The Excellent Stephen King Thriller on Netflix You Likely Missed Is a Disturbing Must-Watch
Stephen King is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. He’s a prolific author with more adaptations of his work than any other living writer. With so much content floating around, it’s probable that you’ve overlooked at least a few compelling adaptations. With that in mind, I’m about to champion a Stephen King feature you may not have seen but absolutely should.
I’m talking about the Netflix original 1922. The film went straight to Netflix after premiering at Fantastic Fest in 2017. The streamer is a great home for content. However, without a theatrical release, I think the film got lost in the shuffle for many. And that’s a damn shame.
Here’s the lowdown on the setup:
A farmer conspires to murder his wife for monetary gain and convinces his teen son to participate. Wilfred and his son Henry soon become delusional as they continue on their lives.
Those who have actually seen the film tend to rave about it. I have the receipts to back that claim up, too. 1922 is ‘certified fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes and boasts an approval rating of 92% from movie critics. That sounds an awful lot like universal acclaim to me.
Many film scholars connected with lead actor Thomas Jane’s performance in the film, praising his nuanced portrayal. The ruggedly handsome thespian is so much more than just a pretty face. Although his face is really pretty. I’ve been taken with Jane since I first saw him play the macho (and often shirtless) Frank Castle circa 2004. And don’t even get me started on the actor’s delightful stint as the lead on HBO’s Hung.
Jane stars alongside Neal McDonough and Molly Parker. Zak Hilditch both wrote and directed the flick for Netflix. Hilditch’s latest, We Bury the Dead, recently made noise out of SXSW (we gave it s 4/5 in our rave review). I suspect we’ll be hearing more about distribution for that project in the very near future.
Interesting aside:
1922 was lensed during harvest season. Accordingly, all of the corn in the field is CG, fake, or filmed outside Vancouver, Canada, where the film was shot. Fascinating.
If you haven’t yet experienced this oft-overlooked King adaptation, navigate to Netflix posthaste to see what you think!
That’s all that I’ve got for you, for now. Make sure to keep an eye out for more under-seen Netflix spotlights in the near future. If you have the inexplicable urge to keep up with my comings and goings on social media, you can find me on Threads. Just don’t expect me to be interesting. I primarily post about movies and my exceptional menagerie of pets.
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