Stephen Kingcast

Bonus Episode: Westeros, Game of Thrones and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Hello, everyone! 

I know that I didn't put out a new episode last week, but I still wanted to make sure that you had something from me, so in this episode, you get a full, free episode that I recorded earlier this year. With HBO's House of the Dragon having just returned, I thought it was appropriate to publish my original review on the first four episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. More importantly, I examine my relationship with this world, its books, and even wade into the raging waters of the finale of A Game of Thrones. 

If you have any thoughts, write into stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

Find more episodes at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

 

 

Mick Garris' Bag of Bones (2011)

Mick Garris is back with another Stephen King adaptation. Starring James Bond himself as the chambray-shirt wearing best selling novelist who investigates a 100 year old mystery while grieving the recent death of his wife. The novel is a slow burn rumination on loss, heartbreak and the ghosts we carry with us. Is the movie the same? Find out this week!

As always, write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

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New Episode-Mick Garris' Desperation (2006)

Welcome Tak!

With Desperation, Mick Garris continues his run of King adaptations. Starring Steven Weber, Tom Skerrit, Matt Frewer, Annabeth Gish and Ron Pearlman as the possessed Sheriff, Collie Entragian, we are treated to the sun-baked and blood-soaked desert set tale of good v. evil.

As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

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And check out more reviews at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

Let's Get Ready For Interview With The Vampire!

In 1976, Anne Rice forever changed the vampire with the publication of Interview With The Vampire. Injected with romanticism, passion, sexuality, queer relationships and religious existentialism, this novel kicked off a franchise that is still going today. And of course, it introduced one of modern fiction's most impactful characters, the Vampire Lestat.

Let's get ready for tonight's premeire of AMC's newest season of Interview with the Vampire by celebrating the book that started it all.

You can find the full review, and much much more, over on Patreon. 

Please write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

 

Sample Episode-Dean Koontz's Winter Moon

This episode is an introduction to a larger exploration occurring over on Patreon.

"Ladies and gentlemen, at long last I am diving into the bibliography of one of Stephen King's most prolific contemporaries, the legendary Dean Koontz. In the horror heyday of the 80s and 90s, you could count on two things in the horror section of any bookstore: massive quantities of King books taking up one section and massive quantities of taking up a complete other section just a few feet over. Their creative output and their books' close proximity from the beginning of their last names caused a generation to compare and contrast these two authors, and created a conjured, imagined war between the two: you were either a King fan or a Koontz fan. Clearly, King won the larger pop culture war, but let's not count out Koontz. With over 100 books under his belt, he has been a reliable source of entertainment for decades, and for many of us growing up in the 80s and 90s, it was a treat to have such a vast treasure trove of riches to choose from.

Though I grew up reading nearly all of his books, over the last twenty years, I'd fallen off. And when I needed a book to read, I found myself pulling out Winter Moon from a box of old books in my basement. It was one of the books I don't remember clearly, and therefore, it was a perfect book to read again for the first time. I have a lot of thoughts, and I'm happy to share them here on the Dean Koontzcast, one man's musings on the works of Dean Koontz!"

For the full episode, head over to the Stephen Kingcast Patreon page for this review, and much, much more!

Rob Savage's The Boogeyman (2023)

This week, I'm taking a break from the coverage of televised Stephen King works to review this banger of a movie that passed me by when it first came out.

Starring rising Scream Queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, Heretic, Companion), always likeable Chris Messina and everyone's favorite weirdo, David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), The Boogeyman tells the tale of a wounded family, recently shattered from the loss of its mother/wife, stalked by the mythological creature.

This very easily could have been a generic, run of the mill, cut and paste horror movie, but between the talent on screen, the believable characterizations, the lived-in-world of this family, the visual flourishes and the strong direction from Rob Savage (director of Host, the Zoom-inspired horror that you need to see if you haven't already), it is a must watch Stephen King adaptation.

As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

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And check out more reviews at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

 

Sample Episode-The Mandalorian and Grogu

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars crashed and burned its sequel trilogy with a final installment that created doubt for the future of the franchise. However, at that same time, a little show called The Mandalorian had taken the pop cultural world by storm, and the inclusion of Star Wars' newest character, Baby Yoda, breathed new life into a franchise that, at least on the big screen, seemed on life support.

Flash forward seven years later, and Disney finally releases its next Star Wars movie, one based on that smash hit television show. However, we have to ask the question is, did they wait too long? Have audiences tired of this lone wolf and his cub? Is there enough substance in this movie to warrant its place in theaters?

In this episode, I contextualize the character, his television show and his movie in the greater landscape of Star Wars before breaking down the elements of the film into the categories of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Strap on your jet packs and launch into my my review of The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is the way.

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Write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

 

New Episode-Nightmares and Dreamscapes (2006)

Airing during the summer of 2006, this 7 part TNT adaptation starred William Hurt, William H Macey, Kim Delaney, Steven Weber, Jeremy Sisto, Ron Livingston and more to provide seven adaptations of King's short stories. I'm all for a fun anthology show, but the question is: was it any good?

Find out this week on The Stephen Kingcast!

As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

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And check out more reviews at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

New Episode-Mick Garris' Riding the Bullet (2004)

Come for the review of Riding the Bullet, stay for the examination on Houlden Caufield, Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf and 28 Years Later. 

It was a fun review. I can't say the same about the movie itself. But for all my thoughts, check it out. 

As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com

Follow me on Bluesky, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook.

And check out more reviews at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

 

New Episode-Salem's Lot (2004)

I can't believe I actually did it! I went back and rewatched the 2004 Rob Lowe-starring TNT television movie adaptation of Salem's Lot. I have strong memories of watching it back in the day, and they were not positive memories. I had told myself that I wouldn't revisit it, but as the decades rolled on, heading into my time machine and checking out the early 2000s was an interesting proposition. I mean, with a cast that includes Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Andre Braugher and James Cromwell, this deserves a second look. What could go wrong?

To find out what went wrong (and what went right--there's some good stuff here, too), tune in this week to the Stephen Kingcast!