Horror aficionado Jordan Peele is continuing his reign over the genre with a new project, an HBO series called Lovecraft Country.
In the show’s first full-length trailer, we meet our hero, Atticus Black (Johnathan Majors). A military vet fresh out of the warzone in 1950s Korea, Atticus returns home to discover that his time in the service hasn’t made the cross-burning racists in town any more fond of him. Thankfully, his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and good friend/love interest Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) rally to help him get reacclimated.
But Atticus has different plans once he touches down American soil again; he wants to head up north to find his missing father. The problem? The answers that Atticus is looking for are deep in the heart of Lovecraft Country, a mysterious New England territory with a reputation for being no man’s land.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
“This place is dangerous,” mutters Uncle George on their journey.
That would be an understatement. As soon as the trio arrives in Lovecraft Country, they find themselves in a living nightmare, complete with literal monsters on the hunt for blood. We’re not in the Sunken Place anymore.
Lovecraft Country is an adaptation of Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel of the same name, which was inspired by the work of novelist H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos — which is marked by many of the same monsters seen in the trailer — combines the elements of fantasy and horror to create a frightening new world, and Lovecraft Country will lean into its deliciously dark roots with pleasure. Like his first horror project Get Out, the series fleshes out the truly insidious nature of white supremacy while also promising a threat that’s even more terrifying than having your body stolen (imagine that).
The shadowy truth of Lovecraft Country will be revealed when the horror series premieres on HBO in August.