STACK #259 May 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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ORIGINS OF EVIL: WELCOME TO DERRY GENRE: Horror RUN TIME: Series Derry’s darkest secrets rise to the surface in this stunning prequel that cements Stephen King’s grip on modern horror. Fun Fact: A younger version of Dick Hallorann, famously played by Scatman Crothers in The Shining (1980), plays a pivotal role in Welcome to Derry .

T he timing of Welcome to Derry couldn’t be better. It arrives as the perfect antidote to the post- Stranger Things void, and at a moment when Stephen King is dominating pop culture... again. Welcome to Derry arrives with built in mythology, spun from the terrifying world previously realised in Andy Muschietti’s blockbuster adaptations of Stephen King’s It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019). Developed by Muschietti alongside Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, the series expands the cinematic universe by travelling backwards, digging into the cursed history of Derry, Maine, and the cyclical evil that haunts it. Set decades before the Losers’ Club first encountered Pennywise, the show leans into the rich interludes of King’s original novel, dramatising the town’s past tragedies and the sinister patterns that repeat every 27 years.

Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise, maintaining continuity with the films while anchoring the series in familiar nightmare fuel. At the same time, the long-form format allows the creators to widen the lens, exploring Derry as a character in itself, shaped by generational trauma and buried secrets. For horror fans, the series is essential viewing, boasting some of the most horrific imagery conceivable. It’s true to King’s vision and is arguably amongst the best drama television in recent years, let alone horror. It’s a remarkable feat considering such a bumpy production period. Filming began in 2023 across Ontario, Canada, with Port Hope once again doubling for Derry, preserving the visual DNA established in the films. However, the SAG-AFTRA strike forced a shutdown, delaying the shoot and creating continuity challenges, particularly with younger cast members

Chris Chalk

Bill Skarsgård

ageing out of their roles. The creative team ultimately adjusted timelines and story elements, a testament to the production’s scale and ambition. The series lands at a moment when Stephen King is enjoying yet another cultural surge. In a short space of time, his stories of The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk, The Running Man, The Monkey, and The Institute are just some of the recent adaptations. Glenn Cochrane

• Welcome to Derry is out May 6

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

It, It: Chapter Two, The Stand, Mr. Mercedes, Chapelthwaite, Under the Dome.

A WILDER “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” GENRE: Romance RUN TIME: 2h 16m The director of Saltburn reimagines Wuthering Heights as a bold, provocative tale of love, cruelty, and obsession.

I conoclastic filmmaker Emerald Fennell turned to Australians Margot Robbie, 35,

Margot with director Emerald Fennell

DYK: The title’s stylised quotation marks represent Fennell’s flexible interpretation, as it was her intention to recreate the feeling of being a teenage girl reading the book for the first time.

and Jacob Elordi, 28, in bringing her brave new vision of Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights to the big screen. A daring interpretation of one of the greatest love stories of all time, it’s surely louder, sexier, and more provocative than any of its predecessors.

and Margot is able to encapsulate all of this. Likewise Fennell was impressed by Elordi, having already directed him on Saltburn . “Heathcliff is the archetypical, Byronic hero, a despicable love interest. He’s defensive, angry, cruel, dangerous, but he’s also one of the most devastatingly moving characters in literature. Gathering all of those things together is tough and, like Cathy, it required an actor who could make us love the unlovable. “Jacob is extraordinary in that way, I knew he could communicate the tenderness, the depth of

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi

Expectations , or Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind . She's spoiled, capricious, and fierce, like a movie star stuck in the middle of nowhere with no audience. “She’s deeply feeling, funny, her emotions are gigantic, but Brontë is very specific and says again and again in the book that Cathy likes to hurt people, she enjoys pushing to see how far she can get away with something and still be forgiven: she’s something of a sadist. She needed to be played with someone with their own dangerous, life-ruining beauty and charisma,

Fennell – celebrated for her films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn - had long been fascinated by Wuthering Heights , but couldn’t conceive of making the film without first finding the perfect couple. “Margot is absolutely extraordinary,” she says of the Barbie star. “The thing about casting is finding the root of this person and what do they make you feel and how can that be used and subverted in an interesting way as this character? “For me, Cathy is like Estella from Great

feeling, the loneliness of Heathcliff, as well as his copious flaws. Gill Pringle

• Wuthering Heights is out May 13

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Saltburn, Hamnet, Emma, The History of Sound, Die My Love.

22 MAY 2026

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