Review of Locke and Key

Recently, Netflix has been making shows and movies of their own. I started watching the show titled "Locke and Key". The reason I started it was because IMDB rated the show at a 7.4 our of 10 and rotten tomatoes had rated the show at 66%, so both of the ratings were a little above average. A lot of people seem to be obsessed with it and I can see why. The idea that there are hidden keys all over a house makes it exciting to see what each newly found key does. Now, I do have my reservations about the show as well. Starting with the good points, I like the set design, everything seems to be well thought out, such as the old carpets in each room, the kitchen and each bedroom. The school does not look fancy, but an ordinary school with small lockers. The friendships that the children Tyler, Kinsey and Bode form relationships seem real and each character is not two-dimensional. They have background stories and their town hobbies. Now, I know the show is meant to be an adaptation of a horror comic written by Joe Hill and some viewers were expecting it to be scarier than it is, but I cannot deal with horror movies. I am glad, this is a show that I can handle and enjoy.

Now, there are a few issues I have with the show. Bode, the youngest of the three children is supposed to be six...the actor playing him is eleven. That is a huge difference. When Bode is first talking to "well lady" who is Dodge, he should have recognized that she was an evil being, even if he was only six. Bode asks "Are you my echo?" and Dodge responds with "Yes, I am, Bode", the fact that someone in a well knows your name is usually not a good sign. "Better not tell anyone about your echo in the good house" should have been a huge red flag right there and then. "Yes, I can get hungry, I get so hungry sometimes..." the way she said that would have sent any regular six-year-old screaming for their mom or dad. If Bode is six years old, then the actor Jackson Robert Scott is pretty good at playing a six-year-old. He plays the way a six-year-old would. He is a little tall for a six-year-old, but it explains a lot about Bode's character.

Ellie, the so-called friendly neighbor is not that good of a neighbor. She claims she knew Joe a long time and no one just stands there as someone they care about is being attacked. It could have been a reaction to shock, but after a few milliseconds, she should have acted accordingly and instead she just screams "No!". The fact that Ellie is not even a little bit suspicious of why Lucas still looks like Lucas is also a little off-putting. Ellie helped him or her murder someone when she was left alone, she should have called the police and when Nina walked in, she could have lied and said "I saw his front door open, when I was walking," at least then she would have been in the clear.

Coby Bird being cast as Rufus was an excellent decision. Rufus is an autistic child, and to play a part as such can be a difficult task. It is hard to play a part well and try not to seem like you are mocking anyone. Coby Bird does that so well. Even the actor himself is autistic and to play a character that has a reoccurring role throughout the series is very rare.

Locke and Key is a show where there is magic, fantasy, horror, and a family show. It is rare to see any show like that. It is interesting because the father has passed away due to a murder and Rendell has a dark past, which his family had no idea about until they get to the house learn about the keys and the more they learn about the keys, the more they learn about their father. There is a lot of emotion that ties in with the show, it displays what grief can look like and what it can do to an alcoholic. Not only does the show deal with magic and fantasy, but it also deals with real-life problems such as alcoholism, which is something that is being addressed in a fantasy show.