Touches You

Great Film overall

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Been watching a lot of Cronenberg lately. Great director!My opinion of Stephen King is not quite as high, but this is a pretty good story.My litmus test came toward the end of the movie. I decided what I want is a clever twist at the very end, not the mundane ending that it appeared headed toward.It delivered.

Long before the miniseries of the same name came out, this movie, the only Stephen King movie to be directed by David Cronenberg who would go on to make The Fly, is one of the better King movie adaptations. It's very psychological, the effects are pure 80s, and the soundtrack by the late Michael Kamen make it a must watch on your movie binge watching list. Its enduring popularity can be seen in other King movies, including the Dark Tower.

As mentioned a little bit everywhere, it's seldom you find a good film adaptation of a Stephen King story. I have not read the book, but this certainly is a very good film. King + Cronenberg seems a strong combo.Christopher Walken plays a romantic lead character, one with ultimately the burden of truth and everything that tragically comes with that. Overall there is a romantic, atmospheric feel to this piece and the horror elements are very subtle, if not faintly incorporated into the mix.It's a powerful film, visually memorable for its romantic purity, and its message is quite clear really when one thinks about it: the gift or curse of foresight comes as just a metaphor in that we all really possess that gift and can all act upon what we know will occur. It is the burden of responsibility that we all carry, and attempting to fight evil, the powers that be of a present time, will always result in an erupting violence.8.5/10.

This is low key sci-fi thriller that doesn't know what it wants to be. The ominous opening credits are foreboding and suggest a quiet horror underneath the small snow-covered town of Castle Rock. Cronenberg seems to be the best director to handle this sort of premise, but the result is rather lame and restricted. There's none of that grotesque power that he is known for - the early effects involving Johnny being literally transported into a burning house and that open-jawed bloody corpse of the murderer policeman have a little promise, but even that is censored, and we don't actually see the act itself. Gunshot wounds materialise with an obvious unmistakable bloodiness on bodies like some B-movie, sex becomes unbuttoning the top two buttons and dry hugging, and Psycho-inspired sound effects pipe up whenever he has one of his horrifying visions. It's all very unconvincing. There's so many moments that seem to threaten the horror and seriousness of this movie, but it seems the script is unaware of this. The romance sideplot starts off corny as you like with the girl running back and a kiss in the rain. After 5 years, where it seems logical that this sort of love would subside, it pricks up again, and for a moment her husband is non-existent. And in the final moment, she weeps unashamedly and they reconcile again...even though from any rational perspective it just seems like he's tried to assassinate a politician. This ending could very well be a comedy skit, but the soundtrack and Walken's morbid whispers of the future seem determined to make it dark and grim and tragic. Martin Sheen's presidential candidate is the most hammy and over-the-top character of them all, saying "Hallelujah" and celebrating a nuclear holocaust, and the way he holds up a child as a shield...but I'm sure the intention is not to make the viewer burst out laughing. The dialogue at times betrays itself and makes it very clear that this is a Stephen King adaptation. God forbid Sarah move on with her life: she is referred to as someone who has turned her back upon Johnny and 'cleaves' onto another man like some hell spawn. The officer's mother refers to Johnny's abilities as though he has struck a deal with the devil from hell itself. The creaky house is bathed in green light as if to enhance its supernatural atmosphere. There's a little junior rainman character that speaks cryptically and much more advanced than his age suggests...this mystery of course goes nowhere. They recite Edgar Allen Poe as if this is something they just do everyday for fun. This might have worked if the world created wasn't so fake and facile with all its super serious yet hilarious horror visions...unfortunately there's nothing fresh or tense about this movie at all.