On Screen: “The Boroughs”
The Boroughs
Think “Stranger Things” meets “Cocoon,” and you’ll come up with “The Boroughs,” Netflix’s new sci-fi horror dramedy that introduces a group of seniors living in a supposedly idyllic retirement community in the New Mexico desert.
Before she died, Lily Cooper (Jane Kaczmareck) arranged to move with her retired engineer husband Sam (Alfred Molina) from Chicago to an upscale Albuquerque oasis called The Boroughs, run by charming CEO Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich) and his beautiful wife Annaelise (Alice Kremelberg).
Unable to get out of the contract they signed, gruff, still-grieving Sam reluctantly arrives at his new home, accompanied by daughter Claire (Jena Malone), son-in-law Neil (Rafael Casal) and two grandchildren … and is greeted with “This is not a last chapter — but a new beginning.”
Curmudgeonly Sam is in no mood to make friends, especially when he realizes that his bungalow was previously occupied by Grace (Dee Wallace) whose husband Edward (Ed Begley Jr.) is now in a nearby long-term care facility.
Nevertheless, his gregarious neighbor Jack (Bill Pullman) insists that Sam attend a barbecue to meet the other residents of his cul-de-sac: derisive Wally (Denis O’Hare), a doctor dying of Stage 4 prostate cancer, free-spirited Renee (Geena Davis), and married ex-hippies Judy (Alfre Woodward) and Art (Clarke Peters).
Then, as these skilled veteran actors propel the surreal narrative, the shadowy, spidery monsters arrive! Fortunately, Sam collects vintage TV sets so that cathode ray tubes can be weaponized by these geriatric warriors before the life — a.k.a. cerebrospinal fluid — is, literally, sucked out of them.
Created by showrunners Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews and executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, this series attracted immediate attention but, unfortunately, as the eight episodes unfold, the cheesy, predictable plot disappoints, concluding on an ambiguous note.
Remember that earlier this year the Pentagon released the so-called UFO Files, which allegedly contain video evidence of the presence of aliens — setting the supernatural stage for “The Boroughs” along with Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated “Disclosure Day.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Boroughs” is a sinister, spooky 6, streaming on Netflix.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.