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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

TV Review | ‘Ravenswood’ delivers cliche horror, suspense

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“Ravenswood,” ABC Family’s new spin-off of the immensely popular “Pretty Little Liars” (2010-present), had potential. Riding on the creepy coattails of its mother series’ Halloween special, the show wasted no time establishing its darker, more supernatural tone. Unfortunately, the drama’s attempts to thrill and chill fall flat, and by the end of the pilot episode, the main characters’ fateful plunge into the depths of Ravenswood’s river drowns what could have been a perfectly satisfying teen show.

“Ravenswood” — a suitably unoriginal title (the town neighbors Rosewood, where “Pretty Little Liars” is set) — centers on Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn), the parentless heartthrob of the original series. His ever-so-trusting girlfriend, Hanna (Ashley Benson), encourages Caleb to stay in the graveyard town to help out kindred spirit Miranda Collins (Nicole Gale Anderson), a ruggedly beautiful misfit on whom fingerless gloves and raccoon eyeliner have never looked more fashionable. Miranda has come to Ravenswood desperately hoping to connect with her last living relative — a ghostly pale uncle who, like many of the town’s residents, could have stepped right out of an episode of “The Addams Family” (1964-1966). Not so shockingly, Uncle Collins (Steven Cabral) lives and works in a funeral home. While it’s clear he has a skeleton (or two) in his closet, his expressionless, clipped dialogue gives the character about as much emotional nuance as the corpses he oversees.

Ravenswood itself has no shortage of hair-raising characteristics. Aptly described by Caleb as “a town where people throw parties in cemeteries,” Ravenswood is a place where mossy tombstones line the streets. And if that’s not eerie enough, everyone’s ears seem to perk up at any mention of the area’s flood-plagued past. It’s certainly not the most logical place for two teenagers to settle down.

Although Caleb seems to have left behind his many sinister pursuers in Rosewood, he soon discovers that with a new town comes a new, never-ending string of puzzling enemies and inexplicable happenings. There’s a murderous widow, a vanishing tombstone that displays the faces and names of unwelcome visitors and someone (or something) lurking in the musty shadows of the Collins’ mansion.

No one is willing to disclose any useful information to Miranda or Caleb, save warnings to leave. The main characters, along with three friends, are united by a gloomy curse in a town “soaked” in death (another fitting line from Caleb). Mystery and suspense ensue.

If the phrase “Pretty Little Liars’ spinoff” is enough to make you roll your eyes, you will be equally unimpressed with the show’s reliance on tried-and-true horror staples. The list practically writes itself. Cinematography reminiscent of the odd shots and angles of “Twilight” (2008), spooky old Victorian homes with creaky shutters (is it wind? Or something more ominous?), eternally rainy weather and a soundtrack replete with slow, discordant melodies and screeching violins plague every scene of the show. And anyone who has ever seen a scary movie knows nothing good ever comes from lone girls in basements.

Such calculated elements leave viewers far from the edge of their seats. Although ABC Family would not be a suitable home for the more believable terror of “American Horror Story” (2011-present), the watered-down anecdotes of “Ravenswood” fail to produce the same lasting thrill that “Pretty Little Liars” does. While many loyal fans of the pioneer series are continually dazzled by high-stakes drama piled on top of high school politics, teacher-student romances and eye-catching fashion, the heavier approach of “Ravenswood” does not have much to rest on.

Still, although “Ravenswood” does not exceed expectations, it will not necessarily let viewers down. “Pretty Little Liars” feeds off of a stubborn refusal to confront its central mystery — who killed whom? — a formula that might keep people tuned in to “Ravenswood” as well.

And since “Pretty Little Liars” purposefully drowns the issue with myriad plotlines that it abandons and picks up at will, the web of deceit has become so convoluted that a fresh start is needed to escape such a tangled knot. “Ravenswood” offers that blank slate for those looking for casual suspense without having to catch up. How long this will last, however, is yet to be seen.