LAPD Detective Dawn Reeve finds herself at the center of strange and dark events in the latest chapter of the Prime Video anthology series Them. Set in 1991 Los Angeles, Season 2 known as The Scare follows Dawn as she investigates a disturbing murder case that may reveal deeper threats lurking beneath the city’s surface.
Widowed with a teenage son, Dawn strives to sustain her family while navigating the challenges of being a black female police officer in a system riddled with racial inequities. When the mutilated body of a foster mother is discovered, Dawn senses something more sinister than a mere homicide. As her digging uncovers unexplained phenomena and past secrets, she realizes an ominous force has targeted her family as well.
Alongside Dawn this season are Pam Grier as her resilient mother Athena, and Luke James delivering a haunting performance as Edmund Gaines, a mysterious man whose connection to the disturbing events remains unclear.
Created by Little Marvin, The Scare reflects the social tensions of its time period while crafting an eerie mystery that builds in atmospheric dread episode by episode. How Dawn confronts the horrors afflicting her city and those she loves forms the unsettling core of this gripping new chapter for the acclaimed Prime Video series.
Connecting Past and Present
THEM: The Scare delves into dark mysteries both new and old. Stepping into the role of Detective Dawn Reeve, Deborah Ayorinde leads the charge as a devoted officer amid tensions with the LAPD. A brutal murder kicks off her disturbing investigation in early episodes.
A foster mother’s mangled body leaves even veteran cops shaken. Yet this nightmarish discovery is only the beginning. Dawn senses a sinister pattern emerging and races to unravel the cruel acts of a serial killer targeting the vulnerable.
In other scenes, Luke James creepily draws viewers in as Edmund Gaines. His unsettling persona shifts between mild-mannered and menacing without warning. Gradually, his shadowy past and its ties to Dawn come into focus.
Meanwhile, Dawn faces resistance following the clues wherever they lead – even when they point closer to home. Supported by her resilient mother Athena and troubled son Kelvin, she persists in her quest for justice against mounting personal threats.
As the season progresses, Dawn pieces together new revelations that challenge her understanding of family and self. A psychedelic memory sequence illuminates the haunting roots of Edmund’s instability. In a gripping climax, brother confronts sister as the true nature of their childhood trauma comes to horrifying light.
Viewers are left with as many questions as answers going into the finale. There, Ti West guides events to a pulse-pounding close where all storylines collide. In a stunning twist, a Season 1 menace makes a frightening return, cementing this anthology’s interconnected narrative across eras.
Together, THEM: The Scare explores weighty themes of identity, abuse and institutional disservice and neglect. Through leading lady Dawn, it showcases the strength, adversity and humanity of Black women even in our darkest hours.
Revelations of the Heart
This season of Them belongs to its cast. Deborah Ayorinde owns the role of Dawn Reeve with quiet grace, bringing the detective’s fierce compassion and resilience to life. Ayorinde fills each scene with emotional nuance, ensuring we feel Dawn’s struggle to maintain hope amid darkness. Complex doesn’t begin to describe her powerful portrayal.
Fellow lead Luke James is equally brilliant as the haunting and haunted Edmund Gaines. With unnerving fluidity, James shifts between vulnerability and menace, keeping viewers on edge. His dedication imbues Gaines’s traumatic experience with gut-wrenching realism.
Holding the family together is Pam Grier’s Athena. Regal and steadfast, Grier lends her character’s every line heartbreaking significance. Joshua Williams too excels as young Kelvin, granting the boy’s turmoil visceral impact through quietly compelling work.
Watching these talents collide draws us deeper into the mystery. As family bonds strengthen some characters while fracturing others, their vivid performances resonate with profound intimacy. We root for them not just as people in peril, but as dimensional souls we’ve come to care for deeply.
Through it all, Ayorinde and James remain magnetic forces, bringing the season’s revelations of shared pain and redemption to breathtaking life. Their dynamic elevates brutal scenes into deeply affecting character studies that will linger long after credits roll. The true scariness here comes not from visual boogeymen alone, but the shadows we find within.
Capturing the Chaos of 1991
This season of Them oozes atmosphere, transporting viewers directly to the smoldering tensions of 1991 Los Angeles. Behind the scenes talent ensure each unsettling frame feels authentic.
Returning directors like Axelle Carolyn bring palpable intensity, crafting sequences that burrow deep under the skin. New guests like Ti West infuse signature panache, elevating crucial scenes to cinematic heights. Together this team nurtures a pervasive sense of disquiet.
Cinematographer David Franco takes full advantage of the era’s angst, bathing environments in a hazy wash of reds that mirror the rising dangers all faces confront. His roving camera pins us right in each disturbing discovery, ratcheting up an inescapable dread.
Production design too plays a character, filling every location with period-perfect portents. From Dawn’s cluttered yet comfortable home to the grim foster residence at the core of terror, creators breathe life into spaces that seem to shadows secrets at every turn.
This season survives based on its richly imagined mise-en-scene. Details like Edmund’s unsettling toy collection or the unsettling clutter overwhelming Bernice’s home burrow under the skin, implanting clues whose significance only emerges in the dimming light of closing credits.
Even lighter moments feel loaded, as when Rhonda and Edmund’s cafeteria rendezvous glows with an ominous chemistry. Subtle flourishes throughout establish a suffocating sense that lurking nightmares emerge from any sun-drenched facade.
Through its virtuoso visuals, Them: The Scare transports us directly into the boiling tensions of its era. We live within its shadows, navigating mysteries that reveal new layers of unease with every viewing. It is a testament to the creative power of evocative world-building on screen.
Weaving Horror with Reality
Them: The Scare crafts a creepy tale that feels all too real. Like the first season, it uses supernatural scares to shine a light on deep-rooted social issues. This time, the focus falls on two intensely relevant themes.
Within the LAPD, racism runs rampant. Detective Reed faces discrimination daily. Her white partner makes abusive comments, while higher-ups dismiss her theories. Yet Ayorinde’s nuanced performance shows Reed’s resilience. Though beaten down, she fights passionately for victims ignored by the system. These threads bring to mind America’s ongoing struggle with prejudice in law enforcement.
Familial bonds prove another core theme. We learn Reed was separated from her twin brother as a child. Placed in an abusive foster home, his trauma had lasting effects. James is truly haunting as Edmund, exuding a sadness beneath menace. Through this storyline, the show exposes cracks in the system meant to protect kids. Even in a supportive home, pockmarks of past damage linger.
While Season 1fixated mainly on individual trauma, Season 2 widens its lens. Racism and foster care receive astute explorations, tied to real-life events of the early 90s. From the Rodney King beating to a serial killer lurking, a pervasive sense of unease colored that era. For today’s viewers, these themes resonate powerfully.
Yet amid heavy subjects, glimmers of hope endure. Sisterly love proves stronger than any force intent on tearing the Reeds apart. And for all the fears that haunt LA’s streets, ordinary magic like a child’s laughter still persists. By interweaving social commentary with frights, Them crafts an unsettling tale that, like the best horror, holds up a funhouse mirror to society. Some reflections we’d rather not see – but ones we urgently need to confront.
Weaving Social Critique into Supernatural Scares
While Them: The Scare tosses viewers headfirst into scares like any good horror, it emerges as more than just jump-out frights. Thoughtfully crafted social themes give each shock emotional resonance long after.
Season 2 bears resemblance to works like American Horror Story that twist expected genres on their head. Both imbue familiar slasher setups with unflinching looks at prejudice. Yet Them distinguishes itself through focusing social commentary, using horror as a lens rather than end.
Parallels also exist to Lovecraft Country, which explored supernatural thrills amid racism faced by Black Americans. Them echoes this blend but delves deeper into character psyche. Season 2 recalibrates to probe family trauma, loss of innocence, and abuse thriving where protectors failed.
Se7en proved another clear influence with its intricate serial murders. Yet Them arises not to merely provoke, but convey real world terrors some face daily. Detective Dawn acts as symbolic beacon, fighting evil while shouldering biases others unleash. Her poignant journey anchors each unsettling revelation.
Across both installments, Them has carved its own niche within Black horror. Season 1 kicked open doors by amalgamating racial bigotry with visceral scares. While its direction stumbled in places, the premise cracked glass once thought shatterproof.
Season 2 improves by concentrating psychological chills over visceral. It tightens focus on intergenerational damage fostered by systems built to nurture. But threads emerge organically from person over paper, keeping viewers hauntingly immersed far past final scenes.
Where once racism stalked as overt “monster,” Season 2 insinuates prejudices fester more stealthily within relationships sworn to protect. Its subtler terrors burrow deeper under viewers’ skins precisely because they mirror challenges too many face each day.
In crafting sophisticated social critiques within entertainment, Them: The Scare underscores horror as tool for shining light into dark corners rarely seen.
The Terror Under the Surface
Overall, Them: The Scare delivers a compelling horror experience that leaves viewers unsettled in the best way. While not for the faint of heart, its visceral scares effectively tap into deeper anxieties.
Across eight tense episodes, season two immerses audiences in a meticulously crafted nightmare. Strong direction and polished production values immerse us in a haunting vision of 1991 Los Angeles. Graphic yet meaningful scenes drive home the violation at the story’s core.
Top-notch performances only heighten the unease. From Ayorinde’s nuanced fury to James’ chilling shifts, characters feel genuine even in terror’s throes. Their emotional resonances lingered long after final credits rolled.
Without resorting to grindhouse tactics, The Scare uncovers disturbing truths just beneath the surface. Its human-centered approach grounds societal critiques in shared trauma. Layered themes of identity, family, and institutional failure burrow under skin as stealthily as its monsters.
Ultimately, the season satisfies as both riveting horror and thought-provoking drama. While stretching the limits of comfort, it does so in service of shining light into dark corners we’d rather ignore. For devoted genre fans and those drawn to its larger messages, The Scare proves an unmissable addition to this acclaimed anthology. Here’s hoping more haunting stories from Them are yet to come.
The Review
THEM: The Scare
Them: The Scare represents horror storytelling at its chilling best. Through unsettling supernatural threats and searing portrayals of real-world terrors, the anthology's second season creates an immersive nightmare that lingers in the mind. Bolstered by stellar performances and polished production, it satisfies as both compelling entertainment and thought-provoking commentary on trauma.
PROS
- Deeply unsettling atmosphere and suspenseful storytelling
- Sophisticated exploration of real-world issues like racism and trauma
- Outstanding performances that bring nuanced characters to life
- Polished production values that immerse the viewer
- Thought-provoking societal commentary presented through genre material
CONS
- Graphic violent content may be too intense for some viewers
- Occasional lapses where cultural critique feels secondary to shock
- Final episode's crossover elements seem excessive
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