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Sarah (7799 KP) rated The Gunslinger in Books

Dec 26, 2020

The Gunslinger

Stephen King | 2012 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller

7.7

(47 Ratings)

Book Rating

Not the best start

As anyone who has read any of my other reviews will know, I'm a huge Stephen King fan. However I spent a large amount of time avoiding the Dark Tower series because I didn't think it would be any good. In 2015 I finally caved and gave it a go, and it became my all time favourite book series. 5 years later, I feel the time is right to read it again.

King himself has said he isn't entirely pleased with The Gunslinger, the first novel in the series, and I'd be inclined to agree with him. As introductions go, our intro to Roland isn't bad but it doesn't feel anywhere near as engaging and intriguing as the later books in the series. It feels a little convoluted and confusing at times, like we're joining a story not quite at the very start. Admittedly some things are explained later on, but it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people have given up on this series purely because of this first novel.

For me I can appreciate that this is a good novel and a decent introduction to Roland and the world he lives in, but I will admit it could be better. Reading it again does highlight some of the nods and nuances to later happenings in the series that you didn't quite pick up the first time around. But I will say that if youre planning on reading this series, please don't judge it off this instalment alone.

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Mayhem (2017) in Movies

Aug 24, 2020

Mayhem (2017)

2017 | Action, Comedy, Horror

7.1

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Mayhem is a pretty fun comedy horror from Joe Lynch for the most part.

Centred around an outbreak of a virus in an office building, the workers inside are sealed in for 8 hours whilst the airborne anti virus does it's thing. The virus itself causes people to lose control of their inhibitions, and in an office space, that includes a whole lot of violence towards people that you would naturally grow to hate over time.
It's a simple premise executed well enough.

The two leads Stephen Yeun and Samara Weaving are a hugely likeable pairing, and have a great supporting cast to work with. The dialogue is often funny, and everyone involved nails the humour - I can't remember any of it falling flat.

The story is fairly predictable and it's one of those films that likes to cut away rather than show violence - not everytime, but certainly on multiple occasions, which takes away a lot of the impact Mayhem could have otherwise had.
The Last Drive-In host Joe Bob Briggs raises a good point - in a world awash with horror comedy, it would have been interesting to see how this film would have turned out if it had been played straight. As I said, the humour is genuinely good, but I agree here - it could have really benefitted from being a full on horror experience.

Overall though, Mayhem is entertaining, and I no doubt will watch it again at somepoint. It's hard to not enjoy a film that includes a brutal fight sequence whilst Faith No More plays in the background.