Lovecraft Country is a Fresh, Timely Take on Horror and Racial Inequality That Falls Just Short of Greatness
Based on the name, you might expect to see more of the eldritch horrors of H.P. Lovecraft in Lovecraft Country. While there are plenty of Lovecraftian elements in the series, from secretive cults to terrifying monsters called shoggoths, the series takes its name based not only on Lovecraft’s stories, but also his noted racist views. The series sheds a light on intense discrimination in the Jim Crow era. It’s one of the latest black-centric forays into horror, following in the footsteps of Get Out and Us, both of them directed by Jordan Peele, who serves as an executive producer for the show.
Atticus ‘Tic’ Freeman (Jonathan Majors), a Korean War veteran and an avid reader of pulpy science fiction and horror, sets off a cross country trip with his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend Letitia Lewis (Jurnee Smollett) to find his missing father, Montrose (Michael K. Williams). On the way, they run into several racist cops and have to flee a ‘sundown’ town where non-whites aren’t allowed after sunset. They soon find themselves running into a cult of magicians called the Sons of Adam and a cadre of terrifying monsters under their control. What follows is an episodic narrative that focuses on the characters one at a time while also progressing the…
