Culture Crash: A Light Fright for Fall

Do you wish you had a higher tolerance for horror movies and TV, but you always find yourself being a little too afraid for your own good? Netflix may have just released the show for you.

Netflix’s Devil in Ohio tells the story of a young woman who recently escaped from a cult and moves in with a normal suburban family when bad luck begins to strike members of the family. The show is definitely horror-adjacent, but it never goes full gore.

The series is based on a novel of the same name, and it is clearly inspired by Stephen King novels and other mainstream horror. At times it’s even reminiscent of other Netflix horror series like The Haunting at Hill House or Midnight Mass… but, like I said, it never goes full horror. It is tense and scary at times and some very… violent things occur, but the show doesn’t dwell on any gore or slasher themes. I struggle to think of a scene that would give a viewer nightmares or make it hard to tiptoe through their house at night.

Devil in Ohio is a twisty, turny, clever show that can satiate that horror genre itch without scaring the bejesus out of you. At times, it feels like a network show more than a “prestige TV show,” even despite its TV-Mature rating.

For those of us with a bit of a higher tolerance for horror content, Devil in Ohio is still a fun ride, and a great way to gear up in September for the truly scary content that I’m sure we’ll be watching come Spooky Season next month.

Devil in Ohio is now streaming on Netflix.