Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9464 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-11-10
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Synopsis
Based on the eBook by horror author Stephen E. King, RIDING THE BULLET concerns a series of macabre incidents that haunt a troubled art student (Jonathan Jackson). Having survived a suicide attempt, he sets out to save his mother (Barbara Hershey), who has suffered a near-fatal stroke. But in the process, he finds himself coming face to face with Death (David Arquette).

Customer Reviews

not bad.....for a movie of a king story!
i enjoyed this little film. it has all the ingredients of a king story and was better presented than some screen efforts of his stories/books. as i say, i liked it. i'm no critic, i can't comment on the acting, the lighting or any technical stuff. if you have read the tale and like this genre, then buy it! it isn't a fortune and it pleasently passes 90 minutes of your life!

THE BEST 'KING' MOVIE SINCE THE LAST ONE!
Received opinion is that most film adaptations of Stephen King's stories are cinematic tosh, fodder for the popcorn munchers. Everyone has their own personal favourite, but few argue with the maxim that only CARRIE, STAND BY ME and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION really make it as classic movies, you know, those pictures that the non-King fans and the stuffy old critics actually notice. Well, to that admittedly short list, one can now add RIDING THE BULLET. Yep, it's that good.

Why? Well, it's a deep story for starters, meditating as it does on the whole vexed issues of life, death, where we fit into the big picture and so on, but it's not heavy or maudlin. It taps into these existential matters in the same way we all do, no pretentious philosophising, just your everyday angst, ennui and anxiety. It has its moments of gross-out horror, so beloved by King when 'all else fails', but it largely works by suggestion, by building up and sustaining a sense of dread and foreboding in the lead character's (often imaginary) fears.

Then there's the movie itself: the images are stunning (great cinematography from Robert New); effects, physical and CGI, that really work on the eye and the mind (credit to Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger) unlike most of the cheap and nasty stuff you get these days; chilling sound design and original music (not to mention a great 60s soundtrack for us oldsters out there); and, most of all, sympathetic direction from Mick Garris who has probably got closer to the heart of (and the art in) King's prose than any other director. (Yes, Mr Kubrick, and that includes you!) The King connection is solid (he co-executive produced) and long-time King illustrator Bernie Wrightson even gets to provide a 'creature design'. (The Grim Reaper! What else?)

I haven't even mentioned the performances. With players of the calibre of Barbara Hershey and Cliff Robertson you know you're at least going to get the goods, but Jonathan Jackson in the main role of Alan Parker manages to break out of his TV stereotyping and holds the screen (and the audience's attention) for the full 95 minutes. He's riveting, and I shared every tortured moment of his journey to wisdom and maturity throughout this movie. (Goodness knows why Amazon lists this as 'starring Matt Frewer' when the dear old chap is in the briefest of cameos only.)

According to IMDB, a lot of people haven't given this movie much of a chance, but then CITIZEN KANE, 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY and even GONE WITH THE WIND weren't too highly rated at first. It is certainly a lot better than most King movies, and is definitely the best of this decade. Give it a try. If you've got an ounce of human feeling in you, you won't regret it.

A very good Stephen King Movie
On the rare occasion that Stephen King books do work as movies they tend to really, really work (Stand By Me, The Mist, Shawshank Redemption etc.) and Riding the Bullet is thankfully among these elite. It feels a bit like an extended episode of the Twilight Zone: you are never quite sure what is real, and the whole film has a generally quirky feel. It has been superbly directed and edited, the casting and acting is spot on which is even more astounding considering this is an independent movie.

Riding the Bullet is based on the story of the same name which Stephen King first released at the turn of the century as an ebook only and was only available for free for the first few days as a pioneering publicity stunt; I was one of the lucky ones to download it before the servers got clogged! It was a really good story and has since also been released in the short story collection Everything's Eventual. The screenplay remains true to the story so both King fans and Horror fans will be happy with this one.