Locke and Key [TV Review]
Image Credit: Netflix
LOCKE AND KEY
10 Episodes | NETFLIX | TV-14 | 2020
Reviewed by Lindsay McClanahan
I was given the first issue of Locke and Key a few years ago and was very happy that I had not discovered it while it was still a monthly issue. Sometimes it is nice to have that monthly snippet to look forward to but other times I prefer to binge and Locke and Key was one of those comics. Much of it appealed to me and wasn't what I would usually find, mixing fantasy with horror. I like that the fantastical parts were boxed in. There were reasons that things worked and rules on what did not.
In Locke & Key, there is a house filled with magical keys that only children can use or are even aware of the effects of them. And then there is something evil who wants them uses many methods to achieve this.
Each key had a unique experience which made the glimpse of a new key, just out of view, exciting. It was like a sneak peek of where the story might go. For the three Locke children you knew that one key in the hands of Bode meant a completely different thing than if that same key fell into his older brother's hands. The keys were tools which meant that they could be fun, useful or in the hands of the wrong person, evil.
Supporting characters were often flawed, making you interested not only in the fate of the three kids, but also their mother, uncle and friends. A bit of high school drama was thrown in but mostly it just showed the danger the keys could create, even in the most well-meaning of hands.
Since finding this comic I've read the entire series through four times, which isn't something I usually do with comics and books. Every few years I might revisit a favorite but not on an almost yearly basis. But this one helped inspire me as a writer and my local Library almost always had the entire set in when I needed them.
I tried recommending it to people, but even geeks I knew weren't that excited. Either they were new to reading comic books or some of the more graphic horror bits turned them off. When I heard that a version was about to be released on Netflix I felt the same excitement and reluctance any fan feels when a favorite piece of writing gets the Hollywood treatment. I knew that most of the people I had tried to get to read it would now watch it. So could it possibly meet my expectations and be as wonderful as the comics?
It's not a spoiler to say no. Your personal experience with your imagination and a good piece of writing will never be matched on the screen of any size. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it or that I wouldn't still recommend it to people. It's just that as most fans say, the book is better.
There were places that they succeeded, both in representing the material but also in creating something fun to watch. Most of the characters felt spot on or at least seemed like a natural change. The boy who played Bode in particular was fantastic. Especially the first episode, which I later found out was written and pitched by the creator, Joe Hill, was excellent. It wasn't until later in the season that I felt a few things really went off the rails. Remember how I mentioned that each key had it's purpose and worked to box in the fantastical so that it had logical rules and made sense. A couple of those changes in particular were disappointing. I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't seen it but my sister and I decided to refer to the worst of the keys as the 'chin key'. I can understand how useful it will be to the writers but it lets go of some of the tightly held rules on magic from the comic.
Locke and Key is streaming on Netflix.
This review was originally published in the print and digital version of Issue One of Tabletops & Tentacles. Subscribe TODAY!
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