From: From Hell to Eternity

Beware the night as in the darkness you cannot see the shadows.  There is a town in middle America, that once you enter it, you cannot leave.  On the highway, just out of town, there is a fallen tree that tricks motorists into detouring through the town, to only find out that no matter how they try, all roads lead right back to the town.  Like an endless loop. The Mathews family, while on a trip to visit family, are run off the road by Jade (David Alpay) just outside the town. In addition to being trapped, they find that when the sun sets, viscous vampiric like creatures venture from the woods and kill anyone they can find.  They get into your head, and to those more susceptible, force you to do things.  The new comers to the town, have to deal with the fact that they cannot leave, and that every night there will be a fight for their lives.  Plus, they must deal with the interpersonal dynamics of the others who have been there a while and the society they have built, with their own rules and rituals.

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I have read people compare From to cult favorite, Lost.  Not only do they both have one word title that are especially difficult to do google searches on, but there are many people behind the scenes that the two shows have in common.  In addition, Lost alumni, Harold Perrineau stars as Boyd Stevens, the towns Sherriff, basically their leader.  In my opinion, these are two wildly different shows with completely different themes and tone.  I won’t do a comparison of the two shows, as both deserve to be judged on their own merits.

There are so many shows out there now, we really do live in a genre rich time, so, for a show to really grab me, it has to have certain elements, great story, talented cast, well written script, a bit of mystery, but beside all the technical details, it has to have that magic something that pulls you in and leaves you wanting more.  It is so hard to describe what it is, but there is a convergence of things both internal to the show and external.  A type of environmental association that somehow fits all the pieces to the puzzle together and creates that “woo…woo…woo” feeling.  And that type of feeling is subjective and personal.  Media “talks” to everyone differently, and for me, From has all the elements.

Technically the show is very well produced.  Appropriate music with a mixture of original composures and existing songs (often covers of popular songs that through a slightly different vibe than the original).  The music highlights the story and the performances.  The script is well written and the story flows well, the rural wooded setting is rightfully creepy.  What really cements everything together is the acting.  I have liked Harold in just about everything he has done, and he doesn’t disappoint here.  He is strong and caring and a bit unsure of himself and the horrible decisions he has to make in order to keep the town safe.  Boyd’s son, Ellis, is a bit estranged from his father, and is played nicely by Corteon Moore.  He is an artist who lives in Colony house, a type of hippish commune.  He and his girlfriend Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) have a kindness and sensuality that endears them to the viewer.  Eion Bailey plays the head of the Mathews clan, Jim.  There is something just under the surface of Jim, that projects a type of urgency and discontentment in life, but also love and joy in his family.  Most of all, the Mathews family shows us that hope still exists.  And hope needs to exist in a story.