Richard Matheson’s BUTTON, BUTTON: UNCANNY STORIES may only exist because the title story soon will be a movie titled THE BOX – starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden – but that’s okay. Any excuse for a Matheson release is a good one.
You’d best revisit 1970’s “Button, Button” beforehand, anyway. Its premise is classic: If a box appeared that would give you money for pushing its button, yet take away the life of a stranger, would you be tempted? It’s a chilling idea – one well-executed by the author, even if the last line merits a ba-dum-dum to drive home what is essentially a joke.
That’s not to deny “Button, Button” its power, of which it has plenty. It will be most interesting to see how writer/director Richard Kelly is going to turn a story that’s all of 10 pages into a feature film. Matheson’s idea of moral dilemma is extremely effective in short form, but can it translate to 90 minutes or more?
We’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, UNCANNY STORIES carries many more excursions into Matheson’s world of sharp suspense. “Pattern for Survival” illustrates one unsettling process of a writer getting his story to sell, and “Clothes Make the Man” tells a tale of a man who’s devoted to fashion to a seemingly impossible extreme. “‘Tis the Season to Be Jelly” finds Matheson at his most playful, while “The Jazz Machine” has him experiment with relaying a story in verse.
Fans will be pleased to see the inclusion of “No Such Thing as a Vampire” and “The Creeping Terror,” among others. And newbies who will give this slim but satisfying collection a whirl are sure to join them. –Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• BLOOD LINES: RICHARD MATHESON’S DRACULA, I AM LEGEND, AND OTHER VAMPIRE STORIES by Richard Matheson
• I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson
• RICHARD MATHESON’S THE TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS: VOLUME TWO edited by Stanley Wiater
• WOMAN by Richard Matheson
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
A standing ovation to your statement that any reason for a Matheson release is a good one. Couldn’t agree more! Along with Bradbury, Matheson’s stories were the first to show me how magical stories could be. I foundly recall pouring over my copy of his THIRD FROM THE SUN collection several years ago long into the night.
By the way, haven’t yet seen the Will Smith version of I AM LEGEND. What did any of you out there think of it?
Check back Monday for the official “Books 2 Film” review of I AM LEGEND!
Enjoyed the movie version of I AM LEGEND. Grim, the way I prefer post-apocalyptic stories. Hate to admit it but I’ve never read Matheson’s short story that inspired this and Omega Man. Heard it’s even more bleak. One slight criticism of the latest movie was no bad guys in the flesh, just cgi. Thought it would have given it a bit more authenticity. A – rating.
I’m really really tired of CGI. Landscapes can be great, but for living things, it’s just not believable looking.
I enjoyed the I am Legend movie, but it seems like they still haven’t done the story completely right yet. There was something about the whole mutant part of the story that didn’t seem complete. We didn’t learn enough about them, and Will Smith didn’t seem particularly interested in them either, except for using them to find a cure. They were supposedly just animals for three years. Then one day, they set a trap for Smith. He gets out, but does he stop to think, “Gee, they’re using their brains now. Something’s different.” Nope. We get dumb conversations about Shrek and Bob Marley instead.
The best part of the book, about the last human being becoming the monster because he was outnumbered, was missing from the movie.