Best Horror Movie You Never Saw: The Dark Half (1993)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Welcome to Arrow in the Head's The Best Horror Movie You Never Saw, which will be dedicated to highlighting horror films that, for one reason or another, don't get as much love as we think they should. We know plenty of you horror hounds out there will have seen many of the movies we pick, but there will be plenty of you who have not. This column is for all of you!

This week we take a look at George A. Romero's superb Stephen King adaptation THE DARK HALF (WATCH IT HERE – OWN IT HERE) starring Timothy Hutton, Michael Rooker, Amy Madigan and Timothy Hutton again!

THE STORY: Thad Beaumont is a respected author and teacher who enjoys a side living writing lurid crime novels under the pen name George Stark. When his secret is exposed by a blackmailer, Beaumont decides to bury the name Stark for good. Only problem is, Stark doesn't want to be dead, and the once-imaginary alter ego comes to life and begins a quest to destroy Beaumont's life.

THE HISTORY: Soon after finishing MONKEY SHINES with Orion Pictures, George A. Romero was looking for a new gig. He was in the middle of trying to launch a remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD when he read a copy of Stephen King's book THE DARK HALF. Romero loved it and decided it would be his next picture. Despite his problems with Orion during MONKEY SHINES, Romero felt like he could go to them with THE DARK HALF, partially because there was a new regime there and he thought the people might be, as he put it, kinder and gentler. Such lofty hopes would not come to pass, but the studio did agree to produce the film. 

Gary Oldman and Willem Dafoe were considered for the lead but neither could do it, and Romero went to Timothy Hutton for the role of Thad Beaumont (as well as his alter ego/evil twin George Stark). Hutton turned out to be a method actor on set and caused Romero and the rest of the production many a headache, but ultimately Romero commended his performance. Michael Rooker was also considered by Romero for the role of Beaumont, but the studio didn't go for it. (Rooker nabbed a solid supporting role as the sheriff in THE DARK HALF.) 

Orion Pictures was going bankrupt while THE DARK HALF was being made in 1991, and their money problems caused the film's release to be delayed until 1993. 

WHY IT'S GREAT: When it comes to Stephen King adaptations, it's usually pretty cut and dried which films are beloved and which are condemned. CARRIE, STAND BY ME, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE DEAD ZONE are just a few of the ones that fall into the former category, while the latter contains stinkers like THE LAWNMOWER MAN, DREAMCATCHER, CHILDREN OF THE CORN (yeah, I know it has its defenders) and, more recently, THE DARK TOWER. But there are plenty of King movies that stand somewhere in the middle for the majority of his fans, and a handful of them don't get nearly the respect they deserve. For my money, THE DARK HALF can be considered one of those underappreciated gems; it's both a really good adaptation of the source material and a hell of an entertaining movie, directed by one of the best there ever was, George A. Romero.

I remember seeing THE DARK HALF in the theater – I was 13, and the film made me jump a few times but I don't think it left me thinking about it too much afterwards. Years later, it would become a reliable standby on cable and subsequently one of those movies I just had to watch whenever it was on (and that's still the case). You can chalk it up to two people, essentially: Romero and star Timothy Hutton, whose dual performances as Thad Beaumont and George Stark are things of eccentric beauty. As Beaumont, Hutton projects an air of genteel civility, even as an undercurrent of bitterness and menace clearly lurks just underneath the common-man surface. (Watch how he responds to the writer whose questions get under his skin or to the sleazeball who blackmails him.) As Stark, Hutton goes for it with a scenery-chomping performance oozing (quite literally) with sinister sleaze. During his audio commentary for the film, Romero talks at length about how difficult Hutton was to work with whenever he'd go into George Stark mode, because Hutton was a method actor and would, for all intents and purposes, "become" Stark on set. I cannot imagine attempting to direct George Stark, so kudos to Romero for surviving the ordeal. Though he still sounded exasperated by the experience, Romero does admit that at the end of the day, Hutton's performance is completely effective.

Everyone had to call him George when he was playing George Stark. You couldn't say, 'Hey Tim, lunch is ready!' You had to say, 'George, lunch is ready.' I just had problems with that." – George Romero, THE DARK HALF commentary

And Romero's work here is among his finest. Never the subtlest filmmaker during his best moments (DAWN OF THE DEAD and CREEPSHOW for me), here we see the director scaling back a bit to deliver a film that totally embodies what we expect from Stephen King's Castle Rock books. There's an atmosphere of serene Americana everywhere you look, while underneath the calm and cozy veneer evil is working overtime. Romero does a fine job establishing the normalcy of Beaumont's sweet and boring little world, then does a bang-up job disrupting it; when Stark turns up, the film's mood shifts and becomes more ominous. There's a bit of very dark humor at play too, as Stark turns out to be a bit of a (bad) jokester, fond of following up his hideous deeds with lame one-liners. As if proving the point King was trying to make about the duality of people, Romero allows us to have fun while watching the grimmer stuff, appealing to our darker natures. Truth be told, George Stark is a lot more fun than Thad Beaumont; a villain we hate to love. 

I'm not sure why THE DARK HALF doesn't get as much love as some of the more-heralded King adaptations. Perhaps it's because the characters of Beaumont and Stark really aren't very likable; I won't deny that the average viewer might have a hard time getting involved in the power struggle between these two nutcases. But for my money, the film is an entertaining, well-paced, well-crafted horror drama boasting two solid performances from the same actor, sturdy supporting roles (Michael Rooker as a benevolent sheriff is definitely a standout), and a haunting ambience we associate with King's work. A special shout-out must be made to composer Christopher Young, whose score for the film is really beautiful; it's one I listen to quite often.

BEST SCENE: Any scene featuring Stark is chilling and enjoyable, but there's something especially satisfying watching both Stark and Beaumont sit down together for a nice writing session during the finale. Two intense Hutton performances for the price of one.

WHERE TO WATCH: THE DARK HALF is available on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu and Hulu. Scream Factory released it on Blu-Ray a few years ago, and it includes an informative audio commentary with Romero and a documentary that goes into the making of the film extensively. The commentary is very amusing; Romero goes into brutal detail about how difficult it was to work with Hutton, birds, studio heads and everything in between. This was not an easy film to make, but it's a fun one to watch.

PARTING SHOT: You've all seen THE SHINING and MISERY (and probably IT by now) a million times. THE DARK HALF seems to be one of the King flicks that people have dismissed or forgotten about. It's time to change the narrative and ensure it's rightfully regarded as a minor treasure in the King movie catalogue.