AMC’s NOS4A92 is about a soul-eating vampire creature who steals children to maintain his youthfulness. A girl with a psychic ability to find things is what stands between him and his crimes. The show stars Ashleigh Cummings (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) and is full of horror tropes, disturbing Christmas themes, and amazing acting and characters. This review does contain some spoilers, so be warned.
The first notable thing is Quinto’s acting as the villain Charlie Manx. He is creepy and a psychopath. He plays the role too well. He truly believes he is saving the children he feeds from and takes to Christmas land. His monotone voice rarely changes, which ups the scare factor. I’m not easily spooked, but Quinto spooked me a little bit. The scariest villain is the one that truly believes in what they are doing.
Ashleigh Cummings really broke away from her innocent role as Dot Williams in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. I was a tad shocked to find out it was her. As Vic McQueen, she is a tough, motorcycle riding gal who doesn’t take crap. She did such a good job being Manx’s foil. There were other great performances in the supporting cast as well. Maggie (played by Jakhara Smith) was a great character. Her ability to ask questions and receive answers with her Scrabble tile bag was interesting.
The show does a great job of making Christmas creepy. It takes the family-friendly holiday and turns it into a horror show. Anytime Charlie Manx is on the way, all the radios play horror music. Christmasland is more like Nights of Horror. The show also does a good job of exploring dark themes that are not supernatural. Some viewers may have issues with the themes of abuse and drugs. There are some pretty violent scenes on the show as well.
Overall, it was one best-written shows I’ve watched this year. I don’t usually watch pure horror shows but this one was amazing. The acting and storylines were fantastic. I’m looking forward to Season 2 when it comes out. Horror fans, this is a show I highly recommend for you.
