'Lovecraft Country' Episode 1 Review: Gruesome monsters and comedic white supremacy suppress racial horror
Set at a time when the Segregation-era America was in full swing and 20 years after the passing of the titular Lovecraft, HBO's new racial horror, 'Lovecraft Country', tries to encompass almost all of Matt Ruff's 2016 novel of the same name. Set in the backdrop of the Jim Crow laws, the dark fantasy horror ironically tries to connect the famous fictional horrors of HP Lovecraft to racism in the United States during just 20 years after his death.
The narrative draws in elements from White horror culture and shows Black people, too, engaging in practices that were deemed predominantly White at the time. They seek the same chances and take the same liberties with these elements of the supernatural and horror the way White people had been inspired to based on Lovecraft's work for years, but perhaps the best aspect of it all was that Lovecraft originally was a White supremacist who called Black people 'beasts' and 'semi-human'.
The plot kicks off with Atticus Black's family troubles. Played by Jonathan Majors, Atticus returns home to discover his family's heritage and secret ties to an evil cult. And thus begins his story to seek out what really happened to his ever so mysterious father and just how to brave and utilize these newfound connections to the best possible extent. Atticus is joined in this quest by friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and Uncle George, their biggest enemies antagonizing the hell out of them are Scandal’s Tony Goldwin and Mad Max: Fury Road’s Abbey Lee. For the most part, the series that just premiered on HBO doesn't quite grasp on to the views mind as Atticus's own journey. The antagonists often shine as far more superior and captivating, chewing up the roles just the way one would expect the equally disappointing main characters to, or so reveals the pilot episode.
As Atticus's journey advances through Crows-era racial horrors, his woes double on his quest to help his near and dear ones as he deals with demons from the author's world, including some bloodthirsty behemoths that looks a little too much like the 'shoggoths' from the lores. Although Atticus and Letitia's friendship is obviously going to escalate to love interests, there's an intense shared trauma that perhaps sparks the chemistry between the two and suddenly all that misplaced horror isn't suffocating. But that is often padded with Atticus's love for science fiction horror, at times as the only escape from a story that focuses more on how to pulp these elements up the way White writers have done for ages.
And although within the first few minutes of the first episode, the show declares through Atticus "Stories are like people. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You just try to cherish them and overlook their flaws," he adds. "But I love pulp stories and ultimately, that's all that 'Lovecraft Country' boils down to in its HBO remake. The way 'Lovecraft Country' explores racial horror just makes it look like a giant hit and a miss in a sea of seasoned race-oriented horror like 'Get Out' and the even more chilling true story of 'The Green Mile'. For 'Lovecraft Country', the racist fear in the namesake author's works is supposed to symbolize every iota of isolation and abandonment Black people felt at the time upon being covered by the work. And that's barely scratching the surface of the already segregated and biasedly treated Black people.
It is still just the first episode so there's reason to look forward to more and keep our fingers crossed that Atticus's story gets more captivating than just reclaiming the right to indulge in pulp horror fiction. Moments where Atticus is being threatened and framed along with Letitia and Uncle George for robberies, just because they are black, or others where cops remind the trio its illegal for Black people to drive at night and they might get killed are more bone-chilling than watching these racist cops get torn apart by gruesome monsters. Written and developed by Misha Green for the screen, Lovecraft Country has opened to rave reviews from its at-home audience who just can't seem to wrap their heads around the kind of monsters the show has shown. or the hilarious tropes of white supremacies that often subdue the chilling far reflecting through the Black people. And perhaps that is the biggest problem with the series we're willing to give it another shot.
'Lovecraft Country' premiered this August 16 and will air Sundays at 9 pm on HBO.