Rating: R
Genre:
Horror
Release Date: 09/28/1999
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDS2.0
Run Time: 121 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Graphic Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: MGM
Marking the first collaboration between horror legends
George A. Romero and
Stephen King since 1982's
Creepshow, this moody, atmospheric adaptation of
King's novel was actually completed in 1991, but the highly-publicized bankruptcy of its distributor
Orion Pictures in that same year nearly doomed
The Dark Half to distribution limbo.
King's story revolves around successful author Thad Beaumont (
Timothy Hutton), whose popularity on the college circuit owes a great deal to the financial success of a series of violent pulp thrillers written under the pseudonym of "George Stark." When he decides to cast aside his disreputable alter-ego by "killing" Stark off in a mock ceremony, it precipitates a string of sadistic murders matching those in his pulp novels, which are discovered to be the work of Stark himself (also played by
Hutton). Looking like a maniacal white-trash version of his counterpart, Stark is not so willing to quit the writing game -- even if it means coming after Thad's wife (
Amy Madigan) and their baby. It's only a matter of time before suspicions turn to Thad, who is the only one who knows the real origins of his hideous twin.
~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
;)
