TWENTY-SIX years, 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five nonfiction books. He has written over 200 short stories, most of which have been compiled in book collections. Do you consider yourself one of Stephen King’s Constant Readers? I count myself among them, and always experience a little frisson when he addresses me (okay, us, I know there are millions) in his after or foreword.
The acknowledgment keeps King down to earth, real and accessible, as do his posts on Threads. We are seen. Especially when we’ve been reading as long as he’s been writing.
The short story Life Of Chuck (from If It Bleeds) is in local cinemas, starring Tom Hiddleston, who gets to dance; and The Institute, an eight-episode adaptation of the book, premiered in the US today and is exclusively on Showmax from today, 14 July, with two episodes ready to watch. King is an executive producer, which is always an encouraging sign. Goodness knows, the translation of his books to the screen have not always been a success – purely subjective; we all have our opinions.
The Institute, however, is closely aligned with the source material, and if you’ve read it, you’re going to get along nicely with it. I’d go so far as to say, it would be better if you have read the book. I’m not entirely sure I would have followed the intricacies if I hadn’t. Or I would have had to concentrate much harder.
The plot is thus. Children and teens who display some kind of telekinesis or telepathy are snatched from their homes and taken to a suitably Brutalist complex, known inside its walls as The Institute. Outside, its purpose is a mystery about which people in the nearby town can only speculate. Although there is one person, Annie, homeless, who sees through the cracks.
The facility is run by Ms Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker), along with her henchmen Dr Hendricks (Robert Joy) and head of security Stackhouse (Julian Richings) who is virtually a King caricature, so creepy and cadaverous is he. Then there is Tony (Jason Diaz), who rounds out this evil group who take such pleasure in their nefarious work.
Because the purpose of The Institute is to carry out tests (read: torture) on the kids to amplify their TK or TP abilities, for a purpose which will be revealed but not here because, you know, spoilers. Our hero is Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman) who is super bright, and is determined to escape with his new friends, because he quickly figures out the lies they are being told.
Running parallel to this is the thread about former cop Tim Jamieson (Ben Barnes), with some past trauma, who washes up in the small town of DuPray, where he takes on the low key position of night knocker: a security guard or foot patrolman who patrols a neighbourhood at night, checking on houses and businesses, ensuring nothing is amiss and keeping the peace should any need to be kept. He has no real cop powers, and turns down a gun because reasons.
After some weird conversations with Annie (Mary Walsh), Tim starts to wonder what the heck is going on up at the institute or whatever the heck it is, and starts snooping around, which in turn draws Sigsby and Stackhouse’s attention. And so the two threads draw closer and begin to intertwine.
“Based on Stephen King’s 2019 novel of the same name and adapted for television by From director and producer Jack Bender, MGM+’s latest science-fiction horror thriller, The Institute, is a complex show about the horrors of unchecked regimes and the children who dare to push back against them,” says Variety. “Fascinating, with a memorable cast of characters, The Institute isn’t a perfect series, especially as it stumbles to its conclusion. Yet, it will undoubtedly keep the attention of audiences desperate to uncover the mystery at the center of the story.”
It’s a fair review, among reviews that have been lukewarm; you’ll find about as many positive as you will negative. As that Constant Reader, who also watches a lot of King adaptations, good and bad, I enjoyed very much how faithful the series is to the book, and how it visualised what I had imagined. Parker’s Ms Sigsby is an interesting character I would have liked to see explored more fully, but based on how it all ends, the door is open for another season, even if the finale finishes more or less where the book does.
