After seeing how incredibly well a new Stephen King TV adaptation has performed, it is hard not to see how the remake of a divisive 24-year-old film based on the author’s book could also work. The TV adaptation in question did not garner unanimous critical acclaim but managed to gain enough viewership to be renewed for another season.
Stephen King’s TV and movie adaptations have always been hit or miss. While the author’s books always seem to have story beats and ideas that seem perfect fits for the live-action medium of storytelling, not all TV shows and movies that pick up his stories end up leaving their mark.
Although a new Stephen King TV show is yet to rise in the ranks and match the legacy of some of the best movies and shows based on the author’s work, it has shown immense potential in its opening season. Interestingly, it also seems to pave the way for another Stephen King book adaptation, which has previously been picked for the big screen.
Key Insights
- Success Factors: The recent adaptation of The Institute has proven successful, indicating potential for other adaptations.
- Box Office Performance: The original Dreamcatcher struggled at the box office despite a strong cast.
- Thematic Parallels: Both The Institute and Dreamcatcher explore supernatural abilities and friendship.
- Stephen King’s Views: King has mixed feelings about his original Dreamcatcher novel but appreciates its adaptation.
Dreamcatcher Has Great Potential To Be A TV Series After Stephen King’s The Institute Success
MGM+’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Institute has performed well enough to be greenlit for another season. Its success proves that Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher, too, could work incredibly well if given a modern remake. Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher was first adapted for the big screen in 2003.
Unfortunately, despite having a star-studded cast, including Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, and Timothy Olyphant, the movie struggled at the box office, earning $75.7 million against a budget of $68 million. Even from a critical standpoint, the movie got mixed reviews from viewers and critics and has an underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes score of 27%.
A closer look at Dreamcatcher reveals that it shares many narrative and thematic parallels with The Institute. For instance, both Stephen King stories feature characters with supernatural abilities. While the ones in The Institute possess telepathy and telekinesis, Dreamcatcher‘s characters gain several psychic abilities, including dream sharing.
Both Stephen King books also highlight the power of friendship and how it can be leveraged to overcome even some of the worst tragedies. In both narratives, a shady government agency is introduced that is willing to go to extreme lengths in the name of serving the greater good. The two stories also have elements of body horror.
While Dreamcatcher‘s body horror is far more descriptive and intense, The Institute, too, dabbles with unsettling imagery and physical torment. With so many similarities between the two, it is hard not to believe that a Dreamcatcher adaptation could work, just like The Institute‘s TV show did.
Why Dreamcatcher’s 2003 Movie Adaptation Failed At The Box Office & With Critics
As many critics highlighted, one of the biggest issues with Dreamcatcher was that it was a little too long for a creature feature. With a runtime of 2 hours and 14 minutes, the film barely did anything with its plot to keep viewers engaged throughout its runtime. Many also complained about its meandering story, which made it hard to keep up with what was happening.
Apart from having an incredible cast, Dreamcatcher was also helmed by a talented director, Lawrence Kasdan, who is known for writing and directing acclaimed films like The Empire Strikes Back, Bodyheat, and The Big Chill. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid‘s writer, William Goldman, also wrote its screenplay.
Did You Know: Before Dreamcatcher, William Goldman worked on the screenplays of two other Stephen King movie adaptations: Hearts of Atlantis and Misery.
With so many talented actors and creative powerhouses involved, Dreamcatcher was expected to be one of the better Stephen King adaptations. Owing to this, its mediocre and below-average elements were met with far more scrutiny and disappointment than they might have been otherwise.
Like many failed low-budget Stephen King adaptations, Dreamcatcher, too, could have been dismissed as just another campy subpar adaptation. However, its flaws and shortcomings felt magnified because it showed real potential before it turned out to be an uneven take on the original Stephen King novel.
Why Stephen King Doesn’t Like His Dreamcatcher Novel
Surprisingly, Stephen King had some positive things to say about the Dreamcatcher movie adaptation. He said that it “is one of the very, very good adaptations of his work” (viaDreamcatcher: The Shooting Script. Newmarket Press, 2003). However, when it comes to the original book, Stephen King has addressed how he does not like it much (viaRolling Stone).
The King of Horror reportedly wrote the novel after a nearly-fatal car accident in which he was hit by a van. The accident left him with a broken leg and hip and even led to the collapse of his right lung. After the accident, Stephen King wrote the book under the influence of heavy painkillers, which made him dislike it because it “shows the drugs at work.“
Regardless of what Stephen King thinks about the book, many readers still appreciate howDreamcatcherscaptures the relationships of its central characters and instills a strangely warm feeling of nostalgia with its familiar horror tropes and story devices. Owing to this,Dreamcatchersdeserves another modern adaptation, especially afterThe Institute‘s success.
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