Stephen King's Riding the Bullet (DVD, 2005)

This is a pretty good story about a troubled art student who, because he thinks his girlfriend is breaking up with him, attempts suicide. He fails, but he seems to also suffer from schizophrenia, as you see a double of him talking to himself several times throughout the movie. That part is actually pretty comical, but he seems to also suffer from some sort of flashback and flashforward syndrome. He doesn't seem to be paying attention, kind of daydreaming, and he has several near misses with getting hit by cars and things of that sort.

The story seems to just be about an art student at college, then the plot takes a twist. Allen, the art student, then get a phone call from a neighbor back home who tells him that his mother has had a stroke. He then has to scrap his plans to go see a John Lennon concert (that kind of tells you the timeframe right there), and he has to hitchhike to see his mother. Along the way Allen has several obstacles to overcome, but the hardest things for him to overcome are his own inner demons.

Riding The Bullet isn't the best Stephen King adaptation I've seen, but it's still a pretty good movie. The only complaint I can give about the movie is that sometimes the flashforwarding and flashbacking get a little tiresome after a while. It seems like everything is a dream, and you don't know if he's dreaming or hallucinating throughout the movie; because what seems to be real seems as far-fetched as his hallucinations. Still I think the movie was pretty well done, and if you like Stephen King movies (there are similarities to some of his other work that puts his stamp on this movie), then I'm sure you'll like this one as well.

Alan Parker is a student at the University of Maine, Orono who is trying to find himself. He gets a call from a neighbor in his hometown, Lewiston, telling him that his mother has been taken to the hospital after having a stroke. Lacking a functioning car, Parker decides to hitchhike the 120-miles south to visit his mother.[6]

His first ride is with an old man who continually tugs at his crotch in a car that stinks of urine. Happy to escape this ride, Alan starts walking, thumbing his next ride. Coming upon a graveyard, Alan notices a headstone for a stranger named George Staub: "Well Begun, Too Soon Done." Sure enough, the next car to pick him up is George Staub, complete with black stitches around his neck where his head had been sewn on after being severed and wearing a button saying "I rode The Bullet at Thrill Village, Laconia." [7]

During the ride, George talks to Alan about the amusement park ride he was too scared to ride as a kid: The Bullet in Thrill Village, Laconia, New Hampshire. George tells Alan that before they reach the lights of town, Alan must choose who goes on the death ride with George: Alan or his mother. In a moment of fright, Alan saves himself and tells him to "Take her. Take my Mother."

George shoves Alan out of the car, where he reappears alone at the graveyard, wearing the "I Rode the Bullet at Thrill Village" button. Alan eventually reaches the hospital, despite his guilt and the impending feeling that his mother is dead or will die any moment, his mother is fine.

Alan takes the button and treasures it as a good (or bad) luck charm, his mother returns to work and to smoking, he graduates and takes care of his mother for several years and another stroke.

One day he loses the button and knows what the phone call was about.... He finds the button underneath his mother's bed, and after a final moment of sadness, guilt, and meditation, decides to carry on.

this is one of stephen kings better book to film adaptations,it concerns a guy who has to deal with supernatural going-ons when he takes a road trip.it will keep you interested throughout with just enough scares to make this a great movie,its available on dvd for under $10 bucks and is worth every cent,i highly reccomend it.

Another classic Stephen King movie! The book was good but I only read some of it. The movie however, is worth watching. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat in suspense!

The usual Stephen king, suspense, fright, twists, turns and trills. Worth the watch.
I bought, because, like Stephen King.
Don't confuse this with his other, older movie,"Silver Bullet". Totally different.