Critic Reviews

“Suburban Screams” may not be everything it’s sold as, but it’s something better: a collection of tales that transcend their sensationalistic origins by artful, sure-handed presentation. Believe it or not.

Suburban Screams is a typical true crime series in every way, except for the participation of John Carpenter and his family. Their contributions are minimal enough, and halfhearted enough, to not make much of a difference, however.

Only the most gullible will buy the majority of what this dopey endeavor is selling.

Unfortunately, instead of the sinister narratives that fans have come to expect from Carpenter, this series is a cheap display of ghastly crimes.

John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams leans far too heavily on docuseries and true crime mechanics to really consider its horror elements, which ultimately just feel like window dressing.

Suburban Screams doesn’t have the sophistication to present any of this on a compelling level. Real life is scary enough; this is just a collection of insipid frights.

Without the attachment of Carpenter’s name, Suburban Screams would just be negligible, but probably unreviewed. With his name, it’s disappointingly negligible and here we are.

This Peacock show cuts every corner to meet an obviously minimal budget and lacks any sort of creative juice at all. It’s a shockingly bad program, one that has no cohesive vision as it tells largely dull “true” stories of violence behind the picket fences.