The Hype Continues to Build for Mike Flanagan's "Haunting and Scary" Adaptation of Stephen King's THE LIFE OF CHUCK
One of my most anticipated film projects coming up is director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck. Everything that I’ve heard about this movie is exciting and it very well could end up being one of the best films of the year.
The hype for the movie continues to build with one of its stars, David Dastmalchian, who recently shared some more of his thoughts on the movie.
The Life of Chuck is “three separate stories linked to tell the biography of Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumor at 39 and ending with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house.”
While speaking to GamesRadar+, Dastmalchian says the film is “haunting and scary” and explains that he has never experienced anything like it before in his career.
The actor said that Flanagan made a serious impression despite Dastmalchian only being on set for a day or two: "I had always heard about the worlds Mike would masterfully create on his sets because it is a family unit.
“These are people who have worked together over many years who have really strong forms of trust and communication. So, when I showed up for my day of working on the movie, maybe it was two days, I got there and was immediately like, 'Oh wow, I've never seen something this close knit, this incredible before.'
“It's like a circus – they just pick it up and set it up in the next place, they are all friends and have been doing this together for so long."
As for the movie, Dastmalchian shared that while it is indeed "haunting" it's also unexpectedly emotional too.
The actor continued: "The way he [Mike Flanagan] works is so hands on and with deep love, which is really sweet when you consider how macabre his mind is, how dark the stories he tells can be.
“He's just this deeply loving human being and I think Life of Chuck really explores themes that are haunting and scary, but it's also very emotional in a way that I wasn't expecting."
Dastmalchian previously said of the film: "It's beautiful. You think, 'Oh, Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, this thing's going to just be the most horrifying, terrifying, thing you've ever seen.' [But] it is so beautifully rendered, heartfelt, the drama, the performances.”
He continued: "The cast in this is deep. [Matthew] Lillard has a moment in this film that just breaks my heart. Karen Gillan, another one who I think rides that incredible ski slope between her small indie art films and then big studio budgeted things.
“One of the best actors in Hollywood right now. Kate Siegel, I mean there's so [many] great people! Ah, what a joy."
Karen Gillan also once shared her thoughts on the film saying: "You know what, it didn’t feel that different. I was going into it like, ‘OK, how has he changed? He’s done so many movies. [It] felt the same! We were back in Alabama like we’d never left.
“If there was any difference, I suppose he just felt more… I mean, he was relaxed on the first one, but maybe he wasn’t, he was just pretending to be relaxed. But no, he was just the same Mike Flanagan, and brilliant and the movie is absolutely incredible.
“I saw a not-finished version of it, and literally didn’t stop crying for days. In a good way."
The movie also stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange), and Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep), as well as Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Trinity Bliss, Harvey Guillen, Rahul Kohli, David Dastmalchian, and Heather Langenkamp.