You should watch this under-appreciated horror series on AMC: NOS4A2

Joe Hill’s novel NOS4A2 was published in 2013, and I was an instant fan. I had absolutely adored Hill’s first novel, Heart Shaped Box, and had no idea at the time I read it that he was actually my favorite author’s son. In case you don’t know, Hill’s father is the great Stephen King.

Jami O’Brien, who had previously worked on Fear the Walking Dead adapted NOS4A2 for AMC’s series, and it premiered in June of 2019. Book fans always approach adaptations of their favorites with trepidation, so I really hoped the series would do it justice. I was mostly happy with the outcome.

NOS4A2 is the story of Vic, who has had a very special ability since she was a child. She has the gift of finding lost things, but that ability comes with a price. In order to find the lost objects, Vic has to ride her bike through a covered bridge, and this magically transports her to wherever the item has been left. These trips, however, take a mental and physical toll on Vic.

We are also introduced to the evil Charlie Manx, his devoted follower Bing Partridge, a clairvoyant librarian named Maggie, who uses Scrabble tiles to tell the future, a comic book nerd/motorcyclist named Lou, and Vic and Lou’s young son Bruce Wayne.

Manx is a sort of spiritual vampire, who stays young and strong by feeding on the souls of children, luring them into an amusement park he calls Christmasland. What child wouldn’t love to visit a place where it is Christmas all the time, right? Especially if they are being transported there in Charlie’s 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith.

Bing helps Charlie by supplying him with a gingerbread-scented gas that incapacitates his chosen victims, and is willing to do anything for him. When Vic happens upon Charlie’s home (called Sleigh House) and manages to escape, she becomes a target.

The trauma stays with Vic, and of course she crosses paths with Charlie Manx again, particularly when her son is kidnapped by him.

NOS4A2’s cast is a good one, with Ashleigh Cummings (Hounds of Love) as Vic, Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story) as Manx, Olafur Darri Olafsson (The Meg) as Bing, Jonathan Langdon (Zombies) as Lou, Jahkara Smith (Into the Dark: Pure) as Maggie, and Ebon Che Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher) as Vic’s father Chris.

The series second season was unfortunately its last, but you can still watch NOS4A2 on AMC+. You can also read my interviews with Jami O’Brien, Joe Hill, and Zachary Quinto, which were conducted during the series’ first season.