“So Beautifully Rendered”: Mike Flanagan’s New Stephen King Movie Gets Unexpected Preview From Star

Summary The Life of Chuck is not a typical scary Stephen King adaptation, but rather a heartfelt drama.

David Dastmalchian praises the beauty and strong performances in the upcoming film directed by Mike Flanagan.

The film's cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, and more.

Mike Flanagan’s new Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck gets a preview from one of its stars. Flanagan is an acclaimed horror director who is best known for his work on the horror TV series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. He has also previously directed adaptations of King’s work, including for the films Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. Flanagan is now set to direct the upcoming film The Life of Chuck.

Speaking with Gizmodo, The Life of Chuck star David Dastmalchian talks about his experience working with Flanagan on the film. Flanagan is a personal friend of Dastmalchian’s, which is one reason that he so appreciated the chance to work on a film with him. In terms of The Life of Chuck as a film itself, Dastmalchian praised it, saying that “it is so beautifully rendered” and “heartfelt.” Dastmalchian appreciated the film’s beauty from the moment he first read the script, and its strength has only been heightened by strong performances. Check out the full quote from Dastmalchian below:

“Getting to work with Mike Flanagan on Life of Chuck was A) an honor because I just adore his work. I think he’s such a talented storyteller. B) he’s a close friend of mine. So it’s fun when your friends with someone, for example, James Gunn, we were friends a long time before I ever got to be directed by the guy. You know, like. So with Mike, when he said ‘do you want to come play on Life of Chuck?’ and he told me about the character and I got to read his script, and I was so moved. And you know, it’s beautiful, it’s based off the Stephen King story. You think, Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, this thing’s going to just be the most horrifying, terrifying, thing you’ve ever seen. It is so beautifully rendered, heartfelt, the drama, the performances, they’re all across the board. The cast in this is deep. Matt Lillard has a moment in this film that just breaks my heart. Karen Gillan, another one who I think rides that incredible ski slope between her small indie art films and then big studio budgeted things. One of the best actors in Hollywood right now. Kate Siegel, I mean there’s so much great people! Ah, what a joy.”

What To Expect from The Life of Chuck

One of the most notable things that Dastmalchian mentions in his tease for The Life of Chuck is the fact that it is not a “horrifying, terrifying” film as one might expect. While King’s oeuvre mostly consists of horror works such as The Shining and Pet Sematary, the author occasionally ventures into far more emotional works such as that of The Life of Chuck. In the novel — which tells three short stories in the life of a man named Charles Krantz — King provides a document of a man’s life in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumor.

Because of The Life of Chuck’s non-horror premise, it makes sense that it has moments of being a more heartfelt drama. There are still horror aspects of the book, as one of the stories tells the tale of Chuck’s experience thinking that his childhood home was haunted. From the sounds of Dastmalchian’s review, it seems like it is the strong The Life of Chuck cast that will bring out the strength in the film. In addition to Dastmalchian, the The Life of Chuck cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillan, Q’orianka Kilcher, Mark Hamill, Kate Siegel, Jacob Tremblay, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

David Dastmalchian also starred in the recently acclaimed horror film Late Night with the Devil, which is currently available to stream on AMC+ and Shudder.

This exciting cast and Dastmalchian’s review only add to the excitement for The Life of Chuck. In addition to directing, Flanagan will also write and produce the film. Other producers include Elan Gale, D. Scott Lumpkin, Trevor Macy, Melinda Nishioka, Matthew M. Welty, and Molly C. Quinn, who also stars in the film. The Life of Chuck does not yet have a release date, but it is almost sure to stun audiences when it does release.

Source: Gizmodo