme was in a hurry, more the oposite actually. It shows that the moviemakers with the actors were having a good time doing this, and doing their best that is.

The movie reminded me instantly of "The Haunting" (Neeson, Zeta-Jones) from the late 90's, but is far more talent than effects, and a thin script. The actors are better too, and I mean it! But these movies share a lot of similarities, so if you liked "The Haunting" you'll probably love this one. I know did.

Creepy? It's not "The Ring", but watching it on nightschift as I did yesterday it sure had some effect on me. And it doesn't seem as long as it actually is. The castle (if that is what "Rose Red" should be called is amazing, the place is a horror-movie itself, and far more spooky (not to mention BIG!) than the haunted building in "The Haunting" (another comparatition).

I'll watch it again tonight, I'm on nightschift again :)

The best King-horror-movie in years, perhaps the best ever, and the first to be worthy of his pen (if you know what I mean). And a great TV-production! Recommended if you liked Kings' version of "The Shining". Well done!

Rating:
Summary: It's pretty good...
Review: I really wanted to love this movie, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Maybe this is just me, but I don't really find 2-3 hours of people standing around talking about a house scary or interesting. However, I did give it 4 stars because when it finally got going, the content of the movie was very good. It could've easily been condensed from 5 hours into about 2, and been a lot more fast-paced and interesting. Possibly the slowest movie I've ever seen, but still not bad.

Rating:
Summary: I like it!
Review: This was a TV mini series that Steven King wrote and produced a while back. It was never shown on Oz TV so seeing it all in one go was better for me anyway.

The story is about an old house that has a curse that it is alive in a way. And the myth is that the previous occupents who lived there said that the house would tell them to continue to build it, or die.

The house has been vacant for many years, and it's legend is known to many around the area. And Nancy Travis has decided to go looking for paranormal activity in the house to find out if the legends are true or not?

She takes with her a team, one of a little girl with telekinesis that is very much like the Carrie charactor. Steven even included a scene that was in the Carrie book, but didnt make it into the movie because they couldnt make the effect look good, and that was falling stones that the little girl makes come about.

A few of Stevens other storys are dabbed in here and there to make a horror movie. I wouldnt say it scared me tho, not the least, some people it might scare, but I just found it interesting, never boring, and not predictable.

Some people dont like it because it goes for too long, it does go for a while, it's on 2 DVD's and about 4 hours long or so. But it's long because it was a mini series. And any time Steven's novels get turned into movies, they have to cut out so much to shorten the film. with this series he could do whatever he wanted without having to cut anything, so thats why it's so long.

The 2 featurettes are ok, one is the featurette about the cast and the making of. And the other is a fictional story about a previous owner of the house who talks about what was happening to her and the house and gives you more insight into the Rose Red house.

It's one of my favorite films. But I wouldnt say it's horror, suspence, or a thriller. I'm not sure what you would call it? Maybe a bit of everything. For blood and gore fans you will be disapointed in this film, it's kind of.. well, i'd say it's sort of a fammily movie on the paronormal/spooky/thriller/horror side. It was made for TV, so keep that in mind and what youd expect TV's to show.

Rating:
Summary: Long but well worth it
Review: Rose Red is a pretty good and enjoyable movie with phenominal effects and beautiful house/setting.

Although set for present day Stephen King does a great job shifting the story line taking a glimps of the past thru out the movie to give pieces of historical information to lead up to the legends of 'Rose Red Mannor'.

Although fiction, if Im not mistaken pieces of the movie were based off actual legends and also the famouse Winchester house, which I belive has a specific name but I cant remember, but a house/mannor that the widow of the creator of the winchester rifle was told by a spiritualist/psychic to not stop building her house which made it a living legend and tourist attraction as of today...

Im not sure about the other so called legends that supposedly helped form ideas for the book/movie, but the movie was terrific and plain old fun even bringing elements of classic horror from way back to today. Well worth watching a few times over, and full of suspense, mystery, a living house that builds itself trapping/eating its victims as they explore inside, to vampiric ghosts to thepara psychology professor and her hired team of psychics and mystics to spend a memorial day week-end lock in investigation only to find slowly they are actually being used and being the hunted themselves.

Again, just plain old good horror fun with great story line and superb effects, and a huge creepy old beautiful mansion it takes place in.

If you buy the dvd make sure you see the specail features as it tells about the other real legends that have taken place to have inspired Stephen King to write the book for this movie. Very intresting actually and just as fun to watch this as well...

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Too long, too boring
Review: I read "The Diary of Ellen Rimbaugh", the story of the woman who lived in Rose Red during the first part of the 20th. century. I enjoyed the book, and actually thought the story was true, till I found out differently. It was all very creepy, without being too scary.

If Stephen King's mini-series had concentrated on the book, it would have been so much better. The mini-series was about Ellen's great grandson's girlfriend who gets together a party of physics, including a 15 year-old autistic girl, to spend a weekend at Rose Red. Part of Ellen's story is re-told, to set the background of the house, and actually that is the best part. The rest of the movie is too drawn out, too boring and predictable. Also, the setting is in Seattle, with Rose Red, in all it's decrepit condition-- and believe me, it's a mess-- sitting on a main thoroughfare. Hard to believe the city would allow that !! Of course, the great grandson, Steve, says he is going to sell it for demolition soon, but the setting is hard to believe.

There are so many silly scenes that made me want to yell "Are you stupid?" A photographer sent in by a professor to spy on the researchers, goes to, of all places to try to find his way out- the greenhouse. Or, as it's called "The Health Room." After he sees there is nothing there but dead trees, he keeps walking in calling "Is any one there?" Yep, there was. The killer bees. The jerk should have gone back towards the front door. Just one of many things that didn't help the movie. It's four hours long, and I would recommend watching the first hour, the last 15 minutes, and fast forwarding thru the rest. And- get the book, "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer". It is much better than the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Dullsville, Baby
Review: Rose Red is awful. King steals from a lot of better horror stories (including his own)to come up with this piece of crap. SFX are not too good, story is so long and drawn out (probably an attempt to hide how potholed the story is) and the actors are horribly miscast. I used to like Travis, but after the first ten minutes of this I was hoping she would get killed ASAP. In fact with such a group of annoying, unlikeable characters, the most frightening thing in the story is that King lets most of them live! Don't waste your time on this.


Rating:
Summary: Great, in the Top 5 of SK Movies
Review: Storm of the Century, then Rose Red. I watch it at least every few months, still. The only one that I like better next to Storm is Secret Garden...that movie is a for sure in your DVD collection, then again, so is Rose Red!

Rating:
Summary: A real disappointment despite a game cast
Review: I feel that I must first warn all readers of this review of the fact that this miniseries is over four hours long -- without commercials. This is simply so that everyone will know what they are getting into from the very beginning, not because I have anything against long movies per se, just long movies that are way too long.

There are several things wrong with Rose Red, but the main ones involve its relationship to previous Stephen King works. There is much familiar in this production, with references to Carrie, The Shining, Firestarter, and a tip of the hat to Cujo being the most obvious. Unfortunately, these references seem to be just there in order to move along an already-thin plot, not leaving a lot to recommend it.

Nancy Travis (The Vanishing) is sorely miscast as paranormal researcher Joyce Reardon (the supposed author of book tie-in The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer); she just doesn't have the presence to be believable in such an academically passionate role. The usually-wonderful Judith Ivey is ill-used in a histrionic performance.

On the other hand, soap veteran Kimberley J. Brown knows just how to wring every last bit of sympathy from the audience in her role as Annie Wheaton, the catalyst meant to "wake up" the events at Rose Red. Her sister, "Sister," is played by Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures), who, despite her relatively small role, fares the best of all the cast. Matt Ross and the late David Dukes are both quite game in their roles (Emery Waterman and Professor Miller, respectively), but Dukes' character is one-note (sad to think it was his last role) and Ross' acting crescendos throughout the film from "subtle" to "absolutely annoying."

After about two hours of exposition, the plot actually begins to move a bit, but it is always slowly and it is not worth the lackluster "inspirational" ending. For a horror movie, far too many of the cast survive; if more than two or three people are left at the end of a "haunted house thriller," the audience has been cheated. One would think that Stephen King would know how to write a bang-up ending -- especially for something that is partially based on Carrie, which epitomizes the style -- but unfortunately, Rose Red is just one long four-hour disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: I guess every rose has its thorn
Review: I am a huge fan of Stephen King movies, with The Stand, It, Storm of the Century, and The Langoliers being some of my faves. But Rose Red as a movie stunk. What passed as the plot was confusing and boring, the character development was weak, and it seemed as if they relied too much on cool special effects to carry the movie. Frequently using my fast-forward, I suffered through the 4 hours hoping that eventually the action would start to hook me and take off, but it never happened. The ending was a huge letdown as well. The movie is hyped up as "the ultimate haunted house," but don't expect to see anything more than predictable sounds and deaths in a haunted house. The idea behind the movie was intriguing yet did not translate onto the big screen. If you're a huge fan, it may be worth a rental but I definitely would not recommend buying it.