The creativity on display is phenomenal, with writing that's layered with meanings and allusions, acting that brings the kind of emotional grounding you don't always find in genre stories, and visual realizations that are stunning.
Fear not, or tremble, because we now have the thrillingly brilliant Lovecraft Country...consider [that] a forewarning and a promise of shocking and twisted entertainment with a warm wet beating heart.
HBO's latest genre series, showcasing that often times it's not the literal monsters to be most afraid of. It expresses that premise well, but it might be trying to do too much at once.
The show inadvertently simplifies the realities of white supremacy with its monster allegory, while treating the Black cast less as characters in their own right and more as vehicles for a sweeping critique of American racism.
Lovecraft Country is so full of layers, homages, and Easter eggs, along with handling issues that apply to the current climate so well. It's a welcome addition to the TV landscape.
What helps to keep all the chaos controlled-aside from standout performances from Majors and Smollett-Bell-is a vibrant soundtrack that is nothing less than scintillating.
A show that uses genre storytelling to peel back layers of American history to reveal the systemic problems underneath it, but it's also got a marvelously entertaining side, one that's gory and sexy in unexpected ways.
"Lovecraft Country" certainly isn't without its flaws. But it's now timelier than its creators mayhave imagined. And it'll make you think, which may be the best thing about it.
Including elements of the genres that are often unkind to their Black characters, 'Lovecraft Country' does a stellar job at ridding us of the awful tropes and exploring racism, history, and monsters real and sci-fi alike.
