There’s no denying that acclaimed horror authorStephen Kingwatches a lot of TV shows and movies. Before hemade the jump to the social media platform Threads, he regularly shared his opinion on some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters and hidden gems over on Elon Musk’s X. Though the platform is different, King remains the same as he ever was,recently calling out a big problem that a lot of us have with many modern productions.
Taking to hisThreadsaccount, King posed the question,“Are a lot of streaming shows f**king dark, or is it me?“His query prompted a variety of responses, mainly because people at first weren’t sure if he meant “dark” as in content, or “dark” as in “someone should turn on the lights” After clarifying that he meant “visually dark” and adding, “even the funny ones,” it all became clear to everyone that King has the same problem we all do with recent shows such as HBO’sHouse of the Dragon, where everything is shrouded in darkness and candlelight,making it hard to see what the heck is going on.
No, Mr. King, it’s not just you, as is evident by the variety of answers, including one from user Rick Urban, who hilariously responded,“Yeah, the new Amazon show, Cross…did they forget to pay the light bill?“Threads user Ellis Newport “thought it was her TV” before King posed his question, and other accounts also chimed in to lament everything from unbalanced sound (we’re looking at you, Hulu), to things being so quiet they have to watch with the subtitles on.
So, What’s the Real Reason Movies and TV Shows Are So Dark?
While there’s a variety of reasons as to whymuch of today’s entertainment is visually darkto the point where you have to either squint, or turn up your TV’s brightness to understand what’s happening, the main fault lies at the feet of the filmmakers.“I think that a lot of cinematographers, when they do certain things like that, they’re trying to make it feel extremely truthful,“digital imaging technician Nicholas Kay toldVarietyback in 2022.
That’s all well and good, but man, it’s entertainment, and yes, sticking to the truth is admirable, but remember 1989’sBatman? A lot of that was shot at night, and when you compare it to Matt Reeve’s 2022 take on The Dark Knight, the difference is, well, night and day. Obviously,it’s a conscious choice by the filmmakers to keep us in the dark these days, but they should know that while they’re busy trying to tell the “truth,” we’re all over here trying to figure out if that’s Batman’s cowl or rogue cat ears that wandered into frame.
10 Horror TV Shows Recommended by Stephen King
If Stephen King says a show will keep you up at night, you may bet it will.
So please, for the love of cinema – filmmakers, just brighten things a little more. It’s not that big of an ask, and you’ll earn a lot of goodwill, and maybe even a few extra bucks at the box office. At the very least,you’ll keep Mr. King off your back, and really, that’s half the battle right there.
The Batman
Batman is forced to investigate the city’s hidden corruption and question his family’s involvement when The Riddler starts killing key political figures. Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz and Paul Dano star.
