"Them" Season 1 Review: A Must See Series About A Family Fighting For Their Lives And Their Sanity

"Them" is currently Amazon's most viewed series. It was created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waite ("The Chi", "Masters Of None", "Queen & Slim"). There are ten episodes total.

This "Them" should not be confused with several other movies with the same title. 1954's "Them" has humans fighting off giant ants. The French movie"Them" (2007) involves a terrible home invasion.

SPOILER ALERT: You've been warned.

When the series opens, we meet the Emory family. They include: father Henry (Bashy/ Ashley Thomas), mother Lucky (Deborah Ayorinde), oldest daughter Ruby (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and younger daughter Gracie (Melody Hurd). They just moved cross country from North Carolina to East Compton, California. They are part of the "Great Migration". Black families moved North and West to escape the horrors of the Jim Crow South (from the 1920s thru 1960s).

There is mention of another child (Chester) but he is nowhere to be seen. You'll find out why a little later. Trust me. After seeing what happened, you'll never think of the song "Cat In A Bag" the same ever again.

The Emorys are black and everyone in their neighborhood is white (and makes no secret that they dont want the Emorys there). Everywhere the family turns, they are confronted with blatant racism-- at school, at Henry's job and especially in East Compton. The neighbors hang racists dolls on the front of their house. A little boy pees on their hanging laundry. They burn a firey message into their front lawn. They do everything short of burning a cross. Not sure why they stopped there.

And if all that weren't bad enough, "Them" throws a second ring of Hell into the mix. A number of ghosts (at least I think they're ghosts) are terrorizing the family. They are experienced by the Emory's as reality but soon turn into something quite different. Example: A girl named Doris befriends Ruby at school. She takes Ruby to watch the cheerleaders practice. Ruby has a great time but the cheerleaders and Doris morph into twisted demons. When the camera pans out, Ruby is cheerleading alone.

The main ghosts that we meet are:

Tap Dance Man- Appears to Henry. He is dressed in blackface from a minstrel show. He had several fingers chopped off for eating a few peaches. Very powerful performance
The Man In The Black Hat- AKA Hiram Epps. We eventually learn his origin story but I won't go into details here.
Doris- Ruby's only friend at school. She appears to be a decent person but you cant trust anyone on this show.
Miss Vera- A horrific schoolteacher type character that sprouts from a book Gracie is reading.

I dont want to say too much else about the series. JUST WATCH IT. It will stay with you a long time after the credits roll.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5), The terrors of a family surrounded by 1950s racists would be bad enough. Throw in a ton of supernatural activity and you have one great show. "Them" contains a few of the most shocking scenes I have seen in some time. And I watch a LOT of horror movies. You'll know them when you see them.

I highly recommend "Them". Whatever small issues I have (such as the story line of The Man in The Black Hat) are far outweighed by everything else. Excellent story, actors, and cinematography. Whoever did the special effects needs some major awards.

Since this is an anthology series, there will definitely be a season 2. It just probably won't involve the Emorys (who deserve a long vacation after what they've been through).