TV Review: Locke & Key

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Plot: After their father is murdered under mysterious circumstances, the three Locke siblings and their mother move into their ancestral home, Keyhouse, which they discover is full of magical keys that may be connected to their father's death. As the Locke children explore the different keys and their unique powers, a mysterious demon awakens — and will stop at nothing to steal them. 

Review: If you haven't read Locke & Key, the comic book series by author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez, I encourage you to stop right here and go get it as soon as possible. One of the best comic runs in recent memory, Locke & Key is a fantasy that blends elements of classic horror stories like THE HAUNTING, fantasy like THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, with a pop culture edge reminiscent of Hill's father, Stephen King. Violent, scary, and thrilling, Locke & Key was ripe for a live action adaptation. Since a 2011 pilot for FOX that didn't make it to air, Locke & Key has been struggling in development hell. Finally, Lost and Bates Motel showrunner Carlton Cuse has managed to bring the comic book to life. This is a show that captures a lot of what makes the comic books so good but seems to be missing a little of the edge that results in a series that is too adult for kids but too teen-centric for adults.

Locke & Key focuses on the Locke children: Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (IT's Jackson Robert Scott) who relocate to Matheson, Massachusetts (originally Lovecraft, Massachusetts in the comics) after the death of their father Rendell. With their mother, Nina (Darby Stanchfield) and Uncle Duncan (Aaron Ashmore), the family move into the Locke estate of Keyhouse. Of course, Keyhouse is hiding some secrets including a mysterious woman down a well named Dodge (IN THE TALL GRASS star Laysla De Oliviera). They quickly discover a set of keys in the house that each hold a special power that will help them confront Dodge as well as unlock their family's history. When I say quickly, I mean quickly.

Over the ten episode first season of Locke & Key, we are given a lot in a short amount of time, something teased out over several years worth of the comic book series. A lot of the main story remains intact but there are a lot of changes that fans of the book may be left scratching their heads at. What is clear is that the series is trapped somewhere between PG and PG-13 and doesn't take full advantage of it's potential. There are a lot of mature themes here including murder, grief, and sex but the tone and style of the story is aiming for a more Amblin vibe. On par with Netflix's highly successful Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this show will appease older teens and that may be about it. With a solid soundtrack of contemporary music and lots of references to classic horror films (including a really great cameo early on), Locke & Key doesn't waste Joe Hill's pop culture acumen from the comic book.

The things that work on Locke & Key really work, specifically the keys and how they unlock their powers. I was concerned that this would not translate well to live acton from the illustrated page, but the show manages to visualize these abilities in a way that is faithful to the book. Again, I don't want to give away any spoilers but fans of the comic will not be let down with this element of the adaptation. All of the supporting players are here, too, with changes made to some of them, including Scot (Petrice Jones) and Sam Lesser (Thomas Mitchell Barnet). The biggest character changes though are Lucas Caravaggio (Felix Maillard) and Dodge. Both Maillard and De Oliveira are good in their respective roles, but I just wish they had played closer to the source material .

Adapting the 42 issue series was going to be a challenge with so many supernatural elements ranging from ghosts and shape-shifters to the fantastical powers that each key holds. The comics featured multiple time periods and a large cast of characters, living and dead, who developed over six arcs. Locke & Key the television series pulls narrative elements from all of those arcs for this first season, leading me to wonder where they could go after this. There is still story to tell, of course, but they bring in so much in these ten episodes that I wonder how long this show can run before it needs to create original content to pad the story.

Executive produced by Andy and Barbara Muschietti (IT: CHAPTER TWO) along with Cuse, the series does feature Hill as writer on the first episode. The directing team includes Mark Tonderai (THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET) as well as VIncenzo Natali (CUBE) who let the house serve as a character of it's own but don't take as much advantage of it as Mike Flanagan did with The Haunting of Hill House. Overall, I am glad this story is finally coming to a wide audience even if it is not quite as good as the comic itself. Still, this is a very cool story that has the potential to be a breakout hit for Netflix even if it could be so much better. You could do a lot worse than Locke & Key but only time will tell if the whole story lives up to it's potential.

Locke & Key premieres February 7th on Netflix.

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