‘The Outsider’ is HBO’s Hip Horror Slow Burn

For the past month, something terrifying has been slowly taking over HBO. The Outsider is a new kind of Stephen King horror story set in the heart of suburban America, and fully grounded in its terror. The series opens with the discovery of a young boy’s body — murdered, sexually assaulted, and literally fed upon — in the local woods. All evidence points to Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman), a beloved member of the community. The Outsider plays upon our deep fears that evil lurks in the hearts of our neighbors, and it serves up several disturbing twists that will leave you wondering if all evil is supernatural, or hidden within ourselves.

The Outsider is based on Stephen King’s 2018 novel of the same name. It follows a Georgia detective named Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) as he deals with the strange fallout of the murder of young Frankie Peterson. At first it seems obvious that Terry Maitland committed the ghastly crime. There’s DNA evidence, multiple eye witnesses, and even surveillance footage that link the Little League coach to the murder. But Anderson is soon stymied by the revelation that there’s also fingerprint evidence and eye witnesses placing Maitland hours away at a conference at the exact same time.

Terry Maitland never gets to argue his case before a judge, however. In the wake of Frankie Peterson’s death, his own mother seems to die of grief. This double whammy of pain spurs Frankie’s teenage brother to attempt to murder Maitland on his way into the courtroom. Anderson shoots him, unaware of his identity, but Maitland still sustains a mortal injury. From there, pain spreads like a virus. Befuddled by the situation, Anderson and his cohorts hire private investigator Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) to go back and retrace the evidence. Holly is led on a wild journey that tests the limits of what we understand our reality to be.

If that all sounds like a lot, keep in mind that we’re officially only halfway through The Outsider‘s 10 episode run. Episode 5, “Tear-Drinker,” debuted on HBO last night. We learned that Holly’s theory — that the killer is a shapeshifting mythological creature akin to El Cuco or Black Annis — only seems to carry more weight than ever before. Meanwhile, Ralph’s wife Jeannie (Mare Winningham) has been threatened by the mysterious monster and Anderson’s colleague Jack Hoskins (Marc Menchacha) is struggling under the force’s control.

The Outsider is a hip horror slow burn that’s using patient plotting and gritty visuals to amp up the tension in its story. Because it takes more time meditating on it characters’ sorrow than it does setting up supernatural jump scares, the chills from those scares are all the more harrowing. Everything from the show’s bleak set design, awkward angles, and grim lighting scheme help put you in the abysmal mood of the show. And it’s awesome.

In many ways, HBO’s The Outsider feels like a grownup horror series. It’s got its share of bloody gore and metaphysical terror, but it never sacrifices deep emotion for the sake of slick style. The Outsider also had the misfortune to debut right after Christmas and to run against big event programming like the Grammys and the Super Bowl. That means it’s possible that you missed the show’s premiere or still need to catch up. In fact, this is the perfect time to dive into The Outsider. Enough wild twists and horrifying scares have happened to hook even the most reluctant watcher.

Again, The Outsider is a different kind of horror story. It’s a detective tale where we, the audience, already know who did it. We know that a mysterious force is playing with the lives and deaths of The Outsider‘s characters. What we don’t know is what it will take for these ordinary people to take down this supernatural force — or if it’s even possible that evil might prevail after all.

Where to stream The Outsider