[This article contains Castle Rock spoilers: proceed with caution.]
Stephen King has yet to disappoint me. Having published sixty-one novels and bringing us the most beloved movies such as It, The Shining, and best of all, the television series that somehow perfectly ropes all of his works together, Castle Rock. King can bring one’s true fears to life and yet also leaves us wanting more. With this fairly new series, he manages to string together mysteries in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine where most of his novels also take place. Each season, though there are only two, portrays perfectly dark and unsettling tales that drew me in within the first few minutes of watching. I consider myself someone who appreciates the dark and unsettling parts of this world and I think that is why I love this show so much. With Stephen King onlooking the series and how it plays out, I think the show is a huge success when it comes to horror, especially psychological horror.
The show was created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thompson in 2018 and also executively produced by Stephen King himself. This is why I think this show is a roaring success so far. Only Stephen King knows true darkness and what freaks people out, so I think if anyone else other than King himself had tried to make this show on their own it would have flopped. King’s attention to detail along with the impressive depth of character and description is what brings this show to the top for me. I love psychological thrillers and the way they make you think while watching them and leave you for a loop, which is exactly what this show does to its viewers. I’m glad to see real horror when it comes to shows like this and not the crap we call slasher films. To me, slasher films are very poor excuses for the horror genre. King perfectly makes his viewers uncomfortable and that is why we keep coming back for more and that is what makes his works so great. You don’t see people mentioning Chucky as a classic, do you?
Castle Rock takes place in King’s imaginative setting of Castle Rock, Maine. The series somehow perfectly ropes together certain themes and characters from King’s most popular novels. We start season two by watching a young girl scramble through the woods with a cardboard office box in her hands, covered in blood. Later we learn that this character is the young Annie Wilkes, who plays a very major role in King’s novel, Misery. Season two is sort of a prequel to Annie’s younger life and the wrongs she has committed, such as the accidental murder of her father at the ripe young age of fifteen and the theft of her half-sister, whom she is on the run with and raises as her own after she admittingly tried murdering her stepmother.
Annie’s character is portrayed very close to that of the famous Misery character, just in an earlier tense. She uses some of the same phrases such as “dirty birds” and is deeply rooted in the love for her ‘daughter’, Joy. With the way Annie is portrayed, I almost feel bad for her. Her parents neglected her mental sanity when she was young and thus she grew up to become this confused woman who doesn’t mean to do any harm but still manages to cause it. Very early on she had the unrealistic view of the world of telling herself that people are either good or bad, with no in-between. She was dazed and misled by her parents’ behavior which led her sanity to be broken. Her father cheated on her mother and not long after he moved out of their home, her mother tried to drive them into a lake. Annie survived, but her mother did not. Annie then moves in with her father, who has a new baby with his new wife. This was difficult for Annie to understand because she had always seen her father as a good person, but now she’s not so sure. Once she finds out that her father dedicated his novel to his new wife, that’s when Annie cracks and the show goes on.
Season two also introduces Salem’s Lot and the storyline of witchcraft amongst early settlers of the town. The show is still in the making so viewers have yet to understand the meaning of this. The show is working towards connecting Annie and her “daughter” Joy to the witch’s and early settler’s plans ahead for the town.
As I said, this show keeps me on my toes while watching. Not missing a beat. Every second is important and you must pay attention to detail. Since each season holds themes and settings from King’s previous novels, it might be important to have a bit of background knowledge on them before watching. Otherwise, the show might not hold the same meaning. There are mentionings of Salem’s Lot, Shawshank Redemption, IT, Misery, and much more throughout the two seasons that are out on Hulu. I haven’t read every single novel of his, but I am familiar with a few which helps with background knowledge of the show. Although the show has connections to other novels, the series plays out much like one of King’s written novels, with connecting settings and overlapping storylines, but some don’t always have a huge plot that connects. King usually keeps his novels within the same universe of small towns in Maine.
Not to mention the selection of actors plays a big role in why this show is amazing. Bill Skarsgård, who plays the infamous Pennywise in Stephen King’s IT is an amazing additive to the show. There are a few easter eggs hidden in season two that may be hinting towards a future season on a little town called Derry, where we all know l IT has taken place. The easter egg was small but noticeable when the camera panned over street signs and made sure the viewer laid eyes on the town sign of Derry, Maine. There are others in most episodes such as mentionings of Jerusalem’s Lot, Shawshank Prison and more.
In my opinion, this show does an amazing job of bringing Stephen King’s work to life and tops most of the other horror movies and shows I have watched over the past few years. Lately, it seems most authors and directors are having trouble coming up with their versions of scary stories, thus making movies I have seen over and over again with the same plot and gore. But for some reason, this show is so familiar and yet it still puts a new, nearly perfect spin on the old, beloved novels of Stephen King.