Riding the Bullet (film)

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Riding the Bullet
File:Riding-the-bullet-poster.jpg
Directed by Mick Garris
Produced by
Written by Mick Garris
Based on Riding the Bullet
by Stephen King
Starring
Distributed by Innovation Film
Release dates
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  • October 15, 2004 (2004-10-15)
Running time
98 minutes
Language English
Box office $134,711 (United States)[1]

Riding the Bullet is a 2004 horror film, directed by Mick Garris. It is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella of the same name. The movie, which received a limited theatrical release, was not successful in theaters, earning a domestic gross of $134,711.[2]

Plot

Set in 1969, Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) is a young artist, studying at the University of Maine. He becomes obsessed with death, and believing he is losing his girlfriend, Jessica (Christensen), he tries to commit suicide on his birthday. His friends surprise him and he cuts himself sending him to the hospital. He eventually recovers and decides to go with them to a John Lennon concert.

Before leaving he receives news that his mother, Jean (Hershey), is in the hospital because of a stroke and is near death. Alan decides to hitchhike to reach the hospital before his only relative dies. On his way there, he has multiple strange encounters with the living and dead. The film ends when Alan, now in his 40's, tells the audience that his mother died of a heart attack while watching television. He married his girlfriend Jessica, but it only lasted four years.

He never made it as an artist, but he does go to the theme park every summer in memory of his mother. While walking from the park, a person that looks like his friend George Staub offers him a ride, but he refuses. He tells him to "take your button and get outta here."

Cast

  • Jonathan Jackson – Alan Parker
  • David Arquette – George Staub
  • Cliff Robertson – Farmer
  • Barbara Hershey – Jean Parker
  • Erika Christensen – Jessica Hadley
  • Barry W. Levy – Julian Parker
  • Nicky Katt – Ferris
  • Jackson Warris – Six-Year-Old Alan
  • Jeff Ballard – 12-Year-Old Alan
  • Peter LaCroix – Mature Alan
  • Chris Gauthier – Hector Passmore
  • Robin Nielsen – Archie Howard
  • Matt Frewer – Mr. Clarkson
  • Simon Webb – Grim Reaper
  • Keith Dallas – Orderly
  • Danielle Dunn-Morris – Mrs. Janey McCurdy

King casting connections

Ben Cotton played Hank in The Dead Zone.

Sandra-Jessica Couturier played a Jury Member in The Dead Zone.

Matt Frewer played Trashcan Man in The Stand, Dr. Charles George in Quicksilver Highway, Ralph Carver in Desperation, and Sid Noonan in Bag of Bones.

Cynthia Garris played Laurie in Sleepwalkers, Susan Stern in The Stand, 217 Woman in The Shining, and Ellen George in Quicksilver Highway.

Robin Nielson played Billy Goatee in The Dead Zone.

David Purvis played the Drunk in Kingdom Hospital.

Trivia

  • In the forest road scene, around 45 minutes into the film, the wolf coming out of the bushes is no wolf. The coloration is wrong, and the animal is too small to be a full bred wolf. When the animal calms down, it's easy to see it is a German Shepherd Dog.
  • The car used in the movie is a red and white 1960 Plymouth Fury, the same generation as the 1958 Plymouth Fury used for Christine, another movie based on a Stephen King story.

See also

Notes

External links