Warning: This article contains discussion of police violence and abuse of power, and spoilers for Channel Zero.

Channel Zero‘s mid-season point marks a well-placed pivot toward the more human elements underlying its story. In doing so, it lends some needed gravitas to a Satanic Panic-esque parental paranoia that could have felt eyeroll-worthy and overdone.

Frustratingly though, the vehicle that brings these elements more directly to light feels (at best) in poor taste. Granted, these episodes were released in 2016, but regardless they aren’t exactly positive. I haven’t found the value or necessity in a drawn-out police-brutality-adjacent sequence, here.

Certainly, if an extrajudicial kidnapping and interrogation of the protagonist was supposed to make me more sympathetic toward the police officer in question it failed. He happened to be someone I could have been sympathetic with as a frightened and grieving father. However, it widely missed the mark and rang fundamentally hollow, instead.

Equally, while the mid-season point is good timing to unpack more about the relationships between Mike and his former friends, I find myself unsure about the pacing of the rest of the season. This episode already answered a lot of questions raised in the first and second. I’m not sure the new lines of inquiry have enough meat on the bone to fill another three episodes.

That said, in some ways this episode was less scary than its two predecessors as it focused more on human conflict and relied less heavily on the supernatural elements. However, those that were present remain compelling. Provided one’s on board with the “creepy kid” angle by now, Marina Stephenson Kerr as Frances Booth may be one of the strongest actors in the cast next to Fiona Shaw. It’s good to see her getting to exercise that in increasingly unsettling sequences.

As ever, the visual and auditory aspects of Channel Zero remain on point. These elements are particularly valuable when trying to translate a written text — the creepypasta story that inspired this season to begin with — to a TV-based medium.

They’re vital in this episode particularly, as it values dread and tension more than startles or jump scares. Using the scenery to maximum effect is a smart move. Sadly though, there were a few sequences that stretched out just a little too long for me. They wound becoming vaguely agonizing (rather than unnerving) as I waited for the other shoe to drop.

Standing at the first season’s midway point, my overall impression is that Channel Zero holds a lot of promise, yet it is still getting acquainted with everything in its toolbox. I certainly plan to stick it out and see where we head from here. Nonetheless, it’s with the hope that the latter half of the season will find its balancing point between the grounded and the fantastical without the callous evocation of certain real-world violences. Let’s hope it can also figure out how to lean on the side of creeping tension, not glacial lingering.

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Channel Zero

0.00

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Solid set pieces and atmosphere
• Very competent acting

Cons

• Unnecessary sequences of police violence
• Some camera shots linger far too long