Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

(pb; 2009)

From the back cover

“Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in ‘The Satan Sacrifice’ of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived─and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club─a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes─locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club─for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and and Libby finds herself right back where she started─on the run from a killer.”

Review

Dark is a fast-paced, mostly well-written and character-true mystery (there are a few transitional what-the-heck moments). It is a solid beach read with a satisfying and protagonist-redemptive finish. It is not as excellent as Flynn’s bleaker Sharp Objects, and it is better than Gone Girl (with its character-false end-twist). Dark is worth picking up for cheap, or borrowing from your local library.

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The resulting film was released stateside on June 18, 2015. Gilles Paquet-Brenner scripted and directed it.

CharlizeTheron played Libby Day. Sterling Jerins played Young Libby Day. Nicholas Hoult played Lyle Wirth. Christina Hendricks played Patty Day.

Corey Stoll played Ben Day. Tye Sheridan played Young Ben Day. Natalie Precht played Michelle Day. Madison McGuire played Debby Day. Sean Bridgers played Runner Day.

Andrea Roth played Diondra. Chloë Grace Moretz played Young Diondra. J. LaRose, billed as J LaRose, played Trey Teepano. Shannon Kook played Young Trey Teepano. 

Drea de Matteo played Krissi Cates. Addy Miller, billed as Adrian “Addy” Miller, played Young Krissi. Richard Gunn played Lou Cates.

Lori Z. Cordova played Magda. Natalie Jennifer Pierce Mathus played Diane. Dan Hewitt Owens, billed as Dan Owens, played Robert.

Carrie, by Stephen King

(pb; 1974)


From the back cover:

"Carrie may be picked on by her classmates, but she has a gift. She can move things with her mind. Doors lock. Candles fall. This is her power and her problem. Then, an act of kindness, as spontaneous as the vicious taunts of her classmates, offers Carrie a chance to be normal. . . until an unexpected cruelty turns her gift into a weapon of horror and destruction that no one will ever forget."


Review:

Carrie, King's first published novel, is raw (in comparison to his later novels) and ambitious for a first effort.

More than a well-written - if jump cut-laden - story of a telekinetic teen lashing out at her tormentors (her classmates, and her religious nutjob mother), Carrie is also a cut n' paste tale of a town (Chamberlain) undone by a shocking horrific event.

Parts of this novel are pre-mid Eighties Stephen King amazing (with proper editing, the man is an excellent writer), showing the cinematic verve that King would later display in his more accomplished, but no less worthy, works.

Worth checking out, this.

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Carrie has inspired three film versions, and one cinematic sequel.

The first version was released stateside on November 3, 1976.

Sissy Spacek played Carrie White. Piper Laurie played Margaret White. Amy Irving played Sue Snell. William Katt played Tommy Ross. Nancy Allen played Chris Hargensen. John Travolta played Billy Nolan.

Betty Buckley played Miss Collins. P.J. Soles played Norma. Edie McClurg played Helen. Priscilla Pointer, Amy Irving's real-life mother, played Mrs. Snell.

Brian DePalma directed the film, from Lawrence D. Cohen's screenplay.

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The Rage: Carrie 2 was released stateside on March 12, 1999.

Emily Bergl played Rachel Lang. Jason London played Jesse Ryan. Dylan Bruno played Mark. J. Smith-Cameron played Barbara Lang.

Amy Irving, who co-starred in the original film, reprised her role of Sue Snell.

Mena Suvari played Lisa. Eddie Kaye Thomas played Arnie. Zachery Ty Bryan played Eric. Gordon Clapp played "Eric's Father". John Doe played Boyd.

Katt Shea, who also directed the film, played "Deputy D.A." Rafael Moreu wrote the screenplay.

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The second version of Carrie, a telepic, aired on American television on November 4, 2002.

Angela Bettis played Carrietta "Carrie" White. Patricia Clarkson played Margaret White. Emilie de Ravin played Chris Hargensen. Rena Sofer played Miss Desjarden. Kandyse McClure played Sue Snell.

Tobias Mehler played Tommy Ross. Jesse Cadotte played Billy Nolan. Meghan Black played Norma Watson. Chelan Simmons played Helen Shyres.

David Keith played John Mulchaey. Laurie Murdoch played Principal Morton. Michael Kopsa played John Hargensen. Jodelle Ferland, billed as Jodelle Micah Ferland, played "Little Carrie" [Carrie as a young child].

David Carson directed the film, from a teleplay by Bryan Fuller.

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The third version, now in post-production, is scheduled for stateside release on March 15, 2013.

Chloë Grace Moretz played Carrie White. Julianne Moore played Margaret White. Judy Greer played Miss Desjardin. Portia Doubleday played Chris Hargensen. Gabrielle Wilde played Sue Snell. Ansel Elgort played Tommy Ross. Alex Russell played Billy Nolan.

Skyler Wexler played "Young Carrie". Cynthia Preston played Eleanor Snell.

Kimberly Peirce directed the film, from a screenplay by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

Let Me In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist

(hb; 2004, 2007: translated by Ebba Segerberg)

From the inside flap:

"It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last -- revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

"But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door -- a girl who has never seen a Rubik's Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . ."

Review:

Excellent, landmark vampire-horror novel, with sympathetic characters (even Håkan Bengtsson, Eli's aging pedophilic human keeper, initially comes off a somewhat relatable creation) and an impressive narrative scope: it reads like something Stephen King might've written in his prime -- i.e., most of his published work prior to It.

Lindqvist has conceived and delivered a warm, original work that should appeal to fans of King, Clive Barker and Anne Rice. (I realize I'm actually echoing one of the blurbs that graced the cover of the book, but its story, tones and characters constantly reminded me of these writers when I read this fast-paced, character-rich story.)

If you're into vampire fiction, you should read this.

This novel was originally published under the title Let the Right One In (its title references a line from a Morrissey song, "Let The Right One Slip In").

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As of October 1, 2010, two film versions will have resulted from this novel.

The first film version was released in Sweden on January 26, 2008. The film graced stateside screens on October 24, 2008.

Kåre Hedebrant played Oskar. Lina Leandersson played Eli. Per Ragnar played Håkan. Henrik Dahl played Erik. Karin Bergquist played Yvonne. Peter Carlberg played Lacke. Ika Nord played Virginia. Mikael Rahm played Jocke. Karl-Robert Lindgren played Gösta.

An uncredited Lena Nilsson, who also appeared in Murder at the Savoy and Roseanna, played a "Nurse" (or: "Håkans sjuksköterska").

Tomas Alfredson directed the film, from a script by the book's author, John Ajvide Lindqvist.

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An American remake, retitled Let Me In, is scheduled for stateside release on October 1, 2010.

Kodi Smit-McPhee played Owen (the Americanized equivalent of Oskar). Chloë Grace Moretz played Abby (the Americanized equivalent of Eli). Richard Jenkins played The Father. Elias Koteas played The Policeman. Cara Buono played Owen's Mother.

Matt Reeves directed and scripted the film.