Synopsis
Kingdome Hospital is built on the site of a former Civil War textile mill, where many children lost their lives in a tragic fire. The ground is therefore haunted, and strange things are happening in the hospital. We follow the lives of many characters here, including one particular patient, an artist who was hit by a truck (the incident is very faithful reproduction of what happened to Stephen King himself) and is haunted, in his comatose state, by visions of a supernatural anteater (I’m not…making this up).
Twin Peaks meets ER was how the original Danish series, The Kingdom was described, not inaccurately. Lars Von Trier’s effort perfectly meshed soap opera, humour and horror in an utterly intoxicating brew. King’s version is much more forced. As with many recent transpositions of his work to the screen, what works on the page becomes clunky when applied directly to a new medium (most notably interior monologues and metaphors made flesh). The anteater, for instance, is weird not in an ambience-enhancing way, but in a “what the hell were you thinking?” way. The autobiographical elements are mildly intriguing, but viewers would be much better served tracking down the original.
Audio
A very nice 5.1 mix, far beyond many TV releases. The bass is excellent, the music terrific down the line. The effects are very strong too, creating a nicely immersive experience, and there is no distortion on the dialogue. Great stuff.
Video
The picture is very good, with very strong colours and flesh tones, excellent blacks, and no grain or visible edge enhancement. The widescreen aspect ratio is a nice touch, too. There is very little indication, in other words, that this was made for TV (to look at, anyway).
Special Features
None except for some liner notes from King, and trailers for the show and MirrorMask. The menu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
Nice try, but no cigar. Yet another reason why remakes of foreign works are usually not a good idea
Special Features List
- Trailers
- Liner Notes
