While it’s always exciting when an author’s work is translated to the big or small screen, Stephen King loves movies so much that it must be even more thrilling when his scary stories come to life. While he often praises the adaptations of his tales about vampires, precocious kids, and relatable characters in horrifying scenarios, King is just as honest when he doesn’t like a film or TV show based on his work.
When he’s not crafting more creepy books, novellas, and short stories, King likes to go to the movies, and he’s been letting fans know his favorite and least favorite flicks for several decades now. While sometimes King admits he doesn’t like an unpopular slasher movie, like The Toolbox Murders, there have been times when he disagrees with what critics think of a successful film. Although Quentin Tarantino’s characters, premises, and overall filmmaking style have been generally well-received, King didn’t like one of Tarantino’s movies, even though it was a huge hit.
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Stephen King wrote about hating Kill Bill in a 2007 column for Entertainment Weekly, and he pointed out that he disagreed with what most critics said about it. He shared that he saw two movies in the same week: Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, which he enjoyed, and Kill Bill, which he called “pretty blah.”
King wrote:
“You probably saw some good reviews of it, possibly even in this magazine. Steve says don’t you believe it. Steve says you should remember that movie critics see movies free.”
King continued that Kill Bill is “dully full of itself” and said that while Uma Thurman delivers a great performance as The Bride (and called her “the best thing in the movie”), she’s “a label” rather than a fully formed and fleshed out character. He called it “tepid” and said that ten years on, people wouldn’t recall it. The author said that the movie doesn’t have a real, concrete ending. King’s critique of Kill Bill definitely stands out since so many fans and critics love the movie and its sequel. King wasn’t impressed, however, and explained:
“All I’m doing here is trying to focus the feelings of vague dissatisfaction you’re apt to experience leaving this movie, the sense that you came to be entertained and instead found yourself warming your hands at the bonfire of Quentin Tarantino’s vanities.”
Since King has always shared the movies that he loves, he finished his column for Entertainment Weekly by saying that “some movies matter, and the best ones matter a lot.” He said he’s always hopeful that when he goes to the theater, he’s going to see something that he loves and considers well-done.
It’s been over a decade since Kill Bill was released, and King is still sharing his thoughts about the movies he loves and loathes. Fans particularly enjoy hearing what he thinks are the scariest horror movies since, of course, this is a genre that he knows inside out. King shared how much he appreciates the 2009 remake of The Last House on the Left along with the 2008 movie The Strangers. Whether he’s writing about how he disagrees with critics on Kill Bill or letting fans know what slasher genuinely creeped him out, fans like his honesty.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 has a high Rotten Tomatoes rating of 85%, and the movie received positive reviews when it was released in 2003. The Guardian gave it five stars and praised its energetic spirit. Roger Ebert gave it four stars, but his review stands out since he didn’t consider it a flawless film. Ebert called it “all storytelling and no story,” which is interesting since King said there was no real ending. Ebert was ultimately impressed with what Tarantino achieved and felt it was a compelling movie because, essentially, audiences could tell that Tarantino is good at filmmaking.
According to Box Office Mojo, Kill Bill grossed $70,099,045 domestically and $180,899,045 against a $30 million budget. Since it was so popular with fans and critics, many have wondered about a Kill Bill 3. However, Tarantino said he isn’t going to make a third movie. After the sequel Kill Bill: Vol 2 was released in 2004, the filmmaker made the slasher Death Proof, the war movie Inglourious Basterds, and the Westerns The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained.
Tarantino’s most recent film was 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and since he has shared that his tenth movie is going to be his last one, many wonder if it will be a sequel. No matter what his tenth film is about, there’s no doubt that fans will always remember Kill Bill, and despite King’s criticism, it remains one of his most popular.
October 10, 2003
111 minutes
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Lawrence Bender
Vivica A. Fox
Vernita Green
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Stephen King has seen a lot of movies and TV shows, but this slasher is one of the worst he has ever witnessed.
