Monsterland (Season 1)

Monsterland (2020) is an anthology series you can watch online on iFILM. Every episode is its own story in its own town: a Louisiana waitress, a worn-out father, a woman on the edge of divorce, each crossing paths with a mermaid, a fallen angel, or something with no name. More often than not, the real monster turns out to be a person.

This Hulu show grew out of Nathan Ballingrud's story collection North American Lake Monsters. Eight episodes, eight different directors, so each one plays like a short auteur film with its own mood. The cast runs deep — Jonathan Tucker, Taylor Schilling, Mike Colter, Kelly Marie Tran, Kaitlyn Dever — and these people don't hunt creatures so much as quietly come apart under poverty, guilt, and loneliness.

Slow, bleak, and built around how thin the line gets between victim and beast. It'll land for anyone who likes Black Mirror and anthologies where the dread comes from people, not jump scares. Stream every episode of Monsterland (2020) online on iFILM.