Many of Stephen King’s adaptations are disturbing thanks to their subject matter, but his newest adaptation,The Institute, actually changes a key novel detail to lessen the horror.The Instituteis the most recent in a long line ofsuccessful Stephen King adaptations, once again proving the hold the author has over his audiences.
King’s ability to connect with readers, creating characters that viewers can’t help but root for, is unmatched, andThe Institute’s cast of charactersexemplifies that. As a result,The Institutehas earned positive reviewsthat reflect well on its young lead, but the show could have been much different without one big change.
The Institute Aging Up The Kids Changes How Disturbing The Villains' Crimes Were In The Book
King’s Book Focused On Younger Children
The Institute’s premise is already quite a disturbing one, but surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly for those familiar with much of King’s work), the book is even darker. In the new series,Luke Ellis is a teen boy with telekinetic powerswho is kidnapped and taken to the titular facility, where horrifying experiments and torture are carried out.
Given that Luke Ellis is just 12 years old in the book, the horrifying things that he has to go through are even more difficult to comprehend.
His age and those of the other young people he meets at the Institute still make the experiments horrifying, but in King’s novel,the children are actually much younger.Given that Luke Ellis is just 12 years old in the book, the terrific things that he has to go through are even more difficult to comprehend.
WhatThe Institute’s teenage characters have to go through is still incredibly difficult to swallow, butaging them updoes make the series slightly easier to watch. Though many of King’s works center on children who go through difficult and often terrifying events, torture at the hands of adults may have been too much for a broader TV audience.
Why The Institute TV Show Changed The Kids' Ages
ScreenRantspoke with writer Benjamin Cavell and director Jack Benderabout adapting the book into a series, and the pair provided some helpful insight into exactly why they chose to make certain changes, especially regarding the characters' ages. First and foremost,aging up the characters was done to ensure the series didn’t “feel sadistic.”
Cavell and Bender each have a history of working on King adaptations, so both knew how difficult adapting his material can be. ForThe Institutespecifically,the duo felt that audiences “don’t want to see kids treated in this way or brutalized in this way,“making the age change the best way to keep the heart of King’s story intact.
Additionally, Cavell and Bender also mentioned that casting teenage Joe Freeman, who plays Luke, helped seal the deal on the age change. Though the age up does potentially lessen the horror from King’s novel a bit,The Institutehas done well so far to keep the most crucial aspects of the book intact while making the series slightly more approachable.
The Institute
Cast
A kidnapped prodigy with special abilities, Luke, ends up at The Institute, while Tim, a former cop, seeks a new life in a nearby town. Their fates are inevitably linked.
