Horror in 2024? Not exactly iconic. Nosferatu was a little too on-the-nose, and everything else? Spoiled by trailers that basically gave away the third act. But horror heads and Stephen King loyalists finally have something to get hyped about: a new King adaptation is on the way, and it stars none other than the internet’s favourite emotionally tortured Brit, Tom Hiddleston.
Neon just dropped the first trailer for Mike Flanagan-directed The Life of Chuck, based on King’s novella of the same name from his If It Bleeds collection. It’s a reverse-chronological drama that follows Chuck Krantz — allegedly played by Hiddleston — from his death all the way back to his childhood. It’s equal parts existential and sentimental, and honestly, it looks like Flanagan’s most emotional work yet. Naturally, the internet is freaking out, but with some footnotes.
Fans are loving the trailer’s vibe, calling it “a match made in heaven” for Flanagan, who’s best known for mixing deep emotion with horror in shows like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. One fan said they’ll “show up for Flanagan no matter what,” while another called the trailer “incredible” and said they’re “huge fans of the novella.”
But it’s not all heart-eyes emojis, there’s a catch — Hiddleston’s role is one that lasts for mere minutes! Once people realised that, naturally, expectations shifted a bit. Early viewers from the Toronto International Film Festival’s screening pointed out that while Chuck is the film’s anchor, Hiddleston’s actual screen time clocks in around five to seven minutes. “Yes, very small role,” one fan noted. “His character is important of course, but Jacob Tremblay and the younger kid playing him had more screen time on their own.” That said, he does apparently have a powerful hospital scene and a prominent dance sequence — because what’s a Hiddleston performance without some elegant chaos?
There’s also a subplot unfolding on Film Twitter about whether the movie is chasing awards season or just going for box office gold. Flanagan, a director long respected in the horror world, is now being described as an “underdog” Oscar contender. Some fans think the film could score a Best Picture or Screenplay nod, especially given its warm TIFF reception, but others are sceptical. As one commenter put it, “Knowing Neon almost always only succeeds with campaigning one film really harms this movie’s chances.”
And then there’s the biggest caveat: the tone. The trailer is undeniably sentimental; it’s a highlight reel of life’s beautiful, fleeting moments, which for some viewers felt a little too sweet. Reactions ranged from “sentimental is right up my alley” to “this looks way too saccharine for my taste.” A few even said it wasn’t among their top picks from TIFF, describing it as “a symphony of feel-good moments” and predicting it won’t make much noise at the box office or awards circuit.
Still, whether you’re in it for the philosophy, the feels, or just to see Hiddleston do interpretive dancing under a hospital light, The Life of Chuck is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing releases of the year. The film hits theatres on June 6.
