Synopsis

Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is unable to write and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs. Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway and finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a vindictive millionaire, Max Devore, who is trying to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. as Mike is drawn into Mattie's struggle--and begins to fall in love with her--he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What do the forces that have been unleashed here want of Mike Noonan?

Official Review

Adapting the works of Stephen King for the big screen is always a tricky proposition. Richly drawn characters are his strong suit, but trying to convey his characters’ constant internal monologues can prove troublesome for screenwriters. This is especially true of Bag of Bones, King’s 1998 “comeback” novel about a successful writer struggling with the accidental death of his doting wife. Back in ‘98, both readers and critics lauded King’s newfound literary style, but the private thoughts and feelings of grieving protagonist Michael Noonan dominate the narrative, making for a difficult film adaptation. A&E recently bunted this Pierce Brosnan starring two-parter onto the airwaves, and in the hands of screenwriter Matt Venne and frequent King hack artist Mick Garris, King’s beautiful novel is both padded out and stripped to the bone. Out with the rich characters, in with the dream sequences. And oh, those dream sequences. …Read More