Castle Rock is a psychological thriller TV show which is inspired by the fictional works of legendary horror author Stephen King. King is an author who is famous for writing some of the best horror novels of all time, novels like IT, The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Cujo, etc… His writings are mostly psychological in nature that often feature elements of horror & suspense, combined with the presence of a supernatural entity that brings chaos to the lives of normal human beings.
Castle Rock is one such creation. Castle Rock is a fictional town from Stephen King’s universe. This town is featured in several of Stephen King’s novels. It first appeared in his sci-fi thriller novel “The Dead Zone”. King often uses this town to build a backdrop narrative for his novels.
And Inspired by this, Hulu decided to create a TV show whose main story would dedicatedly revolve around the fictional town of Castle Rock. That will show us what exactly happened in this fictional town of Stephen King. Something which every King fan was curious about. Castle Rock is a Hulu creation, and it started streaming on 25 July 2018. Currently, the show has 2 seasons & about 20 episodes. And today, we shall be explaining season 1 of Castle Rock.
Cast Of Castle Rock
Castle Rock stars actors like Andre Holland, who is famous for his performance in the “Oscar” winning movie “Moonlight”. Here he is the main protagonist of the show. The 2nd lead actor is Bill Skarsgard, a Swedish actor who is famously known for villainous roles in Stephen King’s “It & It Chapter 2”.
In this show, he has a very important role. The 3d important lead is actress Melanie Lynskey, a New Zeeland-born actress who is widely famous for playing difficult characters that show us the complexities of being a woman. Here she would be playing the role of the protagonist’s friend who has certain psychic abilities. The other actors in the show are Jane Levy, Sissy Spacek, etc…
Cast Of Castle Rock
Story Of Castle Rock Season 1
The story of Castle Rock season 1 revolves around “The Kid,” whose arrival suddenly brings death and misfortune to the town of Castle Rock. The season opens up with Sheriff Alan, who is looking for Hennery (a small child who later grows up to become the protagonist of the story).
Henry has been missing for several days, he and his dad, who went to the forest, never returned back. So Sheriff Alan, who had been searching all over the forest, didn’t find any clue about their whereabouts. When he stops by a frozen lake to take some rest, he notices Henry standing alone in the middle of the frozen lake. Alan rushes towards Henry and takes him back to the town.
Sheriff Alan from Castle Rock
The story then forwards to 2018, where we see a warden named Lacey committing suicide by driving his car off a cliff. After his death, a new warden is appointed to the “Shawshank State Penitentiary”, where a guard reveals to her that up until now, 4 other wardens have committed suicide just like Lacey.
After that, Denis, a guard at Shawshank prison, goes to an abandoned section of the jail, which several years ago was destroyed by fire. There he comes across a septic tank, and while checking the tank, his ID card falls inside, the tank is filled with darkness and when he goes inside, to his surprise there finds a person imprisoned inside a cage. This person was “The Kid”, one who would be responsible for bringing chaos and miss happening to the town of Castle Rock.
The Kid from Castle Rock Season 1
Castle Rock Season 1 Explained
Those who have already seen Castle Rock might very well know that the beginning of all miseries and misfortune began after the arrival of “The Kid,” but the audiences are never shown what his real identity is. But in episode 9, the creators finally revealed who “The Kid” really was, and to everyone’s surprise, the Kid’s name was also Henry Deaver, same as our protagonist Henery Deaver (played by Andre Holland), but both of them belonged to two different universes. Let me explain…
Henry from Castle Rock Season 1
Castle Rock is a story of 2 alternate universes and how they collide with each other. Now to make things a bit easier, let us call Henry “Andre Holland’s” character “Henry” and his universe as universe 1, while “The Kid’s ” universe is universe 2. Both universes have the same people. But in “The Kid’s” universe, people live a much happier life compared to Henry’s Castle Rock. In one of the earlier episodes, the audience is shown that Ruth (Henry’s mother) is talking about losing her child, which leads them to adopt Henry.
But in “the Kid’s universe, Ruth never lost her child & hence they never adopted a child, so “The Kid” was named Henry Deaver. In both the universe, Henry’s father could hear Schisma or The Voice Of God. Schima, as in episode 6, where a deaf scientist revealed the voice that Henry is hearing was possibly coming from an alternate universe, and finally, in episode 9, with the revelation of “The Kid’s” real identity, it was confirmed that alternate realities do exist.
In both the universe, Henry’s father could hear Schisma or God’s Voice. And hence he took his son to the forest so that Henry (from his universe) and “The Kid” (from his universe) could hear those voices like their father. But unlike Henry, “The Kid” could not hear those voices.
In Henry’s world, Henry’s mother didn’t have a good relationship with her husband Matthews, and hence she had an affair with Sherriff Alan. But in “The Kid’s” world, when Matthew (Henry’s father) became abusive, Ruth just left her to live with Alan, and likewise, “The Kid” too abandoned his father. But this is when their fate took a drastic turn.
Ruth from Castle Rock
After many years “The Kid” grew up and became a researcher in the medical field. And one day, he got the news that his father had committed suicide, forcing him to return back to Castle Rock. While going through his father’s house, he discovered a cage, and to his surprise, inside the cage, a young child was kept imprisoned.
The child was none other than Henry (Andre Holland’s character). It is then revealed that when Henry went missing from his world, he actually somehow traveled into another reality and entered into “The Kid’s” universe. Where young Henry revealed to Matthews from universe 2 that he is his son and he can hear voices.
After Henry entered into universe 2, or “The Kid’s” universe, misfortune, and tragedies started taking place in universe 2. And When Matthew came to know that this young child could hear voices, he started to believe that he was the reason why tragedies were happening in Castle Rock, and he came to the conclusion that this kid (young Henry from universe 1 is actually a devil) so he puts him in a cage and imprisons him.
child Henry in an alternate universe
And as far as we have seen, we can come to the conclusion that whenever someone travels and enters into another universe, he/she brings chaos to that particular world, maybe because he/she was not supposed to be there. And that time passes slowly for these people. We have seen that Henry though lived several years inside a cage as “The Kid,” but they did not age bit.
After finding Henry & learning about his story “The Kid,” and Molly of universe 2 decide to take him back to the woods so he can return back to his universe, but they get chased by Denis (who in this world is a cop), Denis chases them into the woods where suddenly a portal appears, Molly gets shot by Denis and Henry & “The Kid” gets transported into the universe of Henry i.e Universe 1.
The Kid from Castle Rock
This is exactly where episode 1 of the show began, where Sherriff rescues the child Henry from the frozen lake. And likewise, when “The Kid” entered into this universe, tragedies struck the town of Castle Rock, and the series of misfortunes began. Up until the warden, Lacey discovered “The Kid,” and he got convinced that he was the devil, just like Mathews from “The Kid’s” universe believed that young Henry was the devil. So Lacey imprisoned him in the Shawshank prison until Denis found him. This is the explanation of the confusing multiverse storyline of Castle Rock season 1.
Will There Be A Next Season for Castle Rock Season?
If you are asking this with the context for season 1, then yes, there is a season 2 of Castel Rock, which was released on 23 October 2019. But after 2 seasons, Hulu canceled the plans for season 3. So for the fans of this horror show, unfortunately, there won’t be any more seasons. You can watch Castle Rock seasons 1 & 2 on Hulu. The show is also available to stream on Netflix .
You can also check “Top 22 TV Shows Like The Blacklist .”
The plot of World War Z revolves around Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former United Nations investigator, who gets trapped alongside his family during an outbreak of a global zombie pandemic. Gerry is then evacuated by his friend from the U.N., who offers to provide safety for his family, should Gerry aid the United Nations in finding out the outbreak’s origin. And thus, Gerry embarks on a life-threatening adventure to find the roots of the pandemic and, hopefully, find a solution to end it.
The movie ends with Gerry returning to his family, who are by now in a secure zone, as the World Health Organisation prepares a temporary measure to pause the spread, with hopes of living to fight another day, and leaving fans of the movie waiting for a sequel ever since. A sequel was announced earlier, but the plans for the sequel were reportedly canceled in 2019 due to some budget issues.
World War Z poster starring Bradd Pitt
World War Z approached the way a zombie apocalypse movie should be produced in a unique way, which led to various unique reviews being formed for the movie- some people liked the movie, whereas some didn’t. Still, the movie was a commercial success as it collected around $540 million at the box office.
Movies like World War Z
Even though the zombie genre has seen many great movies, World War Z was different in many ways. Primarily, the difference comes from the fact that the origin of the zombies is not known. Another reason, which can be argued, is that the movie doesn’t have a climax, which provides another question to the mind of the viewer, what will happen next?
Here are 20 movies like World War Z that will keep the viewers guessing what comes after this:
I am Legend(2007)
I am Legend was released in 2007 and was somewhat based on the novel: I am Legend by Richard Matheson. The movie was directed by Francis Lawrence, Akiva Goldsman, and Mark Protosevich. Will Smith was the leading member of the cast. The movie is set in New York, where the only human left is Robert Neville (Will Smith). Almost all others have been turned into nocturnal mutants as a side effect of a drug that was originally produced to cure cancer.
The movie was well-received by the critics and provided an overall memorable experience, along with some spine-chilling scenes to keep the audience entertained.
Will Smith in I am Legend
Dawn of the Dead(1978)
Dawn of the Dead was released in 1978 and directed by George A Romero. The zombie horror movie was produced by Richard P Rubinstein. The starlight was shared by David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross. The movie revolves around a group of people who isolate themselves inside a mall to prevent themselves from falling prey to zombies, whose origin is unknown. The zombies are considered to be reanimations of the dead, who prefer human flesh.
The movie is a classic and attracted many viewers to the zombie genre, a must-watch for anyone to experience what CGI looked like back in the day.
Zombies from Dawn of the Dead
Bird Box(2018)
Bird Box was released in 2018 in limited cinemas before becoming well-received on the globally popular streaming giant- Netflix. The movie was based on the novel: Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Bird Box was directed by Susanne Bier and starred some quite popular names like Sandra Bullock, Machine Gun Kelly, Trevante Rhodes, and John Malkovich, among others. The horror thriller was produced by Sandra Bullock, Susanne Bier, Chris Morgan, Dylan Clark, and Clayton Townsend.
The movie follows a similar story; a global disease causes people to turn on each other and kill them. The movie involves Malorie (Sandra Bullock) and her quest to reach a civilization that is unaffected by the disease, and there is hope to survive the world.
Malorie on her way to the ‘heaven” in Bird Box
Train to Busan(2016)
Train to Busan is a South Korean action horror movie that was released in 2016. The movie was directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starred Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-Shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung. Seok-woo(Gong Yoo) is the main protagonist of the movie.
The plot of the movie revolves around Seok-woo and his daughter, Su-an(Kim Su-an), who are traveling from a train to Busan on Su-an’s birthday to meet her mother. But, all hell breaks loose when they realize that they are on the train during a zombie outbreak, and what earlier was planned to be a birthday trip turns into a nightmare, with survival being the utter priority.
Gong Yoo from Train To Busan
28 Days Later(2002)
The movie involves a group of people who try to cope with the outbreak of an unknown virus and find safety, to survive.
Cillian Murphy from 28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later(2007)
28 Weeks Later is the sequel to 2002’s 28 Days Later. The movie is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The movie had a star cast consisting of Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, and Idris Elba.
The movie is set after the events of the first movie, with soldiers of the U.S. Army helping the needy in the United Kingdom when a carrier of the virus enters the city of London, and the horror scenes are repeated.
Military rescuing survivors in 28 Weeks Later
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials(2015)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the second entry in the Maze Runner franchise. The movie was directed by Wes Ball. The movie is based on The Scorch Trials, the second novel from the Maze Runner book series. The star cast of the movie is pretty much unchanged when compared to the first movie(Maze Runner), with Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Alexander Flores, Ki Hong Lee, and Patricia Clarkson retaining their respective roles, along with some new additions of Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Jacob Lofland, Katherine McNamara, Barry Pepper, Rosa Salazar, Lili Taylor, and Alan Tudyk.
The “runners” from Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
The movie continues immediately after the ending of the previous installment, with the Gladers having to safeguard themselves from both the WCKD (World Catastrophe Killzone Department) and a new enemy in the face of “the Scorch.” All in all, the movie is an indulging experience and will have the audience biting their nails as to what will happen next.
Go Goa Gone(2013)
Go Goa Gone is a Hindi movie that was released in the year 2013. The movie was directed by Raj and D.K. The starred Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Puja Gupta, and Anand Tiwari. The plot of the movie revolves around three roommates Hardik(Kunal Khemu), Bunny(Anand Tiwari), and Luv(Vir Das), when their getaway trip to a remote island in Goa turns into a survival task as hordes of zombies become bloodthirsty.
Saif Ali Khan from Go Goa Gone
The trio meets a Russian mafia boss Boris(Saif Ali Khan), who joins forces with them to live through the spread and have a better chance of surviving. The movie ends by hinting to the audience for a sequel, but fans are still waiting to get the sequel.
Doomsday(2008)
The movie was released in 2008 and directed by Neil Marshal. The movie had a rather big lineup of stars, with Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell, Alexander Siddig, Adrian Lester, Craig Conway, Lee-Anne Liebenberg, and Hennie Bosman, alongside others.
Doomsday poster
The protagonist of the movie, Eden Sinclair(Rhona Mitra), is sent to Scotland with her team of operators to get the cure for a virus that has been causing a decline in humanity, with multiple failed attempts to contain the virus in various containment zones.
Resident Evil Franchise(2002-2016)
It would be unfair to the Resident Evil franchise if its name is not mentioned whenever someone talks zombies. The original movie of the franchise was released in 2002, directed by Paul W.S.Anderson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes, and Colin Salmon. The movie franchise is based on the globally renowned game franchise Resident Evil.
With Milla Jovovich starring as the fan favorite Alice, the movie involves the spread of a virus that converts numerous humans and animals inside a research center into zombies; and a team of special operators trying to take them down. This movie kicks off an incredible movie franchise, which has many good zombie apocalypse movies and the iconic Alice.
There are a total of six movies in the franchise, released over a span of 14 years. All six movies are leaded by Milla Jovovich as Alice and the climax of the original six-movie series is a thing that every Resident Evil fan enjoys. The movies in the franchise are Resident Evil(2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse(2004), Resident Evil: Extinction(2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife(2010), Resident Evil: Retribution(2012), and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter(2016).
A reboot series of the original has also been kickstarted. With the release of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in 2021, Martin Moszkowicz announced that the original six-movie franchise would get a reboot which received praise from all the Resident Evil fans.
#Alive(2020)
This popular zombie movie was directed by Cho II-Hyung and was released in 2020 globally on the streaming giant Netflix after some success in South Korea. The cast of the film included prominent South Korean actors Yoo Ah-in and Park Shin-Hye. The movie is based on the script of Alone by Matt Naylor, which was released in the year 2019.
The movie is centered around a video game streamer, Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in), as he struggles to survive a zombie outbreak in the Seoul region. The movie enjoyed good feedback from the critics as there is not a single moment in the movie where one would feel bored.
#Alive poster featuring Yoo Ah-In
Little Monsters (2019)
This movie approached the zombie genre in a different way, as it is a zombie comedy. Written and directed by Abe Forsythe, the movie was released in 2019. The movie starred Lupita Nyong’o, Alexander England, Josh Gad, and Kat Stewart.
The movie revolves around Dave(Alexander England), a musician who is recovering from a breakup. Dave starts falling for his nephew’s teacher, Caroline(Lupita Nyong’o), but his wishes are swept aside as he needs to survive an invasion of zombies.
Alexander England and Lupita Nyong’o in Little Monsters
Warm Bodies (2013)
Warm Bodies was released in 2013 and are quite unique when compared to other movies in the zombie genre. The movie was directed by Jonathan Levine and was based on the 2010 novel by Isaac Marion: Warm Bodies. The movie starred Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, Lio Tipton, Cory Hardrict, and John Malkovich.
The film was a romantic zombie comedy that involved R(Nicholas Hoult), a zombie who fell in love with Julie(Teresa Palmer), a human. R starts to gain his humanity back, but he faces a challenge while loving Julie due to the difference between their species.
Nicholas Hoult in 2013’s Warm Bodies
Planet Terror (2007)
This movie was released in 2007 and was written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The movie had a cast consisting of Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, and Marley Shelton.
The movie follows a group of individuals who race against time to reach a helicopter to escape the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse caused by a gas that was accidentally released due to a failed government experiment.
Cast members getting ready to make a stand in Planet Terror
Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland is a fan favorite and was released in the year 2009; the movie was directed by Ruben Fleischer and is a zombie comedy film. The list of actors starring in the movie includes Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray, and Amber Heard.
The movie’s plot revolves around Columbus(Jesse Eisenberg), a college student who joins three strangers to fight together through a zombie apocalypse and reach a safe place in the USA.
Woodie Harrelson and others in Zombieland
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
This movie is a zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright. The movie stars Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, and Penelope Wilton. The movie was released in 2004 and received decent feedback from the audience. The movie is set in the city of London.
Shaun of the Dead poster featuring Simon Pegg and friends
The movie’s plot revolves around Shaun(Simon Pegg), a salesman, and his quest to survive a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed(Nick Frost). The movie offers an enjoyable experience and delivers well, keeping in mind everyone stays entertained.
