The Cutprice Guignol

It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a piece of genre TV as good as From.

Ever since the show first came out a couple of years ago, people have been dropping into my various inboxes to let me know how much they thought I’d enjoy it (not least because the leading man is my beloved Harold Perrineau), but I’ve had the usual life stuff going on – you know, watching Glee until it gets bad – that’s kept me away from it until the end of the second season a few weeks ago.

And now I’ve finally watched it, let me tell you: From might be one of the best genre shows to come out of the 2020s so far. Created by John Griffin, the show follows a strange small town that traps those unfortunate enough to wander across it’s boundary lines, leaving them to defend themselves against the feral, fatal monsters that inhabit the surrounding woods as they try to find a way out.

Now, I think I’ve made it clear in my time on this here blog that I love a piece of small-town or even small-community genre fiction; there’s something about placing a specific group of people under the concentrated pressure of a horror premise that draws out some really fascinating characters and stories in the process, and From is a perfect example of that. There isn’t an uninteresting character in this ensemble, no person who the story cuts away to that gives you a brief eye-roll. Everyone has their own approach to the chaos they’ve been trapped in, and watching their various experiences feed into the way they navigate this impossible situation is genuinely compelling.

Helped, of course, by a stack of great performances; the aforementioned and afore-fucking-brilliant Harold Perrineau as self-appointed town sheriff Boyd is a personal favourite, not least for the way he manages to find a little pitch-black humour in his reactions to the circumstances around him, but he’s not the only standout. I have absolutely fallen in love with Elizabeth Saunders as Donna over the course of these two seasons, a steely community leader who Saunders imbues with these moments of softness and heart that make her all the richer, and Scott McCord as Victor, the longest-standing member of the community, finds a childlike vulnerability blended with a profound sense of the weight of knowing more than anyone else. David Alpay as my beloved asshole, reluctant prophet Jade is one of my new favourite characters on TV, especially his recurring cat t-shirt.

The horror is a great mix of slow, creeping dread and great big terrifying monsters trying to kick your doors in, and the small community aspect, much like in Jericho, creates plenty of interesting, practical problems to solve amongst the more fantastical elements. In a show like From, too, there’s always the risk of being too reticent or too quick to reveal your hand when it comes to Lore, but I’ve found the balance here really compelling. There’s a constant sense of forward momentum and pieces falling into place in terms of the larger story, but never a moment where it feels like it’s sitting down to explain directly what’s going on to us.

So I’ll say it: you were all right about From, and now it’s my job to try and convince everyone else to give it a go, too. It’s a tremendous show, and I can’t wait for season three to come along and pick up on the excellent cliffhanger at the end of the last episode broadcast. If, like me, you’ve been looking for a reason to watch From, consider this that sign, and get on it already.

If you’d like to support my blog and get access to exclusive content, please consider supporting me on Patreon, or if you’re interested in my fiction work, check out my books!

(header image via IMDB)