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“11.22.63”: First Look at Hulu’s Stephen King Adaptation!
Next week Hulu subscribers can travel back to the 1960s with James Franco, Chris Cooper, and Josh Duhamel in an attempt to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Adapted from a novel by the great Stephen King, “11.22.63” is a dark dramatic thriller that stars Franco as Jake Epping, a high school teacher who has an important task dropped on his shoulders. Al Templeton (Cooper), one of Jake’s good friends, is dying of cancer. But before he passes away, he reveals a dark secret he’s been harboring for years – his cafe has a rabbit hole that transports anyone who walks through it to 1960 – three years before the assassination of Kennedy.
Much of the first episode deals with Al’s explanation of the predicament (see clip), how far he’s come in his own attempts to stop the assassination and all of the various rules he’s discovered.
Al’s final wish is for Jake to go back to 1960, lay low, and then follow Lee Harvey Oswald in an attempt to confirm he’s the actual shooter.
Starting off with a Back to the Future vibe, “11.22.63” quickly turns dark as Jake make volatile mistakes early in his endeavors. The series quickly becomes an engaging and tense thriller as even the smallest of mistakes have severe consequences and could compromise everything he’s been working towards.
But what really drives the story is the introduction of the most unique antagonist I’ve ever seen: time itself. If Jake pushes too hard, time pushes back in a weird sort of Final Destination-like vibe.
While “11.22.63” is by no means horror, it’s got enough genre features to entertain even the most casual of Stephen King fans.
“11.22.63” is Hulu’s big push into original programming with hopes of competing and creating respectable, award-winning content with the likes of Amazon and Netflix. Franco’s laughable facial hair early in the series is the perfect metaphor for the failed attempt. And while “11.22.63” never really reaches the level of craftsmanship of “House of Cards” or “The Man In the High Castle,” it makes up for it in it’s immense “can’t stop watching” entertainment value.
The entire seres will be streaming on Hulu next Monday, February 15th.
All of us here at Bloody Disgusting are deeply sad to learn that actress Daveigh Chase has passed away at just 35 years old. The news was first reported by TMZ this afternoon.
The outlet reports, “The actress’ boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, tells TMZ … Daveigh died Tuesday from meningitis and an infection in her blood, which caused her to have septic issues and led to her body shutting down.” The website’s report continues, “We’re told Daveigh had been admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles earlier this month because of malnutrition.”
Here in the horror world, a young Daveigh Chase memorably played Samara in Gore Verbinski’s 2002 horror movie The Ring, the American remake of the Japanese horror hit.
Far outside the horror world, Daveigh Chase voiced Lilo in the 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch, a character she continued to voice in various animated spinoff projects.
Chase also appeared as Samantha Darko in the 2001 classic Donnie Darko, later returning to play the sister of Donnie Darko in the 2009 spinoff movie titled S. Darko.
Daveigh Chase’s resume also includes roles on the TV shows “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Charmed,” “ER,” “Touched by an Angel,” “CSI,” “Cold Case,” and 32 episodes of “Big Love.”
Chase appeared in the films The Rats, Silence, Carolina, Beethoven’s 5th, Yellow, Little Red Wagon, Transference, Killer Crush, Jack Goes Home, and American Romance.
We send our deepest condolences to Daveigh Chase’s family, friends, and fans.
Pictured: Daveigh Chase in ‘Killer Crush’ (2015)
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