Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9132 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-08-09
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Hindi
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 580 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Kingdom Hospital is horror novelist Stephen King's adaptation of Danish director Lars Von Trier's cult mini-series The Kingdom, geared very much for an American audience. The story unfolds across 15 hours, telling the story of a hospital in Maine that's been built on the site of a 19th Century mill fire that killed most of its young occupants--themes that King fans will be familiar with. In the present day, Kingdom Hospital is haunted by the ghost of ten-year-old child labourer Mary and, even more bizarrely, a fearsome giant anteater-like creature called Antubis. It falls to the ace doctor Hook (Andrew McCarthy), the paraplegic artist Jack Coleman (Peter Rickman) and the hypochondriac psychic Sally Druse (Diane Ladd) to enlist the help of a surreal assortment of hospital staff and patients to help Mary and save Kingdom Hospital itself from certain doom.

Fans of Stephen King will probably enjoy the blend of black comedy, spectral horror and general weirdness, which owes a big debt to previous television series like Twin Peaks and even ER. But too often, Kingdom Hospital seems to be trying too hard to make itself into a cult series, something which King is just not a subtle enough writer to carry off. But Kingdom Hospital looks good, especially the CGI Antubis, who steals every scene in which he appears. Generally, though, the series is more of an entertaining experiment than a cult-in-the-making. --Ted Kord

DVD Description
Kingdom Hospital is the first television series written and produced by Stephen King, the legendary master of horror. Kingdom Hospital is not like other hospitals--it is built on the wreckage of two horrific fires. The first fire, during the civil war, burned down the Gates Falls Mill, where small children toiled away under nightmarish conditions--nearly all of the long-suffering children were trapped and died in the fire. The second fire destroyed the "old Kingdom," a creepy hospital where an evil doctor performed hideous experiments on patients. The "new Kingdom" is the site of strange, paranormal phenomena, where the unquiet dead still roam. In every episode, over 20 regular and recurring characters check in and out of Kingdom Hospital, playing out the eternal conflict between good and evil.

Synopsis
Television series based on a hospital which has been built on the wreckage of two horrific fires. Written and produced by Stephen King.

Customer Reviews

Surreal & spooky drama
Strange things are happening over at the Kingdom Hospital. Ghosts, brain surgeons and a giant ant eater star in this weird and wonderful series. The ending is a bit lame but I had so much fun watching the rest of the episodes that it doesn't really matter. The characters are great, some you will love and some you will love to hate. I'm not sure exactly how Stephen King was involved, as his touch is not really that apparent to me. The show is more on the sci-fi/fantasy side of things and is not just supernatural horror.
I haven't watched the original version yet, but I hope to get my hands on it soon.

This ISN'T Stephen King !
This is a re-hash of Lars Von Triers' excellent "The Kingdom" (Riget) - it merely has the title "Stephen King Presents" in order to mislead... it is not actually BY stephen king.

I would recommend people seek out the original version which is a masterpeice...

surreal and witty king at best
king is at home with film and tv, he as much a film maker as a writer. kingdom hospital was a personal project adapted from 'the kingdom' which inspired him to vent his car accident trauma further with this tv series. i watched it over a few days and loved it. i had high expectations and it fell into place nicely. its not scary or gory, it is surreal and witty. jodelle ferland who plays mary the ghost is such a beautiful girl, she and her companion antibus just won me over straight away. kingdom hospital is eveything it set out to be. dont let anyone tell you otherwise. it is like a fusion of twin peaks and ally macbeal, with the silly houmour and music but laced with sordid darkness. beautifully shot, cast and acted. very pleased. its not meant to be complicated and elite, it is what it should be, a really wicked little series.