Stranger Things may have finally found its perfect sidekick on Netflix. The Boroughs is the streaming giant’s take on a supernatural mystery that swaps teenage heroes for residents of a retirement community, producing a surprisingly emotional and fun sci-fi horror series. The Duffer Brothers’ production mixes the thrills of creepy monsters with the emotional story of grief, aging and second chances.
A Retirement Community With a Sinister Past
The story is about a grieving widower named Sam, who is played by Alfred Molina. After dealing with the death of his wife, his daughter talks him into moving to The Boroughs, a quiet retirement community in the New Mexico desert. Sam dreams of a calm, routine life and peaceful evenings, but instead finds himself involved in a terrifying mystery lurking beneath the surface.
We are being attacked by strange creatures from beneath the earth. They seem to feed on the little life we have left. When an impossible threat appears, Sam joins forces with his oddball neighbors to find out what’s really happening behind the attacks.
The idea sounds weird on paper, but the series goes all in on its weird premise. The show has a unique identity of its own, with the old folks zooming around the neighborhood in souped-up golf carts as they battle supernatural beings, distinguishing it from other sci-fi dramas.
A Cast of Veterans bolsters the Series
Its biggest strength, no doubt, is the cast of the Boroughs. Netflix has put together a nice cast of old pros, and every actor brings depth and character to the story.
Geena Davis steals scenes as Renee, a former rock music manager with a razor tongue and a fearless attitude. Alfre Woodard is brilliant again as a retired Chicago reporter whose smarts keep the gang from going off the tracks. Meanwhile, Denis O’Hare brings a crazy energy to the neighborhood troublemaker who keeps throwing wrenches in the works.
The cast members have a natural and engaging chemistry and you believe in the friendships even in the show’s more outrageous supernatural moments.
Emotional weight horror
The series stands out because of its emotional themes, even though The Boroughs is a fan of monster horror and science-fiction mystery. Below the creature attacks and secret dimensions, the show deals with loneliness, memory loss, grief and the fear of growing old.
It’s not like the series uses its elderly characters as a source of comic relief, but rather gives them emotional depth and agency. This allows the show to balance humor and heartbreak in a surprisingly effective way.
Where the Series Misses the Mark
However, the series does come with its flaws, despite the strong performances and emotional storytelling. The sci-fi mythology sometimes feels undercooked and the villains aren’t complex enough to make them memorable. The visuals also don’t sync up with the cinematic ambition of the story.
The middle episodes drag to make way for redundant emotional speeches rather than to advance the mystery, and the pacing becomes flat. The tension is let down at times by some of the scenes with dialogue that is a bit too sentimental.
Luckily, the soundtrack carries the atmosphere through the season. The music is packed with classic songs by artists like David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen, injecting energy and nostalgia into even the slower episodes.
Final Judgment
The Boroughs is a fun, emotionally-rooted supernatural drama, despite some pacing problems and inconsistent visual effects. It’s one of Netflix’s more memorable genre releases in recent years, thanks to a mix of horror, comedy, mystery and heartfelt performances.
Fans of supernatural mysteries like Stranger Things will probably like the familiar tone, but The Boroughs carves out its own identity by centering on older characters thrown into extraordinary circumstances.
The result is a surprisingly moving, refreshing series that proves monster stories don’t always need teenage heroes to work.