Summary
- King excels at survival horror by throwing characters into impossible situations.
- "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" demonstrates King's talent for pitting characters against odds.
- The novel is getting a big screen adaptation, showcasing a trend of better King adaptations.
Far from just being a master of horror (though he is definitely that), Stephen King has dabbled in plenty of other genres as well. Works like Dreamcatcher, The Running Man, Under the Dome, The Institute, and 11/22/63 all fit nicely in the realm of science fiction. Stories like The Body (which was the basis for the movie Stand By Me), Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and Dolores Claiborne are more thematic, down-to-earth, dramatic tales. King has even dabbled in crime fiction with his novels Joyland and Billy Summers.
One area where Stephen King really shines though is putting characters in impossible situations and seeing how they survive. These don't even have to involve the supernatural, as evidenced by books like Cujo and The Long Walk or novellas like A Very Tight Place (which finds a character trapped in a portable toilet. Gross). As it turns out, Stephen King excels at writing in the survival horror genre, and one book in particular is a great example of his talent. Luckily for King fans, it's also getting the big screen treatment.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Is Stephen King's Survival Horror Masterpiece
King's 1999 novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is perhaps not one of his more popular titles, but it demonstrates his knack for pitting characters against impossible odds and seeing just how they manage to survive.
The story centers on Trisha, a 9-year-old girl who is lost during a hike with her mother and brother. During her time lost in the forest, Trisha keeps herself company with a Walkman, which she uses to listen to baseball games featuring pitcher Tom Gordon. Trisha faces terrifying hallucinations of a supernatural entity in addition to the intense conditions of staying alive in the forest with limited resources. I won't ruin the ending in this article, but suffice to say that The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a harrowing read, and one that demonstrates King's talent for throwing every obstacle he can at a character to see how they will react.
Survival horror is often associated with video games, but King nails the elements
Even though there have been plenty of works in the survival horror genre across various media, the term is most often associated with video games. Generally, the biggest elements of survival horror are limited resources, a weakened main character, and of course, danger and death around every corner. Survival horror can also include psychological elements that affect both the character and the player. Silent Hill is a great example of this, finding regular people put into impossible situations with very little to protect themselves from the horrifying monsters of the titular town.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon manages to hit all of these criteria very well. Trisha is only nine years old, meaning she wouldn't have the physical strength or even grown-up levels of reasoning or problem-solving needed to survive such an impossible situation. King also specifically notes exactly what resources Trisha has available to her once she becomes lost, meaning Trisha must now practise resource management in order to survive. On top of all of that, Trisha must deal with the persistent fear of an otherworldly entity hunting her down. Whether it's real or not doesn't entirely matter, as it feels real to Trisha.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Is Heading To The Big Screen
Luckily for fans of Stephen King and survival horror, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon has taken a major step toward making it to the big screen. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate has officially optioned the rights to the novel, and has given the task of writing and directing to JT Mollner. Mollner is the screenwriter behind the upcoming King adaptation The Long Walk, and if his version of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is anywhere near as harrowing as that movie looks, then horror fans will be eating well. Mollner also demonstrated his excellent directorial skills with the indie horror hit Strange Darling.
King adaptations have been hit or miss in the past, but lately there has been a concerted effort to make King stories into better projects. Movies like The Monkey and The Life of Chuck prove that filmmakers are genuinely trying to make better King movies. Meanwhile, upcoming projects like The Running Man and The Long Walk show that studios are putting real talent and effort behind their King works.
- Birthdate
- September 21, 1947
- Birthplace
- Portland, Maine
- Notable Projects
- The Shining, Cujo, The Shawshank Redemption, It, Carrie