The very first official trailer for Netflix’s Locke & Key series is truly wonderful, giving viewers a glimpse of a dark fantasy that may become the next big hit on the streaming service, comparable to The Witcher or Umbrella Academy but with kid-friendly Lovecraftian undertones that blend The Chronicles of Narnia with The Haunting of Hill House. It’s strange, colorful, and terrible. Locke and Key, which is based on the IDW Publishing comic book series of the same name written by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son, by the way) and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, tells the tale of the three Locke siblings who relocate to Key house, their family’s ancestral home in Massachusetts, following their father’s horrific murder.
They discover several magical keys that endow them with a variety of paranormal powers, but there is also some type of demon vying for the keys. Whispers continue to permeate the trailer from all the eerie house’s hidden corners. Even though we’re dealing with demons and a variety of other bizarre otherworldly threats, the design is cartoonish, colorful, and lighthearted. In the trailer, a female voice can be heard saying, “Key home is loaded with wonderful keys.” “Watch out for them. They murmur.
Fans of the comics will be familiar with everything that is happening, but to others who are unfamiliar, it is a confusing jumble of magical horror antics. There are minor spoilers ahead. They notice a female figure beneath the home, which is a portal to another reality that is tied to all of this magic. They can offer more conventional abilities like super strength or wing-like flight and are made of “whispering iron,” which explains why people can hear whispers. However, they can also change a person’s gender, or race, or even expel a demon from a person who is possessed. This new series seems like quite different from Locke and Key, more akin to the kid-focused A Series of Unfortunate Events and leaning toward horror. Locke and Key feel a lot like Umbrella Academy because of the surprising variety of powers involved here and the presence of demonic beings in a strange mansion. It appears to be something that lovers of these other Netflix stories will adore, either way.
Locke and Key
Much has been said about Netflix’s basest desires for the algorithm, which has led to the cancellation of cherished shows that the streaming giant deemed to have underperformed and a hasty rush to commission new material that mimics successful titles. Locke and Key, their most recent international release, initially appears to be some sort of optimized Netflix megamix: it is centered on young children who are distraught over the death of a parent (like in Lemony Snicker’s which is a Series of Unfortunate Events, takes place in a creepy mansion full of mysterious mysteries like The Haunting of Hill House, and features supernatural forces encroaching on the real world.
The source material, a long-running comic series written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, was created before Netflix became popular, but it is amazing how well it fits in with the service’s thematic preoccupations and business goals (all the more remarkable when you learn of its chequered history, with three different pilots filmed at various studios in the past decade and ambitious plans for a movie trilogy shelved). It is a horror-tinged fantasy epic at its core, but before all the eerie stuff gets going, it starts as a rich and heartbreaking tale of loss. Rendell Locke’s sudden death, which is heartbreakingly relived in flashback, has left his widow Nina (Darby Stanchfield) while moving their small family from soggy Washington to frigid Massachusetts. The Key House, a gothic hulk on the outskirts of the tiny town of Matheson, is where Rendell’s long-abandoned family seat formerly stood. The villagers are already aware of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the Locke family, and they are intensely curious to learn if Nina has uprooted their lives in quest of a new beginning.
When talking about ancient keys endowed with supernatural abilities, it may sound strange to say, but at first, the magical activity appears harmless and enjoyable. It seems outlandish, but the idea is simple enough to grasp: at the touch of a key, any door becomes a portal to every other door the user has ever seen. After Bode has collected more of the strewn artifacts, only a few episodes have passed before it is hinted that some keys can the ability to unlock individuals, creating holes in their flesh a la David Cronenberg. It indicates an indication as to how outlandish the series would get by fusing Legion’s psychedelic Inner space adventures with some haunted home clichés. While much of Locke and Key seems superficially similar, it is softened by the excellent production design and a beautiful soundscape, and there are enough purposefully unsettling or strange moments to make it an enjoyable experience that is always changing. This reincarnation might only be the beginning, as there are already several volumes of the collected comic series on the shelves of bookstores.
Umbrella Academy
With the arrival of The Umbrella Academy, we will once again be introduced to the super powerful Hargreeves brothers and their enormous father issues. Season 2 may have concluded with our heroes stopping the end of the world and going back in time, but that purported success had terrible repercussions. The nefarious Sparrow Academy has replaced the Umbrella Academy in this alternate universe due to the time travel antics of the Hargreeves. It’s up to them to once more save the planet since they’ve set off a series of events that could bring about the end of the world. The “we only have x amount of time to halt the apocalypse” formula could feel a touch overused as this is The Umbrella Academy’s third episode. Fortunately for us, Season 3 largely avoids those pitfalls, keeping the Hargreeves’ travels feeling fresh with potent new character developments and an enjoyable cast of antagonists to battle.
Although the Umbrella Academy has always featured a hilarious cast of characters, Season 3 is the time when each of our leads has the most opportunity to stand out. While Luther (Tom Hopper) is charming in full himbo mode, a recent romance has caused him to reevaluate his values. Diego (David Castaneda), a former vigilante, is now faced with new obligations as a result of his relationship with Lila (Ritu Arya). Emmy Raver-character Lampman’s Allison (who grieves the deaths of her husband and daughter from earlier timelines) is involved in one of the season’s most painful episodes. The alternate Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) from this timeline assists Klaus (Robert Sheehan) in developing the full potential of his abilities, while Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) becomes weary of continuously trying to save the world.
The Umbrella Academy is most relatable when it explores the dysfunction of its center family, whether they are quarreling or sticking by one another no matter what. They have many opportunities to do both this season, especially now that they are reuniting with Reginald. When their father shows up, even in a different timeline, they are forced to face more unpleasant truths about their upbringing. It also encourages kids to become more self-aware, though. Believe me when I say that the Umbrella Academy you see at the beginning of the season is very different from the one you see at the end.
Are These Series Worth Watching?
A Netflix original series by the name of Locke & Key is based on the comic book of the same name by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. There are many contemporary and vintage comics that fit the atmosphere, so viewers of the streaming series may want to check out additional supernatural titles like this one about a home with limitless magical doors. With many bizarre realms that are rich in detail, both the Netflix series and the original comic book present a distinctive fusion of horror and magic. These odd borders are also explored in a variety of comic novels, some of which have standalone magical houses. Some readers might be familiar with these related comics, while others might not.
The Umbrella Academy, a comic book series by Gabriel Bá and Gerard Way, has an oddball tone akin to Locke & Key. The comic book and, now, the Netflix streaming series of the same name provide a lot for fans thanks to time travel, well-kept mysteries, and the complicated backstories of its numerous characters.
Both shows center on young people with extraordinary abilities, like Luther, a super-strong character from The Umbrella Academy, who must cooperate to navigate through overwhelming supernatural situations and, in some circumstances, return home.
