Lovecraft Country is a new horror show based on a book by the same name written by Matt Ruff. The show airs on HBO and HBOMax. Lovecraft himself probably wouldn't approve of the show as he was really racist. A fact that the show doesn't shy away from, which is really impressive. Lovecraft did approve of others taking on his mythology, which others did, and this show does it as well. Brilliantly. I guess the book did it first.
I mean this show is not just about the horrors of the Eldritch. Sometimes humans are the worst kind of monsters, well, most of the time, and this first episode really highlights that.
Jonathan Majors plays Atticus Freeman, a young black man in 1950's who has returned to the southern part of the U.S.A in search of his father. They were estrange as his father did not approve of his son joining the army of a country that does nothing for him. Atticus only has a letter that gives him a hint to where his father went before he went missing. His father's brother George joins him (played by Courtney B. Vance) as his job already includes traveling. Letitia 'Leti' Lewis (played by Jurnee Smollett) who is Atticus' childhood friend who finds herself with no place to go to also joins them. Together they go on a horrific journey across the worst part of the U.S.A.
This is a very long first episode and it makes quite the impression. The production design is amazing. Everyone in this show looks so period accurate and the set design and outfits all look perfect. The acting in the first episode is also super strong. Jonathan Majors makes a really big impression here. No wonder he got cast in the MCU, he totally deserves it. I wish Jurnee Smollett would get something big out of this show as well. She already did a comic book movie, only Birds of Prey failed, so that's a problem. But still, this some excellent acting from everyone. Even the people who have really little screen time.
At first I thought this show is going to be a slow burner, but it is only the first part of this episode. The episode is like a great horror movie. It makes us really care about the characters. Each one gets an impressive introduction. We get to learn about their inner world, although yeah, Atticus gets the most attention, but no else is flat character. Plus, I am a sucker for characters for love to read fantasy and Sci-Fi. The horror part starts slowly. Except for the crazy opening scene. It was so brilliant and scary and over the top, that it leaves you shocked. It also makes you wonder if this is where the show is heading. The rest of the episode is really different. It builds slowly. But just like in a horror movie, you expect it to come, and yet you never see it coming.
But here is the tricky part though, you don't need to know anything about American history to understand the racism in this episode. You do need to know a few things Lovecraft mythology to understand the Lovecraftian elements in this episode. Just a bit, but I don't think it's good that a show requires you to do homework.
Still, it was a really good first episode. It started out a bit slow, but with that ending, I can't wait to watch the next episode.
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