In 1922, all a man has is his son, his land, and his pride. Take any of those things away, and everything else falls apart. For Wilford James, he had no intention of losing any of those three, but as he says, “in the end, we all get caught.”
For Wilford James, his wife Arlette, and their teen-aged son Henry, life on a farm in rural middle america was just fine. They weren’t wealthy, but they weren’t poor or hurting for materialistic things. The James’ lived a life of simplicity, but they didn’t mind. Hard work was its own reward. Wilford knew that he had a good life, a good farm and all of it would be past to his son, in time. All was well, until one night Arlette wanted to discuss with Wilford selling the farm and moving to the city. She wanted to start a dress shop in the big city, take her son away from the rural life, and leave the farming far behind her. This was not something that Wilford wanted to hear, and not something he would ever consider. She attempted to make a deal with him. He would get half the farm or the money. They could sell, move away and start new, or they could get a divorce. Neither of these would do anything but hurt his pride. So Wilford decided to make a different deal, with his son. One that would cost Arlette her life.
Stephen King has written a ton of stories, both short and long form. Some of that are successfully made into movies, and some that are better left forgotten. 1922 is based on one of his Novellas of the same name. Made in-house by Netflix, it stars Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough and several other very capable actors. It’s not often that a period horror piece is done so well. The wonderful attention to detail can be found throughout the entire movie. Clothing, dialect, everything found in 1922 makes the movie feel authentic.
While 1922 isn’t the usual blood and guts slasher, it does handle the psychological thriller plot very well. Think of this as a retelling of “The Telltale Heart” but with a slight twist. What 1922 does best is not only create a great atmosphere for the story, but takes its time to develop the characters themselves. By the end of the movie not only did I feel a connection to the innocent victims of the tale, but the main character as well. It really is spectacularly done. 1922, much like “The Babysitter” were huge surprises in this years marathon, and two movies that, if you have the ability, should totally be watched.
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