Netflix's 'Mr. Harrigan's Phone,' based on a Stephen King story, is a call worth taking

The track record for film adaptations of Stephen King’s work is infamously spotty.

They range from the transcendent (“The Shining,” which King famously hates) to trash (any number of them, but “The Dark Tower” and “Cell” are good examples).

“Mr. Harrigan's Phone,” the latest, is neither, landing instead somewhere on the high side of good.

Written for the screen and directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”), it’s based on a short story in King’s collection “If It Bleeds.” It’s both the story of an unusual relationship and a cautionary tale about the role that cell phones play in our lives, with some supernatural horror thrown in for good measure.

The film is based on a story in Stephen King's 'If It Bleeds' collection

The film stays fairly faithful to the source material. Craig (played first by Colin O’Brien and then Jaeden Martell as he ages) is a boy in a small Maine town in 2003, living with his dad (Joe Tippett). Craig’s mom died and his dad is hollowed out by the loss. When cranky old Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland) — the richest man in Maine — hears Craig read at church and then hires him to read aloud to him, Craig jumps at the chance.

Get ready for Halloween:The 10 best scary movies ever, and how to watch them

The money isn’t great, at $5 an hour (with a quarterly bonus paid in lottery tickets), but it’s a chance for Craig to get out of the house, to get out of the life that’s closing in on him a little bit.

Their burgeoning relationship anchors the first part of the film. It takes a while for Craig to break through, but he does. Eventually he starts high school, where he is menaced by a bully (Cyrus Arnold). Craig asks Harrigan if he was ever bullied. Every day, he says. And how did he deal with it?

“Harshly.”

It’s a great moment, thanks to Sutherland’s line reading. It’s a delight to see him play a mean old modern-day robber baron.

Craig learns that Harrigan’s specialty was buying companies and gutting them. It’s made him rich but friendless. Except for Craig.

Happy horror: 'Smile' may not surprise, but certainly will scare

King's eerie commentary on technology and media

Events conspire so that Craig comes into a little money; he buys Harrigan an iPhone as a gift. Dismissive at first, but curious, Harrigan buys in completely when he realizes he can use an app to follow the stock market in real time.

Hancock retains the scariest part of the movie, and it has nothing to do with the supernatural. Harrigan is astonished that he can read a story in the Wall Street Journal on his phone the day before it appears in his newspaper. Craig just laughs. That’s yesterday, he says, pointing to the paper.

The phone is today. And it’s free.

“Giving information away runs counter to everything I understand about successful business practices,” Harrigan says.

Amen. Wish he’s been running newspapers back in the day. And there are no ads!

“Ads are the lifeblood of newspapers!” Harrigan storms. “How will they survive?”

If I had the answer I’d be writing this on my yacht. (In the story King goes even deeper in his distain for the business model.)

Things take a delightfully dark turn

Anyway, eventually Harrigan dies, and on a whim Craig puts the old man’s phone in his suit pocket. Occasionally he calls it, just to reminisce about talking with Harrigan.

Then one day Harrigan’s phone returns a text.

How? Craig is alarmed, fearing that Harrigan was buried alive, until his father explains the niceties of autopsies to him.

Meanwhile Craig is still being bullied, even beaten up. He calls Harrigan again.

And things happen. Bad things. The kind of things that can be written off to coincidence — or something darker.

The most host: 'Not my job to debate Kari Lake:' Ted Simons on 15 years at 'Horizon'

Craig tries to navigate that tricky path as he graduates from high school and goes to college. Tragedies continue.

It's the characters, not the horror that shines

As with the greatest King stories, the best parts here are not the horror elements (of which there are few). It’s the time spent with the characters.

Martell is effective as a growing boy who is at times bemused and at times horrified by his aging friend — and believable in his grief at losing him.

Sutherland is, of course, perfect as Harrigan. It’s great fun to see an old, underrated hand at horror — “Don’t Look Now” is an all-time great, and the 1978 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” ain’t bad — holding court.

There aren’t enough scares to keep you on edge in “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” but there’s enough else going on to keep you interested.

'Mr. Harrigan's Phone': 4 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: John Lee Hancock.

Cast: Jaeden Martell, Donald Sutherland, Joe Tippett.

Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, violent content and brief drug material.

Note: Streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" review: Short on horror, but offers much more