:
Andrew McCarthy,
Diane Ladd,
Bruce Davison,
more...
:
Craig Baxley
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Columbia Tristar
: Drama, Television, TV Drama, Horror TV, Drama TV, Miniseries
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STEPHEN KING PRESENTS KINGDOM HOSPITAL is the haunting new 15-hour drama series developed directly for television by the award-winning, best-selling master of horror. Using Lars Von Trier's Danish miniseries "Riget" (a.k.a. "The Kingdom") as a point of inspiration, King tells the terrifying story of The Kingdom, a hospital with a bizarre population that includes a nearly blind security guard, a nurse who regularly faints at the sight of blood and a paraplegic artist whose recovery is a step beyond miraculous. When patients and staff hear the tortured voice of a little girl crying through the halls, they are dismissive of any suggestion of mysticism or unseen powers...but at their own peril.
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| Becomes tiresome
by textheavy
January 25, 2006 - 11:11 AM PST
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2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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If you are a fan of Lars von Trier's "Kingdom," you might be tempted (as I was) to check out Stephen King's take on the story.
Von Trier's "Kingdom" is an intense, 4.5-hour mini-series with twisted characters, serious frights, and belly laughs.
King's "Kingdom Hospital" is the Wiffle Ball version of von Trier's work, with the frights turned way down, and the intensity dulled to the point of non-existence.
By making the story into a season-long series, the plot was necessarily diluted. In fact, entire episodes were devoted to storylines that dealt with peripheral characters, advancing the overall plot in no way.
About 2 hours into the series, I was still giving it the benefit of the doubt. There were frequent parallels to the German story, although they often lacked the bite of the original. But soon after I found myself losing interest.
By the last episode, I could barely stand to see Diane Ladd (Mrs. Drusse) on the screen, as she basically offered one of three expression throughout the 13-hour exercise in mediocrity.
In fact, I fell asleep in the last 30 minutes of the final episode, and couldn't rouse the interest to watch the big finale the next morning. Perhaps the final 30 minutes really make up for the previous 6, but I doubt it.
If you've never seen Lars von Trier's original "Kingdom," do yourself a favor and add it to your queue, but give this one a miss.
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