Stephen King is the only author I can think of who can write a bestselling novel that, over 20 years later, could be considered “forgotten.” King simply cannot quiet his imagination. Every experience in his life, from a trip to a local motorcycle mechanic to nearly getting killed by an out-of-control minivan, is potential grist for at least a short story, if not a novel. This is why King connects so strongly with his vast readership; we all experience mundanity and tragedy, but most of us don’t immediately spin macabre tales out of these events.
The problem with King as a reader of his work (it’s certainly not a problem for King) is that his books are guaranteed bestsellers the second they’re published, and sometimes the next book is only months away. Sometimes two come out at once, as was the case in 1996 with “Desperation” and “The Regulators” (the latter written under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman), which are “mirror” novels involving the malevolent entity Tak. Having just completed his serialized masterpiece “The Green Mile,” I hoped King was on a heater when I cracked the spine of “Desperation” in the fall of 1996, but was put off by its bloat and surfeit of backstory. “The Regulators” was a little wilder, likely because it was nearly developed into a screenplay for legendary director Sam Peckinpah (plop me in that alternate reality, please), but it was more exhausting than fun.
Of these two, you’d think that “The Regulators” would’ve been to get turned into a movie, but longtime King collaborator Mick Garris went with “Desperation.” And why wouldn’t he? King wrote the script, and he got Ron Perlman to play a mass-murdering sheriff possessed by Tak! So why don’t we talk about it more today?
Mick Garris can’t jolt life into Desperation
As with all of Mick Garris’ King adaptations, “Desperation” is a pro job all the way through, by which I mean it’s a good-looking TV movie with TV movie production values and visual effects. In the film’s defense, it gets off to a brisk start. Peter (Henry Thomas) and Mary Jackson (Annabeth Gish) are a couple motoring their way through the Nevada Desert (a spooky expanse at times) when they’re stopped by menacing Sheriff Collie Entragian (Perlman), who plants marijuana in their vehicle. They’re whisked off to the police station, where they’re greeted by the sight of a dead girl on the floor. Before you can say “Elliot,” Entragian shoots Peter dead. Mary is then thrown into a cell with the Carver family (Matt Frewer, Sylvia Kelegian, and little Shane Haboucha), where she learns the dead girl is the Carver’s daughter. Also in stir with this gang is Tom Billingsly, an old, drunk veterinarian (a lively Charles Durning).
We soon discover that Entragian has been possessed by the demon Tak and that he’s killed off the entire populace. The inmates manage to escape thanks to the ghostly assistance of the Carver’s dead daughter. They attempt to flee, but are stymied by Entragian’s ability to possess dead townies and channel Tak’s spirit into other lifeforms (like a buzzard). There are effective set pieces involving spiders, snakes, and scorpions (the unholy trinity of squirm), and a nifty sequence set in an old movie theater, but despite the presence of so many great actors (which also include Tom Skerritt, Matt Frewer, and Steven Weber), the film, like its source material, is just too flabby. “Desperation” was supposed to be a two-part network event, but it’s tiresome enough at 130 minutes.
Desperation was also undone by some stiff, and tuneful, Nielsen ratings competition
As always, Mick Garris’ heart is in the right place. You don’t for a second doubt his affection for Stephen King or the horror genre in general. Much like his TV adaptations of “The Stand” and “The Shining,” you feel like you’re turning pages in a book. Garris’ theatrical output is far superior. His “Critters 2: The Main Course” is an absolute hoot that improves on the (very good) original in every way. I also enjoy the kinkiness of “Sleepwalkers,” based on an original screenplay by King (and featuring a knockout Alice Krige making a four-course meal out of the scenery). I also admired his strangely over-hated take on King’s novella “Riding the Bullet,” which catches the author in a melancholy, “Stand by Me” tone (albeit with supernatural flourishes).
I’m not sure any director could’ve made a thoroughly compelling film out of a meandering slog like King’s “Desperation.” There are exceptions, but typically, when you see that page count get up over 600, a lot of pruning will be in order.
But if you really want to know why “Desperation” is a forgotten film, King has a theory: it aired on ABC opposite the season finale of “American Idol.” That was the year of Katharine McPhee, and, sheepishly, I’ll admit that’s where my eyeballs were glued.
