Luke James Has Stand Out Performance in ‘Them: The Scare’ As Trauma Manifests in Disturbing Ways [TV REVIEW]

I often think about nature versus nurture. How individuals growing up together or being placed in a similar environment can often venture on different paths and how trauma, especially deeply rooted generational trauma, plays apart in that. The new season of the horror anthology series Them on Prime Video explored that in a compelling way.

Created by Little Marvin, Them: The Scare premiered Thursday, April 25 with 8 episodes. Set in 1991 Los Angeles County, Deborah Ayorinde returned to the show, leading the cast once again but this time playing LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve who has been assigned a case investigating a string of brutal murders in season 2. Joshua J. Williams plays Kel Reeve, Dawn’s son, and Pam Grier plays Athena, Dawn’s mother. Luke James plays mentally disturbed struggling actor Edmund Gaines, and Jeremy Bobb, Wayne Knight, Carlito Olivero, Charles Brice, and Iman Shumpert also have supporting roles in Them: The Scare.

Jeremy Bobb as Detective Ronald McKinney and Deborah Ayorinde as Detective Dawn Reeve in Them: The Scare. Photo: Prime Video

As Dawn digs deeper into her homicide case, she begins to see the connections between the murders and how it all ties into her own personal life. If you watched the first season of Them then you’ll be familiar with this type of horror. It’s not the kind that will make you look over your shoulder from jump scares or make you squirm from an obscene amount of gore. It’s considered elevated horror where the true terror is from the metaphorical happenings in the story. You don’t need to watch the first season of Them to follow along with season two. They are two different stories, but it did find a way to connect them in the end that will make those who watched the first season gasp when that revelation is revealed.

A big theme I picked up on in Them: The Scare is fear and how that can be manifested in everyday life. The fear of not being a good parent, the fear of rejection, the fear of police brutality. Also, trauma. We’re all being affected by a level of trauma whether we want to believe it or not and that lives in our bodies and minds. In the case of Them: The Scare trauma affected Deborah and Luke ‘s characters in drastically different ways.

Deborah Ayorinde as Dawn and Joshua J. Williams as Kel in Them: The Scare. Photo: Prime Video

The true highlight of Them: The Scare came from Deborah Ayorinde and Luke James excellent character work. Deborah is such an expressive facial actress that everything comes across so effortlessly on her face without having to say a word. You will know exactly what her character is feeling and thinking the moment it happens. It was captivating to watch. Luke James is absolutely terrifying in his role as Edmund. In one instance you feel sorry for him as a struggling actor hoping he’ll get his big break, then you will become increasingly disturbed by his behavior. His performance was outstanding and truly stood out. Pam Grier also had a captivating monologue in one of the later episodes that almost made up for her lack of substantial screen time.

Pam Grier as Athena in Them: The Scare. Photo: Prime Video

Overall, Them: The Scare is a slow paced, tension high series that’s not hard to see where the series is going, but will keep you intrigued enough to see how it ties everything together.

All 8 episodes of Them: The Scare are available to stream on Prime Video.

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Photo: Prime Video