It seems this is a good piece of art because I’ve been thinking about it all day. I’ve come up with an interpretation that makes sense to me. I don’t know if it was intended this way, but this is how I see the film:
All the things that Byrne’s character goes through are actually happening and all the people she is dealing with actually exist, but we are seeing her perception of them as opposed to the reality of the situation. It’s pretty much the only thing that makes sense. Every character is a one-dimensional caricature. Byrne’s character is the only one in the movie who actually speaks like a normal human. All the others are one-note. Her husband is a dick to her for no reason from long distance over shit that she has no control over. The husband of the missing girl gets pissed at Byrne because his wife abandoned their baby at her office, refuses to come pick him up, and continues to harass Byrne over the phone for a week. The front desk clerk at the hotel is ruder than any hotel clerk who ever existed. O’Brien’s character is just dismissive of her even when he’s giving her words of encouragement. And her daughter, who I assume is supposed to be like elementary school aged, is completely infantalized in her speech if not her actions. Even the hamster looked like a rabid sewer rat.
But in reality, her husband is concerned, the husband of the missing woman is panicked, the front desk clerk is just young, her therapist is acting professionally and her daughter is just a sick little kid. Byrne is the one that is just making things worse in her head.
The Legend of Boggy Creek. I vividly remember when that movie was released (or perhaps escaped) and it had a most effective ad campaign. I was in radio at the time and when I dubbed and tagged the radio spots I thought “this has to be one great movie!” And the newspaper slicks were really good too. Everyone was talking about it. It was a huge hit.
Me and my girlfriend(now my wife) went to see it. Boy, did it stink! Just awful acting. Well below high school class play level. It was so awful it was actually hilarious, especially the part where the monster attacked the guy sitting on the toilet. I’ve often thought it was one of the worst movies, if not thee worst, I’ve ever seen.
I’ve often had a hankering to watch it again, just for laughs. If anyone knows where I can stream it for free, I’d love to see it. Unfortunately, any service that has it (if there are any) makes you pay for it, and I ain’t paying to see that steaming pile of hillbilly hijinks a second time.
I remember loving it. As a fiction writer the thought of meeting my protagonist was mind-bending.
I forgot Dustin Hoffman was in this and based on the trailer it seems he was playing a very similar character to the one he played in I Heart Huckabees, which is one of my favorite films.
Your interpretation of If I Had Legs is mine too! (which is why I mentioned the Babadook, because that’s my exact interpretation of that movie as well) Her lens for seeing the world is cracked by the stresses of her work and her kid and her selfishness and her drug/alcohol use.
Running Man (2025): After a long run of watching indie films, I watched this with my family tonight. This is the stupidest, worst-written action movie I’ve seen in many years. The dialog is terrible. The transition between scenes is terrible. The plot makes less sense than I even expected. It’s full of class cliches written by a rich white guy. The acting is at best mediocre. Edgar Wright wtf did you do.
She has been magnificent in everything I’ve seen her in, and now looking on imdb, I might have some mini-series and old shakespeare films to watch just because she’s in it. She’s so good you might even have seen in her in something you’ve enjoyed and not realise it was her. And when given a chance her turns shine too: the mad nurse in Season 4 of Fargo, Chernobyl, Men, Women Talking, Wicked Little Letters. The one which grabbed me was Wild Rose, a broad Scottish country singer working as a cleaner in Scotland aspiring to go to Nashville to sing.
Legend of Boogy Creek is on YouTube.
$3.99 hi def rental or $2.99 standard def
It was a local Arkansas production. I knew a couple people that worked on the crew. IIRC they recruited Theater arts students from the University of Arkansas for on air talent and crew.
Filmed near Texarkana AR. Foulke is a tiny, one store wide-spot in the road. I think they occasionally get tourists because of the film.
There was a Fan film location video on YouTube. I can’t find it now. It was just a replicated shot of the famous highway scene and woods.
Sentimental Value (on Apple, for $14.99). When critics describe a film like this as “quiet”, it’s code for “boring”.
That’s a bit harsh. It’s quite good, well made, well acted. Fascinating, if you think watching a father and daughter work through their fraught relationship (in Norwegian) is fascinating.
The RIP on Netflix. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Based on a true story involving Miami LEOs and a boatload of cartel cash. Decent plot, lots of gunfire.
I haven’t seen it, but I read the novella. Not King’s best work, IMO; in fact, I’d rate it quite low compared to most of his other stuff. Critics didn’t share my opinion, however.
