Television Them - A New Amazon "Horror Anthology" Series Set In 1950s Suburbia

[SimpleG]

 

[skillzdadirecta]

Prequel series to US?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

4 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Prequel series to US?

 

Not officially, but probably an inevitable comparison just because of the use of a pronoun.

 

'THEM' Review: A Solid Foundation to Showcase the Creeping Rot of Suburbia

WWW.INDIEWIRE.COM

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SXSW: The first two episodes of Little Marvin's terror anthology on Amazon Prime Video are a promising start to a corrosive tale of racism.

 

 

[SimpleG]

New Trailer

 

[skillzdadirecta]

This out now... Gonna check it out later tonight.

[Bloodporne]

Curious about this as well mainly because I like the cinematography and sets in the trailer. I also want to see just how over the top the Evil White People Horde gets. 

[EternallDarkness]

30 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

Curious about this as well mainly because I like the cinematography and sets in the trailer. I also want to see just how over the top the Evil White People Horde gets. 

 

 

well 3 episodes in and I have to say it's well acted, looks great...and over the top is right, if the person has white skin their is a 99.6% chance they crazy racist and pure evil. Definitely could have toned it down a bit. Seriously, I think there have been exactly 2 white characters (extras with like 1 or 2 lines) that haven't been insane evil racists. Still, it's somewhat entertaining.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Some reviews:

 

Amazon’s Them is yet another exhausting racism horror story

WWW.POLYGON.COM

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Season 1 of the anthology series is a grueling torture marathon

 

Quote

Them is billed as an anthology series where each season will explore terror in America in a different way. The first season exceeds that goal. By taking an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the racial torture it inflicts on its characters, without giving them room to breathe or the full characterization afforded its white cast, Them is less of allegory about the plight of Black people during the Great Migration and more like 10 straight hours straight of Black trauma porn. The show may interest viewers who have a lack of empathy for Black characters. Everyone else, especially Black viewers, should maybe stay away from Them.

 

 

'Them': The Trauma, The Trauma

WWW.NPR.ORG

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Amazon's new anthology series, executive produced by Lena Waithe, unrelentingly explores "terror in America."

 

Quote

Them is also drowning in terror and trauma, and little else. And that trauma and terror are so horrific, several episodes begin with content warnings of graphic violence. I'm not one who believes every piece of art depicting awful events needs such disclosure, but in this case, the producers made the correct choice; there are scenes involving Black pain and suffering so mortifying, I can imagine many viewers not being able to finish watching it.

Them suffers from the same predicament that has arisen in the wake of Black people becoming hashtags in death — the public knows far more about their last moments on Earth than all the moments that made up their life before. Viewers who make it through all 10 episodes will know plenty about how the Emorys have suffered and been traumatized, but they won't come away with much else.

 

 

'Them': TV Review

WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

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Amazon's anthology series 'Them' kicks off with a season about a Black family that moves into a white neighborhood in 1950s Los Angeles.

Quote

Each of these characters could have anchored their own well-paced miniseries, but instead are jammed into 10 hours sprinkled with clichés about being Black in a white world (the "twice as good" speech, again) and contemporary horror gimmicks (tight frames on terrified faces, jump scares and musical manipulation to signal something is amiss). For all its topicality and effort to shock, the show feels surprisingly stale and sluggish.

 

That's a shame, because certain episodes (and I’ve seen all of them) offer glimmers of what Them could have been with a pared-down narrative and fewer tired stylistic tricks and tics. Early in the series, Gracie and Lucky share a moment in which we learn that Lucky used to be a teacher — a rare glimpse into a life beyond the pain of her past. Gracie, eager to start kindergarten and to impress her mother, jumps off her bed and performs an eerie rendition of "Old Black Joe," a 19th-century minstrel song by Stephen Collins Foster that becomes a recurring motif in the series.

 

 

'Them: Covenant' Is Haunted by Another Show

WWW.ROLLINGSTONE.COM

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Amazon Prime horror anthology bears a coincidental, and unfortunate, resemblance to HBO's 'Lovecraft Country.' Read Alan Sepinwall's review.

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Covenant is much more potent in depicting the all-too-human monsters surrounding the family. Pill couldn’t be more perfectly cast as Betty, whose creepy, unwavering smile looks like it could cut glass. And the unrelenting fire behind the performances of Ayorinde and Thomas burns even hotter whenever they’re dealing with ignorant bullies who find their very existence offensive.

 

But the slow and steady drip-drip of incident does the show no favors. A fairly static horror situation can be elongated over a whole season, but it’s tough to maintain the tension for that amount of time. (The Haunting of Hill House mostly pulled it off, for instance, while The Haunting of Bly Manor felt more sluggish by the end.) The season devotes two separate episodes to backstory, and takes a series of big digressions with Betty that seem to have much less to do with her animosity towards the Emorys than a way to fill time and give Pill something to do once the plot otherwise evolves beyond that character.

 

 

Them review: Black trauma is not entertainment

METRO.CO.UK

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Them is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.

Quote

Them, on the other hand, isn’t saying anything particularly groundbreaking. And even if it was, the sheer volume of violence and terror exceeds any profound point. In that sense, the show excels at sticking to the genre and maintaining suspense. But this terror quickly descends into trauma, with some sickening torture scenes, which is where the series falls short. On top of that, it makes use of the ‘crazy Black woman’ trope, which although has an explanation later down the line, is tiring to watch.

 

 

[EternallDarkness]

14 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Some reviews:

 

Amazon’s Them is yet another exhausting racism horror story

WWW.POLYGON.COM

---

Season 1 of the anthology series is a grueling torture marathon

 

 

 

'Them': The Trauma, The Trauma

WWW.NPR.ORG

---

Amazon's new anthology series, executive produced by Lena Waithe, unrelentingly explores "terror in America."

 

 

 

'Them': TV Review

WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

---

Amazon's anthology series 'Them' kicks off with a season about a Black family that moves into a white neighborhood in 1950s Los Angeles.

 

 

'Them: Covenant' Is Haunted by Another Show

WWW.ROLLINGSTONE.COM

---

Amazon Prime horror anthology bears a coincidental, and unfortunate, resemblance to HBO's 'Lovecraft Country.' Read Alan Sepinwall's review.

 

 

Them review: Black trauma is not entertainment

METRO.CO.UK

---

Them is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.

 

 

 

 

can't argue with those reviews. So far, there is definitely some very disturbing scenes, and I don't mind movies/shows that are brutal/traumatic if it serves a purpose...still waiting to see if that will happen or not. 

[SimpleG]

The customer reviews are fantastic

 

 

Just what we need more of-liberal propaganda from Amazon demonizing whites.

 

Just horrible! I hate racism and all this does is make a divide between the races. I am a white male and its not like this all my black friends get along with white people

 

Another Pile Of Cancel Culture BS

 

Too Political B S For Me....

[EternallDarkness]

finished watching it and have to so ultimately it really just doesn't work. Seemed like too many storylines, too many unanswered questions, and indeed it ultimately felt like black racial torture porn.

 

The positives : some really solid acting, very atmospheric, the choice of the music they used in some of the scenes worked extremely well, and I have to say the actor who played the dude in blackface was awesome, that blackface character would make an insanely awesome character for his own horror series. Seriously he was the creepiest thing in the entire series.

 

The negatives: as mentioned above too many stories, that never really felt like they played out completely. The milk man thing (yes if you haven't watched it I realize you're probably scratching your head and wondering milk man thing? ) seemed utterly pointless, like it was some how part of a different series and somehow got spliced into this one. The supernatural elements that I found intriguing during the first few episodes just never made all that much sense, with each member of the family having their own personal demon. The racial angle just felt way too over the top. Now as I mentioned before, I have no doubt that stuff like this, and even worse stuff happened in the past (and is still happening in many parts of the world) but it felt overdone, like they were pushing things the nth degree not for the story itself but for shock value. Some of it was quite disturbing, as it was no doubt meant to be, but I think with the way things have been in the country lately it's something that will turn more people off.

 

I think Amazon could have done a really good story of black family struggling with the changing times of trying to integrate into 'white America', but the supernatural that were intriguing at the start ultimately felt pointless and kind of detracted from the overall narrative.

 

Not a series I am likely to rewatch, though as I said, that blackface characters was super creepy and I would watch a movie or a series if that was a main psycho, seriously move over Jason, Michael, Candyman and make way for ... well, I don't know who because I don't think they actually gave him a name.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I just read a description of something that happens in the fifth episode that was enough for me to stay the hell away from this series.

 

"Black Twitter" is NOT happy with this series AT ALL.

 

@skillzdadirecta - I really want to hear your thoughts about this.

[skillzdadirecta]

I haven't started it yet but yeah... most people I know who have started it are NOT happy about it based on what I've seen on my feeds. We'll see... I'm gonna check it out.

[skillzdadirecta]

Two episodes in and I'm digging it. Also the social media reception seems to have warmed to the series after folks have actually watched it. I know one friend of mine who said she was checking out after the first episode couldn't stay away and is now damn near finished the series. I'm gonna reserve my thoughts for the when I actually finish the series but it truly IS a horror series in every since of the word. 

[skillzdadirecta]

A lot of Stephen King influence in this. Watching episode 6.

[skillzdadirecta]

Finished this tonight and while it was a rough watch this was a really well done show. Everything from the writing to the acting was top notch. I disagree that there were too many stories and that they don't add up... The Milk Man thing definitely adds to the story for one simple reason 

Spoiler

The White Wives in the neighborhood were worried about "the unknown" being a threat to them and their families represented by the black family that had just moved in when the ACTUAL threat was right under there noses... and was more dangerous than anything the black family represented.

The supernatural angle worked for me too especially if you're a fan of Stephen King as I mentioned above

 

Spoiler

The evil in this is LITERALLY RACISM and White Supremacy under the guise of religious doctrine represented by the cursed Preacher and how he was willingly decieved by what he thought was god but turned out to be the exact opposite

 

This was a horror series that showed some horrible, disturbing shit so it succeeds in that regard. This isn't some jump scary, cartoony "Scary movie" shit. The imagery in this horrific becuse it's not that far removed from actual reality.

 

@Commissar SFLUFAN as far as black Twitter's reaction, I've definitely seen a more even response as people have actually watched the show. It has its detractors but it also has its defenders, and while I don't hold it against anyone who says that some of the stuff in this show may be too much for them, to dismiss this as "Black Trauma Porn" is lazy and inaccurate. I suggest anyone curious about the show watch the BTS interview with the creator of the show about his inspiration for the series and what he was looking to accomplish with it. Having just finished the series I would say he largely suceeded.

 

[SimpleG]

5 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I've definitely seen a more even response as people have actually watched the show. It has its detractors but it also has its defenders, and while I don't hold it against anyone who says that some of the stuff in this show may be too much for them, to dismiss this as "Black Trauma Porn" is lazy and inaccurate. I suggest anyone curious about the show watch the BTS interview with the creator of the show about his inspiration for the series and what he was looking to accomplish with it. Having just finished the series I would say he largely suceeded.

 

 

 

The creators had 2 options here when it came to the subject to matter, use a scalpel and let the audience minds create its own horror or use a sledgehammer to beat the audience with horror. They chose the latter and it works very well considering the subject at hand. It never feels unearned and it never feels exploitive. 

[Bloodporne]

5 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Finished this tonight and while it was a rough watch this was a really well done show. Everything from the writing to the acting was top notch. I disagree that there were too many stories and that they don't add up... The Milk Man thing definitely adds to the story for one simple reason 

  Reveal hidden contents

The White Wives in the neighborhood were worried about "the unknown" being a threat to them and their families represented by the black family that had just moved in when the ACTUAL threat was right under there noses... and was more dangerous than anything the black family represented.

The supernatural angle worked for me too especially if you're a fan of Stephen King as I mentioned above

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The evil in this is LITERALLY RACISM and White Supremacy under the guise of religious doctrine represented by the cursed Preacher and how he was willingly decieved by what he thought was god but turned out to be the exact opposite

 

This was a horror series that showed some horrible, disturbing shit so it succeeds in that regard. This isn't some jump scary, cartoony "Scary movie" shit. The imagery in this horrific becuse it's not that far removed from actual reality.

 

@Commissar SFLUFAN as far as black Twitter's reaction, I've definitely seen a more even response as people have actually watched the show. It has its detractors but it also has its defenders, and while I don't hold it against anyone who says that some of the stuff in this show may be too much for them, to dismiss this as "Black Trauma Porn" is lazy and inaccurate. I suggest anyone curious about the show watch the BTS interview with the creator of the show about his inspiration for the series and what he was looking to accomplish with it. Having just finished the series I would say he largely suceeded.

 

I'm planning to watch it soon and actually mainly because I'm interested in discussing it with you guys here after reading those reviews. 

 

I felt like those reviews describe my experience with some of Lovecraft Country after the great, first episode so I'm curious how this'll go.

[skillzdadirecta]

3 hours ago, SimpleG said:

 

 

The creators had 2 options here when it came to the subject to matter, use a scalpel and let the audience minds create its own horror or use a sledgehammer to beat the audience with horror. They chose the latter and it works very well considering the subject at hand. It never feels unearned and it never feels exploitive. 

I agree but they do get right up to the line of going too far but they never cross it. What's interesting to me is that this is a horror story in the truest sense of the genre. The horror doesn't come from over the top gore or jump scares... it comes very psychological and unsettling places even down to the camera work and editing. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am. It makes sense when you hear the show creator's influences in his interview... Rosemary's Baby, Deliverance and The Exorcist are some that he he named. Along with a healthy dose of Stephen King I'd imagine.

 

3 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

I'm planning to watch it soon and actually mainly because I'm interested in discussing it with you guys here after reading those reviews. 

 

I felt like those reviews describe my experience with some of Lovecraft Country after the great, first episode so I'm curious how this'll go.

Interesting that you mention Lovecraft Country... there's similar DNA here, but the tone is completely different between the two shows. Lovecraft Country is definitely more of a sci-fi adventure show with some horror elements than this. This is straight horror through and through and it is unsettling in a way Lovecraft Country never was. They definitely tackle similar themes though.

[SimpleG]

9 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I agree but they do get right up to the line of going too far but they never cross it. What's intersting to me is that this is a horror story in the truest sense of the genre. The horror doesn't come from over the top gore or jump scares... it comes very psycholgical and unsettling even down to the camera work and editing. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am. It makes sense when you hear the show creator's influences in his interview... Rosemary's Baby, Deliverance and The Exorcist are some that he he named. Along with a healthy dose of Stephen King I'd imagine.

I can totally understand that a lot of folks cant or wont deal with it but I do feel like its getting a lot of hate because it makes them uncomfortable. 

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

I can totally understand that a lot of folks cant or wont deal with it but I do feel like its getting a lot of hate because it makes them uncomfortable. 

BINGO we have a winner. I saw a post on social media where someone said that this "Isn't horror"  In their mind, horror is Jason in a hockey mask or Fredy Kruger or some silly unscary shit. All that stuff is fine, but true horror unsettles you and makes you uncomfortable. That's why films like Psycho, Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist were so ground breaking and disturbing for their times. They scared THE SHIT out of people because they made the familiar and safe UNFAMILIAR and UNSAFE. Shit the original Nightmare on Elm Street made going to sleep scary  That's what Iconic horror movies do. Jaws and the first Halloween work in the same way... the fear of the unseen danger in safe spaces, the beach in the case of Jaws and suburbia in the case of Halloween. Them takes American dream of buying a house and moving to a new neighborhood and turns it into a completely horrific experience. What's uncomfortable for a lot of people, black AND white, is that the premise is rooted in true history. Anyone looking to deny that history will dismiss this as being exploitative and poorly done because they don't like what it is saying. It's the oldest trick in the book.

[EternallDarkness]

4 hours ago, SimpleG said:

I can totally understand that a lot of folks cant or wont deal with it but I do feel like its getting a lot of hate because it makes them uncomfortable. 

 

 

all horror is made to make people feel uncomfortable, and indeed it does that, but as I said an earlier post, I think the entire thing ultimately doesn't work, especially the supernatural elements.

[SimpleG]

11 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

 

all horror is made to make people feel uncomfortable, and indeed it does that, but as I said an earlier post, I think the entire thing ultimately doesn't work, especially the supernatural elements.

 Of course, its just a matter of how uncomfortable are people willing to get. I am also not saying its the only reason you can dislike the series , for you it sounds like nothing really worked and thats perfectly acceptable. 

[SimpleG]

4 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Them takes American dream of buying a house and moving to a new neighborhood and turns it into a completely horrific experience. What's uncomfortable for a lot of people, black AND white, is that the premise is rooted in true history. Anyone looking to deny that history will dismiss this as being exploitative and poorly done because they don't like what it is saying. It's the oldest trick in the book.

Yup

And weather it was intentional or not there is an element of "folk horror" in this series

"At the core of all folk horror films is the fear of ignorance. Both the fear of individual ignorance to the ‘inside joke’ of the collective, as well as a fear that the collective are ignorant of their very actions. Appearing to operate through a higher power, or spirit, as opposed to moral reason."

 

"Worse still, a group of people. Stood at a distance, staring. What do they know that you don’t? You’re not in on it. But they most definitely are. "

 

Exploring the terrifying world of folk horror films

FAROUTMAGAZINE.CO.UK

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Everything you need to know.

 

[EternallDarkness]

14 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

 Of course, its just a matter of how uncomfortable are people willing to get. I am also not saying its the only reason you can dislike the series , for you it sounds like nothing really worked and thats perfectly acceptable. 

 

I just felt like there were promises made that didn't get filled, but the show definitely had some excellent acting.