Shining Vale returns for a new season appropriately enough on Friday the 13th. The horror comedy series follows the Phelps family, who have moved from the hustle and bustle of New York City to a small town in Connecticut. Unfortunately for them, their new home has a haunting past. Pat, the mother of the bunch, struggles with whether the strange occurrences she experiences are due to her mental illness or actual supernatural possession. Previously, Pat is committed to an asylum after attacking her husband, Terry, with an ax. While Terry is in physical therapy, the kids Gaynor and Jake are left on their own.
The premiere picks up a few months after the explosive and dramatic events of the season one finale. In a Shining Vale dig at our health care system, Pat is discharged before she is cured because her insurance no longer will pay for her treatments. Terry suffers from memory loss due to the head trauma he suffered and is finishing up his rehab. Gaynor drops out of school to keep what’s left at home together while Jake shuns video games for his new role as the high school mascot.
“Homecoming” does a good job reintroducing and capturing the dysfunction of the Phelps. As if mirroring the family’s current state, the normally creepy house is in an even more run-down state with garbage and filth piling up. It’s curious to see, despite Pat’s issues, how her return sparks a reversal in the home’s appearance. Sure, maintenance and cleaning are her responsibilities, but there is a shift in overall dynamic. Particularly since she is ready to make amends from her prior actions.
Shining Vale also further establishes a look into generational mental illness and its destructive cycle. Through Gaynor, Gus Birney portrays the personal toll that committing your mother has which forces her to grow up sooner than expected. The character struggles with her conflicting emotions towards Pat because she is her parent, but hasn’t earned back Gaynor’s trust.
Then, we have Pat with her mom, Joan. Joan is guiding her daughter through her first time reassimilating from the asylum since she is an expert. It’s as if it’s expected and only a matter of time until Gaynor suffers the same fate. Seeing how closely Courtney Cox and Judith Light resemble each other reinforces their shared experiences. You begin to question how much healing Pat has done in the closing moments as a woman resembling her potential alter ego, Rosemary, rings the doorbell.
Meanwhile, the Phelps men have their own baggage. Greg Kinnear gives Terry a helpless innocence as he recovers from his wife’s attack. The bout of amnesia conveniently allows the family to reunite without too much drama, but builds tension as subconsciously, Terry is apprehensive towards his wife. With that bit of memory remaining, how will he act if the truth is revealed? At least he can still rally the troops as we receive a rare uplifting scene where he leads the family chant.
Jake seems the most normal of the group, and actor, Dylan Gage exudes his regular youthful virtue in light of everything around the character. Jake welcomes his mom back home with the warmth, awkwardness, and aloofness you would expect from a teenage boy. His life is on the right track with added popularity as the school mascot, and he possesses the inner strength to resist the disturbing calls from his VR set. Both Jake and his dad provide much of the soft-hearted levity of the episode.
One of Shining Vale’s strengths is the horror aspects. The episode relies on the jump scare one too many times reducing its effectiveness. It does a better job building the suspense combining the shadowy backgrounds of the home with a haunting score and cacophonous effects. They create an unnerving environment that sets the mood for thrilling frights.
Shining Vale’s return delivers the dysfunctional yet heartwarming family dynamics and the unsettling scares you expect while establishing the themes and narratives for the new season.
New episodes of Shining Vale air Fridays on Starz.
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