Mike Flanagan’s latest Stephen King adaptation brings the frightmeister’s 2020 novella to the big screen.
Mike Flanagan sure likes him some Stephen King. The horror auteur has adapted the other horror auteur twice already: 2017’s Gerald’s Game and 2019’s Doctor Sleep. Right now he’s beavering away on a series adaptation of King’s much-adapted debut novel Carrie for Amazon. But first up we have Life of Chuck, which draws on the novella of the same name collected in 2020’s If it Bleeds.
But Life of Chuck is a bit different. It’s not a horror story for one thing, although there are some fantastical elements in play. It’s the bittersweet life story of the titular Charles “Chuck” Franz, played by Tom Hiddleston. However, there are vaguely apocalyptic overtones. And it’s told a non-linear narrative style. Look, let’s just watch the trailer.
Interesting. Flanagan’s a horror specialist, sure, but he’s a weirdly positive and life-affirming one. Even his bloodier offerings tend to privilege family, connection, and faith, so Life of Chuck seems like a good fit for his sensibilities. Flanagan writes and edits here in addition to directing, and he’s assembled a pretty killer cast to tell the tale, with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Annalise Basso, Benjamin Pajak, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Carl Lumbly, Samantha Sloyan, Harvey Guillen, Jacob Tremblay, Kate Siegel, and Mark Hamill filling out the ensemble around main man Hiddleston.
Early reviews have been positive, especially from the online horror community, who have their own reasons for shedding a bittersweet tear during the film. The late and much-missed film critic Scott Wampler, who passed in 2024, has a cameo with his Kingcast co-host Eric Vespe, and the film is dedicated to his memory.
Life of Chuck is in Australian cinemas from August 21 from Studiocanal.
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