Starring: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, Robert Joy
Director: George A. Romero
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Run Time: 122 minutes
Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
The masters of horror behind “The Dark Half” are legends Stephen King and George A. Romero. This film is underrated and definitely creepy and a smart horror/thriller. The film stars Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (“Leverage”), Amy Madigan (“Fringe”), Julie Harris (“The Haunting”) and Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead”). I haven’t seen this film since the days of Monsters HD. You horror fans know what I am talking about! It was cool seeing this film again and it looks quite awesome on Blu-ray.
Official Premise: Horror writer Thad Beaumont (Hutton) hopes to distance himself from his murder novels and from George Stark, the name he has used to anonymously author them. To achieve this, he cooks up a murder of his own: a publicity stunt that should lay Stark to rest forever. But when the people around him are found gruesomely slain – and his own fingerprints dot the crime scenes – Beaumont is dumbfounded until he learns that Stark has taken on life of his own…and begun a gruesome quest for vengeance!
The 1080p transfer works well with the creepy feel that the film gives off and same goes for DTS-HD Master Audio track works with the great scores. The special features are great including “The Sparrows Are Flying Again!: The Making of “The Dark Half” is a brand new retrospective with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Producer Declan Baldwin, Actors Michael Rooker, Robert Joy, Rutanya Alda and John Amplas, Composer Christopher Young, Special Make-Up Effects Creators John Vulich and Everett Burrell, Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Kutchaver, Second Unit Director Tom Dubensky and Editor Pasquale Buba.
The film has a great new audio commentary track with Writer/Director George A. Romero. It has some great insight here. I wish they could have gotten King to join in, that would have been epic! There are also some Behind-the-Scenes Footage with Special Effects and On the Set. There is a vintage “Making of The Dark Half” with additional interview clips. Lastly there is a Deleted Scenes, Animated Storyboards for the original ending, Theatrical Trailer /TV Spot and Still Gallery included here.
