Television and movie adaptations for books are always hit-or-miss. Lord of the Rings was phenomenal. Harry Potter was phenomenal. The Shining was good, if you hadn't read the book. Tommyknockers was a 1993 television miniseries adapted from the 1988 novel of the same name by Stephen King. I would say, it fell into the same vein as The Shining. It was good… but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had not read the book first.
My big complaint is that the book was a slow burn. It took a month and a half for the town of Haven to become the insane place it becomes. It felt like the movie only spanned a week or two. That being said, the physical changes that the townspeople underwent were only hinted at in the miniseries, whereas the source material went much deeper. I suppose this is normal, but it was quite an unfortunate thing. I wonder if they could try it again. Recent advancements in CGI technology might make it more feasible to show more of the story.
In the end, the three hour miniseries, available on Youtube at these links:
This miniseries is worth watching, but is not better than the book.
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