It
seems like 98% of Stephen King’s fiction is set in Maine, but hardcore fans
will recognize the semi-fictional town of Hemingford Home, Nebraska. The
dustbowl burg played a tangential role in The
Stand and It, but it was the
primary setting of one short story and one novella. The latter joins Big Driver and A Good Marriage as the third of the four novellas published
together in Full Dark, No Stars to be
adapted for the screen. The Nebraska plains are indeed bad lands in Zak
Hilditch’s 1922 (trailer here), which premieres today on Netflix.
Wilfred
James was born to work the land, but his dissatisfied wife Arlette, not so
much. Ironically, she is the one who inherits one hundred prime acres from her
father, but she intends to sell out to a pork agribusiness and open a dress
shop in the sinful metropolis of Omaha. Of course, she intends to take their
fourteen-year-old son Henry (or Hank, depending on which parent is calling him)
with her. It also stands to figure the pig processing plant would render Wilf’s
eighty acres unfarmable. Hence, he rather resents her for these plans, but most
of all, he just hates her for being her.
James
has murder in his heart, but he lures Hank into his plan, using some nefarious
bait. The shrewdly observant farmer recognizes his son is head over heels for
Shannon Cotterie, who probably is the girl next door, but that still a decent
hike’s distance. Mean old Arlettte speaks of her in course, dismissive terms
and her scheme would obviously separate the smitten teens, so she is going to
die. Unfortunately, the actually killing is much messier than anyone expected.
Then the rats start feasting on her corpse stashed in their abandoned well. No
matter how hard he tries, James cannot eradicate the infestation. In fact, the
rats become progressively more aggressive.
1922 is not the scariest
King adaptation ever, but it ranks highly in terms of atmosphere and sense of
place. This American Gothic tale wouldn’t be as convincing if it were set on a
hardscrabble Down East maple syrup farm. It boasts a potent sense of loneliness
and disconnection from human society. There are some chilling moments, but
generally, 1922 is more akin to
really strong Twilight Zone and E.C.
Comics stories. Yet, there are plenty of genre elements, including ghosts,
swarming rats, in media res confessions, Freudian misogyny, and cows living in
the farm house.
Thomas
Jane is really terrific growling and sighing as the haunted (literally) Wilf
James. He is chillingly manipulative in the early scenes, yet it is shocking to
see him laid so low by karma in the third act. Jane also makes a convincing
case for the lead role if anyone is looking to produce the Tom Waits story. The
counterbalancing Molly Parker is wonderfully tart and nasty as Arlette. Plus,
the ever-reliable Neal McDonough puts the exclamation point on the film as
Cotterie’s well-to-do father.