KING'S EVIL TOWN,
Horror maestro sets ‘Castle Rock’ as center of evil
What if most of Stephen King’s classic horror stories happened in the same world? Maybe even in the same community? This sense of a “shared universe” — similar to the one Marvel has pioneered to billion-dollar box office glory for the last decade — is just one creepy takeaway from the new series “Castle Rock.”
Hulu’s new thriller from executive producers J.J. Abrams (“Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) and the horror maestro himself centers on a misbegotten sliver of Maine that just might be hell’s prime real estate.
Much of the opening story is set in Shawshank Prison. You remember Shawshank Prison — from King’s 1982 novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” and the now classic 1994 film “The Shawshank Redemption” that starred Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a man falsely convicted of murder.
“Castle Rock” suggests strongly that that impression of Shawshank Prison could have come from Disney.
Warden Lacy (Terry O’Quinn, “Lost”) kisses goodbye his blind wife, Martha (Frances Conroy, “American Horror Story,” “Six Feet Under”), and drives off, heading to just another day at the office.
Or not.
He pulls over along a scenic spot and finds a particularly gruesome way to kill himself.
The warden had his secrets, one of which a young corrections officer (Noel Fisher, “Shameless”) chances upon in an abandoned wing of the prison: a man in a cage. Why would the warden, who was obsessed with doing good in the world, imprison another man — apparently for years?
There’s much more to this inmate (Bill Skarsgard).
Repeatedly asked his name, he says Henry Deaver — but that’s not an admission. It’s more of a request, for a former resident of the town, now a death row defense attorney losing his last client in Texas.
Henry (Andre Holland, “The Knick,” “American Horror Story”) is treated like a pariah in Castle Rock, and not just because he’s one of the few African-Americans there.
He was the center of a scandal in Castle Rock in 1991 — he disappeared at the height of winter for 11 days. During that time, his adoptive father died under mysterious circumstances, and the town thinks Henry was responsible. Henry can’t remember anything about that period. He returns to find his adoptive mom, Ruth (Academy Award-winner Sissy Spacek, “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” and, oh yes, the original “Carrie,” thank you very much), suffers from dementia. Her live-in partner (Scott Glenn, “Marvel’s The Defenders”) cares for her even as he holds the key to some of Castle Rock’s secrets.
“With all the guile of hell arrayed against this town, what can one decent man do?” the warden shares in a voiceover.
He’s talking about himself, but he might as well be talking about Henry, whose search for answers looks to unearth the greatest threat this town has ever seen. As a bonus, viewers can expect call-outs to such King classics as “Cujo,” “Pet Sematery” and more.
As a content provider, when it comes to originals, Hulu can’t match Netflix’s output or wallet. Yet it became the first streaming service to score the best drama Emmy for “The Handmaid’s Tale” last year (and could well repeat in September) But as “Castle Rock” proves, its shows just look better, from the lighting to the casting to the production values.
“Castle Rock” shows a tremendous investment of time and creativity. It’s worth your walk on the dark side.