Stephen King content on the small or big screen just seems to always have great narration when used. In the second episode, "Habeas Corpus", that is the case once again; the voice of the dead, in the form of Warden Lacy (O'Quinn), in a letter (we later learn by episode's end) to Pangborn. Skarsgård is considered the Devil and Lacy tells Alan Pangborn that the Devil must never see daylight or leave Shawshank. I personally still remain curious of Lacy's suicide, the decision to do so after committing to God (and vice versa, it would appear) regarding keeping the Devil in his cage. With Henry Deaver dedicated to locating Skarsgård-willing to defend him, using a church bus as his means to get in Shawshank as the congregation responsible for "spreading the Word" in his adoptive father's former church sing choir for prisoners willing to "experience the Love of God"-his remaining in Shawshank as Lacy desires could prove difficult. If Alan sees fit to maintain Lacy's "calling", it would put him in the crosshairs of Deaver's mission...what remains puzzling is why Lacy would tell the Devil to call on Deaver to help him and then request assistance from Alan to keep the Devil from leaving the prison. The episode only encourages more questions which is the point....continue to create intrigue, leave more bait for the viewer to pursue. I was amused at how Pangborn confronts Warden Porter (Cusack) in a bar speaking about the bridge named after him and his former occupation as a law enforcer, none of which interests her until he speaks about the Devil in her prison. Later Warden Porter debates whether or not Lacy was indeed a decent man, finding a bucket of nails, realizing that Skarsgård perhaps should never leave Shawshank...her assistant has the Devil put in a cell with a neo Nazi who seems "interested" in his new cellmate. That is until the neo Nazi is found dead in the cell, the Devil perfectly fine...autopsy results show the prisoner had all kinds of cancer, infesting all his major organs. Introduced is a fun character I look forward to seeing more of is Jane Levy's Jackie Torrance (cool last name!), a rather assertive, no-nonsense type who has a way of just cutting to the chase, noticing Deaver arrive at the church, later meeting him at a pool hall/bar with questions about that fateful day when his father was found and his "lost eleven days" (and wants to see his foot with the missing toes that were frostbit!). I was curious about just why Jackie would be such a church devotee...she kind of doesn't fit that sort of Christian profile...it was curious, and her up there in the choir at the prison singing just makes for quite a complex character. The opening where there is a trip back in time pays homage to "Christine" except the football tackle doesn't result in the player injured from the sport, instead a girl in the stands watches as a waving mascot leaps to his death from atop of the high school! A death in a bathroom and a victim in a chair, details of a Castle Rock narratively echoed by Lacy to us that there has always been darkness in the town. Just to put a ribbon on the user view, poor Deaver sure emerges these last two episodes like walking melancholy...the burden this young man has endured just wears like a weary weight he carries, heavy baggage. And seeing his adoptive mother have a "good morning" where she's lucid and aware only for the night to come when she requests Alan to dig up a dead dog to remind her it did die just further piles on the sadness. Speaking of the rotting dog in the case Alan photographs as evidence...not a pretty sight. Skarsgård remains an enigmatic and ghoulish presence, his eyes looking about while the face reveals relatively nothing...and the words aren't available to detail anything much about him. When Zalewski confronts him about the end of the pilot episode being just a hallucination, there is nothing. Warden Porter confronts Skarsgård, with questions about him, there is nothing. Zalewski is requested to get evidence for Deaver in regards to Skarsgård, but risking a job isn't an option with a baby on the way. In conversation with Jackie, Deaver learns of the town's blight, its inability to even have a decent restaurant undercut by "secret brothels and blackmail gone awry". But by episode's end, Deaver does get a glimpse (and camera shots on his phone) of the Devil, leaving us to wonder if a prison exit is in Skarsgård's future. And if that is the case, will Castle Rock ever be the same?
7 Reviews
This Is Kinda Sick...... And I Love It!
AhmedSpielberg9929 July 2018
More delving into the characters, more story development, and horror in the core of the story.
I complained about the cheap jump scares the pilot relied on to evoke fear. The main reason for my complaint is that I thought this series is more smarter and more mature to do such a thing, and Habeas Corpus proved that I was right.
The fear here emerges from the core of the plot without using cheap and useless techniques, not in the slightest.
The main character fleshes out even more, and the same goes with almost every character. Habeas Corpus actually didn't waste a single second, for better or worse. Because I felt this episode is a little bit convoluted, and there is still eight episodes to cover the whole story. Nevertheless, I miss this fast development in TV series nowadays. Especially, when everything seems to be connected to each other quiet well.
The series now seems to me to be a psychological horror more than a mere horror, or even a usual thriller. Castle Rock may be a kinda sick and disturbing series, and I hope so.
Also, the references to other Stephen King works/adaptations are jaw-dropping!
(8.5/10)
I complained about the cheap jump scares the pilot relied on to evoke fear. The main reason for my complaint is that I thought this series is more smarter and more mature to do such a thing, and Habeas Corpus proved that I was right.
The fear here emerges from the core of the plot without using cheap and useless techniques, not in the slightest.
The main character fleshes out even more, and the same goes with almost every character. Habeas Corpus actually didn't waste a single second, for better or worse. Because I felt this episode is a little bit convoluted, and there is still eight episodes to cover the whole story. Nevertheless, I miss this fast development in TV series nowadays. Especially, when everything seems to be connected to each other quiet well.
The series now seems to me to be a psychological horror more than a mere horror, or even a usual thriller. Castle Rock may be a kinda sick and disturbing series, and I hope so.
Also, the references to other Stephen King works/adaptations are jaw-dropping!
(8.5/10)
Glad...
songod-9500319 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
So glad they revealed why the town thinks Henry killed his step father. It made zero sense that a small child could break a man's back! The whole deal was really bugging me, especially seeing how the town ages later had not forgotten and even folks who were not born yet called him a killer.
As for the rest? Not all the terrible things in King's novels happened in one place. They were scattered throughout Maine. Some had grander scopes. But Maine is King's place like Massachusetts was Lovecraft's. Still, not everything happened in a single town. Jerusalem's Lot anyone?
As for the rest? Not all the terrible things in King's novels happened in one place. They were scattered throughout Maine. Some had grander scopes. But Maine is King's place like Massachusetts was Lovecraft's. Still, not everything happened in a single town. Jerusalem's Lot anyone?
"It's nice to see redemption in the flesh."
classicsoncall29 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This second entry in the 'Castle Rock' series continues the deepening mystery of the cursed town and recent events that occurred there. Narration is supplied by Terry O'Quinn, whose character committed suicide in the opening episode by the most creative of means. We learn quite soon that what prison guard Zalewski (Noel Fisher) observed on the bank of monitors in the observation room never occurred, and that the mysterious prisoner found in a lower level of Northeast Correctional hadn't affected a breakout, even though his cell looked empty. But it's suggested quite effectively that he could make one think so, particularly when former Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn) is shown reading the note warden Dale Lacey left for him. In it, Lacey referred to 'The Kid' (Bill Skarsgård) as the devil, the idea lent further credence when the Aryan prison inmate dies of metastatic cancer right after The Kid is remanded to the same jail cell. Apart from the ominous nature of the story, I got a kick out of how the adult Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey) pulled the old razzle dazzle on her sister by signing her name to a forty thousand dollar note and sticking her with the lunch bill.
9
Edvis-199727 December 2019
A decent episode.
Hey_Sweden9 May 2020
In 'Habeas Corpus', we gain more insight into and understanding of key characters. We learn more about the late Warden Lacy, and what he'd regarded as his mission in life. We find out more about the tight-lipped Kid, and get more details as to Henry's background (specifically, how the neighbourhood had turned him into a pariah when it was believed that he'd murdered his adoptive father). Granted, there is some time spent with characters like Molly Strand and Jackie Torrance who just aren't that interesting at this point in time.
Still, the atmosphere continues to be well-realized, and the writers / series creators explore the whole aura permeating Castle Rock. Much as King himself had pondered the idea of his fictional town Derry being haunted, the idea of Castle Rock being a truly cursed place is floated. We're left to wonder about things we've seen; prison guard Zalewski thought he had seen The Kid leave his cell and go on a killing spree, but nothing of the sort had happened. Later, The Kid is moved to a cell already housing one other inmate, and that person buys himself trouble by not taking The Kid seriously enough.
The acting is still strong from much of the cast. It's always a delight to see Sissy Spacek, even if her time on screen is brief. The same goes for reliable Scott Glenn, who's received some parting words and wisdom from Warden Lacy. Noel Fisher is good as Zalewski, who wants to ensure his anonymity when speaking with Henry.
King buffs will be pleased to hear the stories of Cujo and The Dead Zone get referenced.
Seven out of 10.
Still, the atmosphere continues to be well-realized, and the writers / series creators explore the whole aura permeating Castle Rock. Much as King himself had pondered the idea of his fictional town Derry being haunted, the idea of Castle Rock being a truly cursed place is floated. We're left to wonder about things we've seen; prison guard Zalewski thought he had seen The Kid leave his cell and go on a killing spree, but nothing of the sort had happened. Later, The Kid is moved to a cell already housing one other inmate, and that person buys himself trouble by not taking The Kid seriously enough.
The acting is still strong from much of the cast. It's always a delight to see Sissy Spacek, even if her time on screen is brief. The same goes for reliable Scott Glenn, who's received some parting words and wisdom from Warden Lacy. Noel Fisher is good as Zalewski, who wants to ensure his anonymity when speaking with Henry.
King buffs will be pleased to hear the stories of Cujo and The Dead Zone get referenced.
Seven out of 10.
Habeas Corpus
bobcobb3014 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Hulu's buzzy new Stephen King show has me a little bit letdown so far. Instead of moral quandaries and old people misremembering things I would prefer to see more horror. The first time we saw The Kid in episode one I leaped out of my seat a bit, but there is not much drama here.
And Terry O'Quinn's narration is a little annoying.
And Terry O'Quinn's narration is a little annoying.
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