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Stephen King’s Desperation Description:

Cross-country travelers on an isolated highway are arrested by a corrupt sheriff and jailed in a desolate town whose streets are littered with the dead bodies of local residents. The captives manage to escape, only to discover that Desperation, Nevada, is more than just a town gone wrong—it’s the terrifying source of unbridled evil.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7704 in DVD
• Brand: STEPHEN KING’S DESPERATION (DVD MOVIE)
• Released on: 2006-08-29
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 131 minutes

Customer Reviews:

Stephen King’s “Desperation” adapted for television…TAK!
Stephen King’s novel “Desperation” comes to life on the big screen with an all star cast that is led by Tom Skerritt. The dark desert saga is told very close within the novel itself and unlike other King TV adaptations, it seem to do a good job with portraying the mood and landscape that I discovered when reading the story a few years ago.

Desperation follows the tale of a variety of people who are traveling on a lonely open road through the deserts of Nevada. Slowly one by one, they are pulled over by a cop, and ultimately taken in to the jail that is a one stoplight town called “Desperation”. As each person has a different experience with the highway patrolman, they all realize the same thing: This guy is more than just a dirty cop who plants evidence to haul them in. He’s strange. Aside from him enormous figure, his skin looks like it is almost decaying, and in conversation he continually seems to suddenly include the word “TAK” in his sentences.

By the time a group of people are gathered at the jail, they have already experienced death and dismay. Who is this Collie Entragian, and why has he arrested them and brought them here? What is happening to his body? Why does he keep saying “TAK”? It is soon discovered, thanks to a little boy with a connection with god, that Collie Entragian is definitely more than meets the eye, and that the strange happenings in the China Pit mine nearby have a lot more to do with it than they realize. King’s story explores themes of survival while at the same time using a simple plot of good vs. evil to lay out the foundation for the story. Mick Garris directs and despite accused botchings of past film adaptations from novels, doesn’t do a bad job here. The key for the success of Desperation is that the viewer feel like Ron Perlman (playing Collie Entragian, the large, strange cop) is believable as one of the more poignant figures of the story. I think Garris did a good job here in showing that Collie was not only simply a large individual but somewhat of a jerk AND a smart alec when it came to the opening scenes of the movie.

Tom Skerritt is excellent as Johnny Marinville, a writer who is traveling cross country on a Harley Davidson when he is suddenly stopped by Entragian. Marinville gave up on god long ago, and is not buying the kid’s (Shane Haboucha as David Carver) visions he receives at the jail when talking to his dead sister. Marinville soon realizes that he in fact experienced TAK back in the Vietnam War. TAK is, for lack of a better description, an entity of evil that was released during a mine cave in the early days of Desperations western development. Now it’s up to this group of people to fulfill the wishes of a higher power and take on TAK, who by now is realized as a hideous “body snatcher” that commands the animals, reptiles, and insects of the desert at its whim.

The films does and excellent job in the cinematic landscape of Desperation. The old movie theater and jail within desperation were just as I had pretty much envisioned them when reading the novel. TAK is conveyed with all the power and darkness it can be, while the humanity and perseverance that lies within a group of strangers being thrust into a bad situation is conveyed well. The scenes of the wolves, dogs, spiders, snakes and other animals were also done well as it added to the impact of TAK’s powers as well as the reminder of the isolated desert locale. The dialogue is changed somewhat to give it a whisk of modern day culture, which mostly comes from Marinville making references to everything from Adam Sandler to Ann Coulter. The music, filming and acting I feel save this from being a possible disaster. Compared to past botchings of King’s novels when they come to the screen, Desperation works.

Desperation also stars Annabeth Gish and Steven Weber. Due to the film originally going to be a mini-series, it lasts 3 hours in its entirety.

Stephen King is awesome! Tak a Lak
I read the book before I Purchased the Movie, which is always better, but the movie folows the book very closely from beginning to end. 2 people driving in a desert stopped by a demented cop, who plants drugs on them.They are taken to a jailhouse where others that were abducted are kept, and the story builds from there. Don’t want to give away to much, but if you are an avid Stephen king fan, you will not be disapointed.

Desperation Review
I read the book first and was a little disappointed to see they’d left so much that was on the pages out of the movie, but it was still a good horror flick in the King line up. Since I collect both his books and movies, this one certainly won’t be left out. When characters crossing the desert find themselves face to face with a crazed cop, there’s no hope of escape…or is there? The plot thickens as they discover it’s not just a matter of an officer gone mad, but dealings with ancient supernatural spirits/Gods. A young boy may be their only salvation, if they choose to trust his visions.

I would’ve liked to have seen a slightly longer movie with more of the book, and especially a vital character that was left out, added in. However, I don’t believe King movie fans will be disappointed.

Chrissy K. McVay – Author

Amazon.com
Director Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers), also recruited by Stephen King to remake The Shining, knows how to capture King’s horror aesthetic on film. Desperation, based on a more recent King novel, is a pastiche of earlier King novelties, such as the psycho in uniform, this time Sheriff Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), and dogs summoned by the devil, this time by TAK, an ancient Chinese demon. Desperation, Nevada has a collapsed mine full of Chinese immigrant ghosts, whose spirits are trapped with TAK until they’re accidentally unleashed. The TAK-possessed local sheriff is killing everyone, save a few travelers who stumble through on road trips. In the opening scene, Mary (Annabeth Gish) and her beau are pulled over by Sheriff Entragian, framed by his placing of marijuana in their trunk, then read their rights with a Satanic “I will kill you” thrown in. Later, Steve (Steven Weber), Cynthia (Kelly Overton), and Vietnam vet John Marinville (Tom Skerrit), ride into town, and they too encounter the evil policeman’s wrath. They all meet a brave, imprisoned boy, David (Shane Haboucha), with whom they team up to end the mayhem. Desperation uses blue and green lighting to embrace the funhouse look, and camera shots highlighting the Sheriff’s deranged face make the film occasionally spooky. But the rehashed plot detracts from the fear-factor, leaving one to pine for earlier King story adaptations, like Misery, or Cujo.–Trinie Dalton

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