‘The Boroughs’: Alfred Molina and a Band of Twilight Neighbors Chase Stranger Things in Nostalgic Delight

Alci Rengifo

Those corners of America that look a little too pristine once again provide inspiration for weird happenings in Netflix’s “The Boroughs.” Here, unsuspecting residents of a retirement community are suddenly beset by potential threats that look otherworldly. On the surface, this would seem like the Duffer Brothers trying to replicate the success of “Stranger Things,” where kids in the 1980s battled multi-dimensional monsters. An offering from their production company, “The Boroughs” is a fellow nostalgia machine, not copying its teenage cousin but continuing its technique of reviving classic genres. Creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews are processing a lot of the favorite movies Gen X and millennials grew up with, while knowing how to use their ingredients.

Sam (Alfred Molina) is a retired engineer who does not look happy as his daughter, Claire (Jena Malone), drives him to The Boroughs, a retirement community in New Mexico. It looks quite welcoming and pristine, like a suburban island in the middle of the desert. Compounding Sam’s reluctance is that he is still grieving the death of his wife, Lilly (Jane Kaczmarek), who had originally made the arrangements for them to move here. The community manager, Blaine (Seth Numrich), and his wife, Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg), are super friendly, there’s a grand gym and even a hospital for residents who may start suffering from dementia. Sam is not too keen on an Alexa-style device installed in every home, claiming to be there as an aid. At first, his nerves also get rattled by Jack (Bill Pullman), one of those types who instantly try to become your best friend. Just as Sam starts to settle in, a shocking tragedy puts him face to face with some kind of monstrous entity that suggests something else is going on beneath the Boroughs.

“The Boroughs” has the instant pull of the kinds of films directors like Robert Zemeckis, Joe Dante, or J.J. Abrams excel at. Think of “The Burbs” meets “Gremlins” with a dash of Abram’s “Super 8.” The music by John Paesano sounds inspired by those soaring themes John Williams used to compose back in the day. Like the early seasons of “Stranger Things,” the material works beyond mere nostalgia. The showrunners bypass casting a whole new crop of teenagers, refreshing the concept by making the heroes characters in their twilight years. Sam and his fellow Boroughs residents, like Renee (Geena Davis), a former rock drummer, Judy (Alfre Woodard), who is dealing with the deteriorating situation of her husband Art (Clarke Peters), and Wally (Denis O’Hare), facing terminal cancer, have more mature baggage than a bunch of kids. They already think they are more experienced and slyer than whatever opponent they might be facing, so Sam has no qualms about starting to snoop around after a resident meets a sudden, bloody end.

Some shows of this kind can drag in the first episodes, where exposition can take over the narrative. “The Boroughs” gets things going from the earliest chapter. As Sam starts recruiting others to find out what possible terrors are being hidden from them, personal revelations and smaller details make us truly care for these characters. Renee runs artsy activities for the residents and finds herself falling for a younger security guard, Paz (Carlos Miranda), who eventually gets pulled into the monster hunt. Miranda and Davis’ scenes are genuinely fun and full of real chemistry. Wally realizes that despite time running out, he can use his scientific skills to help his friends. The most moving performance belongs to Alfre Woodard, who conveys the pained frustration of a woman angry over life’s cruel twists. Why must her husband start slipping away just as they were about to find some peace and comfort? Those are the kinds of questions the characters in “Stranger Things” can rarely relate to, since they fight monsters while dealing with crushes.

Alfred Molina guides the rest of the material with a wonderful, scruffy performance. A screen veteran who has performed in nearly every genre, Molina knows how to make Sam something beyond a mere sci-fi accidental hero. Along with the showrunners, he understands that classics like “E.T.” used the sci-fi storyline as an allegory for deeper themes. Molina’s Sam thinks life is truly over because of his age and the loss of his wife. This new adventure shows him life is never over until the actual end. If there is any flaw to the production it is that it would have benefited from a richer visual palette. The Boroughs as a place can be somewhat overly saturated. Yes, we’re in New Mexico, but even the desert can have some color. Aside from that, this is an enjoyable time with familiar thrills made new again by a cast with plenty of experience saving the world.

“The Boroughs” season one begins streaming May 21 on Netflix.