In light of recent events in my life, I was in dire need of a reset button. So on the first occasion I had (which, honestly, took quite a bit, because apparently even when everything falls apart in my life, I still am crazy busy), I took a day off. For my mental health. And what did I do? Binge-watch a horror show. You know, to feel better.
I actually hate horror. I’m a huge fraidy-cat and I loathe jump scares. But FROM is different. FROM is actually a mystery show with an exceptionally bleak setting that feels more oppressive than scary.
The pitch is as simple as it is ingenious: Mom, dad, teenage daughter and elementary aged son are on a road trip to reconnect as a family after a tragic loss. They come across a fallen tree in the road and have to take a detour. This detour takes them to a run-down village in which a scraggy looking guy with a sheriff’s badge keeps ringing a bell. They step on the gas, not wanting to linger in this creepy place, and exit the town… only to arrive back with that same dude half an hour later. From now on, they’re stuck in the village, and that’s only half of the problem. You see, said village is haunted by flesh-eating monsters at night…
Lemme state the obvious: This show is not a fun time. But it is hella intriguing. What are these monsters? Where do they come from? Why are they dressed like archetypes from the fifties? And who are the people stuck in this town?
If you are drawing parallels to another four-letter show that completely moulded me as a writer twenty years ago, yes, you are right. FROM and LOST have quite a few similarities, not just in the people behind them (most notably actor Harold Perrineau and director Jack Bender) – but they share the same sensibilities. This is a show about random strangers who are drawn together by fate and who have to work together to survive. It’s also a wonderful melodrama that combines dialogue about crazy forest monsters and talismans with heartfelt human emotions about reconnecting as a family. And unlike LOST, even after four (of what is ultimately going to be five) seasons, this show has been able to thread this needle perfectly. Sure, things get increasingly silly as the plot chugs along, as these kind of mystery box stories do, but damned if a sudden character death in the season four finale did not make me cry.
If you loved LOST, give this a try. Even if you hate horror and are a fraidy-cat like me. It has like one jump-scare, and it’s in the first three minutes. After that, you’re golden.
(Also if anyone wants to talk theories about this please drop me a line because some of the things they do are truly batshit crazy)
PS yes I do feel a lot better mentally after binging this show and no nothing is wrong with me why do you ask