The Woman in the Room

The Woman in the Room (1983)

*** (out of 4)

Frank Darabont made his directorial debut adapting the Stephen King short story. The film deals with a son (Michael Cornelison) who is growing tired of seeing his mother (Dee Croxton) slowly dying from cancer so he weights the option of killing her. THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM is a pretty impressive film even with the few flaws that it does have. I was quite impressed that Darabont, considering this was his first film, was able to hold the viewers attention for so long and especially since this is mainly a dialogue driven film. I think one of the highlights is a sequence where he's defending a man who is probably going to be put to death for murders that he committed. The two's discussion on what it's like killing someone was very effective. There's one horror element during a dream sequence that is very effective and quite memorable on its own. Another major plus is that the performances are all very good. I was really impressed with Cornelison being able to hold your attention and make you feel sorry for what he's going through. Brian Libby is also good as the prisoner. Darabont also wrote the screenplay here and he certainly mixes the right elements of drama, horror and just downright moral opinion.

The Woman in the Room (1983) was a decent debut for future male weepy film maker Frank Darabont. The future king of chick-flicks-for-guys makes total use of a shoe string budget and directed a surprisingly watchable film. Unlike the other film that was included on the tape, this one follows the original story (found in the short story collection Night Shift).

A man is being feeling conflicted over a decision he feels that he must do. His mother is dying of a fatal illness. Everyday he visits he and watches her waste away. The doctors can't do anything for her except kill her pain. But the mother doesn't want to live like this anymore and asks him to help her. Can the good son make his mother's final request come true? What is her final wish? To find out you'll just have to watch THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM!

Like I said in the beginning. A nice adaptation that was made on a minuscule budget. Not a masterpiece but a nice short.

Recommended for Stephen King film fans.

I bought this film in a 2'nd hand store about 2 years ago and i have only watched it once since then. it is a low tamed collage film that feels very hollow. it is only 30 mins long. it is alright to watch when you have nothing better to do. but i don't agree with the cover when stephen king says that this is the best movie made from my stuff... this story comes from stephen kings book night shift and it is about a man who has to make a choice with his mother who is dying slowly he can help her die or he can watch her die which is killing him???? this comes with two more stories the bogey man and a bouns story. the bogey man is stephen kings as well and is a lot better. all in all it is worth watching once if you are a stephen king fan. (5/10)

The film is not very popular among King's screenings. The author said that it is based on his personal experience that took place with his mother. So the tragedy of cancer illness is that the death comes slowly and there is much pain inside the patient. The main character decided to release his mother's constant cancer pain by giving her poison in order she stopped suffering. Later on the horror of murder follows him in his nightmares. He is haunted by his dead mother spirit . Well, not for entertainment at all. Serious and hard to see life story. Another necro realism masterpiece. I would not recommend this for people with strong imaginative nature, as it gives serious thoughts , not those modern day computer effects and funny Gothic monsters.

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Stephen King calls this the best film based on his works. It is easy to see what he likes about it.

Frank Darabont directed this short film at the age of 24. At about 30 minutes in length, it tells the story of a man who is watching his mother slowly die in great pain. He must make the decision of whether to allow her suffering to continue or to help release her from her pain forever.

The story was a tough one for King to write, and was loosly based on his own mother's death. The acting by Michael Cornelison is fairly good and the performance by Dee Croxton, who relies on simple facial movement, is also done well.

Don't watch the film if you are looking for King horror, for there is none (except one nightmare sequence). Darabont, in his directing debut, shows why he became such a force in the film world. His style here is very good, and forshadows his extraordinary King adaptions, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.

An interesting side note, is that Croxton later appears in The Green Mile. Brian Libby, who plays a prisoner in Woman, also reappears in both Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile.

If you are a fan of King's short stories or a film scholar who wants to see how a short film can be done right, check this out.