'Monsterland' Review: Supernaturals highlighting human elements of horror not fleshed out enough in anthology
This article contains spoilers for 'Monsterland'
Horror and anthology have gone hand in hand for quite a while now. First, it was Ryan Murphy's seasonal anthology in 'American Horror Story' that evolved into the episodic thrill of 'Black Mirror' before Hulu's two-year-old 'Into the Dark' decided to spin festivals and holidays in the form of the horror-satire 'Into the Dark'. What has always worked for these shows is the core material where characters are fleshed out with proper pace and reasoning - explaining why they are being haunted, or worse, haunting other people. Sadly, that is not the case with Hulu's on-screen adaptation of Nathan Ballingrud’s novel 'North America Lake Monsters: Stories', titled 'Monsterland'. For an anthology series that relies on the concept of broken, troubled humans being coaxed into wrongdoing with supernatural elements of horror, the time offered to each of the eight episodes doesn't seem to do the stories justice. That said, the series never fails to be entertaining as a genre flick.
In a set of 8 episodes, creator and executive producer Mary Laws goes every bit unconventional as she had with 'The Neon Demon' and 'Preacher'. Sure, there are no eye-ball swallowing models pining for validation in a flashy Los Angeles, but 'Monsterland' is perforated with violent, bloodthirsty mermaids who sing the same siren song that urban legends will have you believe about the characters. There's Taylor Schilling's zombie form disintegrating into carcasses of people they used to be. And Kaitlyn Denver's single, working-class young mother is plagued by the difficult choice of dealing with her unruly child, or another maniacal man in her life.
'Monsterland' consistently highlights the other side of the supernatural - a world where werewolves and vampires don't live in harmony, but constantly encourage their human counterparts to give in to evil. The theme however remains the evils that humans are capable of, if just given the right nudge. All actions have consequences, and its either an all-consuming guilt, or a violent end. Mike Colter's grieving father is soaked in the same bloodbath that a billionaire from another episode is met with when his apathy gets avenged. Adria Arjona's bloodsucking mermaid is a far shot from Disney's harmonizing little one and while it's enough to pique the intrigue, its not terrifying.
That is perhaps because 'Monsterland' does not spend enough time discussing the past of these characters. Their psyche isn't addressed enough; why are they repenting, what propels them towards such sinister affairs is a mystery that doesn't get answered in the sequence of shock waves the anthology offers. In fact, all the way in Episode 7, Kelly Marie Tran's character of a neglected daughter turned grown woman pining for a life she has envied her best friend for is the only one we can properly feel for and be disturbed by when she tries to ensure her faux-life as the best friend isn't compromised with.
The problem isn't so much with the stories, as it is with the execution of the scares. The first episode following Denver's storyline is enough to hint that there won't be any real horror here - more like a twisted 'Twilight Zone' type adventure where everything orchestrated in the name of evil is mostly human. And although Laws aims straight for the ugly side of humanity - or the lack of its, thereof, penning an anthology also comes with the risk of not all installments hitting as hard as one would expect. Unfortunately, 'Monsterland' is more misses than hits when it comes to allowing its viewers to resnate with the pathos of its events, and sometimes it's just a cluster of characters that no one can figure out just why there's no salvation for them. And what good is horror if you can't really feel the pain?
All 8 episodes of 'Monsterland' will be available for streaming from Friday, October 2, only on Hulu.