Epix’s Gothic Horror Chapelwaite Overstays Its Welcome

Overall, the Filardis’ adaptation excels in the first five hours, as Charles does his best to create a home for his children while trying to get to the bottom of the mysteries that are extremely present within the walls of Chapelwaite. They and director Burr Steers (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), create an unnerving vibe to the house, environments, and integral set pieces featured throughout. And they expand the essentially two-character short story into an intriguing ensemble of characters fleshed out by residents of the town, each with their own secrets and sins that are slowly revealed.

Unlike other gothic tales that love to present emotionally detached parental figures, Brody’s Boone may be cut from the Byronic hero cloth, yet he is also a very good father. And while the family is certainly grieving, which casts a melancholy tone across the whole piece, Charles clearly respects and loves his children. Even problem-child Loa, who has chosen not to talk since her mother’s passing and harbors much resentment towards her father for her death and uprooting them to hostile territory, is treated with patience and empathy. It’s a refreshing turn in general, but coming from Brody—whose looks, countenance, and raspy voice are a perfect fit for the era—it also makes his character feel especially unique and worth rooting for throughout.

The Boone children are just as impressive, with the trio of relative unknowns giving earnest and sympathetic performances that help anchor the emotional heart of the story. Each masterfully convey a true innocence, especially Ho with his expressive face and eyes, which makes you all the more terrified for them as the darkness inside and outside of Chapelwaite encroaches. The children also flesh out an interesting subplot regarding their mixed heritage which, for the first time in their lives, is used against them by the insular townspeople. It plays out in their trips to town with Rebecca and when they start school, giving time to an authentic narrative rarely explored in most Gothic stories. Unfortunately, that thread is all but forgotten in the latter hours.

The biggest sin of the series is that when the curse of the Boone family is finally revealed, and it gobbles up all focus in the second half of the season. What should have been an opportunity for the creatives to really embrace presenting something interesting and subversive with existing mythology, makeup, and scare setups, instead comes across rather lazy and often boring. Only the eighth episode, “Hold the Night,” tries to really bring the tension and terror, but it’s still intermittent and constantly undercut by overly talky scenes that quell any sustained fever pitch.

The most interesting mythology ideas are saved for the finale, “The Keeper,” which manages to surprise in a few places. However, it does so at the expense of logic which will leave some in the audience likely more frustrated than entirely moved. Mercifully, there is an actual ending too, but comes about rather abruptly which is a bit shocking when you think of the story minutes wasted on nothing of consequence in previous hours. In a more judicious world, Chapelwaite would have been better served as a six or eight-hour series, forcing the narrative to be more concise, imaginative, potent and worthy of the cast who work so hard to hold the whole piece together.

Chapelwaite premieres August 22 on Epix, with new episodes airing weekly.

Tara Bennett is a Los Angeles-based writer covering film, television and pop culture for publications such as SFX Magazine, Total Film, SYFY Wire and more. She’s also written books on Sons of Anarchy, Outlander, Fringe and the official history of Marvel Studios coming in 2021. You can follow her on Twitter @TaraDBennett.

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