The Dark Tower (2017)

The Dark Tower (2017), an American science fantasy Western action film directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel, is based on Stephen King’s novel series of the same name. Eleven-year-old Jake Chambers is plagued by visions of a mysterious warlock known as the Man in Black, who aims to destroy a Tower and bring devastation to the Universe. Opposing him is a Gunslinger. Though Jake’s mother, stepfather, and psychiatrists dismiss his visions as mere nightmares resulting from the trauma of losing his father the year before, he knows they are real. When a group of workers from an alleged psychiatric facility offer to help him at his New York City apartment, he recognizes them as monsters in human disguise from his visions. Terrified, Jake runs away from them and stumbles upon an abandoned house that he had seen in one of his visions. Inside, he discovers a high-tech portal that transports him to a post-apocalyptic landscape called Mid-World.

In Mid-World, Jake’s visions lead him to encounter the Gunslinger, Roland Deschain. Roland is on a mission to track down Walter Padick, who has also appeared in Jake’s dreams and seeks vengeance for his father’s murder. Walter was responsible for the deaths of Steven and other Gunslingers, and he has been abducting children with psychic abilities for years. His ultimate goal is to use their powers to bring down the Dark Tower, a legendary structure at the center of the Universe. This will open a gateway for sinister creatures from another realm to enter and destroy reality. To better understand Jake’s visions, Roland takes him to a nearby village where they consult a seer. Meanwhile, Walter catches wind of Jake’s escape and orders his minion Sayre to investigate. It is then revealed that Jake possesses an exceptionally strong psychic power known as ‘shine’, making him a prime target for Walter’s plan.