THEM

If movies get your emotions high and you're planning to see this series. Well, brace yourself for this one. 

(By the way, this is going to be a lengthy read.)

If you know a little bit of American history on African-American experience with racial struggles in the United States. You'll know a little bit about what you're about to experience in this series. For context, here is an excerpt from the series prologue:

"Between 1916 and 1970, roughly 6 million African-Americans relocated from rural Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest and West. Widely known as the Great Migration, many Blacks were drawn to California by the promise of industrial jobs and a chance to leave Jim Crow south behind"

With the historical context out of the way. Let's get into the nitty gritty of what this show is about.

It's 1953, Henry and Lucky Emory moves their family into a new neighborhood populated by an all-white neighbors; who want them out of their community the moment they arrived. That's the premise of the series.

You see, if you've watched, 'Get out', 'Us' and 'Lovecraft Country', you'll know there is a new sub genre emerging from the horror genre and it's really a good thing if you ask me. The horror genre has really been over exhausted over the years and in 2021 it's really hard to make a solid horror movie or TV series. For the new emerging sub genre, the writers are infusing racial struggles and undertones with horror tropes.

There is a lot going on in this series, on the surface and beneath the surface. It's a slow paced series. You can't just watch one episode and think you've seen it all. I initially thought I should do a first impression of this series by seeing the episode 1 but it's hard to make an informed opinion by watching only one episode. It's a series you have to watch all ten episodes to be sure of what you've experienced. 

A couple of episodes in I start to get curious if the family is going to run themselves mad before the antagonizing neighbors run them mad. Clearly, the family suffer from pressure from the outside world and also have inner demons they're battling with. Henry suffers from PTSD from his experience from the war as a soldier. For the wife, Luck, it's hard to tell if she's also suffering from PTSD from an earlier event at the start of the series which makes the audience wonder if there is something paranormal going on with the family. Their younger daughter, Gracie, also makes the speculation of what the family is experiencing weirder because it's normal for kids of her age to have imaginary friends. So, it's hard to tell if all of them are going crazy at the same time. Also, It didn't take long before their older daughter, Ruby, start experiencing a form of delirium. As the episodes progress you'll witness the family descend further into a dark abyss of madness and it makes one question the odds how manage? As the tension builds up from the family's delirium the big shock of it all came in episode 7; A point where the series start to wrap up for its climax. By the time the mystery behind their delirium is revealed, I wouldn't say it was underwhelming but it's just an okay reveal.

One thing you might miss while watching this series is how they constantly use tilting and panning camera movements in some scenes. Together with the sound score and often times the characters awkward facial expressions. It creates a sense of looming dread and discomfort; an effective technique by the way.

There is a strict attention to details with The customes and set design to fit perfectly with 1950s and also the music score. Lots of classical music were used to suit the setting and mood. 

The acting in this movie is not subpar, it's really fantastic. From the old and young, the actor's performances were great. They really get you into the feel and you can't help but feel pulled into the trauma the characters are experiencing. 

'Them' will get your emotions high with its raw depiction of racial discrimination from the 1900s in America. You'll find some of the subjects and scene of this series discomforting and disturbing to watch.

Apart from racial struggles another theme touched by this series is sexism. The era in which 'Them' takes place is not only known for a strong racial struggle but also known for a time where women are segregated and left out of big white-collar positions and men are known to dominate top decision making positions.

'Them' is quite a difficult tv series to judge to an extent. On one part it's doing something new and different, the other it's hard to tell if it sticks it landing with its ending but for the most part it's an okay series. 'Them' is not a series everybody or movie watcher is going to like, it all just depends on individual perception of what series is trying to do. For me, if the intent of the show is to depict how inhumane racism is, I'd say it delivers. The show itself also might not get a big recognition among a large audience, but the actor's performances deserves a big recognition.

On a final note, If you've seen 'Get out', 'Us' and 'Lovecraft Country', 'Them' might not be ontop of the list of this growing genre by the time you're done with it but at least it's an addition to the new growing genre.