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chellski's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rabisha's review against another edition
1.5
Idk it was ok
I feel like it was too short for me to actually properly enjoy it (I understand that it is a short story but still) and it is too short for me to properly rate it so idk rlly
I feel like it was too short for me to actually properly enjoy it (I understand that it is a short story but still) and it is too short for me to properly rate it so idk rlly
kelsdafirenze's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
georgina_cobb's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
riveting_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I watched the movie tonight which I loved so much and came home and read the short story. It was a good short story, but what was added to the movie made the story fantastic! Horror lovers, go see the movie!
imahmoudha's review against another edition
3.0
"everything is so fucked up and i have to be upstairs for a while"
either ways - written or spoken - i love this line, but it get it's edge by the performance with hazy crazed voice of the great Ethan Hawke in the movie, who isn't by any means a fat man named Al, he's just the grabber, also i love how movie makers got inspired to extend the movie from foundations lays in story (the swing scene and the sister character with her emaculate performance (jesus, wtf) line in mind. Loved it
either ways - written or spoken - i love this line, but it get it's edge by the performance with hazy crazed voice of the great Ethan Hawke in the movie, who isn't by any means a fat man named Al, he's just the grabber, also i love how movie makers got inspired to extend the movie from foundations lays in story (the swing scene and the sister character with her emaculate performance (jesus, wtf) line in mind. Loved it
destinyyyzz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
it's crazy they were able to make a whole movie based off of this
mirrorchaser's review against another edition
3.0
I saw the movie starring Ethan Hawke based on this story and it was phenomenal. I couldn't sleep that night and thought about the movie for MONTHS. Months. That's crazy and I'm not sure it has ever happened to me before with a horror film, at least not since I was a child. When I found out that it was a book, I was elated and ran to the library to put a hold on a copy.
I ended up not having time to commit to the entire anthology but knew I could read the few short chapters that made up this particular story.
Well, I'm not going to lie about it, I was majorly disappointed. I really do think I would have liked this story if I hadn't seen the movie first but it's truly hard to believe that this is the source material. It's a short story and, if you've ever met me or have read any review I've ever left ever, you'll know that I just don't like short stories. I think that very few writers are talented enough and have the right stories to pen a good short story. They are always missing so much, the characters can't have any depth, and if it's anything other than the world you currently live it, there's no way to create a good and compelling setting.
This story got dinged on all of the above. Johnny's survival is a stroke of luck up until Bruce is on the phone and even that is lucky because Johnny happened to live long enough to hear it. There's nothing special about Johnny, which might be part of Hill's point, I guess. The villain isn't really creepy or scary. I felt like I was being told that he should be scary because he was a kidnapper. Finney's sister is mentioned but there's essentially no reason for that other than the fact that it might, possibly, MAYBE give Johnny a small bit of hope. At the end of the day, this short story was a skeleton of what it could have been... and what the movie was. The movie is a perfect response to this review because everything I disliked about the short story is blown away by the film.
This is one case where I wish the book didn't even exist and it was simply a great movie. I can't even believe I just wrote that, being a snobby book-purist. But, hey, anything can happen.
I ended up not having time to commit to the entire anthology but knew I could read the few short chapters that made up this particular story.
Well, I'm not going to lie about it, I was majorly disappointed. I really do think I would have liked this story if I hadn't seen the movie first but it's truly hard to believe that this is the source material. It's a short story and, if you've ever met me or have read any review I've ever left ever, you'll know that I just don't like short stories. I think that very few writers are talented enough and have the right stories to pen a good short story. They are always missing so much, the characters can't have any depth, and if it's anything other than the world you currently live it, there's no way to create a good and compelling setting.
This story got dinged on all of the above. Johnny's survival is a stroke of luck up until Bruce is on the phone and even that is lucky because Johnny happened to live long enough to hear it. There's nothing special about Johnny, which might be part of Hill's point, I guess. The villain isn't really creepy or scary. I felt like I was being told that he should be scary because he was a kidnapper. Finney's sister is mentioned but there's essentially no reason for that other than the fact that it might, possibly, MAYBE give Johnny a small bit of hope. At the end of the day, this short story was a skeleton of what it could have been... and what the movie was. The movie is a perfect response to this review because everything I disliked about the short story is blown away by the film.
This is one case where I wish the book didn't even exist and it was simply a great movie. I can't even believe I just wrote that, being a snobby book-purist. But, hey, anything can happen.