The first season of Them on Prime Video attracted mixed reviews, partly because of its very obvious debt to Jordan Peele’s movies: while pitched as a horror, the season was really about institutionalised racism. And unfortunately, the consensus is that it was a little too heavy handed. According to Buzzfeed, “while it’s gorgeous, Them has nothing new or interesting to say”. But things are looking up for the second season: it’s currently sitting with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While the second season is still socially aware, the time period is different: instead of the 1950s, the second season is set in 1990s LA. And according to butwhytho.net, it’s a huge improvement over season one that embodies “the noir thriller aesthetic before it hits a horror stride”. This time around the story begins with LAPD homicide detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a gruesome murder case that soon spirals into something even worse.
We should note that the current RT rating is from a small number of reviews, and they’re not all glowing, even if they are overall positive – but given how quickly the show has shot up the most-watched charts on Prime Video, it’s clearly an early hit with viewers too. We’ll see if it ends up being good enough to rank among the best Prime Video shows.
What are people saying about Them: The Scare?
According to Mama’s Geeky Movie & TV Geeks, “it’s absolutely terrifying”. Although the site’s Tessa Smith was also a fan of the first season, she says that this time around it’s a whole lot scarier: “Not only are there jump scares, there are visuals that will make your skin crawl. Just wait until you see what the murdered bodies look like…”
I like Decider.com’s straightforward stream it / skip it rating system, and this season gets a definite Stream It for the first episode, which like the previous season begins by setting up a creepy atmosphere before letting the scares loose. And as with the first season, the show also features race as a key component: the LA of this season is the LA of the Rodney King beating, and our hero is “likely one of the few Black female detectives in the LAPD, and she has to do her job amongst rampant racism and sexism.”
Over at Ready Steady Cut, Jonathan Wilson’s review contributes to that 100% score, though he gave the show three out of five stars. “Them: The Scare is superior to its predecessor but still possessed [by] some of the same issues, obscuring worthwhile commentary with try-hard terrors,” he says.
Screenrant.com is also more on the fence, saying: “Clearly influenced by horror powerhouses such as Jordan Peele and Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story, Them: The Scare attempts to showcase innovative and artistic horror, but falls short of being as captivating as its inspirations.” It’s not going to be remembered as a standout piece in the Black horror genre, but “the acting and production are masterfully executed” and “The lighting and camera work create several standout moments that resemble the top-notch cinematic visual elements often seen in Hollywood’s best horror movies,” no doubt thanks in part to the contributions of horror director Ti West.
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