The Stationary Bike (2022) User Reviews

Decent try, but misses the mark

[ArchFrenemy · 3/10 · 4 February 2023]

A substandard, cheaply-made adaptation of a Stephen King tale about surreal adventures while riding a stationary exercise bike. I don't remember having read this one; maybe it's in an anthology I must have missed. Most King tales just don't slap you as hard onscreen as they do in written form, and that is borne out here.

I wasn't impressed with some of the florid acting, nor the somewhat puzzling backstory---but at least this didn't drag on, coming in at a runtime of less than an hour. As I said earlier, this just seems to be yet another case of a King tale that just can't survive as a movie or TV adaptation. Happens often with King's works, sadly. 3/10 for the effort.

This was, uhm, unique...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 2 February 2023]

Needless to say that I had actually never heard about this 2022 short horror film titled "The Stationary Bike" from writer and director A. M. Walters. But as I had the opportunity to watch it, and never actually heard about it, of course I opted to do so.

Sure, I have to admit that I didn't expect anything from this particular short film given it's title. I mean, it isn't exactly like "The Stationary Bike" screams overwhelmingly interesting movie, now does it?

The storyline, which apparently is based on some story by Stephen King, is adequate enough, I suppose in a strange way. I have seen worse in movies, despite the fact that this particular storyline wasn't really all that interesting for my personal preference and taste. But I am sure that there is an audience out there for something like what writer and director A. M. Walters delivered here.

The acting performances in "The Stationary Bike" were fair enough. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the film though.

Visually then you're not in for anything grand or spectacular.

All in all, "The Stationary Bike" came and went without leaving me bedazzled, much less leaving a lasting impression on me.

My rating of "The Stationary Bike" lands on a three out of ten stars.