TV Review - Monsterland (2020)

Created by Mary Laws (The Neon Demon), this series is an adaptation of Nathan Ballingrud's book North American Lake Monsters: Stories (2013). Here, we get an anthology series where each episode features a new cast and brand new story. Unlike The Twilight Zone (1959), which are tied together through a common host or narrator, this series does try to tie together each story with some common narrative link. For example, the main character in the first episode makes a cameo appearance in the third episode and in the eighth episode. An object that appears at the end of the fourth episode shows up again at the beginning of the sixth episode. A similar theme runs throughout several of the episodes. For example, for all the supernatural creatures that may or may not exist in this series, it would seem the real monster is poverty.

The first, two episodes barely register any kind of supernatural creature or evil force. The first, two episodes are basically watching two young, white people in both the south and northwest struggle financially, as the weight of poverty slowly but surely crushes them. The horror comes from seeing how being severely impoverished pushes people to commit desperate acts, even violent acts, or experience supreme mental breakdowns.

Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing and Booksmart) stars as Toni, a young waitress in Louisiana who is a single mother with at times an unruly daughter. She's struggling to feed herself and her child, as well as provide daycare when she's at work. She can barely afford food and pay her bills. The limits to which she is pushed in order to survive are terrifying enough. It only becomes odd when the series introduces a supernatural element to it. It feels like overkill. In this case, I'm not sure the supernatural elements adds to the narrative or themes at play here.

Charlie Tahan (Ozark and Wayward Pines) co-stars as Nick Smith, a young man working at a fast food restaurant in Oregon. He seems to be still a teenager who should be in high school, but he dropped out to work full-time and support his mother who is too ill to work or take care of herself. However, with the rising price of prescription drugs that his mother needs, he can't afford to pay for them and pay the other bills. He retreats to the Internet in order to find solutions, vent his feelings or find connections with others who can relate. As a result, he ends up being radicalized in a sense.

It's a compelling story on its own. That episode is probably the best of all of them because I feel the supernatural element introduced does add to the narrative and reinforces the theme that is at play. The visual effect is also super simple. It doesn't involve a lot of gore or anything that's arguably scary. Yet, it is effective in helping this episode tell its story. Tahan's performance is also effectively creepy and heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, all the other episodes fall rather flat. They never really connected or piqued my interest. The only one that came close was the third episode, but it was difficult to reconcile the idea that it was painting, which was to make a black woman seem more of a monster than her white husband who is exposed as a pedophile and rapist. It was a compelling piece. It's just I don't think the one episode had enough time to fully explore the trauma and deep issue that it lays down. Nicole Beharie (Black Mirror and Sleepy Hollow) and Marquis Rodriguez (When They See Us and Iron Fist) give incredible performances though, which are worth the watch.

Rated TV-MA-LV.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 8 eps.

Available on Hulu.