We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.
On Netflix, Stranger Things has earned acclaim for lovingly paying tribute to 80s horror. At the same time, there are independent creators brewing their own blends of old-school terror. One of those creators is Terence Krey, whose series Graves is an homage to the supernatural TV shows of the 90s.
The first season of Graves centers around Jane Stevenson (Christine Nyland), who at the show’s onset must deal with all of the men in her life: There’s her boyfriend, an old crush, and Astaroth, a demon who is out for blood. In her own detached and darkly comedic way, Jane navigates both the natural conflicts to which viewers can relate and the supernatural ones that occur only in the world of fiction.
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GRAVES – Episode 1 from Open Casket Skeleton on Vimeo.
In an email, Krey described Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of his main influences, and he pays tribute to the monster shows of years past not just with the content of Graves but with its look as well. The series has a grainy look, as if it is being screened through an old VHS player, and the eerie sound has a lo-fi, tinny feel to it, a la 2015’s horror hit It Follows.
Ultimately, the combination of nostalgic presentation and more modern scripting makes Graves into a unique series. If you check it out, be sure to give it your undivided attention — this, without a doubt, is not a show that can be skimmed.
OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT
- Don’t Quit Your Night Job. A comedian tries to do other jobs. Up first: NFL punter.
- Cheerleaders in the Chess Club. Young actors star in this series, in which the cool kids must mingle with the nerds.
- Casting Call Revisited. Minority actors perform their favorite monologues.
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