Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Ashleigh Cummings, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jahkara J. Smith, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Virginia Kull, Zachery Quinto, Ashley Romans, Jonathan Langdon, Mattea Conforti, Darby Camp, Rebecca Gibel, Dalton Harrod, Asher Miles Fallica, Judith Roberts, Chris McKinney.
A time must come when the master is surpassed by his apt pupil, when the opportunity arises for the continuation of a dynasty is seized and the family name regenerates into the new and abiding era; such is the fate of a King, and whilst Stephen King shows no sign of slowing down as the books and ideas keep flowing, it is to Joe Hill that the vibe of disturbing horror fiercely expects stimulation and the opening of the dark path.
Such a reinforcement of the belief of generational power is to be found in how novels are adapted for television or cinema, if it retains the same fear as the work laid down before, for every The Shining there is A Lawnmower Man, and yet it is with intrigue that the first series of NOS4A2 plays to the dread and anxiety rule book that was laid down by the masters, and to which was added to with intent and passion by Stephen King, and now thanks to the 2019 series sees Joe Hill craft an additional chapters worth of appendices and footnotes.
Those who first came across Joe Hill via the magnificent graphic novel series of Locke And Key, which had the bonus of superb graphic artistry by Gabriel Rodriguez, will feel the dynamic that growls thanks to the production which utilises the feel of art rather than film and to a group of actors that throw themselves deeply into the narrative of child abductions as part of a sinister supernatural being’s desire for flesh and youthful appearance.
From Ashleigh Cumming’s aspirational budding artist Victoria McQueen, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson’s tremendous descent into madness as he serves, almost in the same damaged way that affected the lunatic driven Renfield, that of his own Master, the supremely evil Charlie Manx, played by the superb Zachery Quinto, and the pairing of the Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Virginia Kull as the waring parents of the dirt bike riding heroine, the sense of urgency and fate is ever present, and the exposure of fear, that we trust those to whom seem have children’s best interest’s and perhaps childish greed at heart, and to see that trust not only broken, but desecrated, violated as they age and morph into monsters, altered visions of their natural selves.
NOS4A2 freezes the part of us that remembers just how it felt to be a child when surrounded by the idea of Christmas, the delight we took at the thought of a sweet being passed to us, the promise of being treated to a glorious, colourful display of entertainment, all being an illusion, all a moment of terror.
The master of the American 20th Century chiller has his heir, and as Joe Hill’s name is appreciated in his own time, so the adaptions of his literary works show their own vibrant promise to the television voyeur.
Ian D. Hall