Lilja's Library (76 page)

I also keep asking myself, why change the title? It’s a logical title, but why?  

Lilja’s last words on
The Secret Transit Codes of America’s Highways
 

As I always say when I review “Dollar Babies”, if you get the chance to see one, take it. And that is true for this one as well. 

**** 

Night Surf
 

Written For the Book  

Night Surf
is a “Dollar Baby” in which some of the survivors from Captain Trips (the super flu from
The Stand
) head for an isolated cabin. They all think they are immune because they have had the Hong Kong flu and think all they need to do is wait for the worst to pass. 

It doesn’t take long, though, until they start getting sick, and what happens in
Night Surf
really shows how people can react in pressing situations. 

While
Night Surf
is very nicely shot, its cast, unfortunately, doesn’t live up to the expectations created by the look and feel of the movie. They do an OK job, but in order to do director Peter Sullivan’s shooting justice they would have needed to do better. As a “Dollar Baby” they do fine though. 

It’s impossible not to think of the TV version of
The Stand
when you see
Night Surf
,
and I have to admit that Sullivan has done a very good job in getting the look and feel of his “Dollar Baby” the same as that TV series.  

Lilja’s last words on
Night Surf
 

Even though the cast doesn’t deliver one hundred percent, I think
Night Surf
should be included in future DVD versions of
The Stand
as extra material. It’s a nice complement to the TV series. 

**** 

Stephen King’s Gotham Café
 

Written For the Book  

Stephen King’s Gotham Café
is probably one of the most professional “Dollar Babies” that has been done. It even has a voice cameo by King himself and a cameo by Mick Garris, who plays Father Callahan. 

Stephen King’s Gotham Café
is also one of the “Dollar Babies” that has the most special effects in it. There is one scene where a person gets his cheek cut open with a knife, and another where one person has his guts cut open. The first scene is pretty well done, while the second leaves quite a bit to wish for. The intestines look more like old sausage than anything else… 

The actors in
Stephen King’s Gotham Café
are amateurs, but a bit better than the ones we usually see in “Dollar Babies”. The only one I don’t like is Julie Sands, who plays Diane Davis. She overacts the part and she gets too loud and is not very believable. She would have benefited from not making the character so snotty. 

All in all, though, it’s a very good “Dollar Baby”, and the fact that King lent his voice for a cameo might give this one a little better chance to actually be released to the general public. Keep your fingers crossed.  

Lilja’s final words about
Stephen King’s Gotham Café
 

I especially like Cullen Douglas as Guy the waiter. He does an excellent job being totally insane. Don’t miss it if you get the chance. 

**** 

Sorry, Right Number
 

Written For the Book  

There was an official version of
Sorry, Right Number
done back in 1987 that was based on a script done by King himself, and while this one probably isn’t based on the same script, it’s very similar to King’s version. There are some changes, especially at the end when Kate calls herself, but it’s still quite similar, which is a good thing. The feeling from King’s version is present, as it should be. 

Brian Berkowitz’s version isn’t as good as King’s version, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Berkowitz had a lot less money than they had when they did King’s version. That, and Darrin Stevensen… 

It’s not that Darrin isn’t that good of an actor, but the real problem is that from time to time he looks like he is about to start laughing. When he doesn’t he is OK, but sometimes he looks like he is enjoying himself too much. The rest of the cast, which is pretty much just Barbara Weetman as Kate, does a pretty good job. They are pretty believable, even if you can tell they aren’t professional actors…or at least, I guess they’re not. 

Brian has also made the “Dollar Baby,”
The Secret Transit Codes of America’s Highways
, and I think he did a better job on
Sorry, Right Number
. Here more of King’s feeling is present and he hasn’t cut corners; he is including everything, even though some of it is slightly changed.  

Lilja’s final words about
Sorry, Right Number
 

Brian’s version of
Sorry, Right Number
is a good “Dollar Baby”, but it still lacks that little extra that it would need to stand out. Check it out though, if you get the chance. 

**** 

Srajenie
 

Written For the Book  

Srajenie,
or
The Battle
,
the English translation of the title, is based on King’s story
Battleground
. This is the only Russian “Dollar Baby” that I am aware of and it’s also one of the better “Dollar Babies” out there.  

Srajenie
was done back in 1986 and is totally animated. It’s good to see that even though it’s more than twenty years old it still works very well. The animations are a bit rough, but in this case that is just how they should be. There is very little dialogue in the movie, but that is really no problem. There isn’t that much dialogue demanded to get the story moving.  

As I said, I really like
Srajenie
. The combination of the rough animation, the non-speaking and the way the characters have been animated is so well done. It’s very effective, and the fact that you really can see what the character is feeling, despite the rough animations, makes it even more interesting. 

I must also comment on the fact that it’s very fascinating to know that this movie was made over twenty years ago. How on Earth did director M. Titov manage to learn about the “Dollar Babies”? How did he even know they existed? Very impressive! 

As you probably know already,
Battleground
is about a hit man who, after killing the president of a toy factory, finds a package from the very same factory. It contains a box of toy soldiers that come to life. In their eagerness to get revenge for their murdered boss, they come at him with guns, bombs and all kinds of nasty things. At first the hit man is able to defend himself, but as time goes and they just keep coming it gets harder and harder for him to keep it up. 

The ending is really scary…  

Lilja’s final words about
Srajenie
 

This is definitely one of those “Dollar Babies” that you just have to see if you get the chance. It’s so well done and a pure joy to watch. 

**** 

Llamadas 

Written For the Book  

Llamadas
is an Argentinean “Dollar Baby” version of
Sorry, Right Number
that is actually quite OK. Personally I like the fact that there are non-U.S. “Dollar Babies” even though they are harder to fully understand. As often is the case with movies done in a language that you don’t understand, it’s hard to really appreciate it fully. 

However, when/if you know a story quite well you can still get a rather good feeling for the movie. That feeling, when it comes to
Llamadas
, is pretty good. They have changed a bit of the story and also shortened it a bit, but the essence of King’s story is there and it seems to work. 

This version is, as I said, a bit shorter than the original and while I can understand why that is, I really don’t like it. It also seems they have made some changes concerning Bill. He is still a writer, but here he dies in the kitchen and there seems to be no mention of his movie airing on TV. 

So, even if it has the right feeling, there’s also the feeling that something has gotten lost in the translation. 

It’s also very interesting to see an adaptation of
Sorry, Right Number
since it was originally a script and not a story. In my eyes, that would mean that it should be easier to adapt than a regular story…  

Lilja’s final words about
Llamadas
 

In order to fully enjoy this one you need to understand Spanish. If not, it helps if you know the story it’s based on very well. If you don’t understand Spanish you will get a bit lost, but please don’t let that stop you from seeing it if you get the chance. 

**** 

Suppr. 

Written For the Book  

As you probably know by now, there have been some non-U.S. “Dollar Babies” made, and you also probably know that most of them are French or Spanish.
Suppr.
is a French version of
The Word Processor of the Gods
, directed by Nicolas Heurtel.  

I’m not sure what Nicolas was thinking when he did it, but it seems he just took part of King’s story and then added his own ideas to it, which really didn’t fit the story all that well. I would say it’s more inspired by King’s story than based on it.  

One funny thing with
Suppr.
, though, is that Nicolas has included a great deal of King references that you can look for if you see this movie. In the credits Castle Rock is mentioned, we see Christine in front of “Le bazaar des rêves” (which means Needful Things in French). There are also a lot of King books on the author’s shelves. So, keep looking for those when/if you see this Baby. 

The problem though, as I have said, is that it’s more confusing than it’s good, and some of it is surely because I don’t speak French, but also because they have changed it too much. Unfortunately, this had the effect that King’s presence isn’t felt much in it and for that, I really didn’t like it that much.  

Lilja’s final words about
Suppr.
 

Suppr.
is another non-U.S. “Baby” that suffers for the fact that it’s in a language I don’t understand and that Nicolas didn’t stick with King’s story enough. 

**** 

Night of the Living Dead 

Written For the Book  

A dramatization of
Night of the Living Dead
on CD, is that possible? Well, it has been done. Simon & Schuster audio has released a dramatized version of George Romero’s zombie movie and I have listened to it. 

It’s short, no more than an hour, but it’s actually very effective. It’s a mix of drama and narration, where the narration helps the story move forward in the passages that aren’t possible to dramatize. And it actually works. 

The story follows the movie very well even though some parts of it have been shortened and cut, but that is only natural when you turn a movie into a radio-type drama. 

Why someone even got the idea to turn a zombie movie into a dramatized audio version is beyond me, but I must say I’m really happy they did it. It actually works very well, and they have put the time and energy into it that it demands to work properly. As it is now it’s almost like hearing the movie, with a narrator mixed in. 

What’s also good about the audio is that it actually sounds old. It sounds like the original movie looks. It sounds like it’s in black and white.  

Lilja’s final words about
Night of the Living Dead