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If you’re one of the many people who have been dismayed by Castle Rock‘s lack of “bonkers scary horror moments” so far this season, buckle up. Castle Rock is about to get a whole lot scarier. Castle Rock Episode 8, “Past Perfect” is as close to a terrifying slasher film as you’re going to get on TV today.
In just the last few weeks, Castle Rock has undergone something of a breathtaking metamorphosis. The show started off as a weird and melancholic meditation on anomie in small town America, but it has become the most exhilarating show of the summer. The shift occurred somewhere around Episode 6, where we learn that things are far more bizarre than they first appeared. Henry Deaver (Andre Holland) attempts to retrace his dead father’s steps into the woods where he encounters a couple of oddballs who explain that they, along with Matthew Deaver, were obsessed with listening to the “voice of God.” Then, last week’s astonishing “game changer” of an episode, “The Queen,” used Ruth Deaver’s own scattered memories to tell a heartbreaking story of tragedy and terror. Tomorrow’s episode continues this run but leaps into the hardcore horror genre. “Past Perfect” is directed by A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night‘s Ana Lily Amirpour (and has more than one grisly murder).
When I reviewed Castle Rock back in July, I wrote that while the first four episodes of the show were teeming with dread, there was “nothing that made me feel overt ‘jump out of your seat’ terror.” Tomorrow’s episode is full of moments like that. These scenes will send an ice blast-like chill down your spine and force you to gasp in horror. “Past Perfect” also confirms that Castle Rock‘s slower early episodes weren’t spinning the wheels so much as setting the foundation for the bedlam to come. The season’s structure is a thrilling homage to Stephen King, the mastermind behind such slow burn horror thrillers as The Shining and Carrie.
Castle Rock Episode 8, “Past Perfect” premieres on Hulu Wednesday, August 29. You can check out a promo on Hulu.
