Unrelenting terrors and sporadic greatness await visitors to From, a new Epix horror series
Harold Perrineau gives another transfixing turn at the center of this scary but uneven show
TV Reviews From
There is a balance to strike with a horror series: You need to be able to subject your characters to unspeakable terrors, and to trap them within torturous multi-episode nightmares, but offer enough of a glimmer of hope to keep them fighting. The world around them cannot descend into such unmitigated hell that no one would choose to stay alive in it. The new Epix series From gets very close to the latter, where trying to stay alive at times seems like a fool’s errand, but it mostly walks that tightrope without tipping over into an unrelenting misery.
This effective blend of sci-fi and horror comes from John Griffin and Jack Bender, and is produced by Anthony and Joe Russo. From is handsomely set in a town with all the classic signifiers of decaying Americana: a diner with a flickering neon sign, broken down pick-up trucks, and peeling paint on wooden houses. But from the opening scenes, it is clear that something beyond an economic downturn is amiss.
As the afternoon draws to a close, Sheriff Stevens (Harold Perrineau) walks through the town ringing a bell, letting all the residents know it is time to go inside. Everyone is inside with the curtains drawn by nightfall, and From wastes no time in letting us know why. The dark streets are quickly filled by sinister figures, knocking on doors on windows, asking to be let in. An unfortunate little girl is persuaded to open the window just a crack and a flurry of fangs and claws leaves two unlucky residents torn to pieces, leaving behind a grisly display of exposed ribcages protruding from piles of blood and and sinew.
The Sheriff takes this event personally and blames the family patriarch, shoving his face into what remains of his family, screaming that “a man protects his family!” Perrineau elevates each moment of this broadly written anguish, alluding to some unresolved issues he’s keeping a tenuous lid on.
And while being terrorized by nocturnal beasts would be bad enough, it turns out things are even worse. When a new family arrives—Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey), their moody teen daughter Julie (Hannah Cheramy) and cute but creepy Danny Torrance-esque son Ethan (Simon Webster)—we discover the extent of the hell they are trapped in. The family is taking one last vacation together in their RV before Jim and Tabitha separate. Unfortunately for them, in this town you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave; it exists in some sort of dimensional fold, where all roads lead straight back to the centre, trapping all the residents with the many fanged creatures. But, as young deputy Kenny (Ricky He) tells us, “Every new person who comes here just assumes it’s the monsters they have to be afraid of but that’s not the hardest part. It’s what this place does to you, what it makes you think and feel.”
While at first the show has a sort of B-movie familiarity, it becomes more intriguing, and specific, as the story goes on. The townspeople have split in two: the group in the town who pledge to “live by the rules, for the good of the community until we find our way back home,” while a hippy-ish alternative lies on the outskirts at Colony House, where they are dedicated to “live for today because tomorrow is not guaranteed.” Both sides make sense of their nightmare in different ways, and within those communities, people also cleave into those who adapt by trying devoting themselves to their families and community, and those who fall into hedonistic spirals of booze and sex. It has hints of COVID satire about it, which is an intriguing layer atop of the sci-fi mysteries and schlocky horror fun.
Just as intriguing is any moment when Perrineau is onscreen, selling his tortured anti-hero on the brink with every ounce that he has. The show also has some striking moments of dark comedy, with some editing flourishes that add fun burst of energy. And the relationship between Sheriff Stevens and Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder) contains more than meets the eye. The two are equally compelling in their intense wrestling over what punishments should befall rule-breakers—the biggest question being if should they lock them in a box in the middle of town and let the monster have at them—and in their light comic sparring, where Perrineau deadpans, “You’re a terrible fucking priest, you know that?”
The world of the Colony House is also stocked with strong performances. Several of the characters have decided to live apart from their parents in a sort of free-love commune run by the formidable Donna (Elizabeth Saunders), whose monologue about watching her sister’s face ripped off on her first night in the town is a harrowing show highlight. But there’s also humor in the toxic positivity and jarring lack of boundaries that such idealistic communal living situations bring.
Less engaging are the journeys of many of the supporting characters, some of which, by the end of episode four, remain too bland to invest in. The new family aren’t given much more purpose than to serve as our tabula rasas, allowing the others to spell out the details of their collective predicament. But worst of all is Jade (David Alpay), another new resident who refuses to believe that any of this is happening, insisting it’s all a prank, or an escape room, with increasingly implausible denial. His scenes are painfully tedious and feel plucked from a lame horror parody.
While there is far more about From that works than doesn’t, it’s not clear by the midway point if it is building to much more than an impressively gory massacre or two. Mysteries are added, some townspeople turn sinister; others start seeing visions of creepy children or have violent visions of the future. Few characters seem to be trying to save themselves, or triumph over the forces of darkness in a way could ramp up the action. The town, and the show, are relying heavily on the skills of Sheriff Stevens (and of Harold Perrineau), and that’s almost too much of a burden for anyone to bear.
23 Comments
What the hell is Epix?
WTF is Epix LOL
a series about a bunch of people trapped in an awful purgatory where they might get eaten by creatures at night…pass. We might finally be coming out of a 2-3 year pandemic; where are my mindless stupid comedies? I need a relief from the anxiety; I don’t want my face held down in nihilism and horror.
Midnight Mass borders on some of this territory (an isolated religious island town somewhere spooky) but it went in some directions I really didn’t quite expect and appreciated, despite it being a pandemic production about community.
and that’s why MM is one of those shows I keep meaning to watch but forgetting LOL…I don’t mind horror but it’s the idea that these particular people are trapped hopelessly that’s a little hard to stomach. Nihilism is everywhere these days it seems; an uncomfortably large portion of our country is extremely OK with being part of a death cult and burning the country down if they don’t get their way; I need a reprieve from that reality.
Midnight Mass is a black comedy to its core and didn’t really have that nihilistic vibe to me. You should watch it!
Don’t forget about those early studies suggesting that people who watched horror were coping with pandemic anxiety/uncertainty than people who did not.It’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon!
I have heard that as well, and I suppose it kinda makes sense in that our brains are so different and diverse that people will deal with stress and anxiety in different ways, but it’s not for me. I just remember in the beginning of the pandemic what a sense of almost relief I felt watching Tiger King, and how I have been hoping for something comparable, but instead it seems like all there are are documentaries about war criminals, serial killers, “Don’t Look Up”, etc. Even the Borat revival was offset by the fact that he felt compelled to revive Borat to do whatever he could to ensure t***p lost.
Sounds a bit like Wayward Pines.
I had to double-take here because for a second I thought this guy was somehow holding the kid up by his jacket or something.
So the plot actually reminds me a bit of Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s Hex, which also takes place in a town where people can’t really leave once they’ve settled there, and has a dark secret that the town leaders are aware of and try to mitigate as best they can, including punishing those who flaunt the rules. Now that I’ve written it out that sounds like the plot to a lot of books/films I am sure, but mostly I just wanted to bring up Hex again.
What the heck is Epix? A TV channel? A streaming service? A little kiosk at the mall that sells DVDs?
It’s a computer/console games developer that was big in the 1980s but went bankrupt in 1989. Oh, wait, that was Epyx, not Epix. Epix apparently is a cable TV channel that also has a streaming service. But, unlike Epyx I actually had to look it up because I hadn’t heard of it either.
Apparently it’s also a town with no sirens if the guy has to walk down the street ringing a bell every day.
So if they are cut off from the rest of the world where do they get their supplies? And their electricity? Does the small town have its own power plant? And if so, where does it get its fuel?
Sounds like a variation of Wayward Pines.
From? Why are most titles these days boiled down past the point where they still have any personality left? Look for my new series, The, coming soon.
It’s like half these titles are being written by really bad One Word At A Time players
well played and thanks for the giggle, axe-person.
Pretty sure we have proof now that jewrywood is cloning “people”.
Could this be any more LOST?
I’ve just watched the the three episodes currently available and I really like it! Although on the surface it feels a bit generic, I personally like the pulpy charm of it all. Between this and Chapelwaite, Epix seems to have a particular type of horror show in mind and I’m all-in if it wants to keep going down this dark path with more shows.Regards FROM, I don’t know whether the ‘town’ is a set or a real location, but the design of it is fantastic – it’s a really good example of environmental storytelling (eg. the upside down car in an empty swimming pool). I kind of hope the show doesn’t resolve itself neatly, which given how brutal it is so far I don’t think will happen.
I enjoyed the first three episodes too despite its several flaws, it definitely has a strong Lost vibe and I enjoy those kind of mysteries as well as horror.But dear lord episode 4 might have been one of the dullest hours of television I’ve ever sat through, and it became a lot harder to ignore how unlikable and unconvincing the main family is. Also that goddamn intro is way too long, it feels like it’s gonna end then goes on for another 45 seconds