The Tommyknockers (1993 film)
The Tommyknockers (1993 miniseries, sometimes cut into a movie)
Summary
Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. An unearthly force hits all but the lover of a writer who has dug up something strange in Maine.
Details
- Release Date: 1993
- Country/Language: USA, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Runtime: 3 hr 1 min
- Starring: Jimmy Smits, Marg Helgenberger, John Ashton, Traci Lords
- Director: John Power
- Writer: Stephen King and Lawrence D. Cohen
- Producer/Production Co: American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
- View Trailer: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (mild TV-miniseries-friendly Violence and Adult Content)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; could be a very loose adaptation)
Stephen King has pointed to "The Colour Out of Space (fiction)" as an influence, and one can arguably also detect hints of "The Call of Cthulhu fiction)" and "At the Mountains of madness" in the mix as well, along with elements of Alien (1979 franchise), The Forbidden Planet (1956 film), Invaders from Mars (1953 film), and The Thing (1984 film); King even borrows heavily from his own work, recycling some of his usual small-town Maine stock characters and favorite themes such as alcoholism. However, the single biggest source of material for this film is certainly Quatermass and the Pit (1967 film), which seems to have supplied the majority of this film's better material.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Brandt Sponseller at Classic Horror dotcom, (link) - "The extent to which The Tommyknockers succeeds, and it does slightly, is solely dependent on the strength of King's story, Lawrence D. Cohen's largely passable teleplay, the performances, and Power's passable direction...."
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
An unearthly, glowing, green force hits all but the lover of a writer who has dug up something strange in Maine: a crashed ancient alien spaceship full of corpses, which awakens psychic powers and folk-tales about hob-goblins in the people living in the small town nearby.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- A "tommyknocker" in British folklore is a kind of faerie, hob-goblin, or poltergeist which lives in mines, playing pranks on miners.
Associated Mythos Elements
- fiction: Stephen King, The Tommyknockers
- Location: Haven Falls, Main, near Bangor and Castle Rock
Keeper Notes
External links, See Also
- See Quatermass and the Pit (1967 film) for a very similar serial/film.
