Amazon New Horror Series ‘THEM’ Draws Fan Criticism

Amazon Prime debuted its highly anticipated horror series, “THEM” and some viewers are already making comparisons calling it a “knockoff” and “copycat” of two of Jordan Peele’s past hit movies within the same genre; 2017’s “Get Out” and the 2019 hit, “US.” 

The New York Post reports that the 10-episode limited anthology series is also drawing ire because only one of the episodes is helmed by a Black director. Nonetheless, Lena Waithe is involved in the project as an executive producer.

RELATED: BET+ Lands 10 Episode Series In Partnership With Macro Television Studios And Powerhouse Producer Lena Waithe

Set in the 1950s, “THEM” explores terror in all forms in America. It features a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white, Los Angeles neighborhood during The Great Migration of the 1950s. While everything looks great on the outside, the family soon discovers that they have entered another reality because forces of evil are attempting to literally destroy them. 

The supernatural thriller shows the horrific nature and brutality of racism and it makes monsters out of its perpetrators. Breaking the color barrier in white neighborhoods is often a dangerous endeavor. If you weren’t sure before, you will be now. “THEM” will take you there, navigating through the emotional, and psychological effects of what it really means to be Black in America.

“As the sinister elements outside the home ratchet up, that obviously allows for the cracks and fissures within each of them to be infiltrated by something malevolent,” creator Little Marvin told the New York Times of the Black family at the center of the series. “But that malevolent thing, as sure as there is a supernatural component to our story, is deeply rooted in the emotional and psychological lives of these characters.”

Describing her collaboration with Little Marvin, Waithe explained to the Times, “His voice is so directly connected to who he is as a person — bold, honest and a dark humor that sneaks up on you. He forces the audience to confront our past because we’ve yet to escape it.”

“THEM” stars Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Melody Hurd, and Ryan Kwanten and is available on Amazon Prime starting on April 9.