Mike Flanagan knew after just four days of filming that his new Stephen King adaptation would be his best movie

Sep. 12, 2024

“It was the first time in my life where I loved what was on the monitor just as much”

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Mike Flanagan reckons his new Stephen King adaptation is his best movie so far, and he’s thought so since day four on set. The filmmaker, who previously helmed The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, says he knew sci-fi horror The Life of Chuck was “magical” after filming a dance sequence with lead Tom Hiddleston.

In anew interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Flanagan was reminded that he emailed King after reading the novella in which the film is based, and said: “If I could have a crack at this story, it might be the best movie I’ll ever make.” He was then asked whether he still feels that way.

“Yeah, I do,” he explained. “I felt that way while we were shooting, too. I felt that way at the end of the first week. The dance was first, which is a confident way to start an independent film, but [sometimes] that’s how it lands. It was the first time in my life where I loved what was on the monitor just as much, in fact… more. Four days in, I knew that there was something magical happening.”

Having passed away from a brain tumor at 39, Chuck walks back through major events, before finding himself once again living in a supposedly haunted house. (Well, it wouldn’t be a Flanagan flick without some ghosties now, would it?)

The film also stars Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Chiwetel Ejifor (Doctor Strange), Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Q’orianka Kilcher (Yellowstone), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), and Mark Hamill, who collaborated with Flanagan for the first time onThe Fall of the House of Usher. Other frequent members of the Flanafamily appearing in the movie include Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, and Jacob Tremblay.

The Life of Chuck has yet to announce an official release date, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, check out our list of thebest horror moviesever, or our guide to the most excitingupcoming horror moviesheading our way.

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I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

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