From gets grislier and grander in season 3

The phrase cult classic has been grossly misused over the years, and mainstream shows from The X-Files to Arrested Development to Lost have been mislabelled as such. But MGM+’s From is a prime example of just how a true cult classic emerges, with its lower-budget, B-movie fun flying under the radar of awards shows and cultural ubiquity as each season improves on the one before it. And the series rewards the fortunate few who have been paying attention since its first episode.

That’s not to say that latecomers now hitching their wagon to this sci-fi horror series can’t catch up with those who have been pouring over each installment. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who could comprehensively theorize as to precisely what is going on here. And this gut-wrenching and impressively gnarly third season leaves you none the wiser as to why any of this is happening.

From continues to follow a cursed town in Middle America where none of the inhabitants can leave, and when night falls, they are tormented by grinning, sadistic creatures with grotesque fangs and hands that morph into razor-sharp claws. This town has existed in this form for decades, barely able to survive with ill-fated new residents arriving when they get lost in the nearby woods. Things were drastically improved by the arrival of Sheriff Stevens (the consistently exemplary Harold Perrineau), who helped the human populace defend themselves and strategize. But this place has its divisions, and many inhabitants, including his son Ellis (Corteon Moore), choose to live in a communal existence in Colony House, with less rigid ideas about how to cope with the unending horrors. 

Those horrors provide some wonderfully grisly set pieces with guts spilt and scalps ripped, allegories for the presently fractured politics that permeate the nation. They also grant plenty of opportunities for the skilled supporting cast to stare off into the middle distance and give grand monologues about trauma. But, to put it mildly, it is a lot. In this batch, the sharp-toothed nocturnal sadists are somehow the least of the central ensemble’s problems, and there are a plethora of ghosts, creepy children, evil trees, and a cursed pregnancy to contend with. To make matters worse, their carefully tended crops have rotted in the ground, and with an increasingly starving population, not even the gentle bovine members of the community are safe. 

Though we remain confused about why these poor unfortunate souls are facing such torment, the show’s mythology edges forward with tiny nuggets of information and recurring symbols that hint at a single evil as its source. Season two ended with a lone escapee in the form of Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno), who was pushed out of a lighthouse by one of those aforementioned creepy children and awoke in a hospital. But, unfortunately for her, her family remains trapped, and she has no intention of leaving them behind. It speaks highly of the slow-burn chemistry built between Moreno and Eion Baily, who plays her husband Jim, that despite them entering the show with a fractured marriage, there is never any doubt as to why they fight so hard to be reunited. 

This season also affords more time to From fan favorite Victor (Scott McCord), who has been trapped in the town since childhood and is its longest-term resident. While his “enter a scene looking haunted, say something ominous, and exit” schtick remains, he’s afforded a little more to do this time around, and his connection to a—you guessed it—creepy child may be the key to unlocking the whole puzzle box. 

But what keeps the residents going is the same thing that keeps the cult fandom engaged. The world dangles just enough hope and contains just enough moments of sincere warmth to break up all of the violence and despair. It stops just short of being unrelentingly miserable despite being set in a world where the best-case scenario is a creepy child pushing you out of a lighthouse or the specific ghost haunting you proving to be a decent conversationalist. 

And while the fifth installment (and final one provided for review) of the 10-episode season ends with a moment that’s astonishingly nihilistic and cruel with some classic B-movie execution, it doesn’t land as cheap shock value. This is largely thanks to the captivating performance by Perrineau. Stevens’ reaction to yet another way that the town can punish them is a crucial stop on his hero’s journey, and this character’s evolution remains the most interesting part of the show. 

How much longer the series can sustain intrigue with so few concrete answers remains to be seen. Still, the series has successfully grounded itself in real emotional stakes, and three seasons in, we genuinely care about these characters despite their frequent missteps and long for them to find the inner strength to continue fighting to survive this coldly-lit hellscape. It’s that balance that makes From not just a good show but a potential cult classic, one with enough charisma to keep us coming back for more.   

From season three premieres September 22 on MGM+