‘Locke and Key’: All about Netflix’s newest horror
Fans of the horror comic series Locke and Key have been waiting a long time for this TV adaptation to come to fruition. After being tossed from Fox to Hulu and now to Netflix, the Locke family has found its home on the streaming giant and will finally make it to air on February 7th.
It and It: Chapter 2 director Andy Muschietti teamed up with original comic author Joe Hill to bring the story of the Locke siblings to the small screen. With only a day until the show is released for the world to see, there’s a lot of backstory on how this show came to be.
Third time’s the charm
Back in 2011, Locke and Key was ordered to pilot by Fox, who screened said pilot at Comic-Con that year. In the end, the show ended up not getting picked up by the network. 2014’s Comic-Con announced a Locke and Key film trilogy through Universal Pictures, but that went nowhere.
Then, in 2016, IDW Entertainment announced the current TV show we know now. Creator of Locke and Key Joe Hill was attached as producer, and in 2017 Hulu ordered the show to pilot. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson was initially on board to direct the pilot, but was replaced by Muschietti. After all, was said and done, Hulu passed on the show.
But IDW wasn’t letting the show go to waste and shopped Locke and Key to different networks. Netflix picked up the show a few weeks after Hulu passed and ordered it to series. Muschietti had to step down from directing the pilot, but he stayed on as executive producer. All of the original producers from the Hulu pilot stayed on board, alongside Aron Eli Coleite, Meredith Averill, and Rick Jacobs.
Recasts, recasts, recasts
There have been a lot of names attached acting-wise to Locke and Key over the years, but when the show came to Netflix, all of that was pushed aside. Only Jackson Robert Scott (It) as the youngest Locke sibling, Bode, remained onboard. His siblings became Connor Jessup (Falling Skies) as Tyler Locke and Emilia Jones (Utopia) as Kinsey Locke.
Taking on the role of the Locke matriarch Nina is Scandal star, Darby Stanchfield. The actress has been very excited about her role, posting plenty of behind the scenes photos and videos to her social media accounts during filming. No one has officially been announced as Rendell Locke, the deceased father of the Locke children, but we wouldn’t be surprised if someone makes an appearance.
Rounding out the cast are Griffin Gluck (American Vandal) as Gabe, Sherri Saum (The Fosters) as Ellie Whedon, Laysla De Oliveira (In the Tall Grass) as Dodge, and Thomas Mitchell Barnet (Wayne) as Sam Lesser. Dodge, Ellie Whedon, and Sam Lesser both appear in the original comics, but Gabe is a new face to the franchise.
How are keys scary?
Locke and Key tells the story of the Locke family, who move into their ancestral home after their father Rendell was brutally murdered. But unknown to the rest of the family, Rendell’s murder was tied to the history of the home and the magical keys associated with it, and now the next target is the rest of the family.
These keys will give the user a variety of powers depending on which key they’re holding. There’s the Anywhere Key, which will open a door to whatever place the user visualizes, or the Gender Key, which swaps the gender of the person using it. But the big key that becomes a huge plot point is the Omega Key.
The Omega Key opens the lock on the door where all the demons are hidden. The demon that killed Rendell, Dodge, is after this key and wants to open the door and seek revenge on the world. While all the keys serve their purpose, the Omega Key is the most powerful, which makes sense since it was the first one created. The entire idea of the keys is very supernatural horror-esque.
Not too long until Locke and Key gets unlocked
The show’s first season, with all ten episodes, will debut on Netflix Friday, February 7th. So far, critics have criticized the uneasy tone of the series, but praised the supernatural elements and the performances. So if you need something to tie you over until the return of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or The Haunting of Hill House, Locke and Key is ready to unlock space in your heart.
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Season one of Locke and Key will be streaming on Netflix on February 7th.
