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HBO's Lovecraft Country is a beautiful, dark, twisted, must-see fantasy

Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

From Digital Spy

Lovecraft Country season one spoilers follow.

"Good riddance to Old Jim Crow," says George Black in the highly anticipated Black horror series Lovecraft Country. Filled with monsters, aliens and blood, the TV show is set in 1950s USA – when the 'Jim Crow' segregation laws still held sway – and therefore represents the meeting point of horror and the ultimate horror.

Based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, the ten-episode series, starring Jurnee Smollett, Emmy winner Courtney B Vance and Jonathan Majors, touches on religion, sci-fi and racism. On top of all that, the "Black History Is Horror" theme in particular is evident throughout, exploring how the Jim Crow setting distorted life in America for Black people of the time.

Photo credit: Sky - Sky
Photo credit: Sky - Sky

Shot beautifully with hardcore graphics, Lovecraft Country is a mixture between Green Book and X-Files. Elements of comic horror, a dark atmosphere and supernatural scenes create a pulp aesthetic that directly references the works of (white supremacist) HP Lovecraft while addressing real social issues.

The era resonates with what's going on in the 21st century. Throughout each episode, the series touches on what it's like being Black in America and still trying to fight justice every day. While the plot initially focuses on Atticus (Jonathan Majors) trying to find his father, the period drama (with a twist) also delves into a broader investigation of racism.

The opening scenes show a boy, Atticus Freeman, who dreams of a life full of aliens in a truly American world. As the series progresses, we are thrust into a road trip that turns into a struggle to survive and battle the racist terrors of white America and monstrous creatures alike. The dead bodies, blood, gore, aliens and monsters are a none-too-subtle symbolic evocation of the history of Black lives, and of how we have lived a horror tale.

The real star of the show is Jurnee Smollett's Letitia Lewis. A Black woman in a main protagonist role, she's a strong woman, silenced in a world full of men. As she says in the scene with Uncle George, "The name's not girl, it's Letitia f**kin' Lewis." Her strength and courage save the menfolk again and again.

Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

Executive producer Jordan Peele has grasped the horror-film blueprint and rewritten it, showing the power of Black horror and the diversity of Black films while demonstrating the creative ways our stories can be told.

From Get Out, MA, Us and more, horror stories are growing and thriving in the Black community. Lovecraft Country will continue to be an eye-opener in the same vein. Viewers may be left bewildered and slightly frightened by the show's breath-catching and gory moments, but trust us when we say Lovecraft Country is going to blow your minds.

Lovecraft Country will be available weekly on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV from August 17. US viewers can catch new episodes on HBO every Sunday.


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