LOCKE & KEY: I Wish It Were Darker and More Mysterious

I love teen series with a mystery in the background that sometimes use downright absurd solutions. That is why I was convinced that Locke & Key, would find a special place in my heart. However, that did not happen. It is a very uneven project based on an interesting premise, which, in the hands of someone more talented, would have had a chance to become a true sensation.

It should be remembered that ideas for adapting the titular comic book appeared from time to time over the course of ten years. That is quite a bit of time to turn a tangled story into a proper series. Neither Fox nor Hulu, nor, even more so, Netflix managed to do it. It is, admittedly, a decent adaptation, but from the people behind such series as Lost or The Haunting of Hill House, I expected a bit more.

The plot is very simple. After the tragic death of their father, the Locke siblings, along with their mother, move to the family estate in the state of Massachusetts. The Gothic house hides not only secrets from years past but also mysterious keys that allow for changing one’s appearance and traveling to different corners of the world. However, a villain soon appears on the horizon in the form of a mysterious dark-haired beauty who will stop at nothing.

The biggest problem of the production lies in its thoroughly stereotypical characters. Moreover, they keep emphasizing at every turn that they are weird and that everyone around thinks they are weird, even though they have never done or said anything that could make anyone think so. This constant talk about their own weirdness does not add to their character. And that is very much needed, since the series’ characters are rather colorless. Furthermore, this applies equally to all of them.

The series features three groups of characters: the Locke siblings, the Savini group characterized by their love of horror, and the popular teenagers, among them the beauty Eden. Unfortunately, none of them have even a shred of personality, which is especially disappointing in the case of the horror fans. Because in their case, one would expect the creators to unleash their imagination and make them the coolest people in the show.

The villain at times reminded me greatly of Famke Janssen’s role in the series Hemlock Grove. I sometimes had the impression that the actress had actually been hired to appear in this Netflix production. Dodge’s motivations remain unexplained until the final episode. So we have a mysterious woman from the well who steals, kills, and manipulates. Watching her actions is enjoyable, but it is not enough to make her stand out among other TV villains.

A smaller issue is the lack of consistency when it comes to the genre framework in which the production operates. I appreciate the horror references, but this is still at the level of Riverdale, where teen drama combines with dark elements, a sugary setting, and dramatic interludes. This leads nowhere. Overall, Locke & Key is extremely simple entertainment with a story simplified to the limit. This hurts all the more because the idea offered hope for something truly amazing and extraordinary.

Setting aside the colorless characters, we are, after all, dealing with a mysterious house, magical keys, and demons. I do not know how it was possible to reduce the whole thing to a plot that merely checks off subsequent boxes so that comic book fans would not be too dissatisfied, and new viewers would not get too lost. The production lacks character, which is why it quickly gets lost among series that offer more than mere adequacy.

Is watching Locke & Key a waste of time? No, if you expect a simple story with a mystery in the background, where you will not find any controversies. It is quite a smoothed-out version aimed primarily at teenage viewers. Older ones will likely be bored, wishing the whole thing were a few tones darker and much more fascinating. However, the creators deserve credit for trying. And their efforts can be seen in a few clever solutions.

Read about the second season here.