Apple really do pull out the good stuff. Backed here by Sony again, they throw good money at their projects to make them consistently a cut above what everyone else is doing out there - even, and especially often, Hollywood-created fodder. The cast is quite brilliant throughout - the idea, script, direction and cinematography are engaging (there's really very little here not to like) and with nods all over the place to other great cinema and TV creations (see below), it's a real fun-fest!
The tale is set on a sleepy, isolated New England island called Widow's Bay, where there is no Wi-Fi and cell reception is practically nonexistent. Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is the island’s somewhat cowardly, mainland-born mayor. He is determined to save the local economy by turning the island into a bustling tourist hotspot at any cost, and is deeply skeptical of the locals’ superstitions. He's very central to most of the story and has the lion's share of screen time. Patricia Moyer (Kate O'Flynn) is Tom’s eccentric, socially outcast assistant who claims she was once hunted by a legendary serial killer called the Boogeyman in school. Wyck Crawford (Stephen Root) is an outspoken local conspiracy theorist and experienced sea dog who constantly clashes with Tom over the island's cursed history. Evan Loftis (Kingston Rumi Southwick) is Tom’s rebellious teenage son, who is bored out of his mind on the island and looks to push boundaries whenever he can. Bechir Clemmons (Kevin Carroll) is the local sheriff, whose wife is heavily pregnant and Ruth (K Callan) is a sweet, 84-year-old secretary working in Tom's own office.
Tom successfully manages to pull in tourists after getting a glowing review in The New York Times. Unfortunately, as soon as the tourists arrive, the island's legendary, centuries-old curses start waking up! Over the course of the series, the town has to deal with a church bell that rings on its own in the middle of the night, a killer clown haunting a local crawl space, a Sea Hag looking to scratch people to mark them as prey, a mysterious, mind-controlling fog, a supernatural storm that threatens to wipe the island off the map and much more!
The story does indeed turn supernatural, so don't expect real-world, logical explainers at the end of it! It goes back to the witch-burning days of New England's 1600s and the founder of the town, which fell on hard times, resulting in him making a pact with dark forces in order to keep people fed and alive - and to protect the island. Turns out that the only way to kill all this off is to eliminate everyone in his bloodline - which is tricky to establish in this incestuous colony where very few settle or leave! The very funny local clerk, Rosemary (Dale Dickey), tries to trace the family tree and work out who the last living descendant is. Mixed up in all this are occasional meanderings into classic Moral Maze posers such as the Trolley Problem (Google it) and more.
When there's a big storm bearing down on the island, the emergency plan is that all the people of the town huddle together in a local hotel which, of course, has its own history. Over time, characters staying there and behaving badly in cahoots with the dark forces have turned the place into a bit of a house of horrors and spook centre! While the storm is raging, a bored Evan and his friends sneak out of the main building and stumble into a vast, underground labyrinth of creepy rooms and tunnels. They find a room containing a defunct electric chair and a set of sealed doors on the ground.
Meanwhile, town hall employee Dale (Jeff Hiller) finds old film reels in the archives which show all sorts of gruesome stuff in 1950s-style newsreel footage, explaining more. Kenny the security bloke accidentally gets locked in the tunnels with the kids and disappears, and some monster is loose, the church bells suddenly ring out again - tolling nine times - leading to even more dilemmas, reveals and new learning by our core crew! All of this comes to a head alongside family crises and drama. With one big storm on the way, the core team of main characters work out what's what, uncovering the past and not trusting each other - some thinking others are bonkers - until it turns into a bloody, even darker and somewhat gory finale.
It really is super television and the 40-minute-or-so episodes fly along, perfectly set up for a two-evening binge. Standout performances come from Matthew Rhys, who does a great job as the frustrated mayor trying desperately to hold it together for the good of the town; Kate O'Flynn (My Lady Jane), who is quite brilliant as Patricia and steals every scene she's in from everyone else; Dale Dickey (Breaking Bad), who turns her hand nicely to the off-piste Rosemary; and Stephen Root, who is excellent as Wyck. The ensemble cast really has been picked well, and pretty much all the actors involved bring so much to their roles.
There are nods all over the shop to other films and TV shows to watch out for, including Jaws, The Shining, The Witch, Sleepy Hollow, Fargo, Carrie, 1408, IT and Pennywise, Psycho, A Clockwork Orange, South Park, The Fog and loads more - see what you can find! This includes Easter eggs like the drawing of a shark behind Tom on a blackboard (Jaws, Quint) and even some John Williams-style music here and there! You'll have great fun pulling out the threads.
It's beautifully produced, as we have come to expect with Apple stuff, and even though it sometimes slows down, it always comes back at a pace to grab your attention again. Some of the episodes are standalone tales depicting the past - engaging, and apparently removed - but it's all pulled together in order to make sense of the story by the end. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes Apple's new hit, taking over from Severance going forward, with a Season 2 apparently already planned. There's certainly enough left by the end to make a lot out of another series. Highly recommended. Enjoy!
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