A family of four is stranded in a small town that no one can leave. The horror series From with sci-fi and fantasy elements already has 2 seasons and many too few people know what they are missing.
13 years I have been waiting for this series without knowing it. Ever since Lost ended in 2010 and The Walking Dead started shortly after, a series like From has been missing from my life. It combines both of my favorite series. Did someone read my journals and write a mystery-monster-drama-gore series just for me?
Already the start of the horror year 2023 has taken a lot out of me with the zombie saga The Last of Us. Looking for the next horror thrill ride, From jumped out at me on several insider tip lists. When Season 2 was released by Paramount+ in June 2023, I took it as an opportunity to bing this insider tip. Little did I know that The Last of Us would seem like a pony ride after that.
I think about how the series is going to continue almost every day, but have far too few people to talk to about it. So now I’m going to convince you to catch up on From.
Streaming at Paramount+, From is a brilliant horror-fantasy-sci-fi cocktail like no one has ever mixed before
From is so much at once and it’s all tailored to me: a mysterious enigma at the center of the series like Lost, a cranky small town in the middle of nowhere from which there is no escape. A good dose of gore and great characters who please don’t get mauled when the grinning creepy monsters come at night.
That’s what the horror series From is about: A family of four gets stranded on a road trip in a mysterious small US town. While trying to leave, they end up back in town. As night falls, Sheriff Boyd Stevens (Lost star Harold Perrineau) tries to convince the confused newcomers to stay indoors and not go outside. Because as soon as the sun goes down, figures wander out of the woods and into town, preferring nothing better than to leave bloodbaths in their wake.
From: Everyone sees the log
I don’t want to give away more about the plot. Because From is a prime example of a mystery box series, besides all the gory Ab-18 gore the monsters wreak. Lost, Heroes, and Dark have done a pretty good job of that. At the center is an overarching mystery that unfolds slowly, gluing us to the edge of the couch.
In the case of From, the overarching question is: what the hell is going on in this small town? This leads to many more mysteries: what are these monsters? Why are people from different places in the U.S. suddenly ending up in town? Why can’t the monsters enter the houses when a talisman is hung? And is there really no escape? With each answer, ten new questions open up. It’s fortunate that Season 3 is already in the planning stages.
What From adds to its mystery premise and flying guts are fantastic characters and creeps that would shred the infected from The Last of Us into mushroom risotto.
The Last of Us looks like a pony farm next to From, because the monsters trigger my primal fears
We know the drill: a group of survivors must fight a horde of monsters. We’ve seen 11 seasons of The Walking Dead-zombies, the fungus-infected in The Last of Us, and the Upside Down in Stranger Things.
there is no escape
What puts From ahead of all these series is the unpredictability of the monsters. They come at night, they grin kindly in the window, they bring flowers – and they rip your chest open. They are not mindless undead. They enjoy killing, and we have no idea what they are or where they come from.
The monsters trigger my primal fears in the best Michael Myers fashion. They are abysmally evil and therefore unstoppable. They fuel my fear in the dark and make the danger far too tangible that can come from even the friendliest face. The series keeps us trapped along with the villagers:inside, and the urge to leave this small town makes every setback and loss especially hard.
With so many great characters, someone quickly grows on you, but there is a Damocles sword of hopelessness hanging over everything. There’s young deputy sheriff Kenny (Ricky He), stranded with his ailing father. Doctor Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot), who has been searching for a way back to her fiancée for years. Arrogant genius Jade (David Alpay), who wants to find a way out with physics. Donna (Elizabeth Saunders), who runs a commune where many people feel safer than alone at night in their homes. And new people are constantly stranded, bringing with them new secrets or insights.
Have I won you over? Then I’ll give you a little warning: From is only for you if you like puzzles as I do and have a strong stomach at the sight of, well, gutted stomachs. If that’s the case, it will be your next series obsession.
