Desperation
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Desperation is a horror novel by Stephen King. It was published in 1996 at the same time as its "mirror" novel, The Regulators. It was made into a TV movie starring Ron Perlman ten years later in 2006.
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[edit] Plot
Desperation is the story of several people traveling along the desolate Highway 50 in Nevada who all get abducted by Collie Entragian, the deputy of the fictional ghost town of Desperation. Entragian uses various pretexts for his abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to “rescuing” a family from a nonexistent gunman.
The travelers quickly realize that something is very wrong with Entragian, as his bizarre statements and mannerisms soon escalate to brutal assaults and murder. They come to understand that he is possessed by an ancient evil, a supernatural entity which calls itself Tak, that had been imprisoned in an old abandoned mineshaft until recent activity by a local mining company unearthed it. Tak has the ability to control the local desert wildlife, such as vultures, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and coyotes, and can also take more direct control of human hosts, though such manifestation causes rapid deterioration of the host's body. As such, Tak needs to frequently find new hosts to inhabit in order to travel outside of the ini, a well in an underground chamber, and Tak’s entryway into this world. The story suggests that Tak is actually a physical being trapped in another dimension, but can send its spirit into our world through this opening.
Among the travellers is a boy named David Carver, who is able to commune with and receive guidance from God. This aspect brings a philosophical, religious depth unseen in King's other works. In this regard, it is similar to Dean Koontz's The Taking, which also introduces philosophical and theological considerations.
As the survivors eventually manage to escape the clutches of Entragian/Tak, their first inclination is to escape Desperation, until David reveals that it is God's will that they confront Tak and seal the ini again.
[edit] Inspiration
Stephen King was inspired to write Desperation as a result of a cross-country drive in 1991, during which he visited the small desert community of Ruth, Nevada, near U.S. 50. His first thought was that the town's inhabitants were all dead. He then wondered who had killed them, and the idea occurred to him that the town's sheriff had done so [1]. In 1994, he took another cross-country trip, this time astride his motorcycle, and heard the tale of Chinese laborers who had been trapped inside a collapsed mine near Ruth. Rather than risking the loss of would-be rescuers, the Chinese men were abandoned to their fate.[citation needed] This anecdote was the germ of King's plot for the novel [2].
[edit] Release with The Regulators
Desperation was released simultaneously with the novel The Regulators (published by King under the name Richard Bachman). The two novels share many similarities, most notably the cast of characters. The original hardcover versions of the novels had artwork on the cover that connected when the two books were placed side by side. It can be assumed that the two books are alternate realities.
[edit] Dark Tower connections
- The term can-toi (that is, 'children of the desert') is used in the Dark Tower series to describe the Low Men in Yellow Coats.
- There was some debate as to whether or not Tak was a manifestation of the Crimson King, the primary villain in The Dark Tower. In Desperation, there are references to the ini (Tak’s place of origin) looking like a crimson eye. In The Dark Tower, the Crimson King’s sigul is an open eye on a crimson background. But it seems unlikely, given Tak's dependence on possessing people (a trait the Crimson King does not possess) and being buried in the catacombs for most of its existence.
[edit] Other novel connections
- Cynthia Smith, the drifter who gets mixed up in the events of the novel after being picked up by Steve Ames, was a resident of the shelter Daughters and Sisters from Rose Madder. She mentions sustaining a broken nose in Norman's crazed attack. Curiously, in the movie adaptation her strange bi-colored hairdo is absent.
[edit] TV movie
| Desperation | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Mick Garris |
| Produced by | Bruce Dunn Mick Garris Stephen King Mark Sennet Kelly Van Horn |
| Written by | Stephen King |
| Starring | Tom Skerritt Ron Perlman Steven Weber Annabeth Gish |
| Distributed by | ABC (USA) |
| Release date(s) | May 23, 2006 (USA) |
| Running time | 180 min. (with commercials) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12M (USD) |
| IMDb profile | |
Desperation was adapted into a television movie, written by King himself, in 2006. The film was directed by frequent King collaborator Mick Garris and starred Ron Perlman as Collie Entragian, Tom Skerritt, Steven Weber, and Annabeth Gish.
The film closely followed the plot of the novel, and received moderate reviews, including a 46 rating from Metacritic. [3] Though originally intended as a two-part miniseries, Desperation aired in its three-hour entirety on May 23, 2006 on ABC.
[edit] Cast
- Tom Skerritt as John Edward Marinville
- Ron Perlman as Collie Entragian
- Steven Weber as Steve Ames
- Annabeth Gish as Mary Jackson
- Charles Durning as Tom Billingsley
- Shane Haboucha as David Carver
- Matt Frewer as Ralph Carver
- Kelly Overton as Cynthia Smith
- Henry Thomas as Peter Jackson
- Sylvia Kelegian as Ellen Carver
- Sammi Hanratty as Pie Carver
[edit] External links
- Desperation at the Internet Movie Database
- Blurbs concerning the book.
| Stephen King |
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| Bibliography |
| Novels: Carrie (1974) • ’Salem's Lot (1975) • Rage (as Richard Bachman) (1977) • The Shining (1977) • Night Shift (stories) (1978) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman) (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Roadwork (as Richard Bachman) (1981) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982) • Different Seasons (novellas) (1982) • The Running Man (as Richard Bachman) (1982) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (written with Peter Straub) (1984) • Thinner (as Richard Bachman) (1984) • Skeleton Crew (stories) (1985) • The Bachman Books (novel collection) (1985) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1988) • Dark Visions (cowritten with George R. R. Martin and Dan Simmons) (1988) • The Dark Half (1989) • Dolan's Cadillac (1989) • My Pretty Pony (1989) • The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition (1990) • Four Past Midnight (stories) (1990) • Needful Things (1990) • The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1993) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (stories) (1993) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • Umney's Last Case (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • The Regulators (as Richard Bachman) (1996) • Six Stories (stories) (1997) • The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • The New Lieutenant's Rap (1999) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (sequel to The Talisman; written with Peter Straub) (2001) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (stories) (2002) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (revised edition) (2003) • The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) • The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) • The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) • The Colorado Kid (2005) Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006) |
| Non-fiction: • Danse Macabre (1981) • 1988 Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • 2000 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) • 2005 Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (cowritten with Stewart O'Nan) (2005) |
| Original ebooks: Riding the Bullet (2000) • The Plant: Book 1-Zenith Rising (2000) |
| Audio Recordings |
| Audiobooks: L.T.'s Theory of Pets • Blood and Smoke (2000) • Stationary Bike (2006) |
