Gregg Araki has consistently changed the game since the 90's with cult hits like
The Doom Generation, and Nowhere. As a longtime fan, I was overjoyed to hear Araki was greenlit a project that culminates his teen apocalypse trilogy into a TV series so many years later. If you're not a fan of cult or queer cinema, this isn't going to be your flavor- guaranteed. What many people don't understand is that fans of his work have been waiting for this since 1999 when his rejected MTV pilot for This Is How The World Ends never saw the light of day until YouTube came along. In the meantime, Araki showed us he's capable of making a beautiful and serious piece of work with Mysterious Skin, and can make us all laugh with a cheap stoner flick starring Anna Faris in Smiley Face. The film Kaboom would ultimately attempt to be Nowhere's successor in 2010, but unfortunately came off as too contrived for my taste. He once again proved he's more than just "trash," with the rather successful indie sleeper White Bird In a Blizzard.
Now Apocalypse is most definitely a spiritual successor to all of the aforementioned 90s works. It was awesome to see the return of the green space alien, as well as what I presume is James Duval's character from "Nowhere" no longer in 1997, but now in 2019, who has become a homeless schizophrenic quite literally being screwed by aliens. The green alien is a visual representation of society's evil upper echelon, right down to an episode featuring an Eyes Wide Shut-style orgy that makes this message clear as day.
I had a feeling this wouldn't be renewed for a 2nd season on Starz, because ultimately Araki's work is (as mentioned) pure cult. It's often never appreciated until much later after the fact by future generations, so maintaining a solid fanbase would be difficult for this type of material. Film students will most certainly get it, the general public - not so much. But it's not for genpop; it's for people who love exploring different types of filmmaking no matter how outrageous they may be.
In this case, Now Apocalypse is a mixture of the surrealism of David Lynch, Bret Easton Ellis' novel Less Than Zero, and the colorful viscera of Gaspar Noe. If you enjoyed HBO's Euphoria, this might float your boat too. It also features the very best of shoegaze alternative music, right down to plenty of tracks originally featured on the Nowhere soundtrack and a dreamy original score by former Cocteau Twins members well-know for their ambience.
This one was made for the diehard fans, and my hats off to Starz for giving this project a chance knowing full-well what kind of ride (and reception) we'd been in for. This is the show we've been waiting for and I was not in the slightest disappointed!
