Good morning, House of Madness occupants:
Be honest, how many times have you gotten your grown ass lost in Ikea? I'm not talking turned around in the kitchen department and then spotting your wife fifteen yards away perusing through the desk lamps, I'm talking full-fledged lost. I remember telling my wife I didn't need my leashed safety harness and I'd be just fine, only to spend the next three days wandering aimlessly trying to follow the aroma of meatballs, but always ending up back in the linen department no matter how many different routes I took. With the help of my phone's GPS, a makeshift compass I learned how to build on MacGyver, and some leftover beef jerky I found in my coat pocket, I finally emerged at the exit, where no man has ever reached without a basket full of useless wares you have the pleasure of assembling yourself after you've overpaid for questionable craftsmanship. This is my victory story, and I tell it bravely in hopes of encouraging Ikea's next victim. In light of my tortuous plight, the people in the village surviving in "From" have to overcome similar obstacles, yet at least they are equipped with readily available fresh drinking water, and aren't praying for a rescue by a guy wearing a name tag. Heed my story, and avenge me.
Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) is on vacation with his wife Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and two children Julie (Hannah Cheramy) and son Ethan (Simon Webster) as they drive cross country in search of adventure. As they come around a curve in the road, their way is blocked by a fallen tree, and they're forced to turn around and find another route. As they start heading through the woods, they come across a small village, and to say the residents are acting a little peculiar would be like saying Crispin Glover is a little different. They ask a man calling himself Sheriff Boyd (Harold Perrineau) for directions back to the highway, which he reluctantly gives with an almost defeated demeanor. Whatever, the faster they can get on the highway, the sooner they can be away from this creepy place and be back on their vacation. As the Matthews family drives towards the highway, they round a corner only to find themselves back in the town they just left. What the fuck? Must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque as Bugs Bunny always says; no matter, they drive more carefully the next time, taking in their surroundings and checking twice only to find they're right back in the same village again, only the onlookers are not even mildly surprised to see them back.
After the dust settles and Jim is able to listen to coherent thoughts, it's explained to the Matthews family that they, along with every other single person they see are trapped in some kind of loop where time passes, but they can't leave the outskirts of town before they're brought right back in again. If that doesn't sound like a raw deal, the town also has to go into lockdown every night behind the safety of locked doors, sealed windows, and protective talismans in every structure to prevent blood-thirsty creatures from invading their homes, and ripping them to shreds. People in the village come from everywhere, and seem to have accidentally discovered the town from all over the United States; whether traveling from from Detroit, Texas, California, or Carolina it doesn't matter, they all ended up here. The only way everyone is going to survive will be by working together as a team, which can be challenging at the best of times with a populous as large as theirs.
While "From" is certainly a great premise, it really struggles with pacing issues, inconsistent acting, and questionable decisions by the ones they've deemed to be the leaders. That, and just not a whole lot happens most of the time; on a show oozing with a claustrophobic setting, insane 'monsters' that only come out at night, and a lurking evil that seems to exist everywhere the town touches, it never takes full advantage and just feels like we're sitting in a Ferrari stuck in neutral, when we just want the driver to slam it in gear and punch the gas. I myself won't be tuning in for 'Season 2', but there's definitely enough potential here that I could decide to double back later if the reviews are favorable; hey, I'm proud to say I've since made my way back to Ikea, and this time I found my way.....I stayed in the parking lot while my wife went inside, but it's still progress.
Madness Meter: 6.1/10
NB
