I am a Stephen King fan, and it is rare that I find any of the TV adaptations good. This one seems to be the exception. This is the first King Adaption that I actually liked BETTER than the short story. It is a rather emotional story about a man having to face his demons both figuratively and literally. The movie adaptation is very different from the real story, however I find it tells a more complete story. It allows you to feel the sadness Jim feels regarding the murder of his older brother when they were kids. Through a series of flash backs you see how his brother was murdered and by who. In the movie, the punks seem to kill his brother Wayne by accident. However, in the Short story version they deliberately stab him once in the chest and once in the groin. In the book they also did not die in the train tunnel, they died years later in a car accident when running from the police. I think the way they wrote it for the movies makes more sense for the story line. The "ghosts" have more of a reason to come back and haunt Jim, because in their eyes he is the reason they are dead (he has the car keys). In the book, it does not seem clear why they come back, other than he returned to the town?
Also, in the Original King Version his wife Sally is killed by the ghosts and they do not have any children. In the book, Jim actually uses Dark magic to conjure up a spirit that helps him to return the ghosts to the after-world.He actually cuts off two of his fingers so that the dark spirit will help. The spirit takes the form of his brother, but really is not. Where as in the movie his Brother Wayne's Spirit actually comes back and helps.
The movie ends on a happy note. The bad ghosts return to where ever they came from and Jim and his dead brother (Wayne)get closure. The Book version ends with the Spirit he conjured following him and Jim remembering the warning he had read regarding Black magic which was, "sometimes they come back".
The special effects are a bit corny, however the actors do a decent job and it is a creepy enough ghost story (with minimum gore) to entertain you on a rainy day.
Also, in the Original King Version his wife Sally is killed by the ghosts and they do not have any children. In the book, Jim actually uses Dark magic to conjure up a spirit that helps him to return the ghosts to the after-world.He actually cuts off two of his fingers so that the dark spirit will help. The spirit takes the form of his brother, but really is not. Where as in the movie his Brother Wayne's Spirit actually comes back and helps.
The movie ends on a happy note. The bad ghosts return to where ever they came from and Jim and his dead brother (Wayne)get closure. The Book version ends with the Spirit he conjured following him and Jim remembering the warning he had read regarding Black magic which was, "sometimes they come back".
The special effects are a bit corny, however the actors do a decent job and it is a creepy enough ghost story (with minimum gore) to entertain you on a rainy day.