Directed by David Koepp

?Secret Window? is based on a novella by Stephen King (Secret Window, Secret Garden) so you can pretty much imagine what sort of film you are in for, a psychological thriller, and a mighty fine one if you ask me. Huge fans of Stephen King may have higher expectations that I, and so may be slightly disappointed by this film. ?Secret Window? certainly kept me guessing and I had no idea how it would end and was very surprised by the way it did.

?Secret Window? revolves around author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) who now spends his time living in an isolated cabin with his trusty dog Chico. All he seems to do is sleep and look somewhat disheveled while suffering from a case of writers block. Rainey is also trying to deal with the breakdown of his marriage to Amy (Maria Bello) whom he caught six months earlier in a motel room with Ted (Timothy Hutton) on a cold wintry night.

Rainey?s world is turned upside down when he hears a knock at his door and is greeted by John Shooter (Turturro), a Southerner from Mississippi in a black hat, accusing him of ?stealing his story? which he had entitled ?Sowing Season? and which bears an uncanny resemblance to Rainey?s story ?Secret Window?. Rainey tells Shooter than his story was written two years earlier and he has three days to find a magazine, which Rainey claims the story was published in. In the meantime, bad things start to happen to Rainey, starting with poor Chico meeting an untimely end. That dog was soooo cute too. How dare they kill a defenseless Blue Heeler !! The poor puppy was blind too.

The other problem for Mort is that the local law enforcement, his only real protection from Shooter, is old and suffering from arthritis and isn?t taking Mort?s situation very seriously. Rainey then enlists the help of Private Investigator Ken Karsch (Dutton) who helped him deal with a ?psycho fan? before and soon has Ken on the lookout for a local who he claims saw him and Shooter together.

More bad things keep happening to Rainey, his wife?s house gets burnt down and two more deaths follow which Shooter claims he can pin onto Rainey. Shooter then tells Rainey that all he wants is for the story to be rewritten with a new ending, his ending. John Shooter also wants to be acknowledged as the true author. Amy then decides that it is time to confront Mort about signing the divorce papers. What else can possible go wrong for Mort?

No more can be said about the storyline as I would give away the ending but the climax to the film certainly fooled me. Who was behind all the murders ? Was it John Shooter out to teach Rainey a lesson? Was it Ted who isn?t all that keen on Mort himself and is desperate for him to sign the divorce papers so he can marry Amy?

The film had humorous moments scattered throughout its length and although there was no scenes that would scare you to death, it will certainly keep you on your toes. Johnny Depp as always is the star of the show, and again proves what an excellent actor he has become. He has certainly come a long way since his 21 Jump Street Days. Most of the other actors only have minor roles to play and so don?t really get the chance to shine with the exception of Turturro who plays the mysterious John Shooter quite brilliantly. He definitely scared me.

The film is shot in an ideal location for a thriller. There is a large lake, which seems standard for most films of this genre as well as lots of trees, which keeps the film quite dark. Other than Rainey?s housekeeper there are also very few people around.

If you are a fan of Stephen King and enjoyed his books or movies then I would recommend this film. Children should avoid this film as it may scare the pants off them (The M rating should tell you that any way). Everybody else will probably get a kick out of ?Secret Window? but it is not a film that you will want to watch over and over as once you know the ending it is not really worth another look, like films such as ?The Sixth Sense?. Unless you are a huge Stephen King fan, this is the sort of film that should be rented by not purchased.

THE EXTRAS

There are a number of special features available on this DVD. They include:
1) Scene Selection (28 different scenes),
2) Director?s Commentary (with sub titles),
3) Deleted Scenes ?There are 4 scenes to view here and there is nothing too exciting. The first deleted scene shows Amy?s house being set on fire and the final scene is an extended one of the film?s finale. These scenes run for 6 minutes. There is commentary available on two of the scenes only.
4) Featurettes ? There are three featurettes entitled ?From Book to Film?, ?A Look through it? and ?Secrets Revealed?. The featurettes run for just over an hour and cover everything about the film. The storyline and how many of the scenes were shot were all discussed. Like standard featurettes the director and the main actors discuss the film. It gives you a clear insight into the film overall.
5) Animatics ? Four different scenes are shown as animations. This takes about 7 minutes.
6) Trailers (Trailers of Secret Window, Spiderman 2, Hellboy and The Missing)

Warning: Don?t watch the special features before the film as they will give the ending away, particularly the featurettes.

CONCLUSION

?Secret Window? is a film based on a Stephen King novella and revolves around author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) who is battling writer?s block and trying to cope with his impending divorce from Amy (Maria Bello), whom he caught six months earlier in a motel room with Ted (Timothy Hutton). To make matters worse, a mysterious man, John Shooter (John Turturro), turns up at his isolated cabin and claims that Rainey ?stole his story? and begins seeking his revenge. All Shooter wants is to be recognised as the true author of the story and for Rainey to change the story?s ending. Johnny Depp as always is excellent in the lead role and the film will keep you guessing as to who is behind Shooter?s sudden appearance.