Roush Review: Duffer Brothers’ ‘The Boroughs’ Is a Terrifying But Funny Supernatural Romp
Alfred Molina stars as a reluctant newcomer whose move into the retirement community sets off a mix of eerie mystery and neighborly banter.
- Netflix released The Boroughs on Thursday, May 21, an eight-episode supernatural thriller set in a New Mexico retirement community, blending sci-fi horror with retirement-community humor as residents confront a mysterious creature.
- Produced by Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, the series draws from Ron Howard's 1985 Cocoon and Steven Spielberg's Amblin films, incorporating '80s nostalgia alongside creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews' Dark Crystal pedigree.
- Alfred Molina stars as Sam, a grieving widower investigating alongside Geena Davis as art teacher Renee, Alfre Woodard as journalist Judy, and Denis O'Hare as former doctor Wally, with Ed Begley Jr. housed in The Manor.
- A spider-like creature abducts resident Grace in the opening, prompting Sam's investigation to intertwine with haunting memories of his late wife Lilly, whose flashbacks morph into plot-relevant revelations about the creature's anti-aging agenda.
- The series balances supernatural horror with poignant commentary on aging, as older characters undertake Spielberg-style adventures usually reserved for younger protagonists, though critics note the eight 45-minute episodes occasionally emphasize sci-fi over character development before the mystery loses steam.
51 Articles
51 Articles
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‘The Boroughs’ Review: Netflix’s Big-Hearted Sci-Fi Thriller Dares You to Underestimate Its Boomer Heroes
If the middle chapters of life wrestle our younger selves into submission, forcing us to accept the inevitabilities and limitations of life, then it’s in our twilight years that we get the chance to reacquaint ourselves with a little youthful rebelliousness. To push back on the generations in our wake that start to look past or dismiss us because of a little thing like age. That’s where Netflix’s new sci-fi series “The Boroughs” finds its charac…
"Stranger Things" in the retirement home: The Duffer brothers inspire with a pensioner adaptation of their biggest Netflix hit. It is even smarter than the template. We ask for a scary party in the Gerontoparadies.
Netflix's 'The Boroughs' Is 'Stranger Things Sr.'
From left: Clarke Peters, Alfre Woodard, Alfred Molina, Denis O'Hare, and Geena Davis in The Boroughs —NetflixBecause the default audience for horror is young and male, the genre’s archetypal hero is a blood-soaked babysitter, preferably in some state of undress. Maybe the appetite for manufactured jump-scares ebbs with age because growing older triggers so many real terrors. There’s the body horror of malfunctioning organs and sagging skin; the…
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