This post contains very mild spoilers for the first episode of Lovecraft Country.
If you’re looking for a new family drama masquerading as a terrifying fantasy, look no further than Lovecraft Country.
HBO’s newest drama mixes horror movie tropes with the horrors of 1950s Jim Crow laws, and the result is something deeply unsettling and wildly compelling. The premiere, which aired on Sunday night, featured a climactic chase scene unlike any other you’ve probably seen on TV, before the more traditional horror monsters even made an appearance.
Atticus (Jonathan Majors), Leti (Jurnee Smollett), and George (Courtney B. Vance) left Chicago in search of Atticus’ father, only to accidentally find themselves in a sundown town where Black people aren’t allowed after sunset. They had to get out of town quickly, but they also couldn’t go over the speed limit as a cop followed right behind them, resulting in a car chase where the car couldn’t go more than 25 miles per hour. Somehow, the low speed made it even scarier than the terrifying creatures that followed.
But if you think you know what you’re in for now just based off of that one episode, you would be wrong.