Mike Flanagan’s New Stephen King Movie Praise Hints At Breaking His Incredible Horror Movie Record After 8 Years

Returning Mike Flanagan actor, Karen Gillan, has given new praise for their upcoming Stephen King adaptation, The Life of Chuck, hinting at the filmmaker finally surpassing a record held by one of his 2016 horror movies. Following his critically acclaimed 2023 Netflix show The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan’s next horror project is an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2020 novella The Life of Chuck, which boasts an ensemble cast full of new and returning Flanagan actors alike. The indie horror movie has yet to receive an official release date, but the anticipation is high as Flanagan’s first film after the end of his Netflix horror TV tenure.

Oculus star Karen Gillan reunites with Mike Flanagan for the first time since their 2013 horror movie in The Life of Chuck, and her comments on the upcoming film tease another hit in the making from the Haunting of Hill House creator. Speaking about working with the director again, Gillan stated about The Life of Chuck, “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.” Flanagan is known for his heart-wrenching stories and incredible monologues, so Gillan’s comments bode extremely well for the King adaptation.

The Life Of Chuck Could Be Mike Flanagan’s Best Movie Yet (& Break Hush’s Rotten Tomatoes Record)

Even in an unfinished version of the film, The Life of Chuck making Gillan cry “for days” because of how beautiful it was suggests that it could be Mike Flanagan’s greatest movie yet. Flanagan made his feature film debut in 2011 with Absentia, yet the filmmaker has made an unparalleled impact on the horror genre in less than 15 years on the scene. More impressively, out of the seven movies that Flanagan has written and directed, not one has been met with “mixed” or “negative” reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Rather, each film has been a hit with critics, with his lowest-rated horror movie being Before I Wake, which holds a 67% score.

Flanagan’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Hush, a 2016 horror film starring Kate Siegel that holds an impressive “Certified Fresh” 93% Rotten Tomatoes score. Flanagan also released two other horror films in 2016, Before I Wake and the box office hit Ouija: Origin of Evil, which were both received positively by critics. Flanagan’s following two movies, Gerald’s Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019), also received critical and audience acclaim, maintaining 91% and 78% Rotten Tomatoes scores, respectively.

Despite having so many beloved and acclaimed horror projects under his belt in the years since, Flanagan’s subsequent movies still haven’t surpassed the coveted Rotten Tomatoes score held by 2016’s Hush. In fact, Hush is tied with his 2018 miniseries The Haunting of Hill House for his highest Rotten Tomatoes score at 93%, which is often considered Flanagan’s best TV show yet. However, given the emotional praise from Karen Gillan regarding The Life of Chuck, Flanagan may finally beat Hush and Hill House’s Rotten Tomatoes record with his next Stephen King adaptation.

The Life Of Chuck Has Even More Pressure To Succeed After Mike Flanagan’s Last 2 Horror Movies

In addition to maintaining the positive momentum of his Netflix horror shows, The Life of Chuck also has pressure to succeed after the impressive performances of Mike Flanagan’s two most recent films. The two latest Mike Flanagan films were both adaptations of Stephen King stories, and both were considered very difficult or risky ventures to take on; Gerald’s Game due to the “unfilmable” nature of its internal dialogue and Doctor Sleep on account of it being a sequel to the classic book and film The Shining. Flanagan emerged victorious on both accounts with critically acclaimed, if not underrated, King adaptations, giving The Life of Chuck tough acts to follow.

The Life of Chuck similarly appears to be a fairly difficult task in the realm of Stephen King movie adaptations, as the novella of the same name follows a three-act structure told in reverse chronological order. The narrative was also published in a four-story collection titled If It Bleeds, with the only other short story adapted from this collection so far being Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, which received mixed reviews after debuting on Netflix in 2022. Still, with Mike Flanagan at the helm of the adaptation, The Life of Chuck has all the ingredients it needs to be another hit King-inspired horror movie.

The Life Of Chuck Will Redeem A Disappointing Stephen King Movie Trend That Began After Doctor Sleep

It seems guaranteed that The Life of Chuck will be a critical success for Mike Flanagan, which is extremely relieving after the most recent slate of Stephen King movie adaptations. After the positive 78% score of Flanagan’s own Doctor Sleep adaptation in 2019, nearly every subsequent film adaptation of a Stephen King story has received mixed or negative reviews from critics. The films that followed Doctor Sleep as adaptations or derivative adaptations of Stephen King stories were 2020’s Children of the Corn, 2022’s Firestarter and Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, and 2023’s The Boogeyman and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, all of which hold Rotten Tomatoes scores of 60% or lower.

The Life of Chuck isn’t the only confirmed upcoming Stephen King movie adaptation, but it has the greatest chance to break the recent streak of critically divisive or panned King adaptations. In addition to The Life of Chuck, adaptations of ‘Salem’s Lot, Billy Summers, Christine, The Long Walk, and several other novels are confirmed to be in the works, but Flanagan’s movie holds the greatest anticipation. With Mike Flanagan also developing a TV adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, the hopes for The Life of Chuck to be a hit are high ahead of its release.