Peacock brings us the latest in an endless stream of remakes and reboots, with its updated take on Joe Dante’s ‘The ‘Burbs.’ While you can throw a rock and hit a story about the dark secrets below the surface, the original movie and Twin Peaks set a lot of tones for these types of tales. I don’t feel that the strange small town has worn out its welcome, but Peacock’s take does more for camouflaging original ideas than it does for remaking a cult classic.
The Same, but Different…
When newlyweds and new parents Rob and Samira (Keke Palmer and Rob Whitehall) move into Rob’s old house on Ashfield Place in the town of Hinkley Hill, Samira becomes obsessed with the creepy Victorian house across the way. Hinkley Hill is the safest town in America, which is reassuring after their apartment building was broken into before the birth of their baby, Miles.
Soon, Samira meets the rest of the neighbors, including recently widowed Lynn (Julia Duffy), former Marine Dana (Paula Pell), and the eccentric Tod (Mark Proksch). While each of them are also transplants into Hinkley Hills, they shed more light on the mysterious house. Little does Samira know, the most knowledgeable about the house is her husband and his best friend Naveen. When the house goes up for sale, this newly formed crew of neighbors are able to scratch the itch of what’s inside during an open house.
Their detective work finds a handful of evidence, but everything comes to a head when the new owner moves in during the middle of the night. Justin Kirk’s Gary comes off as a prickly, private neighbor. He’s off, but like everything else in this show, nothing is as it seems. While Samira’s problems with Gary are much more grounded in reality than Tom Hanks’s character Walter’s paranoia with the Klopeks in the original film.
Behind The Scenes of The ‘Burbs
The Jordan Peele influence is definitely there. The show has a lot to say and mostly says it well. It feels like Peele’s hands have molded the clay for this series somewhat, even though it’s produced by Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door Productions. It’s nice to see them branch out into murder mystery, but it would also be nice to see them not use IP as a crutch and just make an original show.
While original director Joe Dante saw the film as a one-and-done and was unsure how to expand the story, the writer of the original film, Dana Olsen, is an executive producer of this show. Which filmed on the same spot in the Universal backlot. It speaks to the film’s cult-like and enduring legacy, but still doesn’t fix the problem: ensuring every new project has an IP linked to it. These behind-the-scenes aspects are the only thing connecting it to the original movie.
Reimagining a Cult Classic
This new version of ‘The ‘Burbs’ uses the tropes from the movie until they no longer serve its story. The original film’s simpler story was part of its charm; it was “Rear Window” in a cul-de-sac. About halfway through the show, this becomes its own thing and turns into just another modern horror story with twists, turns, and quirks. It’s not bad, but it’s not necessary. There are many more layers to the show than the original film, but this show doesn’t need the reboot/remake training wheels.
On the other hand, this brand recognition worked on me. I binged the show in one day. I probably wouldn’t have given this a look if it were called something else. We can complain about this issue until we are blue in the face, but until we as fans start actively taking interest in things because they look good rather than having a take on some intellectual property that hits our curiosity button, we will be stuck in this loop.
Overall Grade 7/10
If you are looking for a mystery show with a decent cast and a twisty mystery, this new version of ‘The ‘Burbs’ is for you. If you are looking to mine nostalgia with a new take on a cult classic, you’ve turned down the wrong street. Gone is the backdoor Satanism, paranoia, and wacky comedy that situated the film between horror and Hitchcockian elements, which made the original film this strange little gem from the early 1990s.
The lines between remake and homage with this version are heavily blurred. This remake keeps the silhouette of the original while swapping out nearly everything inside. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck you can hollow its body out, replace its insides with new parts, and make it say whatever you want. The full first season of The ‘Burbs is streaming on Peacock.
Read Forrest’s comprehensive look at all three versions of Running Man
Have you watched this series? What did you think?
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