It’s been a couple of years at least since ‘1922’ was released and I came across this gem of a film by sheer chance, and it surprises me that I had read very little about it before hand. Based on Stephen King’s novel by the same name ‘1922’, directed by Zak Hilditch is an eerie study on crime, guilt and eventual redemption.
An incredibly in-form Thomas Jane plays Wilfred James in the film, a farmer living in Hemingford Home, Nebraska with his wife, Arlette (Molly Parker) and their 14-year-old son Henry (Dylan Schmid). Wilf’s plans to further his farm business by adding on his wife’s newly inherited family farmland runs into trouble as Arlette makes it apparent that she plans to sell off her shares and move to the city, where she dreams of opening a dress shop. Wilf confesses that left with no other choice but to slay his wife, he does exactly that, with his son joining him as an accomplice.
‘1922’ has some real wacky dialogues as the one where Wilf gets to see what has happened to his absconding son. With Arlette nibbling away at his ear bones, he admits that ‘she told him secrets that only a dead woman would know!’ He sighs later that ‘eventually, we all get caught’, and the film moves towards a shattering climax that makes it a truly horrific watch.
Verdict: Good