A cursed city, superstitious locals, and Salem-style lore would possibly sound like the everyday setup for a traditional folks horror, however the brand new Apple TV present, Widow’s Bay, provides a contemporary twist that followers of the style are certain to get a kick out of.
What makes the present’s titular setting really feel so up to date is the city’s no-nonsense mayor’s matter-of-fact perspective in the direction of the island’s folklore. His skepticism clashes with the city’s lingering spooks, so when a New York Instances reporter arrives to put in writing a journey function, the stress between perception and disbelief fuels a comedic showdown.
That premise would possibly recommend simply one other comedy-horror poking enjoyable at style clichés, however Widow’s Bay takes a a lot totally different route. Somewhat than working as a satire like What We Do In The Shadows, its humor comes from sharp comedic timing and character-driven writing that softens the scares with out undercutting them.
“We needed folks to behave like they might in very tense and terrifying conditions. If the characters properly sufficient, the humor comes from the character. We have been consistently making an attempt to stability that,” she added.
Such a concentrate on making the horror emotionally reasonable implies that Widow’s Bay leans extra into the drama of the state of affairs, however there are some unmistakable references that anybody from the 80s will immediately acknowledge – largely due to the influences that helped sculpt the present’s visible model.
“I am obsessive about Jaws. Like I need to dwell there, which most individuals would not as a result of there is a shark that is gonna kill you. However I need to be there,” she mentioned, recalling childhood summers in Lengthy Department, New Jersey, spent operating via a haunted boardwalk attraction.
“We would scream and we might chuckle and we might scream after which we might chuckle once more, and it was all unusually cathartic,” she mentioned, earlier than including “that second the place terror turns into laughter is a sense I’ve simply been making an attempt to recapture ever since”.
That philosophy is baked into the present’s ambiance. Even the teaser trailer’s 30-second siren wailing into the fog (see above) captures the sequence’ fixation on atmospheric pressure.
A lot of the present’s setting is likely to be impressed by Stephen King’s island city, however different influences helped form the sequence’s pacing and magnificence. Certainly, Dippold describes the present’s influences as “a giant stew”.
One key ingredient was Atlanta, whose director, Hiro Murai, was recruited to assist form the sequence’ visible language. “I simply by no means learn something prefer it earlier than,” Murai mentioned through the Apple TV panel about first seeing the script for the sequence. “It felt like a TV present from the previous, however so trendy on the identical time.”
Such a singular idea ended up being a problem of Murai when it got here to visualizing the present. “There’s one thing inherently nostalgic in regards to the present. It looks like your reminiscence of seeing a scary ’80s film, and I believe the problem was: how do you are taking that feeling and literalize it? It’s uncanny to revisit your reminiscence,” he mentioned.
Lead star Matthew Rhys, who performs the embattled mayor Tom, felt the identical attraction to the venture. “I’d actually by no means learn something prefer it. I’m a baby of the ’80s, I grew up with The Wicker Man and Jaws. This was all the things I believed I might by no means get to do.”
Rhys sums up the tone finest with: “Kids of the Corn meets The Goonies.” All of the hallmarks are current, from a cursed coastal historical past to an unnatural fog and townsfolk clinging to superstition. All topped off by a mayor who, at one level, yells ‘F**okay Cape Cod’. Welcome to Widow’s Bay.
The primary three episodes of Widow’s Bay will premiere on 29 April, 2026, with the remainder of the season rolling out weekly.
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