Main Cast: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 131 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Four men are changed forever by an act of mercy -- changes which have a profound impact many years later -- in this blend of horror and science fiction based on a novel by Stephen King. Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Henry (Thomas Jane), Pete (Timothy Olyphant), and Beaver (Jason Lee) were four friends who, as schoolboys, rescued a boy with Down's Syndrome, Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), from a savage beating at the hands of bullies. Their experience with Duddits left the boys profoundly changed, as they discovered they had developed psychic powers which allowed them to wordlessly communicate with one another, read the minds of others, and see events in the future. The four remained close friends into adulthood, and meet every year for a weekend get-together at a remote hunting lodge. However, one year Jonsey is approached by the spirit of Duddits, which leads him into a severe auto accident, though his wounds heal with mysterious speed and are gone by the time he and the guys get together a few months later. As the guys drink and swap stories, a desperately ill hunter makes his way into the cabin, whose body has become the host for a horrible wormlike creature, which breaks free and soon goes on a killing spree, leaving only Henry alive. In the wake of this attack comes a massive snowstorm, and Henry learns that these events are the first signs of a major attack by a powerful alien force which can assume any form it wishes. As duplicitous military leader Col. Abraham Curtis (Morgan Freeman) comes in to quell the menace, Henry finds himself in communication with the late Jonsey, whose previous near-death experience gives him an unexpected advantage in stemming the alien tide. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Rosemary Dunsmore - Roberta Cavell; Jon Kasdan - Defuniak; Eric Keenleyside - Rick McCarthy; Campbell Lane - Old Man Gosselin; Michael O'Neill - Gen. Matheson; Carolyn Tweedle - Woman in Crowd; Joel Palmer - Young Pete; C. Ernst Harth - Barry Neiman; Cheralynn Bailey - Rachel; Colin Lawrence - Edwards; John Moore - Bad Driver; Marcy Goldberg - EMT #1; Giacomo Baessato - Young Jonesy; Matt Riley - Apache Crewman #4; Ty Olsson - Army Truck Driver; Ingrid Kavelaars - Trish; Dion Johnstone - EMT #2; Michael Dobson - Stranger on Curb; Shauna Kain - Josie Rinkenhauer; Mikey Holekamp - Young Henry; Reece Daniel Thompson - Young Beaver; Andrew Robb - Young Duddits; Darrin Klimek - Maples; T.J. Riley - Scottie; Ryan De Boer - Duncan; Susan Charest - Becky; Michael Daingerfield - Conklin; Kevan Ohtsji - Tracking Technician; Malik McCall - Platoon Leader; Jordan Walker - Helicopter Sentry; Christopher Ang - Apache Crewman #1; Chris Duggan - Apache Crewman #2; Daniel Merali - Apache Crewman #3; Jack Crowston - Detainee #2; Trenna Frandsen - Detainee #3; John Gagne - Detainee #4; Sue Hartley - Detainee #5; John Hombach - Detainee #6; Kat Kosiancic - Detainee #7; Alex Campbell - Richie Grenadeau; John Armstrong - Detainee #1
Credit
Helen Veronica Jarvis - Art Director, Kendelle Elliott - Art Director, Jon Hutman - Co-producer, Stephen P. Dunn - Co-producer, Casey Grant - Co-producer, Molly Maginnis - Costume Designer, Stephen P. Dunn - First Assistant Director, Paul Barry - First Assistant Director, Paul Burger - First Assistant Director, Lawrence Kasdan - Director, David Footman - Second Unit Director, Darren Robson - Second Unit Director, Misha Bukowski - Second Unit Director, Raul Davalos - Editor, Carol Littleton - Editor, Bruce Berman - Executive Producer, James Newton Howard - Composer (Music Score), Jon Hutman - Production Designer, Bill Seale - Cinematographer, Lawrence Kasdan - Producer, Charles Okun - Producer, William Goldman - Screenwriter, Lawrence Kasdan - Screenwriter, William H. Orr - Special Effects Coordinator, Stephen King - Book Author
Henry (Thomas Jane), Beaver (Jason Lee), Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Jonesy (Damian Lewis) are four lifelong friends on their annual hunting trip in Maine. As children they all acquired telepathy, which they call "the line", when they befriended a mentally challenged boy named Douglas "Duddits" Cavell (Donnie Wahlberg).
Jonesy and Beaver meet a lost man named Rick McCarthy, apparently ill, and let him rest in their cabin. Mysterious helicopters fly over and announce that the area will be quarantined. Jonesy and Beaver return to the cabin and find the man dead in the bathroom, with reddish moss and gore all over the walls. His body excretes a creature into the toilet, which is later referenced as The Ripley, after the character of the same name from the Alien franchise. Beaver tries to trap it beneath the lid, but the lamprey-like "Shit Weasel" overpowers and kills him. Jonesy escapes but is met by a large alien, called Mr. Gray, who enters Jonesy's body and possesses it.
Nearby, Henry and Pete nearly run over a frost-bitten woman, Rick's wife. Henry leaves to get help while Pete stays with the mysterious woman. The woman dies and excretes a Weasel, which Pete barely manages to kill. Mr. Gray then captures Pete, but Jonesy telepathically warns Henry to stay hidden.
Meanwhile, a secret military unit led by Curtis (Morgan Freeman) seeks to contain, and eventually kill, everyone exposed to the alien plague. Curtis sends Owen (Tom Sizemore) to lead an air strike against the aliens' landed spaceship. The aliens use telepathic abilities to confuse the task force, then release an explosive force which destroy some helicopters. When the remaining helicopters return to base, Henry arrives and convinces Owen to reveal the camp to the regular U.S. Army. Curtis escapes in a helicopter.
Jonesy explores a metaphoric warehouse of his own memories while watching Mr. Gray use his body. Mr Gray tries to coerce Pete to cooperate, then eats him when he refuses. Jonesy realizes that his mind contains memories of Duddits that would help Mr. Gray, and hides them deeper in the warehouse.
Henry and Owen arrive at the home of Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), who reveals that Mr. Gray is headed for a reservoir to pollute the water with a Weasel. Arriving at the reservoir, Owen is ambushed by Curtis' helicopter. Owen shoots Curtis down, but dies from his wounds. Henry takes Owen's weapon and kills Mr. Gray's Weasel. Duddits confronts Mr. Gray, who finally comes out of Jonesy's body. Duddits turns into an alien creature himself and attacks, causing both aliens to explode in a cloud of red dust which briefly resembles a dreamcatcher. Jonesy, now back to normal, smashes a final larva that was about to contaminate the water. The world is saved.
The basic content of the movie follows the original book, except for the ending. In the book Jonesy apparently kills Mr. Gray while the latter is still occupying his body. Col. Curtis is known as Col. Kurtz in the novel. The filmmakers felt that Kurtz (a reference to the character from Apocalypse Now) was not a familiar name to Americans, and changed it to Curtis as a result.[citation needed]
