Stephen King’s Most Lovecraftian Story Deserves A TV Adaptation After Failed Movie Plan
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Stephen King's most Lovecraftian story almost got a movie adaptation. The movie adaptation, in question, was also going to be helmed by Mike Flanagan, which almost guaranteed that it was set to be a worthy take on the original story. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the planned film never saw the light of day. After all these years, it is hard not to see how the story now deserves the small-screen treatment.
Long before Mike Flanagan gave us a modern Carrie remake, he was set to adapt Stephen King's Revival for the big screen. Revival is considered one of the most intriguing Stephen King books because of how clearly Lovecraftian it seems. While quite a few stories from the author, including The Mist and IT, have cosmic horror elements, Revival embraces Lovecraftian terror more than any other Stephen King book.
Owing to this, it would have been interesting to see how its planned movie adaptation would have turned out. Due to budgetary limitations, however, Flanagan was forced to cancel the project and move on to other adaptations. While it is disappointing that Revival's exciting movie adaptation will never see the light of day, it is hard not to see how it could work incredibly as a TV show.
Mike Flanagan Should Adapt Revival For The Small Screen
Stephen King's Revival spans over several decades. Owing to this, one can easily envision how it would be far better suited for a TV adaptation. Like most Stephen King shows, it could follow the limited series format and unfold the original Stephen King story's slow-burning dread and creeping obsession in a span of eight to ten episodes.
While the show's early episodes could follow Jacob's early fall from grace after the accident in the central small England town, the second arc could focus on Jacob's addiction and his subsequent cure. In its final episodes, the show could then walk through Jacob's terrifying descent into madness as he embraces his identity as a carnival faith-healing preacher.
Interestingly, Flanagan has already dabbled with many themes covered in Revival. In his shows, like Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and The Haunting of Hill House, he has used religious fanaticism and grief as effective narrative devices to instill chills and thrills. He could approach Revival with the same long-term storytelling lens while embracing the Stephen King book's Lovecraftian aspects.
After The Mist, Mike Flanagan Will Be Prepared To Tackle Revival’s Lovecraftian Elements
The Mist is another Stephen King story that does not shy away from putting its Lovecraftian influences on full display. Even its 2007 movie adaptation, which was directed by Frank Darabont, embraced the source material's Lovecraftian inclinations. Interestingly, Mike Flanagan is all set to direct a remake of The Mist.
Given how Frank Darabont's take on the story set an incredibly high bar, The Mist's remake could be Mike Flanagan's most challenging adaptation to date. However, if he manages to get it right and also ends up giving it the Lovecraftian edge that makes it so fascinating, he will prove that he is all set to tackle more cosmic horror stories like Revival.
If all goes well, Mike Flanagan could try his hand at delivering direct H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. Getting cosmic horror right on the screen has never been an easy feat. However, Mike Flanagan's established record of delivering compelling adaptations of Stephen King's books and other literary works spells hope for his take on The Mist.
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Revival
- Producers
- Trevor Macy
Revival follows Reverend Charles Jacobs and his connection with Jamie Morton, which begins in a small Maine town and evolves over five decades. After Jacobs experiences a loss that tests his faith, he and Jamie, now a troubled musician, reunite, resulting in profound and unsettling consequences.
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Stephen King's terrifying novel is brought to the screen with The Mist - a horror-thriller film directed by Frank Darabont. When a small town suddenly sees a giant rolling fog arrive, they show mere curiosity. But when people begin to die mysteriously within, several survivors hold up in a grocery store as they attempt to find a way out and survive - unfortunately, the dangers don't just come from outside- they also come from within.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.