"The Boroughs": Monster party in old age

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From afar, “The Boroughs” looks like “Stranger Things“ with pensioners instead of schoolchildren. The comparison is obvious because the new Netflix series, while not written by the Duffer brothers, is produced by them. There are many parallels. It's also about a group of ordinary people in a deceptive small-town idyll who have to cope with the intrusion of the supernatural into their everyday lives, band together, and fight against it. They sneak through forbidden tunnels with flashlights, argue and make up, and secretly drive somewhere at night. Just not on bicycles, but on golf carts. All eight episodes landed on Netflix on May 21st, ready for binge-watching.

Rage in God's Waiting Room

The series is mainly told from the perspective of the old, broken engineer Sam Cooper. How Alfred Molina portrays the grieving, angry, and lost widower is perhaps the series' greatest attraction. The artificial idyll shatters against Molina's downturned lips. Cooper is delivered, more or less against his will, by his helpless, well-meaning daughter to the titular senior community at the beginning. He wants to be left alone. When he discovers an AI voice assistant in his new home upon moving in, he rips the device out of the wall. In general, the old engineer prefers to look under wall panels and bonnets rather than interact with other people. In the evenings, he relaxes in front of the tube television.

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„The Boroughs“ auf Netflix (14 Bilder)

The fact that these and many other roles don't tip into cliché is due to the lively presence of Molina and a cheerful ensemble of veteran stars. Alfre Woodard as a fearless ex-journalist and Denis O'Hare as a cocktail-sipping cancer patient are so convincing that you'll never want to watch teenagers again.

Came to Live

The ensemble eagerly embraces the explicit depiction of all the things that are considered inappropriate or indecent after a certain age. Sam's wild old neighbors flirt, chat about their sex lives, drink cocktails, and rub themselves with cannabis balm.

However, from the very first episode, they are also decimated by a nameless horror that turns the senior suburb into a double trap. Initially, Sam resists moving into “God's Waiting Room.” But he quickly understands that you come to The Boroughs to truly live again. Some, however, live there conspicuously short lives.

The design of the gated community is somewhat shrill. “The Boroughs” looks like a Disney planned city from the 1950s. Everything is too clean, too perfect, the staff are slimy, and it's isolated in the desert. At the latest, when you see the facility for dementia patients, you want to flee screaming. This allows for a few fitting punchlines at the beginning about how old people are patronized. Some dialogues sound like they were copied from a nursing home.

Well-Intentioned Secrets

Unfortunately, the mystery part of the brisk pensioner story isn't particularly mysterious. For genre fans or simply people who have subscribed to Netflix in recent years, there's nothing new here. The series feels nostalgic not only because the old folks play their favorite records from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but because you might recognize the body horror, the unnatural horrors, terrible old secrets, and the eerie glow from various films.

The first notes of the mystery plot are still quite whimsical. The revelations are rather banal and somewhat random, but the story works. It's not the sight of a monster that is shocking, but Molina's reaction to it. As the season progresses, however, you have to bring a lot of goodwill to believe the nonsense. Some dramatically intended revelations simply fail due to the staging; especially the mask effects unfortunately don't look that convincing. A particularly dramatic moment towards the end of the season tips into unintentionally comical.

Authentic Back Pains

There are a few good ideas in the mystery. It fits the problems that Sam's neighbors also chat about in the evenings around the fire pit. But the series' strength remains the acting ensemble. The rebellious, naughty old people are simply fun to watch, and they transform the dark material into something lighter. Teenagers still have something to lose. The seniors, on the other hand, already knew that they could die soon. And they are not willing to wait patiently for the end.

The fearless heroes have something refreshing about them. Finally, you don't have to wait several episodes for teenagers to open their mouths. That's another reason why “The Boroughs” is funnier than it is suspenseful. Like a teenage gang with knee and back pain, the seniors go into danger with wide eyes and drawn knives. They cheerfully crack jokes, make plans, and outsmart nasty young people. As a comedy, the series works excellently in such scenes.

Somehow Flickering

But “The Boroughs” is not just a comedy. The story revolves around a randomly staged, poorly explained mystery that doesn't make much sense after watching. Sam is an engineer, and his neighbors also bring special expertise that could help with this case. However, the scenes where something is researched, built, or finally understood are particularly uninspired. When something outrageous is built from tube televisions, or an image search leads to an unlikely result, you only see it in snippets, perhaps as a montage.

So, if you want to follow how a tricky mystery is uncovered layer by layer in a mystery series, you should probably not watch “The Boroughs.” That could be disappointing. But if you can laugh along when a few seniors toast to life again, you'll be well entertained. And if you only have the stamina for the first six episodes, you might not have missed that much.

(mki)