Rod Serling once said “what follows this life is one of the unfathomable mysteries, an area of darkness which we, the living, reserve for the dead…” John Griffin’s From, much like The Twilight Zone before it, continues to explore this dark area of mystery in jaw dropping ways. However, like the tree that stopped every person who became stuck in the central town, the show sometimes frustratingly blocks viewers from answers. John Griffin making this show through a pandemic gives it more eeriness.
Next to Chucky, From is the best horror series and the third season looks to energize everything. Your own history with horror will determine how you respond to the show’s new attempts at testing and torturing characters. The road through these tribulations, however circuitous it may seem, is being walked by phenomenal performers at least. Matter of fact, Harold Perrineau and company are putting on an acting clinic in the middle of this horror story.
The line connecting the unassuming monsters and the story’s heart is drawn by performances. Worse and worse circumstances for these stranded characters means the actors can pull from these characters’ strength or let them wallow in their baggage filled with past regrets and wounded relationships. Alive with intent, From pushes characters further than they thought possible (literally in the case of Catalina Sandino Moreno’s Tabitha Matthews).
The security of trust is important in storytelling, even in horror shows, so viewers know what they are coming back to weekly. Now, in the third season, it can become a shackle when stories that seemed game-changing turn into something more safe. However, my ear didn’t ring for the higher concept this season so far. The community that was building around Perrineau’s Boyd Stevens is what kept me invested in these first episodes.
Photo: MGM+
The mysteries surrounding characters like Eion Bailey’s Jim Matthews or Nathan D. Simmons’ Elgin give each performer a chance to build their own place in said community, which has to be stronger than ever to take on the ghouls’ energized presence. Their place on the food chain keeps getting lower. Here, though, these struggles are opportunities to test these characters’ mettle. Escape seems less and less likely as time goes on, so these characters will have to decide the future they are building.
The questions surrounding the larger mythology are what is holding this show back from moving towards that future. The endgame of solving the mystery of the town these people are lost in, and the monsters surrounding said town, should be saved for just that (the end) or resolve these plots to cut the weight (no matter how spooky and entertaining it actually is) holding back Boyd and company from resolving their own baggage.
Drowning in these mysteries might be the point, though. It occurred to me that real life often throws outer struggles that prevent us from dealing with the horror of our pasts. The casualty of moving life, or the story in this case, is sometimes the opportunity of having inner peace or knowing the answers. Up this show’s sleeve, however, might be the ability to combine the two goals as this season’s fourth episode ably accomplished.
Fact of the matter is, regardless if we get answers this season, From has already proven this season will be the best yet.
The season three of From premieres September 22 on MGM+.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login