"Two Sentence Horror Stories" Delivers More than Just Scares

Inspired by viral fan fiction and directed by actress writer and producer Vera Miao TSHSamp160began life as a series of short films that were acquired by The CW and shown onamp160CW Seedamp160 This year the network elevated it to a linear halfhour series one of a record number of original scripted shows that have populated its schedule this summeramp160 Turns out it39samp160a great way for those of us who are still warming up to horror to enjoy a bit of it without having to sit through a whole feature amp160I like suspense as much as the next guy but I canamp8217t imagine a horror movie marathon being fun amp160It sounds like hours of anxiety amp160Then we have Two Sentence Horror Stories and suddenly I can get a taste of this horror stuff in the time it takes to watch Family Guy amp160The runtime while helpful isnamp8217t the only thing working in TSHSamp8217 favor though amp160This show is low key diverse in the best kind of wayamp160amp160For starters every episode has as its lead someone from an underrepresented group and while their ethnicity or culture doesnamp8217t always directly affect the plot they are always depicted in an authentic way amp160In this TSHSamp8217s second season there is an episode called amp8220Hideamp8221 in which a Latina nanny protects an autistic child during a violent home invasion amp160This woman who I believe was meant to be Central American speaks with an inflection identical to the people like her that I grew up around amp160It didnamp8217t sound practicedamp160 It was real and once I bought that I was in for the whole ride amp160Thatamp8217s one of this showamp8217s secret weapons if you donamp8217t have enough time to make viewers care then use the time to make them relate amp160Yes I cared slightly more about that nanny because she was just a little more familiar to me than the other characters amp160This same effect is also at work in the episode amp8220Legacyamp8221 more on that one below but one could argue that they all do it to certain extentamp160Thereamp8217s also a theme of social issues spread throughout the series amp160The first two episodes of this current season dealt with sexual assault and violence against women and in both cases the aggressors were male amp160The ordeals these women go through are a harrowing watch more so than any of the supernatural stuff that happens because sexual assault and violence happen for real amp160There are so many different scenarios where women are made to feel uncomfortable all the way up to being placed in mortal danger and it is too often a slippery slope amp160Itamp8217s even in some of that supernatural stuff like in the aforementioned amp8220Legacyamp8221 in which the home of the protagonist is being haunted by the ghost of her abusive husband amp160Turns out the true terrors of life and the horrors of our nightmares are a great combinationamp160I originally saw only the flaws in this series amp160A bad habit amp160Maybe but itamp8217s more a byproduct of proper scrutiny and scrutiny is kind of what I do amp160I thought the twosentence formula was a trap that would eventually box its creators in amp160All I saw was the amp8220set amp8216em upknock amp8216em downamp8221 of it all amp160Turns out the opposite is true amp160The restrictions of the twosentence setup are inherently challenging and being in that kind of bind forced writers and directors alike to think outside the box I thought they might be trapped in when trying to keep these psychological horrors freshamp160As with any show some episodes are better than others but overall Two Sentence Horror Stories gets extra points for being its own thing amp160Itamp8217s weaknesses somehow ended up being its strengths and it won me over through its foundational commitment to social relevancy and diversity amp160Everything else the camerawork the acting set design and lighting among a slew of other things amp8211 were already up to snuff amp160But as with so much else in life inclusion made the difference in the final product becoming what it isamp160New episodes of Two Sentence Horror Storiesamp160areamp160telecast Thursdays at 9 pm on The CWamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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"Two Sentence Horror Stories" Delivers More than Just Scares

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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"Two Sentence Horror Stories" Delivers More than Just Scares

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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