Whatever one thinks about Stephen King as a writer, he undeniably has his finger on the pulse of the times. His works have increasingly reflected the burgeoning violence of the past half century in the US; so, consequently, have the 50-some films made from those works. As the essays in this book point out, the violence in King's books and films made from them has grown more graphic and is more often perpetrated against women and children. In some films, the violence is so graphic that even written descriptions made this reader queasy. Still, these essays, part sociology, part film analysis, are a valuable and necessary investigation into the Stephen King phenomenon. This reviewer particularly liked Mary Findley's King of Pain, in which she looks at Doctor Sleep (both book and film) and Matthew Muller's The Invasive Gaze, which offers meticulous observation of King's use of surveillance cameras in The Outsider. In Lost in the Supermarket, Alexandra Reuber studies The Mist, making clear the uncanny way in which King anticipated the divisive effects of the pandemic-a microcosm of the US in a supermarket. This reviewer considers these three essays the standouts, but all the essays in the collection are well done. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.
* Choice Reviews *
One of the finest collections of essays on Stephen King's films ever published. Highly readable, immensely informative, and wonderfully perceptive. The editors have assembled a stellar selection of articles from the finest King scholars. If you enjoy Stephen King, then I would strongly suggest you make room on your bookshelf for this volume. It is indispensable.
-- Gary Hoppenstand, Michigan State University
Violence in the Films of Stephen King is not just a timely study, but a necessary one. Poised at the intersection of aesthetics and ethics, the volume's chapters ask the hard questions of King adaptations: when is violence necessary? When is it simply gratuitous? Under what conditions (if any) is violence OK? And what pleasures do viewers derive from it? This significant volume will be essential reading not just for those interested in King, but also for those preoccupied with larger issues of violence and justice, and their representation on screen.
-- Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Central Michigan University
In Danse Macabre, Stephen King wrote, 'I recognize terror as the finest emotion...and so I will try to terrorize the reader.' In this reflective and illuminating collection of essays, fourteen scholars shed light on the mutating nature of fear, both internal and external, from which none of us are immune. Seen through the multiple lens of King's film adaptations, the writers assay the very nature of fear in all its terrifying dimensions.
-- George Beahm, Author of The Stephen King Companion
