The Latecomers

Episode Notes This week we watch the third in our series of novellas from Different Seasons – Apt Pupil. The young wunderkind Brad Renfro stars alongside Ian McKellan in a powerful film. We begin our discussion there. We then compare the film to the book and then we take a detour to the deeply problematic history of the film and the filmmaker and discuss when an artist and their art can be disting...

Episode Notes We travel Route 666 with Christopher Lloyd in his finest cenobite cosplay this week with the 1997 television movie Quicksilver Highway. This is half Stephen King, half Clive Barker and all Mick Garris. What wants to be the first in a series somewhat sadly stands alone. One of the goriest and least bloody outings we have had so far with adaptations of “Chattery Teeth” and “The Body Po...

Episode Notes Trucks (1997) King on Screen: All trucks great and small Come with us to Lunar, Nevada, the smallest town that ever incorporated as we watch as it’s trucks are taken over by, well, it’s unclear. This week we watched Trucks, the second adaptation of the short story, “Trucks” which is powered by less cocaine and more exposition. But the exposition of what is currently happening is non-...

Episode Notes This week sees our first second adaptation with the ABC miniseries of The Shining. We will watch other second-attempts but we’ll never forget our first. The three-episode arc allows for us to get settled in the Stanley hotel, I mean the Overlook, and we get glimpses of real people before the hotel gets mean. We do some comparisons, but try to look at this as its own thing, down to th...

Episode Notes Up this week is The Night Flier, or Stephen King’s Night Flier to avoid any confusion starring the inimitable Miguel Ferrer and the vaguely familiar Julie Entwisle. It could have been the first of a series, but distribution woes dashed those hopes. We try to make sense of the plot and revel in the performances and the makeup, both of which were better than necessary. We wish you coul...

Episode Notes Ringing in the new year with a movie that has it all – racism, sexism, fatphobia, and slut shaming. It’s a bonanza and we get into it all. We discuss the dangers of road head, the issues around traveler culture, the mystery of the Lenzes and whether we want to watch movies with no one in them to root for. Fat Tony makes an appearance and we try to determine if you can make a movie wi...

Episode Notes A good story told bad, we discuss 1995’s miniseries The Langoliers. Plagued by bad CGI, pacing problems and some award worthy overacting, The Langoliers is 2/3 of a good story. Amity goes deep into the how, while Lemuel shows us the where. Recommendations: Twilight Zone “The Odyssey of Flight 33” (S2;E18) and “And When the Sky Was Opened” (S1;E11) Next up: Thinner (1996) Email us at...

Episode Notes Kathy Bates is back and as good as ever in Dolores Claiborne, where she gets the to be the eponymous character. Jennifer Jason Leigh channels all of us with traumatic pasts – drinking and popping pills to forget. But a mother never forgets. We discuss what makes a murder and whether 85 for 86 is a realistic homicide close rate. John C. Reilly makes an appearance as person Fozzie Bear...

Episode Notes We went in with high hopes: Robert Englund, good. Tobe Hooper, good. Stephen King, good. Ted Levine – that’s just icing on the cake. But this cake didn’t deserve icing. This cake was a horrid gross mess of overacting and bananas makeup against a script that seemed to come out of google translate 20 years before that was even a thing. We tried to find some good, but it was tough going...

Episode Notes We make our stand this week as we discuss the final entry in The Stand miniseries. We are told explicitly that Flagg is failing, he knows it, his bride knows it, the dead witch knows it, but what is it they all know? It’s unclear. But Trashcan man swoops in to save the day and keeps Ralph and Larry from being executed… sort of. Listen as we do a wrap-up of the series and voice hopes...

Episode Notes Come to Boulder, we have everything! Power? Check. Bar-B-Que? Check. Churches full of corpses? Check. A Can-Do Attitude? Check. Dive in and make yourself useful. Come to Las Vegas, we have job security for those who will do what they are told and not drink, gamble or do drugs. But step out of line, and we will crucify you. We make our choice, discuss the history of the walking man, t...

Episode Notes The plague is over and the survivors are on the move. We watched Part 2 of The Stand – The Dreams. We fall in love with Nick and Tom and hope a safe falls on Julie. Ruby Dee shines and Larry drops some dead weight. Kojak is a good good boy and Harold continues to be a problematic creep. What’s next? Why, it’s a betrayal… Recommendations: Dr. Sleep Next up: The Stand (1994) Part 3 Ema...

Episode Notes This week we dive into part one of the 1994 ABC miniseries of The Stand. We lament Frannie, lust after Nick, commend Stu, but not his feet, question Larry, curtsey and bow to Mother Abagail, look for our fat representation in Harold (and miss it) and we ask you – Baby, can you dig your man? No? Us either. Now give us more cowbell- because we’ve got a fever and there’s only one cure....

Episode Notes This week we do a Recast-o-polooza retrospective on the first five seasons of the show. Season One: Twin Peaks – we manage 2 maybe 3 characters. Season Two: Lemuel takes on Midnight Cowboy while Amity tackles Pretty in Pink Season Three: Amity tweaks The Deer Hunter while Lemuel makes some adjustments to The Eyes of Laura Mars Season Four: We recast Battlestar Galactica for the 19th...

Episode Notes Rewatching the TNT modern classic, Lemuel and Amity watched The Shawshank Redemption in a new and novel way – with forethought from beginning to end. Sometimes Stephen King writes a damn fine drama and this is one of those times. Also helpful, nary a woman to be seen, so nary a female character to mess up. We discuss the pitfalls of marketing and what makes a cult classic. If you hav...

Episode Notes Leaving Castle Rock for the neighboring town of Haven, this week Lemuel and Amity had Tommyknockers knocking at the door. We discuss the origins of the story – both folklorically and plageristically. We tut tut the small choices of these small town people and we ask the important question: Huh? Recommendations: Quatermass and the Pit (that’s Five Million Years to Earth in the US) and...

Episode Notes Back in Castle Rock with Alan Pangborn, we delve into a far too short film with far too much crammed into it. I once believed there was no such thing as too much cheese, and then I ate a quesadilla that proved me wrong. This is that quesadilla and plot is the cheese – it’s too much! But everyone is doing some spectacular acting and, once you get past Stephen King’s apparent hatred of...

Episode Notes This week we look deep into Timothy Hutton’s blue, blue eyes and ask, what do the sparrows mean, though? The confusion runs deep as we watched the Dark Half and many questions are asked while none are really answered. Who is this doppelgänger – George Stark? Alexis Machine? Actual Twin? Are sparrows on earth as the devil’s eyeballs? Is it possible for makeup to get better as it gets...

Episode Notes We called an audible and watched the entire Golden Years series for this episode. A miniseries of awesome characters doing… well… not much. And time travel with about four minutes of thought put into it. We put much more thought into our time travel discussion, along with discussion of appropriate sleeping attire, surname etymology, old age makeup, the dangers of shower sex and so mu...

Episode Notes This week we tackle Sometimes They Come Back, a CBS television movie starring Time Mathieson and not Margot Kidder. We have you standard King street toughs with a standard King twist. The plot may be formulaic, but at least that kid is clearly making terrible choices! We try to discern time, location, and what is real. Do we have any luck? Listen to find out. Next up: The Golden Year...

Episode Notes We take on the backend of the original It miniseries from 1990. Amity gets more Jonathan Brandis and everyone is treated to John Ritter yelling the best ridiculousness. We shame jewelry and outerwear choices and morn the fallen. Next up: Sometimes They Come Back (1990) You can watch it on Youtube in HD – or rent it like we did on Amazon or VUDU. Email us at latecomers@gmail.com Twitt...

Episode Notes This week we eschew the theater for part 1 of the original miniseries of IT. We talk structure, casting, too many gone too soon, the magic of Mazur, the voice of a clown, whether the Simpsons has ruined culture and get into the nitty gritty of what we talk about when we talk about Stephen King. Recommended: Nothing – but you should fill your lives with all versions of It you can must...

Episode Notes We have our ONLY Oscar performance of the season as we watch the deeply disturbed Annie Wilkes, masterfully brought to life by the spectacular Kathy Bates in 1990’s Misery. Oh, James Caan is also there. We talk about the power of a two person cast and the possible pitfalls. Hot takes on Quentin Tarantino and thoughts on two Bruces to be found at the end. https://www.hollywoodreporter...

Episode Notes It’s time to get messy with a very moist monster. We watched Graveyard Shift and Amity has many thoughts on accents and Lemuel has many thoughts on midriffs. We agree that these people weren’t paid near enough – and that the minimum wage is a joke. What’s the worst job/pay ratio you’ve ever had? Let us know on twitter! Next up: Misery (1989) – Available on Vudu Email us at latecomers...

Episode Notes Amity and Lemuel check out the original adaptation of Pet Sematary. Fred Gwynne really delivers that Maine accent and the leading lady is reliably less than she could have been. Amity loses it over 30-50 feral hogs while Lemuel is left scratching his head. Recommendations will have you signing up to yet another streaming service – we are very sorry. Next up: Graveyard Shift (1989) –...