Stephen King’s New Horror Show Is Getting Mixed Reviews After Premiere

Stephen King’s new horror series The Institute just started, but people aren’t sure how they feel about it yet. The show is based on King’s 2019 novel and had its first two episodes released on Sunday, July 13, on MGM+. Early reactions from both critics and regular viewers have been pretty mixed.

The story is about a teenager named Luke Ellis. He has powers that let him move things with his mind. One day, he’s kidnapped and taken to a strange place called the Institute. There, he meets other kids who also have special powers. The kids are trapped and experimented on, and they work together to find a way to escape.

Rotten Tomatoes has shared the first ratings for the show. Critics gave The Institute a score of 71%, which means most of them think it’s decent. However, the audience score is lower at 58%. These scores are based on only 14 critic reviews and fewer than 50 audience ratings, so opinions might change later. Still, the early numbers show that viewers are less impressed than critics.

“The Institute” can feel refreshing when its throwback style meshes with its timeless principles. Unfortunately, ordinary ideas aren’t enough in a show lacking anything extraordinary whatsoever.

Ben Travers

The Institute isn’t a perfect series, especially as it stumbles to its conclusion. Yet, it will undoubtedly keep the attention of audiences desperate to uncover the mystery at the center of the story.

Aramide Tinubu

The Institute is the TV equivalent of a good beach read, though you’re better off looking for a copy of King’s original, which was a much more effective page-turner.

Matt Roush

Still, if you regard “The Institute” as a kind of YA novel about resistance and revolt, and a metaphor for the way young people have been sacrificed by the old to feed their agendas and wars, it has some legs.

Robert Lloyd

It’s simple and polished and occasionally involving, but, like the book itself, it comes across more as a pu-pu platter of King tropes and archetypes rather than a fully developed or evolved spin on the formula.

Daniel Fienberg

Some critics say the show has the creepy feel that Stephen King fans expect. Others think it moves too slowly and doesn’t keep people interested. Regular viewers seem even less sure. Many of them say the show just isn’t exciting enough after the first two episodes. One viewer on Rotten Tomatoes summed it up by saying, “It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.”

The Institute was created by Benjamin Cavell and directed by Jack Bender, who also help produce the show. The series stars Ben Barnes as Tim Jamieson, Joe Freeman as Luke Ellis, and Mary-Louise Parker as Ms. Sigsby. There are eight episodes in total.

It’s possible that fans might change their minds as more episodes are released, but for now, The Institute is off to a bumpy start.

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