7.5 / 10. Oddball elderly ‘vampire’ tale with original supernatural elements, loses pace after the mid-point but has more story to tell

AMC’s NOS4A2 has a cool, offbeat atmosphere, featuring some good performances.

Oddball elderly ‘vampire’ Charlie Manx kidnaps and feeds on children, only to be bothered by young woman Vic McQueen and her strange supernatural gift for finding lost things.

NOS4A2 takes inspiration from Salem’s Lot, it isn’t as good, but has a similar vibe. Especially the kid’s vampire make-up and Charlie’s mysterious unnatural behaviour. It reminded me a lot of Stephen King, I found out afterwards it was based on the 2013 novel of the same name by his son, Joe Hill.

The first episode is intriguing and sets the tone with a creepy Christmas Land opening. It has interesting supernatural lore and cool terminology, Strong Creatives, Inscapes, etc, and I love the use of the Rolls Royce Wraith and Vic’s bike as more than just ‘vehicles’ in the normal sense.

It lost pace after the mid-point, and episode 6 The Dark Tunnels, which was a standout episode, and didn’t really rise to a crescendo at the end. I’m not sure if it’s been renewed, it didn’t end on a cliff-hanger as such, but I feel there is more story to tell there, such as Charlie’s origins.

Zachary Quinto is perfect as Charlie Manx, very sinister but oft amusing – the delivery of the ”out of the blue?” line is excellent.

Ashleigh Cummings was good in the lead role as Vic, she gave an engaging performance, was brave and relatable. I like Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who played Vic’s dad Chris, he has flaws, but always plays his roles in a likeable, humble fashion. Virginia Kull was good as Vic’s mam Linda, but her character really irritated me. I really liked Maggie (Jahkara Smith) and her scrabble bag.

Olafur Darri Olafsson is both vulnerable and creepy as Bing Partridge – an excellent Christmas themed moniker.

Why do only a couple of characters, who live in the same area, have a strong Massachusetts accent?

I noticed Pennywise Circus and Lovecraft keyhole on the Inscape map, a nice touch, connecting it to King’s wider Universe.