This Stephen King Novel Needs to be Mike Flanagan’s Next Adaptation

Summary

Mike Flanagan’s atmospheric and gothic storytelling style shines in his horror projects.
Duma Key tells a haunting story of struggle and ancient evil that Flanagan could faithfully adapt.
Flanagan’s emotional depth and understanding of trauma could make Duma Key a compelling series.

It is rare these days for horror fans to not know the name Mike Flanagan. Whether it is for acclaimed films like Hush or hit series like The Haunting of Hill House, the horror director and writer has a penchant for crafting atmospheric, almost gothic storytelling in a modern world. He breathes raw emotion and compelling storytelling into his work to balance out the true scares each project brings to life. Some of his greatest successes in recent years have been highly anticipated adaptations of Stephen King’s many works, from Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, to the more recent The Life of Chuck and the upcoming adaptations of Carrie and The Dark Tower series.

With such a prolific span of adaptations under his belt, there is no shortage of novels Flanagan could b masterfully bring to life on either the big or small screen. One forgotten gem in Stephen King’s bibliography is just waiting for Mike Flanagan to bring it to life, and that is the 2008 novel Duma Key.

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Duma Key is a haunting story of a man who suffers a great injury and must pick up the pieces of his life, finding new meaning and facing his internal suffering in the process. Yet, like most of Stephen King’s works, there is so much more to the story. An ancient evil and hidden secrets lurk in a small beach town, mirroring the chaotic mindset and internal struggle that so many people with head injuries or lost limbs face in the wake of such an ordeal. Mike Flanagan’s history of bringing very real struggles and internal hardships to life would make him the ideal candidate to make Duma Key his next adaptation.

What Is Duma Key About?

Duma Key follows Edgar Freemantle, a wealthy building contractor hailing from Minnesota. Edgar survives a horrible worksite accident, which claims his right arm and causes serious brain injuries that impair his speech, vision, and memory. The accident leaves him untethered, and prone to violent outbursts which lead his wife to file for divorce. On the advice of his psychologist, Edgar moves to an island known as Duma Key off the coast of Florida in order to rekindle his passion for art, in an effort to help restore his mind.

After moving there and becoming friends with some of the locals, Edgar began to lose himself to his art, going into a semi-conscious haze while working on new paintings. His paintings soon capture psychic visions of his ex-wife’s affair and his younger daughter’s brief engagement. Edgar learns he is able to use his paintings to manipulate the outside world. He first heals one of his new friends who also suffered from a head wound, and then ends the life of a child murderer in jail. When his daughter comes to visit him, however, he discovers that she has become violently ill near his new home. One of his friends hints that daughters have trouble on the island, and that he must sell his paintings to buyers far from the island to prevent too much power from concentrating on the island itself.

When he gains statewide acclaim for his art, Edgar hosts an art show that draws in half a million dollars. However, he soon discovers that his art hides a mysterious figure, one upon a ship that he now sees has rotting sails and screaming faces in the foam of the waves. He learns that an ancient entity calling itself Perse was trapped on the island decades earlier, and a crack in its container has let the paranormal activity it once conjured back out into the world. Edgar and his friends fight to stop Perse, nullifying it by throwing it into a large body of fresh water, but readers are left to wonder if Perse can ever truly be contained.

Duma Key Is The Perfect Mike Flanagan Adaptation

The imagery and atmosphere found in Duma Key is exactly the kind of setting and story that Mike Flanagan has become known for. It’s full of themes Flanagan has explored before, from psychological struggles in the wake of bodily trauma, to the use of art to process said trauma and the lasting impact it can have on a person. Then there is the horror that is the story’s main antagonist, Perse. Thought to be a manifestation or inspired by the Greek Goddess Persephone, Perse’s visuals evoke that Gothic imagery that was featured so well in The Haunting of Hill House and so many of Flanagan’s other projects.

Yet it is the emotional depth of Mike Flanagan’s writing and directing that would make Duma Key such a faithful yet original adaptation if he were to take it on. The connection between Edgar and his allies, from his young daughter to the Heiress Elizabeth Eastlake and former lawyer Jerome, is the foundation for which this story of horror and trauma comes to life. Similarly, the connections between characters like Nellie and her family in Hill House were essential to Mike Flanagan’s story. His particular artistic view and understanding of Stephen King’s universe of stories would allow him to create a limited Duma Key series that hits like a gut punch and leaves viewers eager for more.