Stephen King Loves This Horror Series Despite Its 32% Rotten Tomatoes Score

You don’t always have to agree with Stephen King, but when the horror master recommends a movie or series, you should at least listen to him. Additionally, the author’s horror-related views rarely go unnoticed, often joining overlooked genre gems like “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” and John Griffin’s gripping sci-fi horror series “From.” , which you may not have heard of. In the past, King has also taken to X/Twitter to (rightfully) dive into certain genre entries, including sharing his opinion on the worst horror movie he’s ever seen or beloved blockbusters he abandoned as an adult. However, recently King decided Instagram threads to recommend a panned Apple TV+ series starring Billy Crystal, writing:

“BEFORE (Apple+): This show has a creepy EXORCIST vibe and Billy Crystal is very good. Short, scary episodes.”

“Before” currently stands at 32% about rotten tomatoes (which doesn’t inspire confidence), but the disappointment the series evokes has more to do with wasted potential than a failed effort from the ground up. It’s also worth noting that King seems to like the show’s atmospheric horror, having compared it to William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” which is high praise, to say the least. If you’re a fan of narratives that leave maddeningly convoluted threads unanswered, this might be the show for you, as it does a solid job of building suspense and keeping us on our toes. However, before we commit to watching the show, let’s see what it’s about, shall we?

Spoilers to be followed by “Before”.

Child psychiatrist Eli (Crystal) is about to retire. He is mourning the death of his wife and is slowly losing touch with reality, as he is constantly plagued by dreamlike visions of his own disappearance. However, an encounter with his latest client, Noah (Jacobi Jupe), makes Eli’s life more complex than ever, as the boy also suffers visions and seems to belong to another time. Noah has not always been like this, of course, as he has gone from being mute to suddenly speaking in many languages. He has also begun to show a disturbing penchant for violence, having stabbed one of his classmates with a pencil. As much as he’d prefer to let someone else deal with Noah’s problems, Eli feels there’s an invisible connection between the boy and his past, a feeling that grows more uncomfortable over time.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: This sounds like a solid premise for a show that’s about exploring the demons that haunt us through time, forcing us to use the present as a bridge to confront The Horrors™. However, “Before” commits the sin of leaving navigation routes on too many complicated paths for viewers to follow and then taking too much time to solve them. Perhaps even worse, the things that happen between the program’s various settings and outcomes are neither interesting nor satisfying. It’s a shame, really; Given that each episode is only 25 to 30 minutes long, “Before” should feel much tighter than it does. Instead, the series seems to love repeating the same images over and over again on its way to an inevitable conclusion. At that point, whatever intrigue or mystery he managed to build suddenly falls flat, leaving us (and a cynical and frustrated Eli) with an even bigger mess to sort through.

That said, it’s easy to see how someone could get hooked on “Before” from the beginning. The series begins by creating a tense and suffocating atmosphere that creates the illusion of a gritty detective story simply waiting to be revealed. However, as soon as the CGI tentacled monsters start raising their heads, the show’s disjointed tone becomes impossible to ignore, and the whole thing ends up feeling like a missed opportunity to create something truly psychologically complex.

“Before” is currently streaming on Apple TV+.