Hulu's Monsterland trades in scares for more existential emotion

Indiewire

"The uptick in horror anthologies over the last few years has been interesting to deconstruct," says Kristen Lopez. "Seemingly gone are the days of productions like Tales From the Crypt which always winked at the camera while sating audiences’ thirst for blood. While that sentiment remains in the likes of Shudder’s Creepshow, most anthologies in that vein blend in social commentary, turning the horror inward to leave us with the message, more often than not, that the true monsters are within us. It’s trite, it’s simplistic, and it’s at the center of Hulu’s new anthology series Monsterland. Based on Nathan Ballingrud’s novel North American Lake Monsters: Stories, Monsterland tells eight different stories about people dealing with loss, regret, guilt, and loneliness with a slight tinge of actual monsters thrown in. Those seeking more overt scares, a la Channel Zero, the aforementioned Creepshow or even AMC’s The Terror will easily be left disappointed — but what remains behind is a cerebral and, at times, brutally uncomfortable series for anyone navigating 2020. Nearly everything focused on within Monsterland is gloomy, depressing, and a little too keyed in to what we’re seeing on the news, and that is part of the fear found within."

ALSO:

• Monsterland’s crushing tone, amplified by slow and talky stories drained of color, makes it a harder watch than it needs to be
• Monsterland is frequently emotional, often cerebral, and favors an insidious sense of dread over the cheap-and-easy jump-scare-type tactics
• It's tough to tell a story of monsters without heroes and angels, but Monsterland nails it and leaves us wanting more
• Monsterland is for people who like their horror fiction bleak and grounded in reality—but with plenty of fully-fledged monsters
• Of the eight Monsterland installments, not a single one is a complete success
• Kelly Marie Tran on her Monsterland episode: "I definitely agree that it is a deep dive into some of the bleakest parts of humanity. Specifically, the episode that I was in playing Lauren, who's dealing with envy and jealousy, (deals with) this dark, deep-seated part of human experience."
• Monsterland creator and showrunner Mary Laws wanted to center women's experiences in the male-dominated horror genre