MovieChat Forums > Trilogy of Terror (1975) Discussion > 'Prey' and 'Battleground'

'Prey' and 'Battleground'

posted 18 years ago by dmcginnis86
5 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Matheson's "Prey" and Stephen King's "Battleground"? "Prey" was first published in '69 in Playboy; "Battleground" was published in '72. Both stories feature lone protagonists trapped in apartments fighting against toys that come to life. The theme of improbable danger is similar; you get a sense in both stories that the hero ought to be able to escape the danger easily, but small injuries keep mounting to the point where the hero feels as though he/she is really in danger. The scenes of being trapped in a locked room while the toys try to get in are identical. And both stories have twist endings (albeit very different twists.)

King has acknowledged Matheson as an inspiration. Do you think he cribbed here?

[–] thatwritergirl33 18 years ago

And on top of that, has anyone noticed the similarity between Matheson's "The Distributor" and King's novel Needful Things? Much more pronounced. A man moves into a surface-level quiet & calm chunk of suburbia and systematically pits neighbor against neighbor, using their weaknesses and prejudices against them.

"we are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams..."

[–] epalmer 18 years ago

If so, it looks like the family is cool with it. His son Chris Matheson wrote the screenplay for 'Battleground' in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes series.

[–] jeffprice10 18 years ago

FWIW, "Battleground" aired on TNT last night (7-12-06) and the Zuni doll was shown in the hero/villain's apartment on top of a curio cabinet.

[–] pdmh48 18 years ago

Great tibute, right?

[–] vbel 8 years ago

bump. Just got the DVD. All eight episodes were good and seeing Mr. Zuni again was priceless.