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One of Mike Flanagan’s favorite Stephen King books is ripe for a remake after its film scored 49% on RT

One of Mike Flanagan’s favorite Stephen King books is ripe for a remake after its film scored 49% on RT

Summary

  • Mike Flanagan, known for successful Stephen King adaptations, should consider remaking the disappointing 2001 film “Hearts in Atlantis.”
  • The original film failed to capture the essence of the novel, leaving room for a more faithful adaptation.
  • A remake could potentially compete with coming-of-age classics like “Boyhood” or mystery thrillers like “The Sixth Sense.”



A 23-year-old Stephen King Film adaptation, with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score of 49%, seems perfectly ripe for a Mike Flanagan Remake. Since Mike Flanagan is best known for his compelling adaptations of existing horror novels, it’s no surprise that he’s directed a few Stephen King adaptations as well. Given his successful streak with adaptations, it’s even less surprising that Flanagan is working on a few more Stephen King film and television adaptations.

As reports confirm, Flanagan is the director of The life of Chuckbased on the acclaimed novel of the same name by the King of Horror. With Mike Flanagan as showrunner, a The Dark Tower A television series is also in the works. Flanagan has so many incredible Stephen King adaptations under his belt that it’s hard to believe he deserves to remake a 23-year-old Stephen King adaptation that failed to live up to its true potential.


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Hearts In Atlantis is one of Mike Flanagan’s favorite Stephen King books – What it’s about

Hearts Of Atlantis is a supernatural mystery thriller

Mike Flanagan and Stephen King against the backdrop of “Doctor Sleep”

Considering that Mike Flanagan has already adapted several novels by Stephen King and even one of his early feature films, Oculuswas loosely inspired by Stephen King’s short story, 1408Flanagan undoubtedly admires the author’s work. Since even his upcoming film, The life of Chuckbased on a novel of the same name by Stephen King, his love for King’s stories is quite obvious. Interestingly, although Mike Flanagan loves many books by Stephen King, some of them, as an interview (via Suntup Editions) suggests, his “true favorites“:


  • Lisey’s story
  • Hearts in Atlantis
  • misery
  • Dolores Claiborne
  • The wind through the keyhole
  • Gerald’s game

While most of the books on his list of favorites already have adaptations, others are worthy of being brought to the big or small screen. Heart of Atlantis is perhaps the most fascinating choice on the list of Stephen King stories because A gripping mystery thriller is brewing. Set primarily from the perspective of a young boy, the film shows how his life changes completely when a strange man with supernatural abilities moves into the house he shares with his widowed mother.

Hearts in Atlantis
There is already a film adaptation with Anthony Hopkins in one of the leading roles.


Why the movie “Hearts in Atlantis” didn’t work

The film lacks a coherent narrative

Although talented actors such as Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis and David Morse are in the squad, Heart of Atlantis was not as successful as some of Stephen King’s other films. Stephen King also co-wrote the film, but it failed to make a mark at the box office and even received disappointing reviews from viewers and critics. One of the biggest complaints about the film was that, although it sets up its mysteries well, it doesn’t put them together too well, leaving you clueless and confused about the true message.


In some of its poignant moments, the film shows the potential to be a memorable coming-of-age drama and even briefly shines as a psychological thriller. However, it never sticks to those narrative guidelines, leaving viewers dissatisfied because it fails to maintain a consistent narrative. According to many critics, the film’s only saving grace is the performance of its talented cast, which makes it somewhat engaging despite its narrative flaws.

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Why a remake of Hearts in Atlantis could be much better

The 2001 film did not capture the true essence of the original story

Hearts in Atlantis

The original Hearts in Atlantis consists of five interconnected stories: “Low Men in Yellow Coats”, “Hearts in Atlantis”, “Blind Willie”,Why we are in Vietnam,” And “Heavenly shadows of night fall.“Instead of going through all five storylines, the 2001 film only loosely adapts “Low men in yellow coats” And “Heavenly shadows of night fall.” Because of his book changes, the film also avoids properly explaining its titlewhich is meant to be a metaphor for Ted’s childhood.

If properly adapted, an adaptation of the book could also play in the same league as other coming-of-age classics such as
childhood
or mystery thrillers like
The sixth Sense
.


Since 2001 Hearts in Atlantis The film skips many crucial elements of the original Stephen King story, but a remake could avoid going down the same path. If done correctly, an adaptation of the book could also be in the same league as other coming-of-age classics like childhood or mystery thrillers like The sixth Sense. With a talented author like Mike Flanagan at the helm, who has had an impeccable track record with horror adaptations in recent years, the remake of Stephen King“Hearts of Atlantis” could be epic.