John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams Will Have You Questioning Your Neighbors
“In every neighborhood, there’s always that one house that you ride your bike past just a bit faster than the others.”
Get ready to dive into the dark underbelly of idyllic suburban American towns as the series brings you the real-life horror stories that will make your blood run cold. John Carpenter, known for his work on the iconic 1978’s Halloween film, is back in the director’s chair for a new Peacock original John Carpenter's Suburban Screams after a 13 year hiatus. With intense re-enactments, bone-chilling firsthand accounts from the victims themselves, historical press coverage, and archives, this six-episode unscripted series will have you on the edge of your seat.
At the beginning of every episode, there’s a short reenactment scene with not much narration behind it followed by Carpenter greeting you in the title sequence. “In our suburbs, evil lurks behind closed doors. You will never look at your neighbors the same again,” he says, immediately engaging you to watch as the story unfolds.
The first episode titled “Kelly” follows the story of a group of friends at a party playing with an Ouija board in Nepean, Ontario in 1999. Dan gets his life turned upside down as the spirit of Kelly, a local girl gone missing, attaches herself to Dan in hopes he can help her. Dan starts to experience intense visions and paranormal occurrences happen around the house. Left with only his roommate believing him, Dan talks about the traumatic experience as Kelly’s case is still not solved. After finishing the episode, I wanted more answers to what happened to Kelly and why. You can’t help, but feel sad for the victims on all sides of the story.
Set in Miramichi, Canada in 1986, the second episode is titled “A Killer Comes Home.” Rick Maclean, editor of the local newspaper, and CEO David Cadogan get a call about a murder. Shocked by the news, the town points their finger to Allan Legere, a local man known for being a troublemaker. After being in prison for a month, he escapes and goes on a killing spree before inevitably being caught later in the year. Both Rick and David recount the taunting Legere imposed onto them for their coverage of the case.
The third episode “House Next Door” takes you to Jamul, California in 1986 where Torrence Temple describes the haunting spirits of the house next door to his family. As a new family moves in, Torrence quickly falls in love with their eldest daughter Lisa. He becomes troubled as he notices creepy things happening around the house and suspects Lisa’s father will put the rest of the family in danger. One night, everything goes array as Lisa’s father goes on a rampage to hurt his family. Lisa and her younger sister manage to escape and find refuge in Torrence’s home. However, the story ends in a mystery as Torrence cannot recall what happened over the next few days and the family inevitably disappears.
The most interested episode has to be the fourth one, telling the urban legend of an ax-murdering farmer in Fairfax, Virginia. In “Bunnyman,” a local pastor looks in the window of a quiet farmer only to see him mumbling words and drinking the blood of an animal. The pastor runs off to tell the cops, which leads to the arrest of the farmer. Before the bus could make it to the jail, it crashes and leaves the farmer to make an escape. The legend states The Bunny Man lurks in the woods around midnight on Halloween to seek vengeance among the town. Bodies can be found hanging from the nearby bridge where the supposed farmer, dressed in a cloth bunny costume, would also hang... well... bunnies. The story needed to include more facts behind why The Bunny Man is real with sources who’ve encountered the urban legend themselves other than just residents who grew up hearing the story, but I think the story could make a terrifying future feature film.
The fifth episode titled “Cursed Neighborhood” is a story about a family who moves into a new home in Charles County, Maryland. They think they’ve achieved the perfect American Dream, but things quickly go sour when the dad experiences being dragged into the woods. He discovers the corpse of an Algonquin native, the people who believe the land is a gift from god. They realizes that the Algonquins were massacred by settlers in 1682 and their spirits haunt the new homeowners, whispering for them to return where they came from. This is an episode that didn’t quite stick with me as I wish there was more background on the tribe and what happened to some of the family members after encountering the spirits.
John Carpenter co-directed the last episode “Phone Stalker” where Beth, from Holtsville, Long Island, receives constant texts and phone calls from blocked numbers. All you hear is a man’s heavy breathing along with vulgar threats and photos. Driven by her paranoia, she starts to blame everyone around her and the police are no help. It’s revealed that the stalker has cameras all over Beth’s house, making her feel defenseless and manic. The caller remains a mystery to this day, even after six years.
Most of these stories deal with something beyond the human realm so we’re left with as many unanswered questions as the victims themselves. The actor’s re-enactments help draw you into the scene as if you’re a part of the story and their ability to convey the staggering emotions is something to take note of. The series did make me re-think what dark, paranormal stories surround my neighborhood. Throughout the series, you feel the heavy emotional trauma from the victims as they recount these haunting memories. Despite this, at some points the acting felt forced and cheesy, especially the Long Island accent used in the last episode. The series has potential to improve in aspects to become a show like Unsolved Mysteries, but if you’re a fan of solving cold case mysteries and scaring friends with a creepy story around a campfire, then you’ll surely enjoy this series!
Enjoy Friday the 13th with John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams, exclusively on Peacock.
