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Studio:Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Director:David Koepp

Cast: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Timothy Hutton, Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton

Running Time:96 minutes

Product Description

Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Timothy Hutton, Maria Bello, Charles S. DuttonDirector: David Koepp

Amazon.co.uk

Johnny Depp gets high off another acting challenge in this tricky adaptation of a Stephen King novella. Although the mood is too sinister to allow for the mischief of his Pirates of the Caribbean turn, Depp still manages to embroider his role here with plenty of quirky business. He plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin (shades of The Shining) when a stranger (John Turturro) arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. Writer-director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) does his best to make the rickety material compelling--he gets the maximum out of the cabin set, for instance--but the problems inherent in the King story eventually win out. The climactic scenes are particularly unpleasant, especially in contrast to the cleverness of Depp's performance. A Philip Glass score adds class, but this one ultimately feels like a disappointment. --Robert Horton

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Reviews

- A great adaption

`Secret Window' is based on the novella `Secret Window, Secret Garden' from the collection Four Past Midnight written by the master of horror Stephen King. It tells the tale of Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), an author who after his wife has an affair and leaves him, he moves to their remote lake house to work on his new book. One day a stranger named John Shooter knocks on his door claiming that Mort has stolen his story and he will terrorise him until he can prove otherwise.

I love the novella - it is actually one of my favourite short stories by Stephen King - and this film adaption is so well made, it is also one of my favourite King adaptations too. Depp plays the role of Mort perfectly, throwing a bit of comedy into what otherwise is a fairly dark and sinister tale. Who plays Shooter is genuinely very creepy and unpredictable. The plot sticks close to the books, not much has been changed and all the better for it. If you've not read the novella you'll not likely to see what's coming at the end of the film as there is a clever twist that surprised me when I read it and was a shock for my friend who watched this with me who had never read the book.

The Blu Ray transfer is excellent - no graininess and very sharp and clear picture. The sound is very crisp and has been converted brilliantly.

Overall this is a great story that is very exciting and suspenseful and has been over-looked by most but should definitely be watched if you enjoy thrillers or are a fan of Stephen King and I definitely recommend it.

MOVIE - 4/5
PICTURE -5/5
SOUND - 5/5
OVERALL - 4/5