Can we please show the legendary Dean Koontz more love? Thanks.
Dean Koontz is a talented wordsmith with dozens of literary efforts to his name, plenty of which have received the adaptation treatment. But for some reason, the author’s novels and adaptations often seem to live in the shadows of more celebrated purveyors of the macabre, like Stephen King. Now, don’t get me wrong; King is a powerhouse and deserves all the recognition and acclaim he has received over the years. But Koontz is no slouch and should also be celebrated for his various contributions to the horror and sci-fi genres. So, with July 9th marking the prolific scribe’s birthday, this seems like as good a time as any to celebrate his work. And with that in mind, I’d like to spend a moment discussing Servants of Twilight, which may just be the best Dean Koontz film you’ve never seen.
Servants of Twilight is based on a Koontz tome. The book was originally published simply as Twilight and written under the pseudonym, Leigh Nichols. The book was well-received and went on to become an international bestseller. It was eventually re-released under the name The Servants of Twilight. In 1991, the novel was adapted for the screen but in the years since its release, the picture has been largely forgotten.
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Servants of Twilight follows single mother Christine (Belinda Bauer) as she seeks the assistance of private detective Charlie Harrison (Bruce Greenwood) to protect her son Joey (Jarrett Lennon) from maniacal cult leader Grace Spivey (Grace Zabriskie) and her fanatical followers. Grace and her loyalists are convinced sweet little Joey is the Antichrist. And no amount of reasoning will sway their deeply-held convictions. What ensues is an all-out battle for survival that finds a young boy relentlessly pursued by a group of very dangerous people.
Before I get ahead of myself, please allow me to say that Servants of Twilight isn’t entirely perfect. It’s a rough-around-the-edges effort that shows its budgetary constraints, suffers from occasional gaps in logic, and serves as an easily-identifiable product of its time. But it’s eerie, effective, and a worthwhile adaptation of the Koontz novel. It tells a compelling story and ultimately manages to be quite entertaining.
Shortcomings aside, Servants of Twilight works (in part) thanks to smart casting choices. Jarrett Lennon is disarming as Joey. He’s the kind of youngster you might expect to buy lemonade from on a suburban street. So, there’s an immediate inclination that he couldn’t possibly be the Prince of Darkness in disguise. And that works well with the way the story is presented. Though the narrative gives us occasional cause to wonder if Joey may be keeping a dark secret from those closest to him, he comes across like a regular kid thrown into a dangerous situation that’s far too complicated for him to begin to understand.
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Also impressive is Grace Zabriskie (of Big Love). She really appears to be having fun with her villainous turn as the leader of the organization referenced in the flick’s title. She plays the role with a crazed twinkle in her eye; it makes the viewer likely to believe she really is deranged. Yet, we see strange goings-on that make us wonder if there could be a grain of truth to her claims. And therein lies the excitement. The audience never definitively knows the truth until the final frames roll.
I like that approach. The (admittedly superior) film, The Omen gave us a pretty clear idea regarding Damien’s sinister leanings early on; there wasn’t much ambiguity. Yet, Servants of Twilight keeps a tight lid on whether Joey is a normal child being stalked by a fanatical cult or something far more sinister. That simple distinction keeps this effort from feeling like an impostor or a retread.
The film makes the most out of its ‘is he or isn’t he the Antichrist’ setup. And there are plenty of chase scenes and close calls that make the buildup to the conclusion enjoyable. If you haven’t seen this one, I encourage you to give it a look. As of the publication of this post, Servants of Twilight is available as a digital rental or digital purchase from both Amazon and iTunes.
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