Them: The Scare (Season 2) – Review [Prime Video]

THEM: THE SCARE on Prime Video is Season 2 of the Horror Anthology Series created by Little Marvin. This time, there’s a serial killer story. Casting is – yet again – simply perfect. Read our Them season 2 review here!

THEM Season 2 on Prime Video has the full official title of THEM: THE SCARE. As someone who loved season 1, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I can tell you that my expectations were pretty damn great.

CHECK OUT OUR SEASON 1 REVIEW

In case you need a quick reminder, here’s our Them season 1 review >

That’s why I was very surprised that the eight episodes of this season managed to blow me away as well. In fact, as a horror fan, this season hit all the sweet spots. Well, “sweet” as in brutal and terrible, as the plot now revolves around a serial killer. The season has eight amazing episodes!

Continue reading our Them: The Scare review below. Find season 2 on Prime Video on April 25, 2024.

Being black in Los Angeles in 1991

While Them: The Scare takes place in Los Angeles, just like Them: Covenant, we’re now in 1991. Los Angeles is still reeling from the Rodney King police brutality caught on camera and racial tension can be cut with a knife.

The Them season 2 story centers on LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve. She’s black and works almost exclusively with white men. Detective Reeve is assigned to a new case, and we meet her as she arrives at the crime scene. This entire scene feels like something straight out of Se7en and from this point on, I knew it was about to get really brutal.

The case is the gruesome murder of a foster home mother. A detective is throwing up just outside the house, where her body has been found. It’s a scene that takes you a few moments to truly understand – just like a few of the murders in Se7en.

Naturally, Dawn (Deborah Ayorinde, who also starred in season 1) is determined to find and stop the killer. Especially as she finds evidence that she believes points to a serial killer. However, the LAPD has enough to deal with, so they are not interested in a serial killer case and try to bury it.

Deborah Ayorinde is back

I absolutely adored Deborah Ayorinde in the first installment of Them (which had the full title of Them: Covenant), so I really didn’t expect her to improve on that with season 2. And yet, she definitely managed to match her performance from season 1.

As this is an anthology series, the stories are separate and Deborah Ayorinde plays two wildly different characters. Not least as the two stories are set 40 years apart. And still, she is breathtaking in all those little ways that make all the difference.

Nuances and details that make the character come alive. Also, there is a connection to the story from the first installment. Appropriately, it is still via Deborah Ayorinde. No spoilers here as it won’t be revealed until the final episode when everything comes together and all the mysteries are solved.

Of course, I recognize that the same can be said for all the actors and characters. And when it comes to Them, I would say that the casting is simply brilliant. Like having the iconic Pam Grier (Foxy Brown, Ghost of Mars) portray Athena, mother of Deborah Ayorinde’s Detective Dawn Reeve.

And then there’s Luke James. Get ready to be completely blown away by his performance in Them: The Scare where he plays Edmund Gaines. I kept switching between feeling sorry for him and being terrified of him.

Luke James steals the show!

As Edmund Gaines, Luke James plays a character who is completely unpredictable. Then again, the more you see, the more you come to expect weird madness. Episodes 3 and 4 (both directed by Axelle Carolyn, I might add) are where we really get an idea of who Edmund Gaines is.

Also, the ending of episode 4 is where the opening scene of episode 1 is from.

So, the halfway mark of the season’s eight episodes, is where we’re brought back to the starting point to understand more of how it’s all connected. And while most episodes have at least one WTF!-moment, these two episodes have so much impact on the overall storyline.

In any case, while I still love Deborah Adorinde for Them: The Scare, it’s Grammy-nominated musician and actor Luke James (Horror Noire, The Chi, Insecure) who steals the show as “Edmund Gaines”.

Well, okay, I dare say that Jeremy Bobb (Goodnight Mommy, God’s Country, The Outsider) plays a character who is just as scary in a very different way. A white, straight, male LAPD homicide detective with friends in all the right places.

Watch Them: The Scare on Prime Video now!

Them: The Scare is season 2 of the horror anthology series created by Little Marvin. It’s a co-production of Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, and the production quality is as impressive as ever. Series creator Little Marvin is also the showrunner.

Directors on season 2 are Craig William Macneill (Them: Covenant), Axelle Carolyn (The Midnight Club), and Guillermo Navarro (Cabinet of Curiosities) who all direct two episodes. Then Little Marvin himself directs the penultimate episode and Ti West (MaXXXine) directs the season finale.

And the ending of Them: The Scare is absolutely breathtaking. Brutal and beautiful!

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Them Season 2 ending explained >

If you liked season 1, this should be right up your alley as well. However, even if you weren’t a fan of the first installment of this anthology, you absolutely cannot rob yourself of this second story. I, for one, cannot wait until a third season is announced.

Not only is this anthology amazing, but it’s also important. Along with Watchmen and Lovecraft Country, these amazing genre productions are covering stories that should’ve been out to a wide (and white) audience much sooner. We all need to see, hear, understand, and feel these characters!

Them season 2 premieres with all eight episodes on Prime Video on April 25, 2024

Details

Creator: Little Marvin
Directors: Craig William Macneill, Ti West, Axelle Carolyn, Guillermo Navarro, Little Marvin
Cast: Deborah Ayorinde, Luke James, Pam Grier, Joshua J. Williams, Jeremy Bobb, Wayne Knight, Carlito Olivero, Charles Brice, Iman Shumpert