This is an episodic horror show on Amazon. I have completed the first two episodes.

This is a fantastic piece of story telling and small screen production. Layered and rich. I have no idea where this is going. Everyone is at least a little crazy and most are very crazy.

A black family moves from North Carolina to California during The Great Migration. While they are moving for a better life, this isn't a situation where they are moving for high paying, union labor. The father is an aerospace engineer. They are moving to Compton in the years it was an entirely white, post war suburb with all that entails. Red lining and unenforceable covenants are the canvas upon which this story is drawn. While it may turn out to be allegorical, there appears to be so much more going on here. There are no wasted characters. Everyone has a story and they are all twisted.

So far, two thumbs up and definitely recommended for your viewing. I don't see a reason it will fail as the story progresses.

On a more macro, genre level, I do have to say I am troubled by the the stream of whitesploitationTM films that have been produced since at least Get Out. I'm ok with whitey as the monster. There have been plenty of atrocities performed on black americans by white americans that set up very well for clever allegorical horror movies.

However, I think the dangerous, subconscious theme in these films and shows is that integration into the larger population results in nothing but horror for african americans. That will result in nothing but insular thinking and isolation if the message is accepted. I've always thought that what critics (and Peele himself) missed about Get Out is that it is a meditation on HIS fear as a biracial person, married to a white woman that by living in a plural environment he would somehow lose his heritage. Even more frightening is being considered by others to have turned his back on the african half of his heritage.

TM- this is my word creation for these films.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

it's already been coined in a way, GD.

https://www.vulture.com/article/review-them-amazon-series.html

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I only read until the spoilers section. I think this woman is way off base. I loved the use of colors and the split screen is a direct nod to the 70s feel Little John hoped to produce. Also, while I may not have seen the for-the-darkweb-only level of horror, I've seen enough classics to know what is scary and what is not. This definitely had scare and created so much tension that I was open to even little things. Don't take my word for it, Stephen King also gave it is his approval.

She was looking at it through a particular lens that wouldn't allow her to enjoy the experience, even if she did. Her opening quote is evidence.

I'll give her the benefit of the doubt until I watch all 10 episodes.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The Wife's cousin (Pat Healy) plays the role of Marty Dixon.

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@audioidkid

really enjoyed Healy in "The Innkeepers".

I've watched a couple of episodes. I think it just confirms what I already knew, even though it is just a television show. Women were the cause of MANY problems in the history and the world. While they may not have pulled the trigger, they've played on the ego and desire of men to get exactly what they wanted.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

After watching the entire series, I'll give the columnist a little opening. The violence in NC was hard to watch, even as a hardened slasher film guy. However, it was not unique as I think that part followed the nihilism of a Rob Zombie or The Strangers. The trauma to the family in present time was outrageous. Also, the writer spent a couple of early episodes hinting at the effects of army testing on soldiers and then it just disappeared. He also didn't fully incorporate red lining and usurious lending.

I still enjoyed it and would recommend.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Amish got it raw in this, although I'm sure the writer would say they weren't amish...even though they all had the pennsylvania dutch accenst, were from a religion based on elders, dressed like amish, sought separation, etc. Groups like them and Mennonites were never slaveholders and were noted abolitionists and places for hiding on the underground railroad.

but, the devil in the desert has been a narrative for several thousand years.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I have seen some reviews from black analysts who absolutely hate this show. I don't think they understand it not just as a story but in the horror genre. The persistent assault on the hero is consistent with that genre.

Personally, while I enjoy the supernatural in this movie, I don't love the combination of the supernatural with the real life problems it addresses. I can't just throw up my hands and accept "the devil made me do it".

But there is no doubt this is meant as horror so I accept suspension of disbelief. It seems like some reviewers watched this because they thought it was historical fiction about race and then were shocked it to find themselves in the wrong theater.

The negative reviewers also can't seem to take off the blinders to see every major character has mental issues caused by trauma. Betty was a victim of incest so severe it prevented her from having children. She is also a victim of patriarchy as she is handed from father to husband with no real power despite her being the financially superior part of the marriage. Betty's husband is trapped as a closeted homosexual. The real estate agent is a pawn of the police officer.

People are trying to fit this into their paradigm rather than taking the movie as it comes.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

well, I guess I'm the only one courageous enough to watch

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yeah women are the cause of all the problems in the world throughout history. Started with that apple and kept going.

Is this the Demi Lovato documentary?

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-- source