It's hard for me to understand why so many people hate this film. In a time like ours, when Hollywood is remaking so many classic horror films that don't need to be remade, I'm impressed by all the recent remakes of Stephen King stories... and all these are TV movies! This film follows closely to the actual short story by King. The story follows a young, married couple on a road trip in 1975 Nebraska. Burt is a Vietnam veteran and his wife Vicki is a preacher's daughter who has been poisoned against organized religion due to her upbringing. Their marriage is on the verge of collapse when they plow into a boy in the middle of nowhere. Burt's war experiences lead him to believe the boy was mortally wounded before they hit him, so they load the corpse in the trunk in the hopes of handing it over to the law. Unfortunately, the nearest town is Gatlin, which at first glance seems to be deserted, but the couple realize all too late that something is wrong in this town when the only signs of life appear to be children, and fanatical ones at that.
I just watched this film for the second time, and on viewing it again I realize how well the filmmakers did in capturing the sense of building dread present in the original short story. Where this film differs from the 1984 version is the protagonists. In 1984, the couple were lovey dovey and the film has lots of fluff. This version however portrays a sense of hopelessness through the ever present tension between the couple.
Lastly, the children did a fantastic job in this film. There is not much cheese and campy fun like in 1984. These kids are dead to rights playing the youngest cult ever. The relationship between Isaac and Malachi seems more solid in stark contrast to the 1984 version. And the added relationship of Malachi and his young wife is also a treat. The children are a united front against the crumbling alliance between Burt and Vicki. Stay tuned after the credits roll, you won't want to miss this ending! For other Stephen King remakes that are more faithful to his original work with clever twists see: Trucks (1997), The Shining (1997), Carrie (2002), Salem's Lot (2004)
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