Tom Loftis wants tourists to visit his island. His neighbors keep telling him it is cursed. In Widow’s Bay, an American horror-comedy created by Katie Dippold, both sides have reasons to be worried: the town needs visitors, but its frightening old stories are starting to come true.
Matthew Rhys plays Tom, the mayor of this isolated New England community. He wants a better future for his teenage son, Evan, and some respect from residents who think he is a coward. Watching Tom try to look brave is often very funny. Watching what he has to face can be genuinely scary. Across this first season’s ten episodes, that combination gives us much more to enjoy than another mystery about whether a town is haunted.
A mayor who volunteers for things he fears
In the second episode, Tom spends a night alone in the local inn to prove that it is safe. Visitors will not book rooms if they believe the place is haunted, so he has a practical reason to go. The trouble is that proving everyone wrong means staying there himself. Rhys lets us see Tom’s fear without making him admit it. His alarmed expressions are funnier because he is still trying to be the sensible adult in the room.
That setup also makes the horror easy to follow. You understand why Tom cannot simply leave. He has promised the town that there is nothing to worry about. The episode can make us laugh at that promise and still make us nervous about his night at the inn. The jokes do not turn the danger into something harmless.
Tom’s public duties keep putting him in similar trouble. Opening the beach means taking a ceremonial swim, even with the island’s warnings about the water. You do not need to recognize references to older horror films to understand the problem: he is asking other people to visit places he is afraid of himself.
The people arguing with Tom are worth listening to
Stephen Root plays Wyck, a local fisherman who knows the island’s stories and takes them seriously. Tom wants explanations that will not ruin his tourism plans. Wyck has no reason to make the truth sound reassuring. Their arguments are funny because they want completely different answers, not because Wyck is just an eccentric man for Tom to dismiss.
The season does not stay with one kind of threat. A night in an inn, trouble near the sea and a look back at the island’s past give individual episodes different situations to explore. There is a larger story connecting them, so this is not a collection of unrelated scary tales. But the changes in setting and focus help keep the ten episodes from feeling like the same investigation repeated every week.
Kate O’Flynn is especially good as Patricia, Tom’s assistant. In episode four, a self-help book and Patricia’s wish to make friends lead to a disastrous night out. Before the frightening parts take over, O’Flynn makes her eagerness to be liked painfully easy to recognize. Patricia is funny without her loneliness becoming a joke we are asked to enjoy. Giving her more time away from Tom also helps us care about what happens to her.
Tom’s refusal to listen can get tiring
The season is less interesting when it repeats Tom’s denial. At first, his refusal to believe the locals explains why he keeps making dangerous decisions. After several warnings, another argument about whether he should listen can feel like a delay. The inn episode turns that stubbornness into a clear challenge. Not every later disagreement does as much with it.
His son Evan, played by Kingston Rumi Southwick, also gets less to do as a person than Patricia does. Tom wants to keep him safe; Evan pushes against his father’s rules. Their arguments explain the family problem, but they do not make Evan as interesting as the adults around him. His importance to the mystery does not fully make up for that.
Pixel Twelve’s verdict
Pixel Twelve score: 8.5/10 — Great. Widow’s Bay is worth watching if you want a horror series that can make you laugh without making its scary scenes feel safe. Rhys, O’Flynn and Root give us three very different people to follow, and episodes such as the night at the inn and Patricia’s night out give them specific problems that are both funny and frightening.
The repeated arguments and Evan’s thinner storyline keep it below our highest scores. They do not outweigh how much the cast and the changing threats add to each episode. All ten episodes of season one are available on Apple TV in the United States. The original audio is English; this is adult horror, not a family comedy with a few spooky moments.
More images from Widow’s Bay
3 screenshotsImages: Apple TV.
See the series page for the cast, teaser and where to watch, or read more Pixel Twelve reviews.
