A new clip has been released from AMC’s upcoming series ‘NOS4A2’ based on Joe Hill’s vampire novel. The shaky, grainy footage appears to be the show’s opening credits or at least a portion of it. Hill’s book was inspired by the 1922 silent German film, ‘Nosferatu’, the first ever vampire movie. Hill, just FYI, is the son of Stephen King, so look for influences from that horrormeister.
The show, however, will deviate slightly. Rather than the grotesque vampire played by Max Schreck in the 1922 movie, this vampire is played by the dashing Zachary Quinto. Another alteration appears with the main character, Vic McQueen, who is younger than she was in the book. In the source material, Vic has a son who is the vampire’s true prize, but Vic looks to be a teenager on the show.
More on that in a second, but first, you can watch the trailer below:
‘NOS4A2’, based on Joe Hill’s bestselling novel of the same name, tells the story of Charlie Manx, a seductive immortal who feeds off the souls of children, then deposits what remains of them into Christmasland – an icy, twisted Christmas village of Manx’s imagination where every day is Christmas Day and unhappiness is against the law. Manx finds his whole world threatened when a young woman in New England discovers she has a dangerous gift.
Ashleigh Cummings will play Vic McQueen, a young, working-class artist whose creativity awakens a supernatural ability to track Manx (Zachary Quinto). What Vic lacks in social confidence, she makes up for in courage, humor, and tough-as-nails grit. She strives to defeat Manx and rescue his victims without losing her mind or falling victim to him herself.
It appears that the vampire Charlie Manx has two forms. A younger, more attractive appearance, as played by Zachary Quinto and a more ghoulish version that more closely resembles the ‘Nosferatu’ of old. His vehicle, called The Wraith, allows him to travel through time and into different dimensions.
The vampire in ‘NOS4A2’ has been compared to the psychic vampires in King’s ‘Doctor Sleep‘, so there could be some similarities there.
Ashleigh Cummings plays Vic McQueen, the show’s protagonist, who realizes she has a psychic connection to Charlie Manx and makes her a target.
In Hill’s book, Vic rides a Triumph motorcycle, but that has been switched to a dirt bike for the show.
The Shorter Way Bridge allows Vic to travel anywhere (and any-when) she needs to go. She passes through and can find herself anywhere on Earth and at any time.
Jahkara Smith portrays Maggie Leigh, another person with mysterious gifts. You may have glimpsed some Scrabble tiles in the trailer clip. Those are a reference to Maggie, a librarian who uses Scrabble tiles to locate missing items. Smith is even shown wearing a Scrabble tile for an earring.
Olafur Darri Olafsson plays Bing Partridge, Manx’s devoted servant who longs for Manx to take him to Christmasland. Partridge uses a gingerbread-flavored anesthetic to drug potential victims for his master.
Vic’s mother Linda is played by Virginia Kull, who is actually only 11 years older than Cummings. Does this mean that either or both may be playing characters of different ages? At any rate, Linda is described as a “blue-collar mom determined to hold her family together and protect her daughter.”
In the book, Vic is estranged from her father Chris, played on the show by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. It remains to be seen how the show will address their family dynamic.
AMC has not yet announced when ‘NOS4A2’ will premiere, but what do you think so far? Will you be checking out this new vampire series?
Source: /Film
