Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) had a brain tumor as a child that was an undeveloped twin. Now, as an adult, the twin returns, fully formed and violent. The source is a bit supernatural, but real enough to kill.

The story goes over ground that should be familiar to Stephen King fans. The idea of a child growing up to confront something from his childhood. The theme of a writer, explored numerous times ("Misery", "The Shining") but most closely to this in "Secret Window". Howard Maxford calls it a cross between "Misery" and "The Birds", which I do not fully accept but see his point.

Interestingly, Stephen King is not known for good movie adaptations, and George Romero has had his slew of below average films (though, if you stray from his zombie films, you will find an assortment of goodies). But together, they seem to have made a decent movie here. I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed "Creepshow" -- maybe these guys bring out the best in each other? Michael Rooker is here (with hair) playing the role played by Ed Harris in "Needful Things". I would have liked to see some consistency in casting, but how do you choose between Rooker and Harris? Both top notch. Another Harris, Julie Harris, does appear, though... And the music is from Christopher Young, perhaps best known for his "Hellraiser" score.

Some of the factual information I found to be a bit questionable. Does a military service record really go into an FBI fingerprint database? I suppose it might, but the idea struck me as odd. And the idea that one in ten people start off as twins seemed too exaggerated (and then they said that was at the very least). I would like to know the truth on that.

Overall, though, a really decent film. It is not Oscar or Golden Globe material by any means, but a horror fan should enjoy the mix of gore and dark humor. Rue Morgue has called it "a middling Romero film based on a middling King novel", which really sells it short.

Unfortunately, the film did not get the proper respect in 1993, because its distributor (Orion) was fighting a bankruptcy battle and promoted it poorly. But now (2015),it has a second chance thanks to the fine folks at Scream Factory who have loaded up the Blu-ray with everything possible, including the kitchen sink.

An above-average adaptation of the Stephen King novel, this is a gory, disturbing little movie which sticks closely to its source. The story is an intelligent, unpredictable one which remains one of King's most genuinely horrific tales, and director George Romero makes a good job of the film version. The gore and violence is used in a shocking, unpleasant way instead of being there just for the sake of it, and the spot-on acting elevates the film above being just another schlocky horror tale.

Timothy Hutton in particular is very good both as innocent writer Thad Beaumont, plagued by visions, sounds, headaches, and nightmares, and also as his demonic alter-ego George Stark, who is something like an evil version of Elvis Presley. Stark is a totally ruthless and villainous character, one of the most despicable I've seen (he reminds me somewhat of David Hess) and spends the film either slashing people up with a straight-razor or simply bullying them. Amy Madigan lends solid support as Hutton's endangered wife, while Michael Rooker also puts in a strong turn as sheriff Alan Pangbourne, who investigates the crimes.

The film gets off to a good start with an unforgettable horror special effect of a milky-white human eyeball blinking inside somebody's brain; a simple enough effect to create, but one which stayed with me afterwards. From then on, things get relentlessly darker; this film has a real hard edge to it which makes for uncomfortable viewing at times. Another horrific highlight includes a dream sequence in which a doll's face shatters to reveal a human skull underneath - very unsettling. The special effects are used well, from some realistic wound-makeups which look very painful, to the masses of sparrows which fill the sky on occasion and play a crucial part in the suspenseful finale. Incidentally, the ending (which will have you cheering) is also very horrific: good special effects make this a conclusion worth waiting for. CGI is occasionally used to animate the sparrows but doesn't intrude too much.

In conclusion, I would call THE DARK HALF a true "horror film" and miles away from the cheap gorefests and unscary slashers which populate the rest of the '90s, in that it actually manages to be frightening and disturbing at times. It also serves as proof that George Romero still has the power to make good movies on occasion, which makes it seem odd that he has so much trouble attempting to do so. Highly recommended for King fans as one of the better adaptations of his work, and alongside CHRISTINE and PET SEMATARY undoubtedly the darkest.

In 1968, young Thad Beaumont has a brain tumor removed. It turns out to be an undeveloped twin. The sparrows swarm supernaturally. 23 years later, Thad (Timothy Hutton) is a college professor and a successful writer under the pen name George Stark. He's married to Liz (Amy Madigan) with young twins. Fred Clawson discovers that he's the secret pulp novel writer and blackmails him. His publishers accept killing off George Stark even with a fake tombstone. They try to publicize transitioning to the safer Thad Beaumont writing. Then the people involved start getting killed off by a mysterious figure and Thad is the prime suspect for Sheriff Alan Pangborn.

I like the basic idea and I think the movie is well made. However, a couple things keep bothering me. First, the whole idea of 'killing' off Stark doesn't make sense. Clawson's blackmail is based on the fact that it would hurt business. Yet they close up the Stark business themselves. A better reason has to be written to explain killing off Stark. It may be as simple as Thad being tired of the violent imagery.

The second is that I don't understand why the sheriff doesn't arrest Thad on that first night. It seems like he has enough evidence. It would be more compelling if he had less evidence. It would be more tense if the killer's face isn't revealed so early. They should stretch out the questions until the third act. The overall work is good. Timothy Hutton is a compelling lead. If only the movie could fix my concerns, this could be great.