WARNING: The following review contains minor spoilers for the first four episode of Castle Rock, debuting on Hulu, July 25.


There is creeping dread that fills each episode of Castle Rock. It’s an omnipresent sense of loss and trauma that haunts the hollow residents and the dilapidated structures populating the fictional Stephen King town. Castle Rock has been a staple in the works of King for several decades now. Novels like Cujo, Needful Things, The Dark Half , portions of the Dead Zone and several short stories have all taken place in the sleepy New England community. Terror fills Castle Rock so frequently it’s easy to see why the notion of the town being cursed would be ripe for picking in a horror television show. And for the most part, the harvest is bountiful.

Castle Rock follows death-row attorney Henry Deaver, played by Andre Holland (Moonlight, The Knick), being drawn back to his home town after getting a distressing call regarding a mostly-mute man (played by It’s Bill Skarsgard) who has mysteriously appeared in a burned-down section of Shawshank State Prison. Henry is looking to represent the young man and protect him against scheming administrators of Shawshank  who  are looking to sweep the whole ordeal under the rug. And while this seems to be the central hook of Castle Rock, there is so much more happening, almost to the show’s detriment.

Spinning Too Many Plates

RELATED: Hulu’s Castle Rock Will Debut at Comic-Con International

It’s important to note Castle Rock is based on the works of Stephen King, which means the characters and iconography will be familiar to fans of King, but the story is its own animal....sort of.

The show makes no bones about borrowing several hallmarks from King’s work, and not just his tales set in Castle Rock. A mysterious man arriving out of thin air, characters are haunted by fractured memories of their childhood, mysterious deaths that leave unanswered questions, and a fallen hero hiding a dark secret are all reoccurring motifs in Stephen King’s ever-growing bibliography. Castle Rock has  jammed them into a television series, which isn’t a terrible idea if the creators behind the show can keep all the plates spinning at the same velocity. Unfortunately, they don't, and it might be Castle Rock’s biggest failing.

Stephen King is no stranger to creating a world with an expansive cast of characters in his novels. He’s had decades of practice, and if you’ve followed his career, you've seen him hone this skill over time. A novel like Salem’s Lot, which was his second published book, isn’t written with the same godly authority that later works like It or Under the Dome are. Even The Stand, which was released not long after his sophomore vampire novel, has a better handle on world-building and keeping the myriad plot lines interesting. This is where Castle Rock struggles.

The plot threads are draped over the show and its characters like thick nautical ropes when they should really be pulled taught like a garrote wire. And while the show is never boring, there are moments that may have you wondering why any of this matters. The show is structured as a puzzle box (as executive producer J. J. Abrams is wont to do), which seems out of place for a show based on the works of Stephen King. Say what you will, but King is pretty forthright with his story telling. Sure, there are shocks and scares along the way, but it’s rare to question what is going on in one of his novels. No matter how bizarre or terrifying the situation is, the reader is always in the know to some degree. They may not know the why or the how behind the moment, but they understand the moment’s relevance and how it may have lasting impact on the rest of the story. Uncle Stevie lays it out for you like a buffet more often than not; Castle Rock is more like tapas.

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Is It Really So Bad?

No, not really. CastleRock, for better or worse, is a Stephen King mixtape. And like most mixtapes, the songs may feel like they all fit together upon the mix’s inception, but after a few listens, a certain dissonance can be found. One song doesn’t flow well into the next. Or the opening track begins to get on your nerves after a while so you wind up skipping it on subsequent listens. In short, Castle Rock has some major pacing issues (at least in the first four episodes it does).

While the show is beautifully shot and the town of Castle Rock iteslf has never looked better on screen (big or small), a lot of plot threads tread water. Now, this could be the show biding its time, further building a sense of dread and letting the audience really get into the head-space of its character before it puts them through hell. Hopefully, it’s not a case of the show only having a handful of episodes worth of material to tell and stretching it out beyond its welcome over the course of a season. But based on the wisely structured last scene shockers each episode employs, the former seems to be the case. It’s the notion of building toward something larger that will probably keep viewers coming back for more, even if they aren't 100% sold on every little detail the show has to offer.

What About the King Connections?

Glad you asked. They are EVERYWHERE. From the opening credits in which “redrum” and the number 19 are highlighted like big blinking signs that screams “hey, look at how much Stephen King stuff I know!” to a female character introducing herself as Jackie Torrance, the King references don’t stop. Sadly, most of them are painfully ham-fisted. A lot of the callback will have some viewers shaking their heads in disgust, especially if they're more than just a casual fan of Stephen King. This will be the biggest distraction in Castle Rock for some. If a viewer is only tourist when it comes to King, they’ll probably get a lot more out of the show than someone who has been reading Uncle Stevie’s work since they were a kid.

RELATED: Hulu’s Castle Rock is Officially Stephen King-Approved

Despite what you may think, this is not a show exclusive for King-Heads. Most of the plot beats will seem like retreads of other works, and the references might cause your eyes to roll in your head so hard you’d split your cornea (seriously, a character mentions Cujo, the Deadzone and The Body in the same sentence). There is one massive link to the works of Stephen King, however, that any viewer, no matter their level of understating of King’s Universe, will enjoy, and it comes in the form of Scott Glenn’s take on the legendary Castle Rock hero, Alan Pangborn.

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The Cast Elevates Castle Rock

Character actor Scott Glenn (Silence of the Lambs, Marvel’s The Defenders) is a notional treasure, and his portrayal of former Castle Rock sheriff, Alan Pangborn might be the most impressive take on the character that we have ever seen, which is saying a lot seeing as how actors like Michael Rooker and Ed Harris have portrayed the character in adaptations of The Dark Half and Needful Things, respectively. But Glenn’s version of Pangborn is haunting. This isn’t the hero we knew from those aforementioned novels. This man is broken and he’s tired of being the last bastion of nobility in his cursed town. And honestly, who could blame him.

The rest of the cast also shines. Andre Holland as Henry Deaver does a fantastic job as the wayward son grappling with his past. Sissy Spacek as Ruth, Henry’s adoptive-mother who is in the throes of dementia, is emotionally devastating in the best kind of way. Bill Skarsgard is great, letting his gaunt stature and dark eyes do most of the heavy lifting in his performance. And Melanie Lynskey as Molly Strand, Castle Rock’s resident pill-popping real-estate mogul, is captivating in every scene she’s in. Honestly Molly’s story and involvement in the overall story in Castle Rock is one of the few plot threads we’d love to see more of (and Scott Glenn, of course).

Is the Trip to Castle Rock Worth Taking?

In short, yes. Castle Rock is worth your time, even if your ultimate mileage may vary. For casual fans of King, this show will deliver the goods, dishing out plenty of creepy imagery, amazing performances, and some shocking twists along the way. While it may never reach the heights of Hulu’s previous Stephen King series 11/22/63, CastleRock is too well put together and competently presented to be dismissed.

Now, for those of you who have been roaming around King’s dominion for decades, a lot of Castle Rock will seem predictable and derivative (which is ironic since the show is literally derived from the works of King and touts as much). This might turn a lot of King fans off (again, the irony is palpable here). But if you’re able to look past the ridiculous callbacks and those on-the-nose references, Castle Rock might just be the summer home getaway you’re looking for.