First of all: I’m in trouble. My partner is sharing their Shudder library with me. I have so much new, old and in-between spooky material to watch now. This is a distress signal. Send help.

Okay, I’m kidding, but now that we’ve got that out of the way: let’s talk about Channel Zero, shall we? I’ll admit, I haven’t always had the best luck with anthology-style series. However, I heard so many good things about this one that I decided to give its first season a shot. So far (more or less) so good.

The premise of this first episode — not unlike the creepypasta that inspired it, Kris Straub’s Candle Cove — takes a little willing suspension of disbelief. It might take a little patience in the opening segment to not roll your eyes at some of the cloying delivery. At least, this is the case if you’ve ever met a child psychologist, or (like me) if you were raised by one.

Once the tension at the heart of the episode truly gets underway, though, these initial fumbles are soon forgotten. In an opening sequence that evokes the few good parts of Twin Peaks, the writing makes a competent switch from vaguely droll to properly unsettling, and I’m glad it didn’t take too long. Also, to clarify my statement on Twin Peaks: I know, I know, it’s a classic; my problem is generally that David Lynch seems to really dislike women a great deal.

Fans of the Child’s Play series may also recognize Don Mancini’s fingerprints here. While for this episode he’s there as supervising producer, he takes on a co-writing role for the second episode. The groundwork being laid is clear from the interest in childish fears, and who child protagonists become as adults after trauma.

The set pieces and sound design are competently wielded, too. They are evocative of not just place or state of mind but also time; an integral element to an episode that has an adult character revisiting his childhood home. In terms of dialogue, some of the patter feels a little stiff and unnatural, suggesting that the writing room may need the subsequent episodes to find its footing.

Still, it’s delightful to see Fiona Shaw in a central role as the protagonist’s mother, acting opposite Paul Schneider. I’ll admit I generally found her character, Marla, more compelling than the erstwhile lead. However, that might in part be the product of familiarity. Childhood nostalgia notwithstanding, I have equally warm and fond memories of her in Killing Eve and I can accept that it probably affected my reactions here.

Nonetheless, the casting is a little on the bland side, despite the weight of some known and welcomed names. I’m hopeful that — in contrast to some other well-established horror anthology series — Channel Zero won’t feel compelled to follow the model of “same actors, different characters” with each season. While season 1 seems to be trying to evoke some small predominantly-white town sensibility with its particular story, it’d be frustrating and disappointing if the primary (or even only) stories Channel Zero told were white, straight, etc. ones.

It’s worth noting that the pacing of this first episode is a little on the slow side in places, after a promisingly unsettling opening sequence. There’s a lot of setup invested in getting us to care about the characters (and the location) involved. I think it’s mostly conducive to where the episode’s angling to go, but it may require some patience from viewers wanting to get back to the scares.

On the way there, there’s some more exposition and the memory of some poorly-telegraphed past self-harm that I’m not sure did it for me. Time will tell if this is meant to be character work or just part of what the writing room thinks is spooky.

That being said, once we do get there in earnest — after the episode teases the viewer a handful of times — boy, that creature design was fantastic. I’ll confess: it’s got me. I’m paying attention. Without giving too much away for those who haven’t watched it yet, I’ll just say this: maybe steer clear of this one if you don’t like human teeth.

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Channel Zero

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Fun creature design
• Solid set pieces
• Great sense of atmosphere

Cons

• Some starts and stops with pacing
• Dialogue feels a little clunky