Stephen King shares a glowing review for Mike Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuck, declaring “This is one of the good ones.” Written and directed by Flanagan,based on King’s novella published in the 2020 collectionIf It Bleeds, the upcoming film follows the life of Chuck Krantz, told in reverse chronological order from his time growing up in a haunted house to the impending apocalypse during his adulthood. Tom Hiddleston leadsThe Life of Chuckcastin the titular role alongside Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay.
Now, ahead of its debut at the Toronto Film Festival on September 6,Stephen Kingshared a glowing review for Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuck, declaring “This is one of the good ones.“Check out his post below on X, formerly Twitter:
King’s post, as seen above, reads “THE LIFE OF CHUCK bows tomorrow evening at the Toronto Film Festival. This is one of the good ones. It’s sad, has a touch of the paranormal, but it’s also joyful and life-affirming. Maybe not what you’d expect from me, but there ya go.”
How The Life Of Chuck Differs From Mike Flanagan’s Past Stephen King Adaptations
It’s Decidedly Not Horror
Flanagan, best known for his work within the horror genre, has adapted King’s work twice before with 2017’sGerald Gameand 2019’sDoctor Sleep. The former blends elements of psychological horror and thriller, while the latter, a sequel toThe Shining,is straight supernatural horror. However, Flanagan’s third King adaptation,The Life of Chuck,is decidedly not horror. It’s a genre shift for both the author and filmmaker, who are both heavily associated with horror.
Flanagan is also developing anadaptation of King’sThe Dark Tower.
Instead,The Life of Chuckis said to becloser in tone to otherStephen King adaptationssuch asStand by Me,The Shawshank Redemption, andThe Green Mile. The novella isn’t scary in the way that King wrote it, even though it depicts an impending apocalypse, it’s much more of a drama in which the characters reflect upon their past lives and lost love.The Life of Chuckhas been aptly described as an apocalyptic version ofIt’s a Wonderful Life.
Every Stephen King Non-Horror Movie, Ranked
There have been many good and bad Stephen King horror film adaptations, and his non-horror work has also been turned into movies ranging in quality.
King has seen Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuckandpreviously described it as “a happiness machine.“In his latest post, King claims that, in addition to being joyful and life-affirming, the adaptation also combines sadness with elements of the supernatural. The author acknowledges this blend might be unexpected for audiences considering his usual themes, but overall, he considers Flanagan’sThe Life of Chucka compelling and worthwhile adaptation. His source material combined with Flanagan’s nuanced approach, balancing emotional depth with paranormal elements, could make for one of the most unique King adaptations in recent years, and perhaps ever.
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$72 million
The Life of Chuck
Cast
The Life of Chuck is a film exploring the life of Chuck Krantz, presented in reverse chronological order.
