1922 Review

By: Nik S


Director: Zak Hilditch
Producer(s): Ross M. Dinerstein
Starring: Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough, Molly Parker
Production Company: Campfire Productions
Distributor: Netflix
Runtime:102 minutes

The year is 1922, the USSR is formed, the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated, Reader's Digest is created, the Irish Civil War began, and a Nebraskan man murders his wife in cold blood for her land. Based on the novella of the same name, 1922 is Stephen King's take on the Edgar Allen Poe classic story The Tell-Tale Heart, but with rats and family drama. The film is one of the several adaptations from King's works to be released in the latter half of 2017, such as IT and Gerald's Game. Fans of King were intrigued to see one of his lesser known stories was to become a Netflix special feature. Luckily enough for fans, there's enough here to make for a good movie with dedicated actors and a director who made it a priority to create the right tone for the film.

Confessing the horrific acts of his past, we follow a farmer Wilfred James (Thomas Jane) as he explains to the audience the events that led up to the murder of his wife Arlette (Molly Parker). Back in 1922 Arlette inherit 100 acres of land in Hemingford Home, Nebraska. Wilfred is more than excited to one day pass it all down to his son, Henry (Dylan Schmid). Arlette, however, would rather sell the land so that the family can move to Omaha and start a new life. Wilfred, being too proud, refuses which causes trouble in their marriage. Wilfred doesn't want to lose the land or his son in a possible divorce so he plots on how to murder his wife without getting caught. After getting his son aboard with his plan, they go through with the heinous act. Wilfred slowly begins to lose his sanity from the abominable act he has committed, haunted by otherworldly visions.

Most of the praise should go to Hilditch for creating a suspenseful movie throughout a very slow building drama and creating an unsettling and dark tone. There is this sense of dread that just oozes out from every scene that is accompanied well by sharp cinematography and an eerie score. Every scene that Wilfred is in just puts you in a sense of unease as he contemplates his next moves and deals with the repercussions. The rats also help to put the audience in an uncomfortable mood each time they appear, foreboding a sense of evil that follows Wilfred around. Wilfred is not an easy character to like, for obvious reasons, but Jane is able to breathe life into the character.

Where the movie feels a little flat is in the writing, due to trying to keep as close as it could to the original source material. The movie is often called slow-burning, and that does seem to fit as everything is a slow build. The pacing in every scene can seem to drag on, and the overall story is rather simple. The small cast does well but doesn't allow for much characterization for anyone who isn't Wilfred. Every other actor is overshadowed by Thomas Jane, who just exuberant in his role of a southern farmer who has something to hide. Schmid does a good job as Henry being able to use the character's better nature to his advantage, but due to the writing, his relations to other characters feel stinted.

Overall, 1922 is an enjoyable flick that should easily entertain any of King's fans as the movie has all of his heart and soul into it. The slow spiral into madness is portrayed excellently by Jane, and Schmid does well as a supporting character. The movie does focus more on the drama rather than the horror, but that actually works more in its favor.