Naty's Spooky Corner

The Outsider

★★★★★

Sunday, August 22, 2021, 11:11 PM

Let’s go ahead and jump back into actual horror this week, with my first ever T.V. series review of The Outsider! Based on Stephen King’s novel with the same title, this series follows what seems like a cookie cutter murder of a young boy in a small southern town. However, since nothing is ever as it seems in the King universe, the investigation takes a sharp turn when the possibility of the suspect having a doppelganger comes into light. The local police force are left stretching their heads and are forced to question the possibility of something not quite human as the driving force of their town’s seemingly endless tragedy.

I know, it sounds like an incredible show right? And that’s because it is!

Black gooey spoilers up ahead:

Before any of my viewers ask, no I unfortunately was unable to read the Stephen King book before hand - namely because I am the type of reader that hates it whenever a movie or series strays too far from the source material. What I can speak on however, is just how much I loved this series. The show delves into the trauma of pretty much every main character in the series and leaves the viewer wanting more, much like the Outsider themselves....

What makes this show great is that you see the dynamic between the hard, rugged cop being forced to open his mind and widen his perspective at the impossible possibility that a supernatural shapeshifting being is behind a long, long string of death and tragedy in a set of corresponding towns. Our main man, Ralph, is pretty adamant that no, there is no big scary boogeyman or anything unexplainable that goes bump in the night, just to be challenged again and again by the lead investigator Holly Gibney along with other people in his main circle. And oh boy, shout out to Cynthia Eviro for making me fall absolutely in love with Holly. These two characters are perfect foils for each other since Holly, like Ralph, is an equally facts-only individual, to the point where I would classify her as being a savant in criminal investigation. What makes her unique however, is that even though she is a highly logical person, she is the first to present the idea to the entire investigative team that there is something more cynical and powerful at play. Something that might even be already recognized in Latin cultures as “El Cuco”. I know, I know, I know. Sounds absolutely crazy right? Well what else did you expect from Stephen King? He literally wrote about a murderous child-eating space clown that live in Derry, Maine. (Like I said, we stan Stephen King)

While this series is a bit of a slow burn, it is well, well worth the watch. The series manages to both capture such a wide group of characters and your need to know more at the same time. And besides, don’t you want to know how to take down a supernatural being?

Overall Rating:
My love for Holly Gibney: 5/5
Spooks: 4/5

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