Stephen King loves this horror series even though it has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

You don’t always have to agree with Stephen King, but when the master of horror recommends a movie or series, you should at least listen. Furthermore, the author’s views on horror are rarely overlooked, and he often rallies in their favor Overlooked genre gems like “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” and John Griffin’s thrilling sci-fi horror series “Who”, Which you probably haven’t heard about. In the past, King has also taken to X/Twitter (rightfully so) to dive into some genre entries, including sharing his opinion on The worst horror movie he’s ever seen Or the beloved blockbusters he came out of as an adult. Recently, though, King has taken to… Instagram topics To recommend the Apple TV+ series Breaking Bad starring Billy Crystal, he wrote:

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

“Before” is currently 32%. On rotten tomatoes (Which doesn’t inspire confidence), but the series’ disappointment has more to do with wasted potential than a failed attempt from the ground up. It’s also worth noting that King seems to like the show’s spooky atmosphere, after comparing it to William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” which is commendable to say the least. If you’re a fan of novels that leave insanely complex themes 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 you commit to watching the show, let’s see what it’s all about, shall we?

Spoilers To be followed by ‘before’.

Child psychiatrist Eli (Crystal) is about to retire. He is saddened by the death of his wife and gradually loses touch with reality, constantly experiencing dream-like visions of his death. However, an encounter with his latest client, Noah (Jacoby Jobe), makes Eli’s life more complicated than ever, as the child also suffers from visions and seems to belong to another time. Noah wasn’t always like this, of course, as he went from being mute to suddenly speaking in many tongues. He also began to show a disturbing tendency toward violence, after stabbing one of his peers with a pencil. As much as he would rather let someone else deal with Noah’s problems, Eli senses an invisible connection between the child and his past—a feeling that becomes more disturbing as time goes on.

Now I know what you’re thinking: This sounds like a solid premise for a show that’s all about exploring the demons that haunt us across time, forcing us to use the present as a bridge to confront The Horrors™. However, Before commits the sin of leaving breadcrumbs on too many convoluted paths for viewers to follow and then takes too long to resolve. Perhaps what’s worse is that the things that happen between the show’s various settings and rewards are neither interesting nor satisfying. It’s really unfortunate. With each episode lasting only 25 to 30 minutes, “Before” must seem tighter than it does now. Instead, the series seems to like to repeat the same images over and over on its way to a foregone conclusion. At this point, whatever intrigues or mysteries she’s managed to build suddenly fail, leaving us (and a cynical and frustrated Eli) with an even bigger mess to sift through.

Having said that, it’s easy to see how someone could become addicted to “before” at first. The series begins by building a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere that creates the illusion of a gritty detective story just waiting to be solved. Once the CGI tentacled monsters start rearing their heads, the show’s disjointed tone becomes impossible to overlook, and the whole thing ends up feeling like a missed opportunity to create something truly psychologically complex.

“Before” is currently streaming on Apple TV+.