10/11/2025
Finally watched this new film version, as I've been hesitant after hearing they cut it down to less than 2 hours from an original 3-hour cut! Annnnd...the majority of my like-minded vampire movie / Stephen King fans were right: Despite some great acting, music and cool 1970s setting, the quick editing/pace was too rushed and choppy, and it gets noticeably more rushed as the film goes along.
And it's really too bad because the first 45 minutes of this is the BEST live action version of the novel made so far. I was impressed at first! (Although I'm not a fan of the use of opening credit scenes using a ton of newspaper clippings as exposition). I liked the casting. Lewis Pullman may be my favorite Ben Mears so far! The cool 1970s setting and music and vibe...
But...before even an hour in I felt the "jump" to stuff that felt too fast, and the 2nd hour, especially the last 30 minutes, were a sprint to the finale that absolutely gutted the third act, and made it not all that powerful, and had I been someone who didn't know the novel, would have made me ask "Did I miss something? Have weeks gone by or something?"
WHY they edited this down to a 2-hour runtime, when its original cut was a 3-hour one is beyond me, especially as it WASN'T a theatrical release. Since this is streaming, why cut so much out? The amount of character development and side stories feel sorely missing from this. And both previous live action versions (1979 and 2004) were both 3 hours! Although both had their problems, at least their stories made more sense. It seems like we just can't ever get a great version of this story :-(
Now, I WILL give this a 2nd chance IF they release the original 3 hour version...kind of like Needful Things finally got its proper 3-hour cut released!
