Forget The Dark Tower – Mr. Mercedes is the Stephen King adaptation you need to see With The Dark Tower panned by critics and the new IT movie still some way over the horizon, it falls […]

With The Dark Tower panned by critics and the new IT movie still some way over the horizon, it falls to Audience Network’s TV adaptation of another Stephen King novel, Mr. Mercedes, to maintain the good name of the prolific author on our screens.

Brendan Gleeson stars in the chilling cat-and-mouse detective drama, which has Boston Legal writer David E. Kelley at the helm.

The first episode of Mr. Mercedes is now available in the UK. And it’s gripping.

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The face of evil

Gleeson stars as depressed retired detective Bill Hodges, who is pitted against psychopathic tech-whizz (and ice cream man) Brady Hartsfield.

It becomes a race against time to stop Hartsfield, played in brilliantly unnerving fashion by Harry Treadaway, before he kills again.

The opening scene makes for deeply uncomfortable viewing, especially considering recent events across Europe and the US.

As hopefuls gather at a jobs fair on an early 2009 morning, a stolen Mercedes plows into the crowd, killing 16.

The attack is grim, and – without sensationalising the violence – it leaves nothing to the imagination.

Fast forward two years and the crime remains unresolved. But former case handler Hodges cannot forget the injustice of it, especially when a series of strange emails arrive in his inbox purporting to be from the killer himself.

The opening episode does well to handle both cat and mouse. Rather than take audiences on a twisting, turning journey to uncover the real murderer, we encounter the face of evil straight away.

Things bode well

The socially awkward villain Hartsfield is an electronics expert and part time ice cream vendor, struggling to make ends meet and keep his dreams of college alive.

It would have been easy to characterise Brady as the stereotypical serial killer, irredeemable and two-dimensional. However, Mr. Mercedes goes a long way to round out and humanise Brady.

We see him deal with his overbearing retail boss, and laughing with colleagues. He is able to slot seamlessly into modern society, which makes him all the more unsettling as the show’s nemesis.

Gleeson, meanwhile, is at his foul-mouthed ‘In Bruges’ best, while Treadaway continues to gain traction after a strong turn as Victor Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful.

King adaptations remain hit and miss. For every Shining, there is a Trucks. Time will tell for Mr. Mercedes. But with a strong cast and the prolifically experienced Kelley leading the way, things bode well.

If the first episode is anything to go by, it promises an eerily timely addition to the groaning King-on-screen portfolio.

Forget The Dark Tower – and check this out.