Another case where great special effects can't save a poor script.

Rating: 3/10 (24 November 2007)

I really expected more from a Stephen King movie than this, although this wasn't the first time I have seen his absorbing prose slaughtered by the time a Hollywood screenwriter got his hands on it. King's wonderfully convincing words on print are obviously very difficult to translate to the screen, and two people I left this movie with described it as "sily." The special effects in this movie are excellent, but the movie is filled with clichés and poor acting. Much of the dialog by the character actors in the early supermarket scenes is almost laughable. The acting by the religious fanatic in the movie ("Miss Carmony"), I thought, was overdone and unconvincing, and I was later shocked to find out the actress, Marcia Ray Hardin, is - until now at least - a very accomplished performer with some very good credits. Watching her in this film was like watching a tryout for a high school play.But maybe I should blame the trite lines fed her by the writers...pretty pathetic. Don't see this film if you are a Stephen King fan...you'll likely be less of a fan after. But the book was very good and far more believable. Just read the book. By the way, I'm shocked to see this movie get an average 8.0 rating here on IMDb up to this point!! Shcoked!!