15 comments on “Dean Koontz Books Deserve Better Movie Adaptations”

1. Eric S on August 28, 2012 at 12:15 am said:

   You read books still?? Isn’t that what a kindle or nook is for! Shit even multiple audiobooks fit on most mobile devices…

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   • Cecil on August 28, 2012 at 10:15 pm said:

     That book learnin’ is fer sissies! Now git!

     btw, I have way too many books on my Kindle. I need to read faster

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2. Cristiona on August 28, 2012 at 3:13 am said:

   While outside the scope of this video, I just have to say that I would love, love, LOVE for there to be a properly made adaptation of Lightning. It was the first Koontz book I ever read and is, by far, my favorite. It wouldn’t require a huge budget since the time travel is mostly off-screen and simple, it would just require a script by someone who wasn’t a nimrod, a good director, two strong leads, and a child actor that isn’t teeth-gratingly annoying.

   Okay, so maybe it couldn’t be done. Sigh.

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   • Cecil on August 28, 2012 at 10:21 pm said:

     I can totally agree with that one. Hmmm…kid actors are tough mostly because hollywood has this overwhelming need to make them annoying, which some idiot producers thinks is “cute”. Most movies with kids in them are enraging.

     Halley Joel in Sixth Sense was terrific, Portman was great in Leon, Chloe Moretz was great in Kick-Ass, Lina Leandersson was freaking amazing in Let the Right One in…so it can be done, it just doesn’t happen often. (I blame Disney Channel)

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3. Erik Johnson on August 28, 2012 at 8:18 am said:

   I’m surprised we didn’t see more title changes in these Dean Koontz book-to-film adaptation in an attempt to be more “marketable”.

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   • Cecil on August 28, 2012 at 10:24 pm said:

     The Servants of Twilight? Nah, lets call it Running from Fear: A mother’s journey.

     UGH.

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4. john on August 28, 2012 at 12:10 pm said:

   Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms. 🙂

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw3jMPjAcwg

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   • Cecil on August 28, 2012 at 10:25 pm said:

     Word bitch!

     (I knew this would come up at least once)

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5. Quippy on August 28, 2012 at 10:22 pm said:

   “Phantoms” has so much ambiance and is so powerfully written that when I read it, I was afraid to touch the book. I’d have to remind myself that it was a book – just paper with typed word – and that I would be okay. You can laugh all you want, but that’s damn good writing.

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6. slxslippy on August 29, 2012 at 12:39 am said:

   If they made a good movie adaptation of Twilight Eyes I’d see it in the theater at least twice. That book has everything. Demon monsters masquerading as humans and carnies…c’mon, it’s win-win.

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   • Cecil on September 5, 2012 at 10:20 am said:

     Twilight Eyes would be amazing in the right hands. They could even make an ongoing series out of it there is so much material.

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7. Will on September 1, 2012 at 6:19 pm said:

   Hey man,

   1)Obligatory Kevin Smith joke: Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms yo.

   2)I have never read a Dean Koontz book in my life. I always figured he was more a Walgreens-Danielle Steele type who had mass appeal but no skill. I suppose I was wrong. As a total Koontz newbie. . .what should I read first? Phantoms?

   3)Brett Leonard (spelling?). If that guy just waited a few years, he’d be the king of ‘modern’ day cinema due to his willingness to embrace advanced technologies and mess with the format of storytelling. But he either struck too soon or went way over the potential of the technology at the time.

   As you may have read in my book, and unlike you, I have a massive hatred for The Lawnmower Man. . .not because of the director or anything, just the overall story. I found it. . .weird. Though Jeff Fahey loves it and is amazed how he still gets recognized for it every day (check out his interview at AV Club that was released a week or so ago).

   Virtuosity is a film that should have been a box office sensation and all-time classic. What holds it back is how ’90s and limiting it is thanks to there being technological breakthroughs just a mere two or three years later! I still hold the theory that visual effects from 1997-1999 are the best we’ll ever see for a long time (though seeing some of the stuff in Prometheus and the Total ‘Shit’ Recall remake is starting to wow me). If you pop in, say, The Fifth Element and watch it on Blu-Ray, it is astounding. You pop in Matrix Reloaded and you see cartoons. It’s funny how the late 90s found the right mix of CGI/practical effects.

   So Leonard was just TOO early, and not by much, but Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity, and Hideaway just needed a few more years and they’d have been genre classics (though some argue LM is already).

   Will

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   • Cecil on September 5, 2012 at 10:29 am said:

     1) Word!

     2) That’s one of the unfortunate things about Koontz. For whatever reason some folks think he is a low rent knockoff of other authors when in fact it is quite the opposite. His stuff is some of my all time favorite reads. Phantoms is an incredible read and I highly recommend it. An outstanding starting point.

     3) Leonard has a good eye for direction and when given the right material, he makes great films. (I have my favorite of his coming soon)

     Virtuosity was a bit uneven. The effects were there, Denzel was on point, and Crowe was a great bad guy but it just didn’t have that special mass appeal. A bit too out there for people at the time. Now I think the concept would be embraced a bit more since technology has become a bigger part of our lives than it was back then.

     On the Lawnmower Man, I can understand your dislike of the film. It is an oddball and not really geared towards any particular genre. I personally enjoy it very much because I think it touched on a subject (improving our minds with the use of technology) in a way that was upsetting to some people.

     There is a director’s cut that runs about 25 minutes longer that fills in many of the blanks that the theatrical release didn’t cover. The story makes more sense and even ties a bit more into why the professor chose Jobe in the first place. (not that I recommend you watch it, it most likely won’t change your opinion)

     The only thing I didn’t like was the heavy handed need to have Jobe “absorbed” into virtual reality space. It wasn’t needed and came off as one of those “audience is too stupid to get it” moments. It didn’t detract from the film it just felt goofy.

     I haven’t seen it in a while but I’ve planned on doing this one from the beginning. Not sure about the sequel, I remember that one being a complete mess.

     So, whenever I get to The Lawnmower Man I hope you check it out with an open mind…or at the very least some good jabs. 🙂

     (oh and while the Matrix Reloaded turned into, well, The Matrix Reloaded I for some reason love the big fight between Neo and all the Agent Smiths. Yes, it looks bad/terrible/CGI abuse but I really dig it for some reason)

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8. Sue on September 16, 2012 at 9:42 am said:

   Koontz is definitely my favorite author of all time. I was introduced to him at a young age and I spent many late nights engrossed in his books. When they made some of them into movies, I was as highly disappointed as you were – the movies weren’t even close to being as engaging as the books.

   Now that the Odd Thomas books are being made in movies, I am really hoping that Koontz gets the recognition he deserves. From what I’ve heard so far, he is 110% behind the movie. Steven Somers is directing, and I hear that Anton Yelchin is outstanding as Odd. Having Willem Dafoe in it is awesome as well – he is a fantastic actor. The movie is due out next year, so it hopefully will give Hollywood pause to think that they should start looking at either remaking his other movies, or make some new ones. Koontz has so many books that would be great movies –

   Strangers is probably one of my top books – this one introduced me to Koontz and I read it in 2 days. It’s an amazing story, and it’s more about human interaction, so it would really only need a few good actors and some decent effects for the end.

   Phantoms is so amazing, and after they did such a great job finally making The Mist, they could totally remake this – they have the technology to make the ending the way it should have been, and I know fans who would be just as excited as me to see that happen.

   Twilight Eyes, while bearing a slight similarity to They Live, is such a cool story that it exceeds Carpenter’s vision in so many ways. I wish they would make a movie out of this one.

   Shattered, Night Chills, The Face of Fear, The Vision, The Key to Midnight, Lightening, The Bad Place, Cold Fire, Dragon Tears, Mr Murder, Winter Moon, Intensity, Tick Tock, By the Light of the Moon, The Face, Velocity – there have been so many good stories, so many late nights, so many times I’d finished a book and wanted to grab the next one just to see what Mr Koontz was going to scare me with next. lol

   With his unusual ideas, his intriguing characters, and his way with keeping you guessing, Koontz, in my opinion, is far superior to Stephen King – although King will always hold a place in my heart for being the very first horror author I’d ever read (my aunt gave me a copy of The Stand when I was 11), not every one of King’s books are good. Koontz’s books however, are consistently fantastic.

   I’m on my 2nd of the Odd Thomas series (I need to catch up), but after just a few pages of reading the first one, I knew Odd was a character that needed to be explored, and I’m so glad that Koontz has continued his story.

   I also heard that they are making the “Frankenstein” books into a TV series – this could be huge if done right. Crossing my fingers on that one.

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9. KANEABIS on September 19, 2012 at 8:29 am said:

   Im reading Phantoms at the moment started last night only 100 pages in and its already better then the film heads in the ovens man thats awesome when im done this im reading watchers. thanks man iv been only reading HP Lovecraft Stephen King and Clive Barker But Dean R Koonts is right up with them. You rock buddy.

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