Widow’s Bay Review: A Funny and Frightening New Take on Classic Horror Tropes

I was excited to watch Widow’s Bay from the moment I heard the basic premise. It’s the tale of a supposedly cursed seaside town as told by countless horror stories across different mediums, but instead of centering on a group of kids or a young couple, our main character is the town’s mayor trying to keep everything running and maybe even improve things amidst the chaos. That is an absolutely brilliant setup for a horror comedy.

Admittedly, a great hook can only get you so far, but thankfully, Widow’s Bay is able to follow through on the promise of its logline. It knows when to be funny, it knows when to be scary, and it knows the most effective way to get creative with its core idea.

What is Widow’s Bay about?

Our story takes place entirely in the titular town of Widow’s Bay, a small island 40 miles off the coast of New England with no cell reception, no access to wi-fi, and no end to the supernatural horror stories that make up its local folklore. Mayor Tom Loftis, played by Matthew Rhys, is determined to turn the town’s image around in time for the summer season and make it known for something other than superstition. But the joke’s on him as he learns that all of those superstitions are real right as tourists finally decide to give the place a chance.

Will Tom be able to both literally and metaphorically save the town or is his story doomed to be another grim tale spun around the campfire?

Widow’s Bay Review

Like all horror comedies, Widow’s Bay has a tough balancing act to achieve. Both horror and comedy rely on a build-up of tension leading up to a release, so you’d think they’d inherently be a match made in heaven. The issue is that horror will pay off its build-up with something scary happening which more often than not increases the tension whereas comedy pays off its build-up with a punchline designed to break the tension with laughter. As such, trying to do them both in one story can prove rather difficult.

The show manages to pull it off by knowing precisely where and when to commit to the bit in both the comedy and horror departments. Wacky side characters, recurring gags, and a strong back-and-forth between all the main cast help enhance the comedy, while inexplicable terrors, dire consequences, and a foggy, Stephen King-style setting dripping with atmosphere all ratchet up the horror. It knows exactly when to let the comedic chops of its cast shine and when to let both the characters and the audience get scared out of their minds.

Speaking of that cast, they are absolutely firing on all cylinders here. Kate O’Flynn as the hard-working but consistently underappreciated secretary is painfully relatable, Kevin Carroll as the town sheriff, consistently fed up with everyone’s nonsense, is a lot of fun. And Stephen Root as a paranoid old sailor is some of the most perfect casting I’ve seen this year. But perhaps most impressive is Matthew Rhys as our leading man, Mayor Tom Loftis.

Rhys is best known for his dramatic work in shows like Perry Mason and The Americans, and I primarily know him as the voice of Emperor Belos in Dana Terrace’s groundbreaking series The Owl House, so the man being able to pull off intense emotion isn’t exactly surprising. What is surprising is both how down-to-earth he’s able to be when most of his characters have a certain degree of grandiosity to them, and just how funny he is when the story needs him to be.

Both the impeccable writing and Rhys’ performance make Tom just the right amount of pathetic and jerkish yet still ultimately admirable and likable which is perfect for either a comedy or horror protagonist, which is convenient since he’s pulling double duty as both. As far as the horror is concerned, the series revels in going all out with all kinds of classic horror storylines from mysterious curses to masked killers. It’s a veritable who’s who of genre staples while still making sense within the preestablished lore of the story.

As I mentioned earlier, the show’s atmosphere is absolutely chilling. The fog, the rustling of trees, the faded paint and otherwise decidedly not modern architecture, every little detail helps contribute to a growing sense of unease for both the main characters and the audience. And like the best horror stories, it makes sure to leave at least a little bit of mystery given that what we don’t know is often far scarier than what we do know. Yes, some lingering questions get answered but we’re never given a full definitive explanation of why this town is the way it is and I think the show is all the better for it.

Is Widow’s Bay worth watching?

Widow’s Bay is the kind of unconventional genre storytelling that feels doomed to fly under the radar as we enter the crowded cultural landscape of the summer months and I really hope I’m wrong about that because the show is genuinely that good. It might take an episode or two for some audiences to truly click with what it’s trying to do, and there were admittedly one or two subplots I could’ve done without, but overall, the series nails that horror/comedy balance about as perfectly as you can ask for.

Widow’s Bay premieres April 29 on Apple TV. All ten episodes reviewed.

Widow’s Bay Review: A Funny and Frightening New Take on Classic Horror Tropes