Television Series Review: Lockwood & Co.- Developed By: Joe Cornish-On Netflix
Need something a little scary to kick off the spooky season? Well then, I highly recommend the Netflix series Lockwood & Co. The show is set in an alternate version of present-day England. Ghosts threaten the living and only kids have the supernatural abilities to stop them. Lockwood & Co. is mysterious, adventurous, and at times quite frightening. It has a child-like charm to it which is perfect for Halloween. In my blog post, I will be giving an overview of the show and discussing topics such as the acting, special effects, and set design. That way you can decide for yourself if this show is for you or not.
The show came out in 2023 and has eight episodes ranging from 37–49 minutes long. It is based on the book series by Jonathan Stroud. The show is rated TV-MA for language and violence. It has a decent amount of fight scenes and a good amount of gore so sensitive viewers be advised. The show follows the life of a young woman named Lucy. Lucy has the gift of hearing ghosts and she is very good at sensing them early. Unfortunately, there are adults out there, including her mother, who are exploiting Lucy for her exceptional talent. Her own mother does not care that Lucy is terrified by what she hears and that she wishes she did not have this ability. All her mother is concerned with is receiving a paycheck. The show does a good job of using a lot of pathos and I felt much sympathy and sadness towards Lucy right from the start.
Lucy’s mother puts her in a training school filled with kids who have these supernatural abilities. Although the place is run by a cruel and neglectful staff Lucy is able to make a best friend and together they are able to make the most of their situation. Unfortunately, while on a ghost-hunting mission with her class tragedy strikes, and Lucy is left all alone. Feeling iced out by the school staff and the rest of the town Lucy runs away from home to London. When she arrives in London she meets Anthony and George. The two boys who make up the Lockwood & Co. Paranormal Investigative Agency.
The actors did a wonderful job showing a wide range of emotions. A major theme of the show is death so there were multiple scenes that required a lot of high-intensity sadness and somber. The character Lucy is played by Ruby Stokes and I really enjoyed watching her embody this role. She had good on-camera chemistry with her fellow actors Cameron Chapman, who played Anthony, and Ali Hadji-Heshmati, who played George. The casting was well done and I felt each actor was believable in their role. There were also a handful of other characters that were really cool and aided in the authenticity of the show.
I really enjoyed the show's special effects. They were just the right amount of eerie. The computer-generated images of the ghosts were very stereotypical. They floated, glowed, and had a white and green illumination to them. Hence I say the show has an undertone of childlike charm. However, the sounds that the ghosts were animated with and the jump scares that were incorporated are what made the show frightful to watch. Another neat concept of the show was that in this alternate universe, iron is a ghost's kryptonite. So the kids would defeat the ghosts with iron swords. They would literally have a sword fight with the ghosts and these fight scenes definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
The sets were great as well. The characters were always going into extravagant abandoned mansions or old large homes that held a lot of character. Lockwood & Co. takes you on a journey and will keep you entertained. So, if after reading this, you feel like you can handle this type of scary then you should definitely give the show a watch.
