By Simon Thompson
Stephen King is a strong contender for the award for the most adapted author. The fact that so many of his long and extensive list of varied novels and short stories have been made into different movies and TV shows since he first came to prominence in the late 1970s-early 1980s is a testament to both his skills as a storyteller and his ability to reach a wide audience, something which has sadly eluded a lot of talented writers working within the horror and fantasy genres: even greats like HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard didn’t receive the acclaim they deserved until after their deaths- unlike Stephen King who has been a bestselling author longer than I’ve been alive.
With so many adaptation of his work however, there is a massive variation in quality, some, such as The Shining, Carrie, The Dead Zone, Misery, Secret Window ,Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Dark Half, Dolores Clairborne, and Christine have go on to become beloved classics through their screen adaptations. However, for every good King adaptation there are a million mediocre ones, as the man has sold off his name and the rights to anything he’s ever written quicker than most people get out of bed.
Director Daniel Casterny and writer Corey Slater’s short film One For The Road is an excellent King adaptation of the short story of the same name. The plot follows two truckers named Booth and Took (played by Alexander Flores and Travis Hammer respectively), who, after stopping off at a diner, are met by a dishevelled mysterious stranger (Richard Clarke Larsen) who keeps repeating the phrase ‘ Old Mill Road’ over and over again. Booth and Took to decide to investigate the stranger’s ramblings and uncover something truly terrifying.
One For The Road is one of the more accomplished short films that I’ve watched recently, Daniel Casterny’s use of tight angles/close ups and his Ozu-esque pillow shots of the surroundings help instantly to establish a quiet sense of foreboding which only increases up until the final two minutes. Cinematographer Steven Jared Mangurten does a first class job of bringing out the dark Americana that so richly colours many of King’s best works from the written page to the screen.
Finally, the superb central performances by Flores, Hammer, and Larsen each manage to elevate both King’s original material and Corey Slater’s script beautifully, with Flores and Hammer in particular doing an excellent job of conveying the fear and uncertainty that their characters are going through to the audience. Speaking of Slater’s script, it succeeds by not connecting itself to Salems Lot , King’s seminal vampire novel from which the original One From The Road follows on directly, allowing the short to stand on its own merits.
To conclude, One From The Road is a spectacularly well crafted short film, which, at a lean and mean nine minutes, is absolutely worth your time. Whether you’re a big Stephen King fan or if you just want to watch an astonishingly well put together horror short, One From The Road has something for everybody to enjoy.
One For The Road screens as part of Holly Shorts 2024.
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