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Watching Channel Zero: No-End House is like being a kid and watching a sport you enjoy vs. playing it. It’s mostly boring, with a few moments of excitement, but ultimately a lackluster experience.
The Introduction
Poor Margot (Amy Forsyth). Her dad (John Carroll Lynch) died in such a way she feels she could have prevented it and her best friend Jules (Aisha Dee) focused on school for the summer. Leaving her very introverted self alone and without reason to go out. However, Jules is back and that means fun time! Of which start off at the pool and eventually lead to the girls hanging out with Jules’ friend J.D. (Seamus Patterson), and some guy Margot meets. But what really matters is them all eventually ending up at the No-End House. A place with six rooms of which each is supposed to be scarier than the next.
In the pilot, we focus on Margot’s experience in which it seems the focus of the house is playing on her father’s death. As for Jules and the rest of the gang? Maybe future episodes may tell us what happened to them once everyone got split up.
Low Points
The Tone & Inability to Get Into the Mind of Margot
Unlike Vesper, which is an indie movie and probably didn’t even have 1/5 of this show’s budget, there isn’t anything here to give you the creeps. What happens is just weird. One example being this laughing man Margot encounters in a room who doesn’t even chase her but follows her slowly.
Leading to what drags the episode down the most: Margot. We only get to know her for about, 10-20 minutes before she enters the No-End House and it doesn’t feel like enough to give a damn. Never mind build up her possible fears so that as she sees her dad, in one form or another, you’d feel something for her. Be it empathy or maybe even take on her sense of fear. For between Forsyth just seeming like your generic horror lead to the show relying on the idea that a few old home movies would make you feel bad for the loss of her father, it seems like someone overestimated her talents.
Not to imply she is a bad actress, but more so she isn’t ready to lead a series.
Not Another Teen-Focused Horror
Taking note of Margot’s fears dealing with the passing of her dad, I sort of wish we were focusing on adults with this. If not even senior citizens. Imagine people old enough to have a huge amount of regrets, but still spry enough to run, in horror/thriller situations. Ones dealing with children they lost, friends they screwed over, significant others no longer in their lives. Parents who abused them, abandoned them, and etc.
To me, we have seen more than enough 30 and under starring horror productions. Let’s up the age a bit and show people who really got something to lose besides their youth. Much less, have more to fear than the life they haven’t gotten to live yet.
On The Fence
Aisha Dee
The only reason I watched Channel Zero: No-End House was for Aisha Dee. For while I don’t consistently follow her career, I try. But, as much as I enjoy her being the only one with some sort of personality in the episode, she doesn’t give that certain oomph to make you think, “I’ll stick around just for her.” She is a welcome addition but doesn’t assert herself to the point she can eclipse Margot. Not to imply she is the token Black best friend but she isn’t too far off from that trope.
Overall: Mixed (Stick Around)
Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror are not genres I strongly take an interest in. I’ll openly admit that. However, a good story, well-written characters, and some sort of human-esque emotion will keep me attentive in spite of. Channel Zero: No-End House, really doesn’t present any of that.
Yet, it kind of has potential. At least if, hopefully, when, the focus gets taken off of Margot and we get to experience what the other characters experienced when they got split up. With that, maybe this could become a decent horror show. I can’t foresee it becoming a staple of the season like Stranger Things likely will be, nor American Horror Story, but SyFy may have another cult hit that no one hears about until there is an uproar due to it being canceled.
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